8×56mmR

8×56mmR Steyr / Hungarian

Commercial cartridge with a soft-point bullet.
Type Rifle
Place of origin  Austria
Service history
In service 1930-1945
Used by Austria, Hungary, Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1930
Produced 1930-Present (commercial)
Specifications
Parent case 8×50mmR Mannlicher
Case type Rimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter 8.35 mm (0.329 in)
Neck diameter 9.20 mm (0.362 in)
Shoulder diameter 12.00 mm (0.472 in)
Base diameter 12.47 mm (0.491 in)
Rim diameter 14.05 mm (0.553 in)
Rim thickness 1.37 mm (0.054 in)
Case length 55.63 mm (2.190 in)
Overall length 75.91 mm (2.989 in)
Rifling twist 255 mm (1 in 10 in)
Primer type Berdan or Boxer Large Rifle
Maximum pressure 355 MPa (51,500 psi)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
206 gr (13 g) M30 701 m/s (2,300 ft/s) 2,737 J (2,019 ft·lbf)
200 gr (13 g) 200 Grain Jacketed 621 m/s (2,040 ft/s) 2,504 J (1,847 ft·lbf)
Source(s): Lee Precision [1]
Surplus Rifle [2]

The 8×56mmR or 8×56mmR M30S (C.I.P. civil designation) cartridge was adopted in the year 1930 by Austria and in 1931 by the Kingdom of Hungary as a replacement for the 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge. It was originally created for the Steyr-Solothurn light machine gun as the M30. Later the cartridge was adopted for use in rifles in 1931 as the M31 to replace the 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge. The updated cartridge coincided with an update to the Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 rifle in which the barrel length was reduced and the chamber re-cut to accept the new cartridge, and was the cartridge chosen by Hungary for the 35M rifle as a replacement for the Mannlicher M1895. The 8×56mmR was also used in updated versions of Austrian and Hungarian machine guns such as the Solothurn 31M and Schwarzlose 07/31M. From 1934 on it was the standard military cartridge of Kingdom of Bulgaria.

This ammunition was made at a variety of plants as well as countries, including Austria, Germany, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.

Current production

The 8×56mmR is currently produced by Hornady and Prvi Partizan for commercial sales. It is no longer in use by any organized military forces. While many Stutzen Model 1895/30 were brought into the United States and sold at retailers such as Big-5, the price of the round still remains much higher than most other surplus rifle rounds such as 7.62×54mmR and .30-06 (7.62×63mm), making 8×56mmR very uneconomical to shoot for the average shooter.

Handloading

8×56mmR being loaded into a Mannlicher M1895/30 rifle via an en bloc clip.

Reloading the 8×56mmR Mannlicher can be problematic, due to the .329" groove diameter of the barrel. Commonly available .323" 8mm "S"-bullets will produce very poor accuracy. Open-base jacketed bullets, such as the .323" 244 grain round-nose FMJ bullets used in the 8×50mmR Mannlicher, will often produce better results but are difficult to obtain. However, the reloading situation for this cartridge, at least in Europe, has improved significantly in the last few years.

Some manufacturers like Haendler & Naterman (Germany; 190 grains) or Degol (Belgium) still produce various bullets for sporting or hunting purposes. Prvi Partizan produces a FMJ Boat tail bullet under the number B-384 and a Soft Point bullet nr. B-561, both 208 Grains.

Lee Precision, Inc. can make a bullet-sizing die in .330", allowing .338" bullets to be swaged down to this caliber. Bullets in the 200 to 225 grain weight class would work best. Lyman offers cast molds in this caliber. Corbins offers swaging dies for their bullet swaging-presses to make various bullets from raw materials.

Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by resizing 7.62×54mmR Mosin–Nagant Russian brass. This results in a case neck 2mm short, but no problems arise from this, as the cartridge will still headspace correctly on its rim. The remaining case neck is also still sufficient to hold the bullet firmly. RCBS produces a reforming die. 8×56mmR Mannlicher brass for handloading is produced by Prvi Partizan although availability is irregular.

Chargers or clips for the M.95 (and earlier 8×50mmR and 8×56mmR Mannlicher rifles) are available from surplus arms and ammunition dealers such as Sarco.

Reloading dies are made by Hornady, RCBS, and Lee.

References

  1. ↑ "Lee Precession Charge table for 8X56 R HUNG". Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  2. ↑ "Collecting and Shooting the Surplus Steyr-Manlicher Carbine". Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
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