Help I.D. this ammo, please?

jschneider93 · Apr 2, 2013

I got three 8mm mauser cartridges with a bunch of 30-06 at an auction I went to, and would like to know more about it.

Bullets are round nose soft point. Headstamp says "SUPER SPEED" at the top, and "8M/M MAUSER" at the bottom. I found out that this is Winchester, but I'd like to know around when this ammo was made?

Thanks in advance.

Havok7416 · Apr 3, 2013

No way to know for sure when it was made. Super Speed has been around since the 30's, although it's probably from post-WWII. I'm not sure how common 8mm Mauser was in the states before that time, although it's possible it came from between the wars.

FROGO207 · Apr 3, 2013

I have never seen those Win rounds in 8MM with flat point bullets that were factory made. Might they be reloads? They do look old and well stored. Good find.

Havok7416 · Apr 3, 2013

Didn't the Germans use a different bullet before switching to the Spitzer design? I realize these are US made, but perhaps they are also from before the switch.

JerryND · Apr 3, 2013

The original 8mm (J) round was a 225 gr round nose and was .318 dia. This was used in the M88 Commision Rifle. The standard cartridge in WW2 was the 8mm (S) with a 153 gr Spitzer at .323 dia. The exposed lead would not have been military issue. You will probably find that the bullet dia in this case is .318. Most US commercial was loaded with the smaller bullet because of the WW1 surplus M88's that were imported.

jschneider93 · Apr 4, 2013

FROGO207 said:
I have never seen those Win rounds in 8MM with flat point bullets that were factory made. Might they be reloads? They do look old and well stored. Good find.

I don't think they're reloads. The primers look the same as other pics I've found, as do the bullets themselves. I did find this Gunbroker ad showing flat pointed bullets on the Winchester box, itself. The headstamp is in a slightly different font than on mine, and says 8MM MAUSER, instead of 8M/M MAUSER, like mine does...
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=332923221

jschneider93 · Apr 4, 2013

JerryND said:
The original 8mm (J) round was a 225 gr round nose and was .318 dia. This was used in the M88 Commision Rifle. The standard cartridge in WW2 was the 8mm (S) with a 153 gr Spitzer at .323 dia. The exposed lead would not have been military issue. You will probably find that the bullet dia in this case is .318. Most US commercial was loaded with the smaller bullet because of the WW1 surplus M88's that were imported.

I might be buying a digital caliper soon. If I do, I'll check it and post back.

Edarnold · Apr 5, 2013

Talk about a blast from the past! I remember that loading from about 1956, it was the first factory ammo I bought in 8x57. The bullet I believe is 165gr and is identical to the bullet Winchester used in their .32 Winchester Special loads. Velocity if I remember correctly was a paltry 2400fps. A bit small at 0.321 diameter, but the thin jacket and low pressures made it safe to shoot in either the J-bore of the Commission 1888 rifles or the JS-bore of the post-1905 rifles. (Yes, I know it's actually a capital I for Infantrie, but everyone calls it J because of the German Script)

This also the stuff that gave the 8x57 the reputation of being greatly inferior to the 30-06 as a hunting round, until Norma loads finally became more available and kicked its butt.

jschneider93 · Apr 5, 2013

Edarnold said:
Talk about a blast from the past! I remember that loading from about 1956, it was the first factory ammo I bought in 8x57. The bullet I believe is 165gr and is identical to the bullet Winchester used in their .32 Winchester Special loads. Velocity if I remember correctly was a paltry 2400fps. A bit small at 0.321 diameter, but the thin jacket and low pressures made it safe to shoot in either the J-bore of the Commission 1888 rifles or the JS-bore of the post-1905 rifles. (Yes, I know it's actually a capital I for Infantrie, but everyone calls it J because of the German Script)

This also the stuff that gave the 8x57 the reputation of being greatly inferior to the 30-06 as a hunting round, until Norma loads finally became more available and kicked its butt.

Haha neat info! I did see somewhere online where someone did a test of a bunch of 8mm ammo, and found the Winchester Super Speed to be the worst performer by far. I think it was about 200fps slower than the next higher one.

Help I.D. this ammo, please?

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