8mm (8x57js) vs 8x56R

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Luchtaine

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OKay i am not exactly clear on this but have seen 8x56r with nazi markings etc and then there is 8mm like the romanian. Alright I have a german mauser and I have no idea if these are different or both interchangable in the same rifle. all the 8x56 I have seen is Nazi stuff so its all old. I am just curious to the difference here.
 
Nope, completely different calibers. The 8x56R is used in the Austrian and Hungarian Steyr M95 straight pulls. Austria was taken over by Germany in WWII, and instead of issuing them new guns, they just made ammo for their old guns with the Nazi stampings.

8mm Mauser, also known as 8x57JS, 7.92x57 and probably a few other things, is what is used in the Mauser. It was made by many countries, including Germany, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Romania, Portugal and Czechslovokia. Country of manufacture doesn't matter as far as caliberwise, but some are loaded a bit hotter or slower than others, and have varying bullet weights.

You want the second stuff for your Mauser. 8mm Mauser, 8x57, 7.92x57.
 
the 'r' generally stands for 'rimmed', meaning it should be used in double rifles.

edit: whoops... i thought you asked about 8x57js vs 8x57r... nevermind.
 
I wasn't really sure I bought the 8x57js because it was called 8mm mauser but I was looking around and saw all the x56r stuff and was wondering what was going on. looks like most of it is being sold as collectors items I don't think I would want to shoot anything as old as the rifle. Dad's friend had some ww2 .30-06 dissassemble his M1. The recoil on the stuff was reported to me as being much higher than a .30-06 should be. anyways thanks for the info was just a matter of curiousity.
 
I have shot hundreds of rounds of 8x56R loaded in 1938 without a problem....It's almost as if the krauts knew how to load/store their ammo....
 
8x56R is a great cartridge and the old Austro-Hungarian M-95 straight pulls and the WWII era carbine versions are awesome rifles. The recoil is ... memorable :D The power of those old surplus 56R rounds is impressive. This site chrographs the S-Patronen rounds at a whopping 3,213 ft. lbs!!!

http://members.nuvox.net/~on.melchar/8x56r/surp.html

The handloading situation for these boomers has improved dramatically in the past year or two. Graf & sons is producing bullets for the cartridge, which uses a wider "8mm" than the 8x57JS. There's also brass and dies available.
 
WWII era carbine versions are awesome rifles.

I call mine a lot of things, most of which is unrepeatable, but awesome definitely isn't one of them. Best compliment it can get is pretty, because it has a nice tiger-striped stock. Definitely the most unpleasant to shoot gun I own.

Makes up for it though in power and ease of carry.
 
Awesome in the sense of "KABOOOM!" :D As in awesome power and fireballs. By the book they're actually the most potent WWII era rifle--and they're carbines not even rifles. But I also think they're underrated as C&R rifles go. They can be quite accurate with the right handloads and are very fast. I always thought they'd make excellent bear guns with the right ammunition and a very good recoil pad attached.
 
Graf & sons is producing bullets for the cartridge, which uses a wider "8mm" than the 8x57JS

What Cosmoline said. They are two different cartridges entirely. The 8x57 uses a .323" and the 8x56R uses a .329" bullet.
 
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