What caliber is this round?

[Duster340]

Hey Folks,

Pick this stuff up at a gun show years ago. Was marked 90 rounds 7.92x57 Mauser. Sat on it for awhile and dug it out recently and quickly realized it wasn't 7.92. Looks like maybe Egyptian writing, but not sure. Bullet diameter measures approximately .308-.309 diameter, case 2.11, aol 2.99. (Note: all measurements are approximate) Any ideas? 308? 7.65 Argentine (my best guess), 7x57? 7.7 Jap?
7.92 x 57 on left for comparison

Thanks in advance.

 

[chicharrones]

Egyptian made something?

 

[Mn Fats]

What caliber is it? .308

 

[Duster340]

Sigh.... wise guys eh? LOL

 

[Scooter22]

Probably 7.62x51 Nato. Its the only one of those you mentioned that uses a .308/9 bullet. Argentine uses a .313 bullet. Whoops I added 4mm. Must have had Swiss in the back of my mind.

 

[Riomouse911]

7.62x51 NATO, maybe Iranian? I know they used US weapons prior to 1980.

https://forum.cartridgecollectors.org/t/unknown-headstamp-on-7-62-x-51/6298

 

[Scooter22]

Iraq also used a lot of US arms. Another with the chicken scratch alphabet.

 

[eastbank]

maybe 7.5 French for the mas 36 bolt or mas 49 and 49/56 semi auto. eastbank.

 

[Scooter22]

maybe 7.5 French for the mas 36 bolt or mas 49 and 49/56 semi auto. eastbank.

Think we have a winner!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.5×54mm_French

 

[kBob]

Yep looks like some of the "Syrian" 7.5 French. Do not however try to shoot it in anything until you get better measurements and check it better.

-kBob

 

[Duster340]

Think we have a winner!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.5×54mm_French

Based on the specs, I'd have to agree! Will take better measurements to verify.

Thanks!

maybe 7.5 French for the mas 36 bolt or mas 49 and 49/56 semi auto. eastbank.

Thanks man!

 

[Duster340]

maybe 7.5 French for the mas 36 bolt or mas 49 and 49/56 semi auto. eastbank.

Think we have a winner!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.5×54mm_French

Thanks Fellas! Based on the specs it sure looks like a match. Will take more precise measurements to verify.

Of course, my brother got rid of his MAS49 last year

Gotta figure our what to do with the stuff now....

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Marked "90 rounds 7.92x57 Mauser"
Certainly is not the same as the 7.92x57 Mauser round photographed next to it.

My antique 1960s refs show a lot of 7.92x57 rifles and machineguns in Egyptian service so I'll bet someone thought "Egyptian rifle ammo" and slapped an assumption on the label.

UPDT: someone noticed the resemblance to the 7.5x54mm French, for which
Wikipedia shows
Bullet diameter .309"
Case length 54.00 mm (2.126 in)
The photo seems to match 7.5x54mm French better than 7.62x51mm NATO.



More refs show a lot of 7.62x51mm NATO caliber weapons in Egyptian use more recently.
Get a .308 Win/7.62x51mm NATO cartridge and measure and compare dimensions carefully.

 

[kBob]

Easiest test: Measure just above the extractor groove. 7.5x54 is Bigger Around so thicker than Mauser Basic cases like 7,7.65, 8 mm mauser and .30-06, 7.62 NATO, .243 and all that.

It was sort of the birth of the short magnumizing we see to day, make it bigger around and so shorter for the same volume.

-kBob

 

[Scooter22]

maybe 7.5 French for the mas 36 bolt or mas 49 and 49/56 semi auto. eastbank.

Those look nice. I wish I picked up one of each when they were new in wrapper cheap.

 

[kBob]

My MAS 36 was not new in the wrap and while it seemed cheap not really one of my best trades.

I had not seen one in years back in the late 1980's other than one sporterized and supposedly in 7.62 NATO and chromed. (Yes, I threw up in my mouth a little when I saw that one.) Then at a big Militaria show in Jacksonville I saw one on a table in well used issued condition with about 60 rounds of ammo. I was carrying a WWII German Army Artillery NCO saucer cap that had been a gift and traded it , and a story of course, for the MAS. The rifle was valued at about $75 so at the time I thought I had come out ahead as the hat was a freebee........from a former SS Officer that was a friend in Germany for over two years and was the hat he wore to try to blend in when he learned SS were being arrested for questioning and reeducation. I like having the rifle, but do miss Otto (who by the way was as reformed as anyone that went K-10 through the party school system then into the SS and then to OberAmergau for Officer training and then to Holland just in time for Market Garden could be)
Otto BTW was turned in by a neighbor only days after US troops took over Ulm and re educated at Dachau and is one of the Boys that escaped with Skorzeni but got re captures and so got extra time. He said the road stripe painting story is absolutely true and that he and the others had a hard time believing it as it happened.

The rifle has been fun and shot remarkably well.

-kBob

 

[lysanderxiii]

View attachment 772238

It's Syrian 7.5 French (it says so on the head stamp, too 1957 production):

 

[Duster340]

It's Syrian 7.5 French (it says so on the head stamp, too 1957 production):

View attachment 772370

Wow! That's a nice bit of detective work! I searched the WEB for 2 days without finding a match. Thanks much!

And Merry Christmas all.

 

[chicharrones]

It's Syrian 7.5 French (it says so on the head stamp, too 1957 production):

View attachment 772370

Impressive!

 

[someguy2800]

He said the road stripe painting story is absolutely true and that he and the others had a hard time believing it as it happened.

Would you mind re telling that story? I did some looking online but could not find any reference of this.

 

[RecoilRob]

I've got some 7.62 upstairs with similar writing on the rims....and it's the most corrosive ammo I've ever seen. If what you have is similar...take your cleaning kit to the range with you and clean it there. Nasty stuff.