Help ID found case

dtknowles

I found a piece of brass at the range that I can't identify and it has interesting features. It is a rimless 8 mm cartridge that is longer and bigger in diameter than .308. The rim (I know I said rimless but you know what I mean) is more substantial than other cartridges. The headstamp starting at 12 o'clock is a 5 -- at 9 o'clock is a D -- at 7 o'clock is a 7 -- at 6 o'clock is a 9 -- at 4 o'clock is a 2 (792 maybe 8 mm.?) and at 3 o'clock is a T

The case is:
2.191 inches long
0.496 inches diameter at the rim
0.495 inches diameter at the head
0.475 inches diameter at the shoulder
Neck is 0.321 inches long
Rim is 0.060 inches thick


Thanks

Tim

iwannausername

8mm mauser most likely. aka 8x57

nononsense

dtknowles,

7.5 x 55 Swiss (GP11)

http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd75x55schmidtrubin.jpg

http://www.swissrifles.com/ammo/#7.5

Best.

rufe-snow

From the dimensions you have given, I believe it's a 7.5mm cartridge for a Swiss Schmidt-Rubin rifle.

dtknowles

7.5 x 55 Swiss it could be, very close, my measuring and manufacturing tolerance could explain the difference. I expect that it predates the development of the .308 (7.62 x 51). To me it appears a superior cartridge case design if you wanted to be sure you did not pull the rim off in a full or semi-auto and I would expect that it would have comparable or better balistics than .308. It is shorter thatn 8 x 57 Mauser. What did the Swiss use for machine guns??

Thanks for the interest.

Tim

dtknowles

I should have followed the second link before I jumped back in. It answered some of my questions. I also searched for Swiss machine guns and it looks like they at least had some Vickers in 7.5 x 55. They also had a MG25 and MG51 light machine guns of their own design. The MG51 I believe was made by SIG probably a very good weapon. I think I will be looking into this some more.

Tim

nononsense

dtknowles,

It is basically a short action 30-06 by volume. The case design is very similar to the .284 Win. or the more current 6.5 x 284 Norma.

Best.

heavyiron

Hi,

Damn you guys are sharp.

How about this:



The above headstamp should match except for the three digits at the bottom instead of two digits at the bottom.

"T" (at 3 o'clock) is the ordinance factory which is Munitionsfabrik Thun, Thun, Switzerland.

"D" (at 9 o'clock) is the brass case manufacturer which is Dornach.

"5" (at 12 o'clock) is the month of manufacture.

"792" (at 6 o'clock) This is where it gets interesting. The usual Swiss headstamp has a two digit code for the year of manufacture at 6 o'clock. It is not unusual to see variations like this but I do not know what the three digit code means. Maybe it has to do with the type of load and/or powder?

Regards,

Heavyiron

"

dtknowles

HeavyIron The three digits at 6 o'clock are not really together the 79 are together and the 2 is seperate, up and to the right.

Tim

heavyiron

Hi,

I understood what you meant but it doesn't change the interpretation.

The headstamp of the cartridge in question is a variant of the common four element Swiss headstamp, but headstamp variants are known to exist for this cartridge and are not uncommon. Without a key to explain the meaning of the additional elements it is just speculation. My guess is the two digits "79" are the year of manufacture, but there is no definition for the third digit "2". However, this is just a guess.

Regards,

Heavyiron