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8mm ammo
Dave45-70
Member Posts: 637 ✭✭✭
I Need help to identify some ammo I was given.It has head stamps 1939 to 1955 that appear Egyptian and the bullets measure .321to >.322 and the case is shorter than a 30-06 but longer than a .308 and measures about 2.250" thanks in advance
Comments
Up until the end the end of W W II, in 1945. The British occupied and controlled Egypt. Their rifles and machineguns were chambered for the rimmed .303 british cartridge. Which the Egyptians also used.
As far as I know? It wasn't till prior to wars with Israel, in the late 40's. Did the Egyptians switch to 8 X 57mm.
From the era you describe, the choices are 8mm Mauser (aka 7.92x57), 7.62x54R (for Mosin Nagant), and .303 Enfield. All of these three use .311-312 bullets and are slightly shorter than .30-06. [Edit, responding to below, you're absolutely right, Mauser is .323, don't know what the heck I was thinking. If this is a .321 bullet, then its almost certainly Mauser ammo ]. All three of these were at one point or another manufactured in Egypt.
What makes you say these are Egyptian? Are you sure they weren't made in another Middle Eastern country? (EG Turkey, Persia, etc).
Anyway, the easiest way to get a definitive ID is for you to post a few pictures, including one good one of the headstamp. Instructions for how to do that can be found in the sticky at the top of the "Ask the Experts" page.
In the meantime, here's a nice image. Comparing here should at least answer the question of which caliber, if not country of origin:
Responding to above, so far as I know *ALL* military surplus 8mm mauser ammo is corrosive, and certainly any middle eastern manufactured ammo from the WWII era would be. Ditto for *ALL* milsurp 7.62x54R and .303 ammo!
Edit #2. Thanks for the tip on Canadian 8mm being non-corrosive. I've never seen any of this for sale, and I can't imagine there is much (if any) still out there, but good to know. My quick search on this also suggests that Portugese 8mm from the 1970s is non-corrosive. . .again, good luck actually finding any for sale.
Obviously you can still find small/odd lots of stuff at gun shows, in private collections, and the like, but it seems that the only 8mm surplus still available in any quantity now is the 8mm Romanian steel case. Even that stuff just keeps going up and up in price. I bought some at the time of the first Obama gun panic for $100/tin. . .6 years later now its $180/tin!
You "probably" have 8mm Mauser, but I don't think its possible to be definitive based solely on your limited description.
From the era you describe, the choices are 8mm Mauser (aka 7.92x57), 7.62x54R (for Mosin Nagant), and .303 Enfield. All of these three use .311-312 bullets and are slightly shorter than .30-06. All three of these were at one point or another manufactured in Egypt.
What makes you say these are Egyptian? Are you sure they weren't made in another Middle Eastern country? (EG Turkey, Persia, etc).
Anyway, the easiest way to get a definitive ID is for you to post a few pictures, including one good one of the headstamp. Instructions for how to do that can be found in the sticky at the top of the "Ask the Experts" page.
In the meantime, here are some images for comparison. From left to right, that's .308 Winchester/7.62x51, 30-'06, 7.62x54R, and 8mm Mauser.
Responding to above, so far as I know *ALL* military surplus 8mm mauser ammo is corrosive, and certainly any middle eastern manufactured ammo from the WWII era would be. Ditto for *ALL* milsurp 7.62x54R and .303 ammo!
No 8mm Mauser uses a .311 bullet. The early turn of the century rifles used a .318 and after 1905 used a .323.
At least one type of 8mm Mauser military ammo is non-corrosive: WWII dated Canadian, still found in small quantities at gunshows; headstamp is "7.92 MM (last two digits of year, '41 - '45).
I bought quite a bit of it during the early seventies. It was loaded for the BESA LMG. It was also Boxer primed and quite reloadable.
I would like to see a photo of the head stamp or a better description of the symbols. The 7.92 was used all over the world. The Israeli's even used it for several years WWII. Egypt had head stamped 7.92 manufactured from about 1954 to 1958. Below is an example of an Egyptian 7.92 cartridge dating between 1957-1958.
[img][/img]
Second comment is about Canadian ammunition with the 7.92 MM 40-45 head stamp. The origin of this ammunition is obscure and subject to much speculation in the cartridge collecting community. It may also be clandestine ammunition made for the CIA in 1950s. Regarding the anonymous made 7.92 x 57 ammunition(caliber and date only) head stamps, there are 9mm counterparts that were known not to be made during WWII, although they are head stamped exactly like the 7.9s - 40 thru 45. There is no reason to believe that these 7.9s were made during WWII either. An example head stamp is below.
[img][/img]
Best,
Heavyiron
Second comment is about Canadian ammunition with the 7.92 MM 40-45 head stamp. The origin of this ammunition is obscure and subject to much speculation in the cartridge collecting community. It may also be clandestine ammunition made for the CIA in 1950s. Regarding the anonymous made 7.92 x 57 ammunition(caliber and date only) head stamps, there are 9mm counterparts that were known not to be made during WWII, although they are head stamped exactly like the 7.9s - 40 thru 45. There is no reason to believe that these 7.9s were made during WWII either. An example head stamp is below.
[img][/img]
Best,
Heavyiron
I thought this 8 & 9 mm military ammo, with this "MM" headstamps. Denoted manufacture by Musgrave in South Africa?