7.92x57 mm Mauser

The 8 mm Mauser cartridge next to a United States 5 cent coin.

Summary

The 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge's history, loadings, and applications span well over a century, virtually every conceivable application, and extensive adoptation including Turkey, China, Egypt, former German African colonies, and of course, pre-NATO Germany. It continues in use today primarily as a premier sporting cartridge. It shares an unusual similarity with the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge of being manufactured and used by both the Allies and Axis during World War II, being used in the British BESA armored-vehicle mounted machine gun.

Now known in Europe and in the USA as the 7,92 x 57 mm JS, the 8 mm Mauser or 8 x 57 mm JS, it was adopted by Germany in 1905 as the 7,92 x 57 IS. (IS is an abbreviation for Infanterie, Spitz or "infantry, pointed"). The IS cartridge was a further development of the 1888 cartridge, the 7,92 x 57 mm I, which had a round-nosed bullet and was developed to be top-loaded via disposable clip in the Gewehr 88 (or Commission 88) rifle. The 7,92 x 57 IS bullet was lighter, pointed, and 8.2 mm (.323 in) in diameter instead of 8.08 mm (.318 in) with improved ballistics. The newer cartridge allowed for far greater range and accuracy. It was mainly used in the Axis rifles and machine guns; its use continues today in former Yugoslavia, and it is a very widely-used bullet in European hunting.

A highly efficient cartridge, it is tremendously popular in European hunting, especially German and Austrian shooters, alongside the similar cartridges 6.5 x 55 mm, 7 x 57 mm and 8 x 68 mm S.

8 mm or 7.92 mm? I or J?

The European commercial arms standards body CIP (Permanent International Commission) designates two 8 x 57 mm cartridges, following the military practice. The 7,92 x 57 mm J designates the original cartridge with a .318-inch diameter bullet and moderate pressure limits. The 7,92 x 57 mm JS designates the later, higher pressure cartridge with a .323-inch bullet. The letter "J" is not a J at all, but an "I" for infanterie (infantry). However, at the time the German printers were using a type of typography where the letter “I” looks like the modern day “J”. The letter "S" stands for spitzgeschoss (pointed bullet), the US/english word spitzer is derived from this German word.

The American standardizing body SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute) designates this cartridge as the 8 mm Mauser, also known as 8 x 57 mm JS. However, the pressure limitation for this cartridge is taken from the older 7,92 x 57 I and is limited to 37,500 CUP (Copper Units of Pressure). This is done for safety, in case the .323-inch bullet is fired in an "I" bore (.318 inch) rifle.

Specifications

• Actual bullet (and barrel groove) Diameter: J 8.2 mm (.323 in), I 8.08 mm (.318 in)
• Diameter of barrel, land to land: (both) 7.92 mm (.312 in)

Name	Year	Caliber	Weight	Length	Rim	Base	Shoulder	Neck	OAL	Muzzle velocity	Muzzle energy
7,92 x 57 I	1888	8.08 mm (0.318 in)	14.6 g (226 gr)	57 mm (2.24 in)	12.0 mm (.473 in)	11.9 mm (.469 in)	10.95 mm (.431 in)	8.89 mm (.350 in)	80.5 mm (3.17 in)	639 m/s (2,095 ft/s)	2,982.8 J (2,200 ft·lbf)
7,92 x 57 IS	1905	8.2 mm (0.323 in)	9.9 g (154 gr)	57 mm (2.24 in)	12.0 mm (.473 in)	11.9 mm (.469 in)	10.95 mm (.431 in)	8.76 mm (.345 in)	82.5 mm (3.25 in)	878 m/s (2,880 ft/s)	3857 J (2844 ft·lbf)
7,92 x 57 IS	1942	8.2 mm (0.323 in)	12.7 g (197 gr)	57 mm (2.24 in)	12.0 mm (.473 in)	11.9 mm (.469 in)	10.95 mm (.431 in)	8.76 mm (.345 in)	82.5 mm (3.25 in)	-	-

See also

8 mm caliber

Bibliography

de Haas, Frank BOLT ACTION RIFLES Expanded 3rd Edition, pgs 32-38, 1995 DBI Books, ISBN 0-87349-168-8

Olson, Ludwig Mauser BOLT RIFLES 1976 F. Brownell & Son Montezuma IOWA, ISBN 0-88935-265-8