Early War German 8mm Ammo

[jacobtowne]

A few years ago, someone must have discovered a warehouse full of German military 7.92 x 57 ammunition, because J&G Sales in Arizona imported some 1.5 million rounds, most of it manufactured in 1939.

It comes in cardboard sleeves, or battle packs, of 300 rounds - 20 cartons of 15 rounds. The pack has a Tragschlaufe, or carrying strap.

I bought two packs. The cartridges are shiny, look new, and shoot perfectly. By the time I got around to buying more, they'd sold out.

What happened was the guys with machine guns scooped most of it up. The only inexpensive surplus 8mm ammo in the country at the time was Turkish light ball (150 grain) and the machine guns are registered for heavy ball (196 grain).

The ammo maker is code P635, which is Otto Eberhardt Patronenfabrik, Gustloff Werke, Hirtenberger, Austria.

Somewhere I have a translation for the abbreviations on the label, but as best I can remember:

s.S.: schweres Schoß - heavy ball

Patrh.: Patronenhülse - case

Gesch: Geshoß - bullet

Zdh.: Zündhütchen - primer

JT


Here are photos. These are someone elses, but show exactly what I have.