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Old April 26, 2018, 05:41 AM   #1
Originalkitty
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8mm Ammo Identification

I recently purchased a handful of these rounds at a local gun show and was wondering if anyone could help me identify exactly what type of 8mm Mauser loading this is. I can't for the life of me figure out how to upload an image as it says my file size is to large. The base of the bullet where it meets the case has a black stripe around it and about midway up the bullet has a green stripe around it. Headstamp reads
AVU-S*-2-43
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Old April 26, 2018, 09:29 AM   #2
Mike Irwin
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The headstamp matches that used by the Silva Metallwerke G.m.b.H., Genthin, Germany, during World War II.

The S* I believe means that it's a steel case.

I can't positively identify the round right now but I THINK it might be heavy ball tracer for machine gun use.

Is there any color around the primer?

Send your picture to my e-mail at [email protected] and I'll compare it to the books that I have.
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Old April 26, 2018, 11:30 AM   #3
Originalkitty
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Email sent. Thank you sir!
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Old April 26, 2018, 11:46 AM   #4
Mike Irwin
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OK, that looks like a brass case...

I may be wrong about the S* as that looks to be a brass case.

Thinking about it, St may mean steel case/bullet.

Right now I can't find anything definitive about the color bands, though.
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Old April 29, 2018, 07:14 AM   #5
Mike Irwin
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Well, I've not been able to positively identify the cartridge in question.

However, I did come across an interesting tidbit in one of my books...

"Cartridges packed for use in tropical areas are further identified by a band at the case mouth of the same color as the primer annulus."

But, I'm not 100% sure that this actually corresponds.

It's hard to tell if there was a primer annulus color code or not on that round.

But, doing a little guesswork and a little extrapolation based on what I'm finding in my books, it looks like this could be an armor piercing (black) practice (green) round, but that is just a guess because the colors aren't in the right place and nothing quite matches up.


You don't by change happen to have the original carton with label, do you?
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Old April 29, 2018, 12:38 PM   #6
T. O'Heir
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Rummage around here.
http://www.mausershooters.org/k98k/8_ident.html
Nobody would have cared what metal the case was made out of. They would care about the bullet's material though. However, according to a guy on another forum, the S* indicates a brass case.
Post #6 explains a lot about German ammo.
http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/ordnan...nk-ammo-27812/
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Old April 29, 2018, 04:26 PM   #7
Originalkitty
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Thank you both for the responses. Dealer at the show told me they were API rounds. Fired one at an ~18" diameter log to compare to a PPU loading. Pretty damn sure it was API. *burned clean through the log and left a large cloud of smoke behind it. I did as much online research as I could and kept hitting dead ends, thanks for the links and advice!
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Old April 29, 2018, 08:59 PM   #8
Mike Irwin
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According to the website, tropical incendiary with a steel core.

Neat!

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Old April 29, 2018, 09:01 PM   #9
Mike Irwin
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If nobody cares what the case was made of, why did they headstamp the cases based on whether they were brass or steel?

Because they cared...

Silly Nazis!

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