8×56mmR

The 8x56mmR or 8 x 56 R M30S (C.I.P. civil designation) cartridge was adopted in the 1930s by both Austria and Hungary as a replacement for the 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge. It was originally created for the Steyr-Solothurn light machine gun as the M30. Later the cartridge was adopted for use in rifles in 1931 as the M31 to replace the 8x50mmR Mannlicher cartridge. The updated cartridge coincided with an update to the Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 rifle in which the barrel length was reduced and the chamber re-cut to accept the new cartridge, and was the cartridge chosen by Hungary for the 35M rifle as a replacement for the Mannlicher M1895. The 8x56mmR was also used in updated versions of Austrian and Hungarian machine guns such as the Solothurn 31M and Schwartzlose 07/31M.

This ammunition was made at a variety of plants as well as countries, including Austria, Germany, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia.

Current production
The 8x56mmR is currently produced by Hornady and Prvi Partizan for commercial sales. It is no longer in use by any organized military forces.

Handloading
Reloading the 8x56mmR Mannlicher can be problematic, due to the .329" groove diameter of the barrel. Commonly available .323" 8mm "S"-bullets will produce very poor accuracy. Open-base jacketed bullets, such as the .323" 244 grain round-nose FMJ bullets used in the 8x50mmR Mannlicher, will often produce better results but are difficult to obtain. However, the reloading situation for this cartridge, at least in Europe, has improved significantly in the last few years.

Some manufacturers like Haendler & Naterman (Germany; 190 grains) or Degol (Belgium) still produce various bullets for sporting or hunting purposes. Prvi Partizan produces a FMJ Boat tail bullet under the number B-384 and a Soft Point bullet nr. B-561, both 208 Grains.

Lee Precision, Inc. can make a bullet-sizing die in .330", allowing .338" bullets to be swaged down to this caliber. Bullets in the 200 to 225 grain weight class would work best. Lyman offers cast molds in this caliber. Corbins offers swaging dies for their bullet swaging-presses to make various bullets from raw materials.

Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by resizing 7.62x54mmR Mosin-Nagant Russian brass. This results in a case neck 2mm short, but no problems arise from this, as the cartridge will still headspace correctly on its rim. The remaining case neck is also still sufficient to hold the bullet firmly. RCBS produces a reforming die. 8mmx56R Mannlicher brass for handloading is produced by Prvi Partizan although availability is irregular.

Chargers or clips for the M.95 (and earlier 8x50mmR and 8x56mmR Mannlicher rifles) are available from surplus arms and ammunition dealers such as Sarco.

Reloading dies are made by Hornady, RCBS, and Lee.