296 caliber ? Really?

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btmj

New member
I am trying to decide if something I read is a misprint...

Has there ever been a centerfire rifle cartridge that used a 0.296 caliber bullet?

According to Hornady website, they make bullets in .277, .284, .308, .310, but nothing in .296... Nosler also had nothing in .296

If it exists, it must be pretty rare.... Anybody ever here of this?
 
S

Scorch

New member
If it is .298 bullet/bore diameter, then Mike got it. The Terni 1931 carbine in 7.35X51mm is the only rifle ever made in that caliber.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
Except standard bullet diameter on the 7.5 Swiss is nominal .305 to .311. Most people in the US who reload this round use standard .308 bullets without any hint of trouble.
 
C

CTS

New member
Except standard bullet diameter on the 7.5 Swiss is nominal .305 to .311. Most people in the US who reload this round use standard .308 bullets without any hint of trouble.
Click to expand...
Yea, If only I had thought to look in my Hornady reloading manual I would have figured that out myself.
Thanks Mike.
 
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btmj

New member
Thanks everyone... I was proof-reading a paper regarding the Norwegian resistance to Nazi occupation 1940 - 1944. The author (a buddy) stated that "the Norwegian resistance used both the Krag Jorgensen 6.5 mm rifle as well as captured German rifles in the powerful 296 caliber"... That sentence did not make sense to me.

I emailed him today and asked him to verify his research... and he came back and said that what he meant to say was "captured German rifles in the powerful 2.96 mm caliber"...

And I wrote him back and said that 2.96 mm makes even less sense than .296 caliber, and I asked if he might mean 7.92mm German rifles... and of course the answer was yes, he was talking about German K98 Mausers, and he mis-typed his notes, and the error made it's way into his paper.

So I set him straight... the Norwegian military Krag's were in 6.5mm x 55 mm, and the German Mausers were in 7.92 mm x 57mm. He was doubly confused because he thought the Germans used 8mm x 57mm..... and I had to tell him that there are two names for the same cartridge: 8x57 and 7.92x57. I had to tease him (Mr. PhD) that Wikipedia is a wonderful tool :)

I did not want to tell him he was wrong until I was certain. Thanks to everyone. !
 
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lonniemike

New member
Mike Irwin, i've heard people for years say that the Swiss dia is.........(some specific number-like .304"-it's wrong). But never once have I heard that the Swiss used a range of bullets with nominal dia's of .305 thru .311". Can you elaborate any more about your info source?Best
 
M

Mike Irwin

Staff
Lonnie,

The 7.5 Swiss is an old cartridge that first saw genesis when drawn-jacketed bullets were in their infancy.

As with any new technology, it takes some time for it to settle down. Even then, there are often manufacturing tolerances that creep in due to variations in machinery, machine wear, etc.

Just as the bores on military rifles from many nations will show variations, bullets would too.

It wasn't intentional, but it happened.

Perhaps the worst for that sort of thing are Russian Moisin Nagant rifles made through the end of World War II.

I've seen bores as tight as .304 and as loose as .318.
 
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lonniemike

New member
No rushed war production in Switzerland during any of the Great Wars. What if any 7.5 Swiss rifle ammo has measured other than .308" as the Swiss say it is?
Actually the standard bullet diameter range for GP-11 projectiles is/was a nominal 7.80-7.84mm or .3071-.3087" per WFBern. The Swiss currently don't manufacture GP-11.
Swiss bullets, bores, or barrels off .003" or more are hard to shallow. We could splt a thou or two but.....Best
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
No, no rushed war production.

That doesn't change the other facts I posted in my previous note.

It also doesn't change the fact that I've measured out early 7.5 steel jacketed Swiss rounds from .3062 to .3117.

You'll find similar variations in US Krag bullets, just as you'll find variations in their weight and length.

Lightest Krag military bullet I've ever encountered was just over 215 grains, heaviest was 223 grains.

Virtually all arsenals used nominal specifications with allowed tolerances above and below the nominal.
 
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