Bullet weight of 8mmx57 Ecuadorian?

[Bruegger]

OK, someone help me out here. I've got a bunch of 8mm ammo that I ordered from Midway. They advertised it as "South American" 8mm Mauser ammo with a bullet weight of 170 grains. Of course, South America is a continent, not a country, so the description wasn't that helpful.

On arrival, the ammo turns out to be - accornding to the boxes - Ecuadorian ammo manufactured in 1954. They came in 15 round cardboard boxes w/o strippers. The headstamp has "1954" and an "A" at both 3 and 9 o'clock.

I thought the Ecuadorian ammo was 198 gr, not 170 gr!

Which is it?

 

[Herodotus]

What's really odd here is that Ecuador never used the 8x57 Mauser as it 's military cartridge. They mostly used 7.65x53 Mauser, perhaps some 7x57mm Mauser, then (?) the 30/06 and finally (?) the 7.62 Nato.
Since military ammo does not usually give the cartidge designation on the head stamp, you better really make sure that this stuff is really the cartridge you think it is. It can be dangerous to get the wrong cartridge in the wrong rifle.
That may be why the bullet does not weigh what you think it should.

 

[Bruegger]

Herodotus - I'm sure it's 8mmx57 Mauser - it's externally identical to the Turk ammo I have except for the headstamp markings. The boxes are marked as Aristophanes details.

Aristophanes - "...Box is plain grey cardboard stapled together. Ejectoritio Ecadoriatano or some such on the seal along with '15 Cartouches SS 7.92 mm.' " ----> That's the stuff. We'll see how it shoots.

Maybe I'll ask at Tuco's, too.

 

[Herodotus]

With two prople confirming it and if the ammo measures out to 8mm Masuer specs., it must be true.
It's curious, though. Neither Ball (Military Masuer Rifles) not Olsen (Mauser Bolt Rifles) mentions any use by the Ecuadorians of 8mm Masuer rifles. I wonder what rifle they used this ammo for.
Of course, I have never seen a real Ecuadorian rifle, they must be rather scarce on the ground.
May be they haven't sold their rifles yet! That would be a nice treat to get some time in the future!

 

[radom]

They have always been a very "gun poor" nation and used a mismash of almost anything along with the standard 7.65 guns. They also got a batch of surplus german 98k and FN mausers after the war, both in 7.92. At one time they also used german army surplus M-88 mausers while also using 1903s in 30-06 in the same time frame. The Izzy 7.62 nato conversions where also used while the 7.65 FN was issued. This place must have been a nightmare for supply officers to say the least.