8×50mmR Mannlicher " Note : Not to be confused with the French 8×50R Lebel cartridge . " The Austro - Hungaria n 8×50mmR Mannlicher or 8×50mmR M93 is an old cartridge dating back to the days of black powder . History . M88 . The 8×50mmR Mannlicher cartridge was first introduced in 1888 for the Mannlicher Repetier - Gewehr M . 88 , an updated version of the Mannlicher M . 86 . The M . 88 ( and later M . 88 / 90 and M . 90 ) used a slightly updated version of the " wedge - lock " bolt system that the earlier M . 86 rifle used . Many M . 86 rifles were converted to the new cartridge , creating the M . 86 / 88 and M . 86 / 90 . In its initial incarnation , the round was given the designation 8 mm M . 1888 scharfe Patrone . It was loaded with a 244gr round nosed bullet and a 62gr charge of compressed black powder . This gave the bullet an approximate velocity of out of the M . 88 ' s 30 " barrel . M90 . In approximately 1890 the Austro - Hungarian empire converted the round into a semi - smokeless cartridge , following upon the heels of France ' s 8 mm Lebel cartridge , the first smokeless military round . This new round was designated 8 mm M . 1890 scharfe Patrone or " Nitro - Patrone " . It was loaded with the same 244gr bullet but carried a 43gr charge of " Gewehrpulver " ( " rifle powder " , Austria - Hungary ' s name for their version of smokeless powder , which was actually a " semi - smokeless " powder ) . The new semi - smokeless loading pushed the bullet to a velocity of in the converted M . 88 / 90 and M . 86 / 90 Mannlicher rifles . M93 . In 1893 the loading was once again updated with the perfection of a completely smokeless powder by the Austro - Hungarians . This new loading was designated 8 mm M . 1893 scharfe Patrone , it was loaded with the same bullet as the two previous loadings but used a 43gr charge of the new Gewehrepulver M . 1892 . This improved ballistics slightly to out of the long M . 88 / 90 and later M . 95 long rifles , it was about less out of the Repetier - Carabiner M . 90 and M . 95 . It was later replaced by ( and many weapons rechambered for ) the 8x56mmR cartridge . Current Use . The IOF . 315 Sporting Rifle uses this cartridge under the title of . 315 as discussed here http : / / indiansforguns . com / viewtopic . php ? f = 13 & t = 760 & start = 240 # p39378 The 8x50mmR Mannlicher cartridge has a long history of sporting use in India , as it was a simple matter to modify the Lee - Enfield action to accommodate the 8x50mmR in place of the . 303 inch cartridge , thus providing a solution to the British colonial administration ' s ban on civilians possessing rifles chambering British military cartridges while offering a cartridge of similar capabilities . British gunmakers BSA produced sporting versions of the Lee - Enfield military rifle , chambered in " 8mm ( . 315 " ) " from well before World War I until at least the 1930s . The British - founded " Rifle Factory Ishapore " continues to manufacture Lee - Enfield sporting rifles in this chambering . Handloading . Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by reforming and trimming 8×56mmR Mannlicher or 7 . 62×54mmR Mosin - Nagant Russian brass . Standard . 323 " 8mm S - bullets are correct for this caliber though best results will be obtained from open - base bullets that can expand to fit the . 329 " bore . RCBS offers both reforming and reloading matrices . If reloading for " wedge - lock " Mannlicher rifles such as the M . 88 , M . 86 / 88 , M . 86 / 90 or M . 88 / 90 then chamber pressures should be kept low for safety . Rifles such as the Mannlicher M . 95 using a stronger rotating - bolt design can be loaded to higher pressures .