8×58mmR Danish Krag

The 8×58mmR Danish Krag also known as the 8×58mmRD is a late 19th-century rimmed centerfire military rifle cartridge similar to other early smokeless powder designs. It was briefly adopted by Norway and Sweden and remained the standard Danish service rifle cartridge from 1889 until 1945.[2][1][4]

8×58mmR Danish Krag
Danish M1889 round-nosed and M1908 spitzer service ammunition
TypeRifle[1]
Place of originDenmark
Service history
In service1889–1945[1]
Used byDenmark
Norway
Sweden[1]
WarsWorld War II[1]
Production history
Designed1888[1]
ManufacturerNorma Precision [2]
Specifications
Case typeRimmed, bottleneck[1]
Bullet diameter8.20 mm (0.323 in)
Neck diameter9.05 mm (0.356 in)
Shoulder diameter11.93 mm (0.470 in)
Base diameter12.82 mm (0.505 in)
Rim diameter14.70 mm (0.579 in)
Rim thickness1.60 mm (0.063 in)
Case length58.00 mm (2.283 in)
Overall length78.00 mm (3.071 in)
Case capacity4.55 cm3 (70.2 gr H2O)
Maximum pressure180.00–306.00 MPa (26,107–44,382 psi)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
237 gr (15 g) Round Nose 2,460 ft/s (750 m/s) 3,185 ft⋅lbf (4,318 J)
196 gr (13 g) Spitzer 2,530 ft/s (770 m/s) 2,786 ft⋅lbf (3,777 J)
Source(s): [2][3] Spitzer [2][4][3]

Cartridge dimensions

The 8×58mmR Danish Krag has 4.55 ml (70.2 grains H2O) cartridge case capacity.

8×58mmR Danish Krag cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm). The dimensions of this drawing come from the ammunition manufacturer RWS and differ somewhat between various sources.

Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 16.5 degrees. Ø lands = 7.89 mm (0.311 in), Ø grooves = 8.20 mm (0.323 in).

There are no official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings for this cartridge (2017). Varying sources quote the 8×58mmR Danish Krag can handle from 180.00 MPa (26,107 psi) up to 306.00 MPa (44,382 psi) Pmax piezo pressure.[5] This Pmax level range is extreme, so loading up to a high Pmax level can be dangerous in historic arms.

A dangerous error can occur when confusion occurs between the 8×58mmR Danish Krag and the 8×58mmR. The latter being an old German differing chambering.[6]

Military history

The cartridge was developed in Denmark in 1888 using round-nosed bullets with 4 grams (62 gr) of gunpowder, and adopted the following year by Denmark in the Krag–Jørgensen M89 rifle. Sweden implemented a major arsenal rebuilding of Remington Rolling Block rifles for the 8×58mmR, and Norway experimentally compared 8×58mmR Remington Rolling Block conversions to the Jarmann M1884.[3] Its service in Sweden was very brief, though, since the 6.5×55mm was developed by Sweden and Norway in 1891, formally approved in 1893, and entered service in the Norwegian Krag–Jørgensen rifle in 1894, and in the Swedish Mauser carbine in 1894 and rifle in 1896.[7] Denmark modernized military loading of the 8×58mmR in 1908 using smokeless powder with spitzer bullets;[3] and Danish troops were still armed with the 8×58mmR when Germany invaded in 1940.[1]

Sporting use

Surplus military rifles have been used for hunting; and ammunition was manufactured in Otterup and by Norma Precision after World War II. Documentation is scarce for the design pressure specifications of these surplus firearms. Although modern weapons may have been designed for smokeless powder loadings, their similarity to arms designed for gunpowder loadings causes uncertainty about the safety of firing modern cartridges in weapons lacking proof test documentation.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Danish 8x58R" (PDF). Ammunition Pages. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  2. Barnes, Fred C. (2014). Cartridges of the World (14th ed.). Iola, WI, United States: Krause Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4402-4265-6.
  3. Burgett, Galen R. "Historical and Experimental Investigations of the Pressure Characteristics of the 8x58 Rimmed Danish Cartridge". Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  4. Johnson, Melvin M., Jr. (1944). Rifles and Machine Guns. New York: William Morrow & Company.
  5. Historical and Experimental Investigations of the Pressure Characteristics of the 8x58 Rimmed Danish Cartridge by Galen R. Burgett, Spearfish, South Dakota USA, February 9, 2009
  6. C.I.P. TDCC datasheet 8 × 58 R
  7. Carsten Schinke. Die leichten schwedischen Infanteriegewehre Armee und Heimwehr. Journal-Verlag Schwend GmbH. 1990.
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