Mike Irwin
Staff
"For "standard" .473" rifle cases, wouldn't the great granddaddy be the first Mauser case to use that size? 8mm? 1888?"
The M/88 cartridge, which laid out the .470 casehead/rim dimension that has been carried forward to so many successful cartridges, was not developed by Mauser.
It was developed by German arsenals at the request of the board that designed the Gewehr 88 rifle.
Mauserwerke had virtually nothing to do with either the rifle (although the commission did adopt some Mauser features) or the cartridge.
It wasn't until the years right before 1905 that Mauser was involved in redesigning the cartridge to take a larger diameter (.323 vs .318) spitzer bullet.
Many people look at the 8mm Mauser as Genesis and a clear indication of Mauser's brilliance when it came to designing cartridges.
While the company was a prolific designer of new cartridges, this isn't one that they can choose.
The M/88 cartridge, which laid out the .470 casehead/rim dimension that has been carried forward to so many successful cartridges, was not developed by Mauser.
It was developed by German arsenals at the request of the board that designed the Gewehr 88 rifle.
Mauserwerke had virtually nothing to do with either the rifle (although the commission did adopt some Mauser features) or the cartridge.
It wasn't until the years right before 1905 that Mauser was involved in redesigning the cartridge to take a larger diameter (.323 vs .318) spitzer bullet.
Many people look at the 8mm Mauser as Genesis and a clear indication of Mauser's brilliance when it came to designing cartridges.
While the company was a prolific designer of new cartridges, this isn't one that they can choose.