What rifle cartridge is this???

G

golfnutrlv

New member
Hey everyone. I have a habit of collecting brass cases, and military headstamps that I find here and there, at the range, etc.

I picked up a couple cases last weekend that I thought were military .308, but they are not. After some research, and flipping through my reloading manual, I cannot figure out what this cartridge is.

Details: Longer than .308 case, about 55mm, but shorter than a .30-06.
Cannot really tell what the bullet diameter was, as the neck is dinged as if fired from a semi-auto rifle.

It is rimless, non-belted. SHoulder angle is not far out of line with most standard 308/.30-06 cartridge styles.

The primer pocket is crimped, or pinned, which tells me it is a military cartridge, as well as the headstamp.

The case body is thicker than a .308/.30-06 case, but it is narrower than a WSM style case.

THe headstamp is quite unique. At 9 oclock is a "D", 3 oclock an "A", a numberal "5" at 12 oclock, and a year stamp of "79" at 6 oclock. If read clockwise, it would read D-5-A-79, but could more logically be "DA, 5-79" as in month/year.

The only cartridge I can think of, is 7X57 Mauser, but this is a guess. See pics below...Anyone know?

2013-02-16142514_zps3cff0335.jpg


Between a .308 and .30-06:
2013-02-16142651_zpsac4efff1.jpg


Length view:
2013-02-16142556_zps0677def9.jpg


Close up:
2013-02-16142651_zpsac4efff1.jpg


Headstamp"
2013-02-16142726_zpsa3a05d3b.jpg
 
6.5X55 Swedish?

The case looks slightly bulged but the Swede case is normally a hair larger at the base than a 30-06 or comparable Mauser case.

Maybe 7.5X54 French?

There more 7.5 French MAS autoloaders out there than the 6.5 Lungman autoloaders, but both rounds have been used with autoloaders.

PS
Theres the 7.5X55 Swiss, and while not commonly available there are Swiss semi auto rifles in that chambering.
 
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Rainbow,

Definitely not a 6.5. Neck is far too large. Of the ones you mentioned, seems to resemble 7.5 swiss the most, but at this point I can't rule out 7.5 MAS
 
DA could be Dominion Arms of Canada, but that base looks quite a bit larger than .308, so 8x57 and 7x57 are out, and even 7.5 French, 7.5 Swiss, 7.7 Jap and 6.5x55 are not as big as the case looks.

If golfnutrlv doesn't have a micrometer or a caliper maybe he could find a gun shop that has one and get some accurate measurements.

Jim
 
Hey all, Thanks for the info.

Here are some measurements:

Overall case length: 2.179 inches
The neck is .336 inches
Case body .479 at the midpoint
The base is .494 inches, below the extractor groove.

If you need other measurements, let me know.
 
7.5 Swiss.

No doubt about it, given the headstamp.

A stands for the Swiss arsenal at Altdorf, D stands for Dornach (apparently the brass supplier), 5 is May, and 79 is 1979.
 
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