History
The German ammunition manufacturer RWS (Rheinisch-Westfälischen Sprengstoff factories) introduced both cartridges commercially in the spring of 1939. With the official certification of the .375 Hölderlin this German 68 mm "family" of magnum rifle cartridges that all share the same basic cartridge case got expanded 68 years later.
The cartridges in this German 68 mm cartridge "family" are, in the order of development:
- 8x68mm S (1939)
- 6.5x68mm (1939)
- .375 Hölderlin (2007)
The M 98 bolt actions and magazine boxes of standard military Mauser 98 rifles have to be adapted by a competent gunsmith to function properly with these magnum cartridges since their cases are longer and have a larger diameter than the 8x57mm service cartridges. In properly adapted standard military Gewehr 98 or Karabiner 98k service rifles the large 8x68mm S cartridges are however praised for very smooth and reliable feeding.
The widespread availability of standard size Mauser 98 rifles and the fact that the .375 H&H Magnum cartridge and its necked down version the .300 H&H Magnum with approximately 72.4 mm case length were too long to fit in standard sized Mauser 98 bolt action rifles makes the shorter 8x68mm S, 6.5x68mm and .375 Hölderlin interesting chambering options.
World War II spoiled the commercial introduction and spread of the 8x68mm S amongst German hunters. The cartridge became due to its high performance and flat trajectory popular after World War II when German hunters were allowed again to own and hunt with full bore rifles. The 8x68mm S performance also made that hunters who had problems with handling magnum cartridge recoil stepped down to less powerful but for German conditions adequate medium cartridges like the 8x57mm IS, 7x64mm (Brenneke) or .30-06 Springfield (also known as the 7.62x63mm in metric countries). Recoil sensitive shooters can fit an efficient muzzle brake to significantly reduce the amount of recoil. With the help of a muzzle brake the 8x68mm S recoil is reduced to tolerable levels.
Read more about this topic: 8×68mm S
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