Delightful diversion — loading the 8mm

Nambu
Guns Magazine, August, 2002 by Charles E. Petty
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During the years following World War II, we saw a flood of military surplus handguns
either brought home as war trophies or imported as surplus. Lugers, P-38s and Nambus
were plentiful. I well remember when you could buy a Luger for $25, a P-38 for $15, and
a Nambu for even less.
German pistols were popular because they fired readily available ammunition. But the
Japanese 8mm Nambu cartridge might as well have been made of unobtainium.
Ammunition was truly scarce, so Nambus didn't gain much popularity among shooters.
And, at the time, few collected Nambus.
Several Nambu variations exist, but the model most commonly seen is the Type 14
Nambu. This is the only one I'll talk about here. The 8mm Nambu cartridge looks, at first
glance, very much like the .30 Mauser, except the case is just a little too big. The bullet
would be, in the American scheme, a true .32 caliber with a diameter of .320 inch. Of
course American .32s are really .31s (.311 to .312), and of absolutely no help with this
project.
Cooking From Scratch
One of the great assets of handloading is the ability to shoot guns for which factory
ammunition is either unavailable or too expensive. Nambu ammunition has never been
loaded in this country by the large ammunition companies, but it was one of the
foundations atop which Midway U.S.A. was built. By modifying cartridge cases such as
the .30 Remington, and later offering brass manufactured especially for Nambus, Midway
made it possible to shoot the Nambu, as well as a few other exotic cartridges.
When Midway U.S.A discontinued Nambu ammo, the market was left to a few custom
reloaders -- frequently using Midway's brass. Today that ammo has become a collector's
item, and the brass has sold for as much as $1 a piece. Later we saw the arrival of 8mm
Nambu brass from Bertram in Australia, and loaded ammo from The Old Western
Scrounger, which is a wonderful source of odd ammo.
Surprisingly Nice Pistol
Maybe interest in the Nambu stems from nostalgia over World War II, or because the
Nambu has been discovered as a very interesting pistol in terms of both design and
collectability. It is a simple striker fired, locked breech autoloader. They are actually a
pretty ingenious design, and much better than we've been led to believe.
The frame is made from a single large forging and the barrel and receiver are a single
piece of steel. While most barrels screw into the receiver, the barrel of the Nambu is just
a solid extension. It must have been a bear to make. If you study one in good condition,
it's easy to see the degree of skill that went into its manufacture.
Whatever the reason, interest in Nambus is growing. Maybe it's just that the thing is
really fun to shoot, which is how I got hooked. My buddy had one at the range and let me
shoot a couple of rounds of the old Midway ammo. And that's all it took.
My search began with a review of a couple of catalogs, and a passing comment on an
Internet board I frequent. Within minutes someone replied, directing me to Huntington
Die Specialties as a source for bullets. My call to them was perfectly timed, for they were
just ready to announce the availability of Nambu brass made exclusively for them by
Starline.
Components Readily Available
One of the hassles of loading metric cartridges is that everybody seems to have their own
idea of exactly what 8mm really is. Usually it falls somewhere between .318 to .323 inch.
The Nambu sits right in the middle, and bullets of true .32 caliber are just right.
Huntington offers a plated .320 inch diameter 107 grain bullet, and I was also able to
locate some 102 grain .321 inch diameter cast bullets at Liberty Shooting Supplies. None
of the major bullet makers offer jacketed bullets that proved useful.
So even though you won't be able to find these components everywhere, they are not hard
to get. A quick check showed that RCBS and Redding offer dies on a special order basis.
But in the commonly available manuals, one thing you won't find is loading data. Some
old books show data using Bullseye, 231 and Unique. As a matter of curiosity, I broke
down a round of original ammo for measurements. Loaded with 4.4 grains of a greenish
flake type powder, the 102 grain FMJ bullet has a diameter of .320 inch. References show
this load as having a velocity of 1,066 fps.
Setting The Baseline
Reference ammo is not exactly plentiful, but a few rounds of the scarce Midway ammo
were fired and chronographed at 1,039 fps. Also, I had five rounds of original ammo.
Only one of them fired, but it delivered 1,030 fps. The agreement between the two is
wonderful, and based on those measurements, a target velocity of 1,000 fps was
established.
I was very much working in the dark, for I had no pressure test equipment for the Nambu
cartridge. Even though the pistol is a locked breech design, it is not a candidate for hot-
rodding. If I'm going to err, I'm going to err on the side of conservatism.
In looking for data, all I could find was located in two cartridge conversion books that
explain how to make brass from another case. And both of those showed loads at around
900 fps. Later I received an e-mail with some suggested starting loads using Bullseye,
WW 231 and Unique with a 102 grain FMJ bullet. No pressures or velocities were
available but it served as a reference.
Initial loading was done in Huntington's brass using their plated 107 grain bullet and CCI
small pistol primers. Overall length was set to duplicate the Midway ammo at 1.25
inches. Loading was done with increasing charges in small increments until velocities
duplicated the factory loads.
As this work was going on, I learned of a source for a 102 grain cast bullet and ordered
some from Liberty Shooting supplies. I then repeated the load workup using them.
The test pistol was a Type 14 manufactured in 1942. The reloads worked perfectly in the
pistol and even the lightest loads functioned just fine. Even though loads duplicating the
factory ammo appeared to be perfectly safe, accuracy was much better with lighter loads.
I quickly concluded that it really isn't necessary to exceed 1,000 fps.
Nambus have a reputation for good accuracy. Considering that the barrel doesn't tilt, it
should shoot well. Indeed they do, although neither of the two pistols I tried shot as well
with the jacketed bullets as they did with the cast. The cast bullets loaded to 900 to 950
fps routinely delivered groups of 2 inches or less at 25 yards. But the plated bullets
sometimes shot patterns instead of groups.
Given these results, with the plated bullets I gradually worked down in velocity. Best
accuracy was achieved with a load of 3.6 grains of 231, which produced about 850 fps
and consistently shot groups hovering around 3 inches with two different pistols. That
load functioned perfectly in both guns and has become something of a standard for me.
The real significance of this story is that we are once again able to shoot an interesting
and historically significant pistol without enduring a great deal of hassle. Everything we
need is available from one or more sources. But several words of caution are in order.
We are dealing with old guns with unknown histories. It pays to examine them very
carefully before shooting them. If there is any doubt, have the gun inspected and
approved by a competent gunsmith. Firing pins are fragile looking and I'd avoid dry
firing them. Also, it might not be a bad idea to replace the dual recoil springs. Fortunately
W.C. Wolff offers them.
It's funny how a chance event can direct us. Had my buddy not let me shoot his Nambu
and had I not called Huntington to ask about bullets, I probably wouldn't own a Nambu
today. And I'd be missing the fun of shooting it. Go figure.
LOADS WITH HUNTINGTON'S 107 GRAIN PLATED BULLET

Charge Velocity
Bullseye

start 3.0 850

3.3 898
3.7 981
maximum 4.1 1,040

W-W 231

start 4.0 986

4.2 1,011
maximum 4.4 1,041

Unique

start 4.0 996

4.2 1,004
maximum 4.4 1,041
LOADS WITH LIBERTY'S 102 GRAIN CAST BULLET

Charge Velocity

Bullseye

start 3.0 952

3.3 974
maximum 3.5 1,034

W-W 231

start 3.5 942

3.7 971
maximum 4.0 1,071

Unique

Start 3.5 934

3.7 997
maximum 4.0 1,066
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Huntington Die Specialties
[530] 534-1210
www. huntingtons.com
Old Western Scrounger
[800] UPS-AMMO
www.ows-ammunition.com
Liberty Shooting Supplies
P.O. Box 357
Hillsboro, OR 97123
phone: [503] 640-5518
W.C. Wolff Co.
[800] 545-0077
www.gunsprings.com