By Larry B. Schuknecht
W.B. Dixon in his 1997 book European Sporting Cartridges, Volume 1 States that the following cartridges were developed by Sauer between 1895 and 1912 and the majority of them were based on the straight tapered English 360 case. Dixon records 14 rounds some of which he thought to be prototypes or comparable to the other Sauer rounds. The following information is found in Dixons book and Cartridges for Collectors by Fred Datig (1956).
6.5 x 40R
Dixon refers to this as a Tesching round and it is associated to Sauer simply by it’s shape, no catalog’s list it as a Sauer round.
6.5 x 48R (also known as the 6.6 x 48R S & S, 6.5 x 50R, 6.5 x 48.5 R)
Based on the English 360 case the DWM listing as case no. 463A would date it to c.1897-1903 and Roth case no. 742 is c, 1907. This round was less popular that it’s bigger brother the 6.5 x 58R.
6.5 x 58R (also known as the 6.6 x 58R S&S, 6.5 x 50.5R)
A common and popular round which was listed by DWM as case no. 463 circa 1897 and listed as late as 1960 by RWS and SBP.
6,5 x 65R Sauer (also known as 6.6 x 65R and 6.5 x 65R S & S)
This round was shown in the 1912 Peterlongo catalog. It is only seen with the RWS/Utendoerffer head stamp and only listed by them in their 1928 catalog.
6.5 x 70R Sauer (also known as the 6.6 x 70R, 6.5 x 70R Nimrod, 6.6 x 71R, 6.5 x 70 and 6.6 x 70)
Dixon writes that “Wierderladen (by RWS) states thar it was introduced circa 1911 or 1912 probably by RWS but the earliest RWS Catalog reference is 1928 where it was listed as Nimrod. Listed by RWS and SBP until as late as 1960.”
8 x 42RSauer
Dixon states that the 8 x 42R MB Target cartridge by Lorenz and Roth (MB31) is sometimes simply referred to as a Sauer round but this is not confirmed by any catalog and is unlikely. No image is available.
8 x 48R Sauer (also known as the 8 x 48.5R S&S)
Based on the English 360 case, this round was not as popular as the other 8mm Sauer cartridges, DWM listed it as case no. 462A which would make it around circa 1897-1903. Listed by DWM until 1960.
8 x 58R Sauer (also known as the 8 x 58.5R S&S, 8 x 57R, 8.15 x 58R)
Listed by DWM as case no. 462 circa 1897 and Roth case no. 643 circa 1898 and listed by RWS and SBP until 1960.
8 x 72R Sauer
Dixon states that while attributed to Sauer by Datig and Barnes, it is believed to have been designed by Wilhelm Brenneke as the 8.15 x 72R circa 1898.
8.2 x 72R (Sauer?) (also known as the 8 x 72R)
Dixon states that this cartridge used a very thin unique case type but could be mistaken for the 8 x 72R Sauer/Brenneke. Also that it was only listed in Austria (Roth case no. 755 in 1906) and Czechoslovakia by PS, J. Roth and possibly SBP and listed by PS until about 1950. No image available.
9 x 58R Sauer (also known as the 9 x 58.5R S&S)
Dixon states that it is a scarce caliber today but was made by several German companies, one being Stahl who may have introduced it. RWS/ Utendoerffer listed it circa 1910and was still shown in their 1934 catalog. Also shown in the 1911 Alfa catalog.
9.3 x 72R Sauer Also known as the 9.3 x 72R S&S)
Dixon states that this is a scarce caliber listed by RWS only in their 1921 and 1928 catalogs. Also produced by Stahl and by G. C. Dornheim. May have been introduced by Dornheim circa 1906-1910. This case was larger than the other Sauer rounds (similar to the 9.3 x 74R) with a slight neck differentiating it from the other 9.3 x 72R Express types.
Next we have two Cartridges from the Dixon book which are attributed to Sauer but are unconfirmed.
10 x 50R Sauer
Dixon states that “this rare caliber is known with both “RWS NURNBERG” and H. Utendoerffer head stamps but it is not listed in any known catalog. Referred to by Mack as a Sauer caliber but this is unconfirmed. Uses a straight case with the common English 360 type base.” No image available at this time.
10 x 55R Sauer
Again Dixon states that “This caliber is listed by Mack and Minne but no dimensions or other details are known but may be a longer version of the 10 x 50R.” No image available at this time.
The following image of the headstamps found on the Sauer cartidges comes from Dixon’s book European Sporting Cartridges, Vol. 1
The following image was found on the web site Nitroexpress.com under the Forums and originally appeared in Dixon’s book European Sporting Cartridges, Vol. 1. The GSP stands for German Sporting Patrone (Cartridge).
The cartridges are-
GSP17- 6.5 x 48R Sauer,
GSP18- 6.5 x 58R Sauer,
GSP19- 6.5 x 65R Sauer,
GSP20- 6.5 x 70R Sauer,
GSP21- 8 x 48R Sauer,
GSP22- 8 x 58R Sauer,
GSP24- 9 x 58R Sauer,
GSP25- 9.3 x 72R Sauer,
GSP26- 10 x 50R Sauer
