The cartridge for the tube-fed long arm was originally loaded with a 15.0 g (232 grains) cupro-nickel-jacketed, lead-cored, flat-nosed, wadcutter-style bullet, called "balle M", which had been designed by Lieutenant Colonel Nicolas Lebel.

The ballistic performance and range of balle M with the new propellant eclipsed all the previous military ammunitions in existence at the time (1886).

Designed at the Atelier de Puteaux (APX) by Captain Georges Desaleux, the balle D was the first pointed and boat-tailed bullet to be placed into service by any military.

It was thicker (8.3 mm instead of 8.17) and was held into a case that had a slightly larger neck diameter than that for the older balle D am ammunition.

Those small covers are not noticeable, but do provide a second effective protection against accidental primer percussion inside the Lebel's tube magazine.

Wartime experiences (1914–1918) involving hundreds of millions of Lebel rounds fired in combat have entirely confirmed the effectiveness of these protections.

Formed by necking down the 11mm Gras rifle cartridge case, it was an odd design, with a thick rim and a rapid double taper.

A balle N round can only be fired from Lebel or Berthier rifles, if the chamber has been reamed to accept the larger neck of the N-type cartridge.

While newly manufactured 8×50mmR Lebel ammunition has become available in the U.S., reloadable cartridge cases can also be produced by reforming .348 Winchester brass.

The older Privi Partizan cases loaded with spire point bullets should only be fired single shot.