The Patrone 88 cartridge was loaded with 2.75 g (42.4 gr) of single-base (based on nitrocellulose) smokeless powder.

The cartridge was based on a Swiss design and was loaded with a 8.08 mm (0.318 in) diameter 14.6 g (225 gr) round-nose full metal jacket bullet that was cupronickel plated and reached a muzzle velocity of 620 m/s (2,034 ft/s).

Reportedly the initial version of the design was of two-piece construction like the 11×60mm Mauser and rimmed (so-called M88A, later developed into M88/8R or 8X57 IR hunting cartridge), but then a modern, "cannelured" type of cartridge case was introduced,[1] which, despite being patented at least as early as 1867 (by Joseph Whitworth),[2] wasn't used by any military before.

The 8.08 mm (0.318 in) diameter of the bullets the Patrone 88 was loaded with remained however unchanged and accuracy did not improve.

Besides the S Patrone chambering, the S Patrone bore (designated as "S-bore") was also dimensionally redesigned: the new bullet with a shorter cylindrical part had reduced bearing surface, which necessitated increasing its diameter to 8.20 mm (0.323 in), the exact diameter of the grooves.

The S Patrone and its new spitzer bullet provided the accuracy and barrel life improvements the German military was looking for.

In 1939 the Normalisierungsverordnung (normalization regulation) effectively prohibited the production of non-S-bore/7.92×57mm Mauser chambered arms in Nazi Germany.

(Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the 8×57mm I can handle up to 380.00 MPa (55,114 psi) Pmax piezo pressure.