Great Hunting Rifles

STEYR AND THE MANNLICHERS

THE HAENEL-MANNLICHER NEW MODEL

Successful European arms designers were highly regarded in the years before 1914, and grateful countries rewarded them for their efforts. In 1892, Ferdinand Mannlicher was knighted by the government of Austria-Hungary and became Ferdinand, Ritter von Mannlicher, a permanent member of the upper house of the Austrian parliament. For von Mannlicher (as we shall henceforth refer to him) this was but one of the rewards of his genius.

There have been many talented gun designers throughout history, but not many warrant the term “genius.” Von Mannlicher was one. During his career, from 1869 to his death in 1904, he patented dozens of different designs for rifles and pistols, bolt actions and semiautos, and even machine guns. W. H. B. Smith, one of the foremost firearms historians of the twentieth century, considered von Mannlicher to be comparable to John M. Browning, and even superior to him in some respects. He was a man gifted with the prescience to anticipate developments in cartridges and their ballistic capabilities, and to design weapons that were far ahead of their time. According to Smith, every significant development in small arms that was made through 1945 had already been anticipated by von Mannlicher and included in one or another of his patents. Not all were manufactured, and of those that were, not all were successful, but they planted the seed for others that followed. For example, the eight-round packet that provided the firepower for the American Garand rifle in the Second World War was derived from a Mannlicher concept.

The astonishing thing about von Mannlicher’s career was that his rifles were made at a time when the self-contained cartridge was evolving almost daily. His career spanned black powder and smokeless. When he began, the rimmed centerfire 11.4mm (.43) black-powder military round firing a lead bullet was state of the art; when he died, his rimless, bottleneck 6.5x54 was starting on its way as one of the great hunting cartridges, using a .264-diameter jacketed bullet powered by smokeless powder.

Because of the workings of the Prussian small-arms commission that developed the Commission rifle, it is not clear exactly who was responsible for which features. It’s generally conceded, however, that von Mannlicher had an influential hand in the design of the bolt with its dual opposing locking lugs and detachable bolt head. Undoubtedly, Paul Mauser was involved as well, but von Mannlicher’s contribution has led to the action being referred to as a Mannlicher in its subsequent incarnations as a sporting rifle.

Exactly who first came up with the idea of converting Commission rifles into sporters is a question that will never be answered. Possibly, several firms began doing it around the same time. These included some famous names in gunmaking, including V. C. Schilling and C. G. (Carl Gottlieb) Haenel, of Suhl. Both companies were involved in producing the military Commission rifles, and had a variety of tooling in place. The first Haenel-Mannlichers were chambered for the 8x57 J, and had the original Mannlicher packet-type magazine. These dispensed with the Commission rifle barrel shroud, had sporter-style stocks with Prince of Wales grips and Schnäbel forends, and the bolt handle was turned down into a wide, swooping “butterknife.”

Two prominent New York firms, Von Lengerke & Detmold, and A. H. Funke, imported Haenel-Mannlichers. Funke also imported a later model, much modified from the original, called the Haenel-Mannlicher New Model. Although this rifle is often listed as appearing in 1909, it was advertised in various shooting journals as early as 1902. Oddly enough, these two rifles are described in Mauser Bolt Rifles, by Ludwig Olson, in the chapter titled “Mauser Sporters by Other Makers.” They are “Mauser sporters” by only the broadest of definitions, but to the best of my knowledge this is the only book of that era that deals with them at all.

Although the Haenel-Mannlicher New Model was based on the Commission action, it bore about as much resemblance to the original as a later, full-blown, Mauser-actioned custom rifle bears to a battered military K98. The essential elements are there, true enough—honed, bevelled, and polished—but virtually everything else has been either modified or replaced.

The major change in the New Model was the replacement of the packet system and original magazine with a box magazine, flush with the stock, similar to the Mauser 98. Where it differed substantially was in its spring-powered arm that lifts the cartridges into position for feeding. Instead of a simple steel follower with a “W”-shaped spring, it is a precision mechanism that folds back as the floorplate is opened. The floorplate itself is held in place and released by a knurled button inside the front of the trigger guard. It is similar in appearance (but not operation) to later Oberndorf Mauser sporters. Because it did not depend on packets, the New Model could be offered in different calibers, and 7x57 and 9x57 were added to the standard 8x57 J.

The Haenel-Mannlicher New Model floorplate release is a precision mechanism. Physically, it resembles the later commercial Oberndorf Mauser, but the operation is quite different. The New Model also came with a double-set trigger.

At the time, gunmakers were still learning what was and was not necessary on a sporting bolt-action rifle. The New Model had a stock similar to the original Haenel-Mannlicher, with a Prince of Wales grip and Schnäbel forend. The forend was held to the barrel by a barrel bolt, an ancient method of fastening that can be traced back to flintlocks. As well, to ensure strength in the stock where it had been hollowed out to accommodate the action, there were raised wooden panels on each side. These are sometimes described as merely decorative, but they were originally intended for strength. Later, as bolt-action sporters evolved, both the barrel bolt and side panels were dispensed with as unnecessary.

The Haenel-Mannlicher New Model was fitted with a double-set trigger as standard. The bolt was modified to employ a pivoting ejector, similar to the Mausers, and was fitted with a gas shield in front of the bolt shroud, just behind the bridge. Like the Commission rifle, the bridge was split to allow passage of the bolt handle. Two other differences mentioned by Olson were a separate firing pin tip that could be replaced without requiring an entirely new striker, and a thumb cut on the left receiver rail to facilitate the use of stripper clips. The bridge had a slot to accommodate these.

The Haenel-Mannlicher New Model has a gas shield ahead of the bolt shroud and the bridge is split to allow passage of the bolt handle.

Exact original technical specifications for the Haenel-Mannlicher New Model do not seem to exist, and no two examples of the rifles are ever quite identical. This may be due to vagaries in production at the C. G. Haenel factory, where an improvement or alteration could be incorporated, seemingly at the whim of the foreman, without bothering to inform the importer. Alternatively, a rifle could be a custom order from the factory. With importer-retailers like Funke, this was not uncommon. Finally, some changes could have been effected by Funke or a gunsmith to accommodate a client. The example shown by Olson has a front base dovetailed into the receiver ring for a claw mount for a riflescope, but this was probably installed much later, along with the mount for the rear base.

In the rifle shown in this book, several alterations have been made. It’s chambered for the 9x57, a cartridge comparable to the .358 Winchester in power and recoil. Somewhere along the line, an owner had the original steel buttplate replaced by a ventilated recoil pad with a white-line spacer. The pad was pretty dilapidated when I acquired the rifle, and I subsequently had it replaced with a solid brown pad. This is more effective as well as quite handsome. Had the rifle been in original condition, I could never have brought myself to alter it in this way, but I am grateful to that unknown owner of years past. The recoil of the little rifle is attention-getting, to say the least, even with the pad.

This Haenel-Mannlicher New Model has been altered by the addition of the recoil pad, and by the trimming of the Prince of Wales grip to a stylish (for 1910) squared-off pistol grip. Note the side panels and barrel bolt.

Another change was the addition of a Lyman Model 36 receiver sight. This sight was created by Lyman in 1907 for the newly introduced Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1903 and 1905 rifles, which we shall come to shortly. The Lyman 36 would also fit the Haenel-Mannlichers. The entire sighting system on this Haenel deserves a closer look because it’s carefully thought out and extremely practical. It includes a front sight, iron sight on the rib, and receiver sight, combined in a system that is adaptable to any target practical with iron sights.

The Haenel-Mannlicher New Model came from the factory with a half-octagon, half-round barrel, wearing a full-length rib beautifully file-cut to eliminate glare. Like the Woodward double rifle described in an earlier chapter, the rib dips ahead of the rear sight, then rises into an integral ramp for the front sight. The front sight has two blades; when one is pushed down, the other pops up through its slot, and vice versa. In operation, it functions exactly like a teeter-totter, held in the center by a tiny transverse pin. One blade has a fine, blued steel bead, and is 20/100ths of an inch lower than the other, which has a larger bronze bead. There is a spring that holds the large bead in place when it’s up and prevents any accidental “half-up, half-down” position. Presumably, this is the bead one would use in most circumstances, especially at close range with an animal like a running boar. The entire front-sight mechanism is a dovetailed insert held in place by a set screw, and machined to match the rib surface perfectly. Such inserts may have been a factory option, but it’s doubtful.

This Haenel-Mannlicher is fitted with a half-octagon barrel of Krupp steel.

The rear sight, also dovetailed into the rib, is a Lyman No. 6 with two folding blades. One is a broad, deep “V,” the other is a low, straight blade with an engraved triangle to catch the eye. Designed by Lyman as an auxiliary sight for use with either a tang or receiver aperture sight, the blades fold down out of the way so as not to impede use of the aperture. There is a tiny screw on each side of the pivot point. The one on the right adjusts tension of the folding blades, and can be tightened to compensate for wear.

Lyman No. 6 folding rear sight with two blades, both of which fold down flat when the receiver sight is used.

The double front sight has two beads. When one is pushed down, the other pops up.

The Model 36 aperture sight has a spring-loaded arm that oscillates out of the way as the bolt is operated. It’s adjustable for elevation by a thumb lever. If the open sights are being used, the arm can be folded back out of the way. The Model 36 does not have interchangeable screw-in apertures, but there is a tiny hinged aperture that allows you either a large view for close, fast action, or a pinhole for more exact work. In any kind of hunting, the pinhole is best left folded back out of the way, but this is one more variable that allows the shooter to tailor the sight to his immediate need.

Taken as a whole, this sighting arrangement appears complicated, but in actual use it is elegantly simple and eminently usable. If any sight is not needed, it can be stored out of the way. Nothing need interfere with anything else. One problem that commonly occurs with all sights that fold down, up, or out, is a tendency to move under recoil. On a dangerous-game rifle, this can be life-threatening, but it’s a constant annoyance if you take a shot at an animal and need a quick second shot, only to miss and find out later that your long-range blade popped up unannounced and you shot over. Once a hunter realizes that his sights won’t stay put, constantly checking them becomes not only a distraction but an annoyance. For this reason, and with most sights, simplicity is a virtue beyond price. The sights on this rifle, I’m happy to say, stay exactly where they are supposed to unless invited, even under the sharp recoil of the 9x57.

The Lyman Model 36 receiver sight, created by Lyman in 1907 to fit the new Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1903 rifle, works perfectly on the Haenel-Mannlicher.

The rifle saw one other alteration, incidentally, which I’m at a loss to explain. The Prince of Wales grip is a gradual half-pistol with a rounded tip. My rifle has had this tip cut off, and the end left flat. Possibly there was some damage that could not be repaired any other way. The alteration is only apparent because it lopped off part of the checkering pattern on both sides.

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My Haenel-Mannlicher weighs 6 lbs. 15 oz., unloaded but wearing a sling. The barrel is 22 inches long. Factory ammunition for the 9x57 ranged from a 205-grain bullet at 2,400 fps, to a 281-grain bullet at 1,920 fps (RWS). Either would be more than a handful in such a light rifle, especially without a recoil pad. However, loaded with any of the excellent 225-grain bullets available, such as the Sierra GameKing spitzer or Nosler Partition, at a velocity of 2,290 fps, this rifle is comfortable to shoot and capable of taking on just about anything in North America. In fact, given the range of .358-diameter bullets available, including jacketed hollow-points intended for the .357 Magnum revolver, various cast bullets, and the excellent Speer 180-grain flat-nose, the 9x57 becomes a remarkably versatile cartridge.

It’s impossible to say who first took a military bolt-action rifle and modified it into a hunting rifle. The rifle may have been an early Mauser, Mannlicher, or Lee-Metford—all of which were floating around by 1900. The formal adaptation of a military design to a civilian one, however, probably lies with Mannlicher, at Steyr, since Lyman was designing receiver sights for Mannlichers with split bridges as early as 1895, and there were already hunting reports about the performance of the 6.5x54 in its rimmed version.

The 9x57 (right) is the original 8x57 JS necked up. In power, it is comparable to the later .358 Winchester.

Most of these military conversions that I have handled have seemed heavy, ill-balanced, awkward, or clumsy. In America, when gunsmiths began converting Springfields after 1906, the first ones were nothing to write home about, and in fact sporting Springfields did not really become usable until the 1920s. Even then, it took the efforts of talented metalsmiths like James V. Howe, and stockmakers like Alvin Linden, to map a path for others to follow.

The Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1903.

What sets the Haenel-Mannlicher New Model apart is how slim, trim, and well balanced it is, with a barrel perfectly suited to its caliber. It need be no longer than 22 inches for the 9x57, but nor would you want it shorter. Carried at the military “trail” position, it balances perfectly in one hand, and when fast action is anticipated, it carries like a quail gun. Except for the cheekpiece, the stock is much like a fine game gun of that era, and the cheekpiece itself is very modern-looking, not the usual pancake style found on English rifles or old Mannlichers. The front edge drifts forward to lose itself in the lines of the grip. This is a style made popular in America much later by Alvin Linden. It was suggested to him by an artist client, so exactly what its origins are is impossible to say. Probably, it simply evolved from some of the schützen designs.

The rifle comes up like a bird gun, too, with the eye perfectly aligned with the sights. For fast, instinctive shooting, it would be difficult to find better.

The Haenel-Mannlichers did not stay on the market for long. For one thing, they were expensive. In 1905, they were listed in the Stoeger catalogue for $24.50. In the US, the favorite hunting rifle was the lever action, and bolt rifles were new and awkward. In Europe, Mauser-Werke very quickly got into the sporting-rifle business after the introduction of the Mauser 98, and at Steyr, Mannlicher was making dedicated, from-the-ground-up hunting rifles, in a big way, from 1903 onwards. These shaded the Haenel-Mannlicher in many ways, and the latter disappeared from the market.

Today, anyone seeing a Haenel-Mannlicher is likely to assume it is either an early Mannlicher or, if more familiar with that era, recognize the unique features adopted from the Commission ’88. It is undoubtedly a hybrid, and the 9x57 is no match ballistically for today’s cartridges. But for a rifle for still-hunting the forests, or taking on wild boar in thick bush, it would be difficult to find anything made today that is demonstrably better without having sacrificed some of the Haenel’s virtues along the way.

MANNLICHER-SCHÖNAUER MODEL 1903

More than any other country in Europe, Austria is a land of mountaineers and big-game hunters. Drive through any village in the Tyrol and you will find inns with antlers over the door—usually red stag—and the walls festooned with roebuck antlers and chamois horns. The mountains, the forests, and the game animals are important even to Austrians who do not hunt, and the annual report of the local gamekeeper on the state of the game is a cherished public ceremony. The small town of Ferlach, in the Alps just north of the Slovenian border, is the traditional home of Austrian gunmaking, where skilled craftsmen produce a wide range of elaborate single-shot and multi-barrel rifles. These are made for both hunting in the mountains and the traditional Teutonic sport of target shooting.

The production of military rifles, and the making of sporting rifles, remained separate industries through the 1880s and into the ’90s. Repeating rifles were considered neither appropriate for most hunting, nor accurate enough for target shooting. By 1900, that was about to change.

Through the 1890s, Ferdinand von Mannlicher was designing military rifles at a furious pace, with a new patent and design appearing every year or two. He was perfecting both his turnbolt and straight-pull designs, as well as experimenting with, and refining, different approaches to magazines and the feeding and ejection of cartridges. Every time a major design went into production, Steyr seemed to find a customer for it among its main markets, which were the countries of eastern and southern Europe.

The Model 1903 action was the basis for sporting rifles in various models over the next seventy years.

In 1900, Mannlicher produced a rifle with a turnbolt action and a spool-type magazine (also called a rotary or spindle) designed by his colleague at Steyr, Otto Schönauer. It was a heavily modified version of the 1893 Rumanian Mannlicher, which had used the packet system of loading. Outwardly, with its split bridge, the Rumanian action bears a physical resemblance to the Commission ’88, but arms historian W. H. B. Smith says it is “entirely Mannlicher” in design.

“It employs a form of turning-bolt action developed by Mannlicher which is nearly as simple as the famous Mauser bolt and is cheaper to manufacture,” he wrote, in Mannlicher Rifles and Pistols. Von Mannlicher disagreed with his German contemporary, Paul Mauser, on a number of basic points of design and manufacturing processes. Most important was Mannlicher’s detachable bolt head, which allowed for both simpler machining when producing the bolt, and easier repair if the bolt head became worn or damaged. Its disadvantages were that it made it necessary for the locking lugs to be positioned slightly farther to the rear, which slightly weakened the action for use with high-intensity cartridges.

Arguments can be made in favor of both systems. It is usually suggested that the Mauser eventually won out, but in reality, both survived, did very well, were in production for many years, and were chambered for comparable cartridges.

The 1893 Rumanian rifle became the basis for the 1895 Dutch Mannlicher, and both were chambered for a new rimmed 6.5mm cartridge. When von Mannlicher turned to his 1900 rifle, he drew on the Rumanian/Dutch design in several ways, one of which was to produce the 6.5mm cartridge in rimless form, and call it the 6.5x54. The rifle and cartridge were adopted by Greece as its official military rifle in 1903.

The Greek Model 1903 was to Steyr what the Gewehr 98 was to Mauser, and thereafter followed Steyr’s first attempt at large-scale production of a sporting rifle. It was destined to become one of the world’s all-time great hunting rifles and stay in production, with only minor modifications, for the next seventy years.

The Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1903 is the Greek Mannlicher modified into the perfect rifle for mountaineers hunting chamois in the Alps, or stalking roebuck in the forests on the lower slopes. The bolt handle is turned down and reshaped into the famous butterknife, which was one of the Mannlicher’s two trademarks for three-quarters of a century. The other was its full-length stock, with a forend that stretched to the muzzle, capped with a steel forend tip. Such stocks were common on military carbines for cavalry or artillery use, including the Mauser Model 71 and the Swedish 1894 Mauser, and like the Model 1903 those carbines had very short barrels. The Mannlicher 1903 barrel is 17.7 inches. The 1903 was the first sporting bolt action to employ the full-length stock, and today any carbine with such a stock is routinely referred to as a “Mannlicher.” There is only one genuine Mannlicher, however, and it was made in Steyr. The Model 1903 was chambered only in 6.5x54, and in this particular model it gained fame both in hunting and in literature.

The Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1903 was chambered in 6.5x54 M-S, and had a shorter barrel (17.7 inches) than any subsequent model. It was the ideal mountain rifle for those who scaled cliffs and carried their own rifle.

This is the rifle with which Margot Macomber shot her husband in Ernest Hemingway’s The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber. Hemingway was a great admirer of the Mannlicher, kept one on his fishing boat, the Pilar, and mentioned it by name in his later novel, Islands in the Stream. He also makes admiring reference to the Mannlicher in A Farewell to Arms. Both W. D. M. (Karamojo) Bell and Charles Sheldon were famous turn-of-the-century hunters—Bell on African elephants, Sheldon on mountain sheep—who were known to use a 6.5mm Mannlicher. Bell used a Model 1903, but Sheldon’s rifle is open to debate. In Mozambique, as late as the mid-twentieth century, professional hunter Werner von Alvensleben killed more than a thousand Cape buffalo, shooting on control, with a Model 1903 6.5x54. Finally, Annie Alexander, who led a biological expedition to Alaska in 1908, guided by the famous brown-bear expert Allen Hasselborg, used a Mannlicher 6.5x54 to collect brown-bear specimens along the coast, and on Montague Island in Prince William Sound.

The 6.5x54 M-S (left) with the later 8x56 M-S, introduced in 1908.

No one today would recommend the 6.5x54 for hunting elephants, brown bears in dense brush, or as a mountain rifle for Dall and Stone’s sheep. For that matter, few would consider it as a mountain rifle for chamois, the diminutive mountain goat of the Alps. And yet, the 6.5x54’s modest ballistics belie its performance. As originally designed, it used a long, round-nosed 160-grain bullet (approximate weight) at around 2,250 fps. In either soft-nosed or solid, this bullet has very high sectional density. It penetrates and keeps on penetrating. That was the secret of its success when used by Bell, and others, on elephants. It also made it very effective on brown bears and grizzlies.

The 6.5x54 has a rather looping trajectory, but since few hunters would attempt a shot beyond 250 yards even on chamois or Dall sheep, preferring to stalk closer if possible, this was not a huge drawback. Ammunition was light and compact—an added bonus.

On a personal note, in 1995 I hunted in the Austrian Alps for the first time. It was part of a longer European trip with several stops, and I was advised that a rifle would be provided to save me the trouble of traveling with one. I was given a Weatherby Mark V in .257 Weatherby, fitted with a huge scope of extravagant power range—3-12X, or something like that, and with a 26-inch barrel. Our ammunition was factory 117-grain round-nose. The owner of the rifle went hunting the first morning, ambushed some chamois still down in the valley as dawn broke, handed the rifle over to me, and went home for breakfast. It was then left to me to climb that particular Alp in pursuit of the chamois which, following chamois practice after their night in town, had promptly started climbing and were now back home, in some gravelly basin high above the treeline.

With my backpack and that Weatherby cannon, I climbed for the better part of six hours. At one point, we traversed a narrow ledge with overhanging rock, on which the rifle barrel banged mercilessly as I gripped a cable put there to assist climbers, edging along on my toes. Down the valley, a helicopter hovered. “Recovering the body of a climber who fell,” my guide explained. By mid-afternoon, we had reached the peaks and the basins, found some chamois, waited for a clear shot, and decked one at about 100 yards, maybe 150.

More than any other time in my life, at that moment I understood clearly why the Mannlicher Model 1903 had been designed the way it was. As well, I heartily wished that I was carrying one instead of a completely unneeded long-range, high-powered rifle, with an unnecessarily big and heavy scope, firing a load intended for use on elk at long range, not on an animal the size of a golden retriever at one hundred yards.

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The Mannlicher-Schönauer derives the second part of its name from Otto Schönauer, who is credited with designing the superb rotary magazine that remained an essential feature of this rifle throughout its life. Schönauer was an engineer and became a director of the Steyr works in 1896. Those who have researched deeper than I have dug out another employee of Steyr in 1900 and insisted that he, and not Schönauer, should really have the credit, but at this late date I am not about to argue with Steyr’s decision. Similarly, there are those (Frank de Haas among them) who insist the action is not really Mannlicher’s, but is really a modified Commission ’88. However, since Mannlicher was a major contributor to the Commission ’88, how does one differentiate?

Otto Schönauer’s brilliant rotary magazine. It is believed that von Mannlicher designed the method by which it can be detached for cleaning. The cartridge shown is merely sitting in its cradle. It is not possible to load the magazine when it is out of the rifle.

The other rifle of the time that employed a rotary magazine was the Savage Model 1899, which was designed by Arthur Savage and first saw the light of day in 1895. Schönauer was known to have been working on rotary magazines as early as 1893, although it took some years to perfect it. The usual date given is 1900, with the introduction of the rifle that became the Greek Mannlicher. Frank de Haas believed that Ferdinand von Mannlicher devised the methods by which the rotary magazine could be easily detached from the rifle for cleaning, and that was a major accomplishment in itself. The lack of this feature is one of the drawbacks of the Savage 99, and one of several areas in which the Savage magazine is inferior to the Schönauer. We shall look at that more closely in a later chapter.

The knurled button on the rail allows the rotary magazine to unspool, releasing the cartridges into the hand.

Another feature of the Mannlicher action worth noting is the means of unloading the magazine. A small knurled button on the right-hand rail of the action is depressed, allowing the magazine to unspool, releasing the cartridges conveniently into the hand. This is an improvement on virtually every other rifle in use at the time, except the British Lee-Enfield with its detachable box magazine. The cartridges do not need to be chambered before being ejected, as with lever actions, nor do they rattle to the ground like a Mauser when its floorplate is opened.

The Mannlicher 1903 became the foundation for a series of rifle models that lived on, ultimately, into the 1970s. If I were backed into a corner at gunpoint and forced to name the family of rifles I consider the best overall for big-game hunting, I would have to choose the Mannlicher-Schönauer. The Oberndorf Mauser sporting rifles are wonderful in many ways, as are the Savage 99 and the Winchester Model 70. Some of each of these families are great, but some are also downright lousy, and many, frankly, are mediocre. From all of those I have seen and handled, however, Mannlicher never made one model that was not at least good. They just never seemed to put a foot wrong.

This may elicit howls of rage from lovers of Oberndorf Mausers, Savage 99s, and Model 70s, and it is, admittedly, a subjective judgment. But I am speaking here of the overall quality of the entire family of rifles, and I do not know of a single Mannlicher model that was not good.

The first variation appeared in 1905. Called the Model 1905 (logically enough), it differed from the 1903 only in caliber (9x56 M-S) and barrel length (19.5 inches vs. 17.7). Three years later came the Model 1908 in 8x56 M-S, and finally the Model 1910 in 9.5x56 M-S. After the Great War, when Steyr resumed commercial production, it added a few different models, including a conventional rifle with a longer barrel and conventional sporter stock. Available chamberings were expanded to include a range of popular cartridges. Ultimately, if there were any lingering doubts about the action strength, some rifles in the 1950s were chambered for the .458 Winchester, as well as a number of other belted magnums. The Steyr production records were removed during the brief Soviet occupation of Austria after 1945, so exact numbers are impossible, but the Steyr factory estimates that about 185,000 Mannlicher-Schönauer sporting rifles were made during its seventy-year lifetime.

The Model 1908 was chambered for the new 8x56 M-S, and had a slightly longer barrel (19.5 inches) than the 1903.

Of them all, the one that stands out to me as perfect for its intended purpose is the original Model 1903, in 6.5x54 M-S. There is simply nothing about it I would change. We should keep in mind that, when it was introduced, riflescopes were not in common use for hunting, and so its adaptability to scopes, or lack thereof, was not a consideration and did not become so for at least twenty years. At that point, the split bridge and its high bolt handle presented serious obstacles, but we are not talking about those rifles.

My Model 1903, unloaded but with a sling, weighs 6 lbs. 11 oz. Although the barrel is short, the additional length of stock and the steel forend cap place a disproportionate number of ounces out beyond the leading hand, which contributes to steadiness and accurate shooting. It has none of the wavy-wand quality of more recent carbines and short rifles. Yet the rifle overall is less than thirty-nine inches long from muzzle to toe. This is shorter than the Winchester 92 (chapter II), or the Savage 99 we shall look at in chapter VIII. With a sling, a mountaineer could toss it on his back and be almost unaware of its presence, ducking under branches or negotiating overhanging ledges.

To contribute to accurate shooting, especially in thin air at high altitudes when the hunter might be panting and shaking, it is fitted with a double-set trigger. There is a fixed-blade front sight and an open sight on the barrel with a standing blade and one folding leaf marked “300.” Metres, presumably.

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The Mannlichers that followed the Model 1903 are all good in their own way. The models 1905 through 1910 had slightly longer barrels (20 inches, approximately, compared to 17.7) and their magazines were tailored to accommodate the three larger-caliber cartridges used (9x56 M-S, 8x56 M-S, and 9.5x56 M-S), so they are not interchangeable. Other than that, there was very little difference except for minor aesthetic changes, such as replacing the round-knob (Prince of Wales) grip with a conventional pistol grip and steel grip cap.

Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1956, in standard rifle configuration. The base of a Pachmayr Lo-Swing side mount is visible on the left side of the action. This is a .30-06.

A major change was the development of a takedown model, in which the barreled action could be detached from the stock. This, of course, was a rifle model with a shorter forend, since such a modification would be pointless with a full-length stock. (See Introduction, page 3.) It appears that many of these barreled actions were sold separately to independent gunmakers for building custom rifles, and some have appeared with such London names on them as Boss & Co.

Over the seventy years of production that followed the Model 1903, Mannlicher-Schönauer hunting rifles appeared in many different calibers, in both rifle and carbine form, including the takedown. There were attempts to adapt the action to the use of riflescopes, which was difficult with the split bridge, and the most common type seen is the European claw mount, with the rear base affixed to the left side of the bridge. The action also proved adaptable to side mounts, like the Griffin & Howe or the later Pachmayr Lo-Swing. Both of these are detachable mounts, and the Lo-Swing can also be instantly rotated to the side to allow the use of the iron sights. Such dubious versatility is beloved of European hunters, but has never found the same favor in America.

Along with scope mounts, changes were made to the rifle’s safety mechanism. In post-1945 models, a two-position side safety was added, but the original wing was left in place. The wing safety, by the way, physically resembled that on the Mauser 98, but was two-position instead of three. With the second safety in place, the wing could be left permanently in “Fire” position, and only the side safety used. Later still, in the early 1960s, the second safety was switched to the tang, like a shotgun. Stock shape was also an area of continuing evolution. It was gradually made more “modern,” with the introduction of a Monte Carlo comb to raise the eye to scope level. In the Model 1956, Steyr made a concerted effort to solve the eye-height dilemma once and for all, with a unique roll-over comb that, from the side, looked like an exaggerated Monte Carlo. However, the cheek piece was dished (concave), allowing the cheek to be lower if iron sights were used, but to slide upward (while still supported) to use a scope. This stock was used on both carbines and rifles, and worked to perfection, but it was discontinued within a year or two. Presumably, it was too wild looking even for the 1950s, when extravagant tail fins on cars were the height of fashion.

Around 1970, a serious fire occurred in the Steyr factory, and some of the production equipment for the Mannlicher-Schönauer was damaged beyond repair. Reluctantly, but probably wisely, Steyr decided against replacing it. The final Mannlichers to leave the plant were assembled from existing parts, with the last one shipped in 1972.

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During its lifetime, the Mannlicher—always affectionately known as “the little Mannlicher”—had a great influence on other hunting rifles. It had a feel to it the Mausers could only envy, and no Mauser action ever made can approach the silky feel of a Mannlicher. Also, by comparison, Mausers always seem a little heavy and mechanical, whereas the Mannlicher is almost a living thing in your hands.

Model 1956 in traditional full-length stock, but incorporating the excellent cheekpiece that allowed the use of either open sights or a high-mounted scope. This rifle is fitted with an EAW side mount.

The Mannlicher’s greatest contribution to the evolution of the hunting rifle was its stock, and even though it’s dismissed by many because it adversely affects accuracy, for a rifle to be used in the mountains, the full-length stock is a valuable feature. I am not one to use a rifle as an alpenstock, but sometimes it can save your life, and the stock provides a secure grip as well as protection for the barrel.

The Mannlicher’s rotary magazine also established a reputation for smooth, flawless operation, feeding cartridges effortlessly into the chamber. This is an area of continuing problems for Mausers and for all other rifles that employ Mauser-style box magazines with staggered rows of cartridges. Partly this is because of attempts to chamber many different cartridges, of various lengths and shapes, while keeping magazine modifications to a cost-saving minimum. The original Mauser 98 was carefully tailored to the 8x57 J, down to the angle of the guide rails and the taper of the magazine box. Rechambering one, and then expecting the unaltered magazine to function as well as it did with the original cartridge, is a forlorn hope. The Mannlicher-Schönauer did not have the versatility and potential for rechambering that the Mauser 98 has, but it never encountered the feeding difficulties, either.

Mannlicher-Schönauer rifles and carbines carry their pedigree on the action ring.

Weatherby Mark V Safari-grade .270 Weatherby. The Weatherby cartridges epitomized the quest for high velocity in the second half of the twentieth century.