OT MANNLICHER CARBINE

[barbarossa]

A chance has come up to but this, a 1903 Mannlicher carbine in 6.5x54 price is$1600 canadian
I was thinking for using it for vintage deer and coyote hunting what do you think.

[awp101]

Nice looking carbine! How big do those vintage deer get in your area?

[jp]

For gosh sakes, don't tell me where it is! I've lusted in my heart for this carbine, well, forever. Price seems inline for what I've seen on the net.

[Pisgah]

What a shame that a beautiful country like Canada must bear the burden of having such an ugly stick within its borders. Feel free to ship it south for discrete and proper disposal...

[Hobie]

Oh my gosh... That just gets to me...

[Dave]

That gun makes my heart beat faster

[Rusty]

Well they say it's wrong to covet, so I'll just say that I wish I had that one and you had a better one.

I think I'm going to end up with a M77 Ruger International one of these days.

[bdhold]

Margaret used one of those on Francis
http://www.duke.edu/~ss57/macomber.pdf
not a very good choice for lions

beautiful rifle - congratulations.

[1886]

That sure is pretty. If one has the means, then by all means! I truly hope you grab it. 1886.

[nemhed]

Margaret used one of those on Francis
http://www.duke.edu/~ss57/macomber.pdf
not a very good choice for lions

beautiful rifle - congratulations.

Thanks for the link! I thought of Hemingway when I saw the word Mannlicher!

[tman]

from what i read, no first hand expierence , it's a heck of a game killing machine. i think the long ,heavy bullets took elephants in afica, the swede's still like it for moose. guess it would have been too much of an all around package and would hurt new caliber sales

[Pete44ru]

[what do you think]

Instead of what I think, please let me tell you what I KNOW - Once you buy it, it will never leave your hands.

The machining of the magazine box to the receiver, and the way it glides smoothly in/out, is "something else".

I owned one similar to that, but with the front receiver ring cut for the front half of a European-type scope mont base (on the rifle), of the type where the rings are soldered to the scope bell.

The scope & rear mount were missing (of course) - until I ran across an acquaintance who had a scope setup, and was looking to buy a scopeless rifle.

Both of us wanted to buy the other's item, and were at an impasse' - until we agreed to cut cards for dibbs.
He won, so I sold him the rifle for $2K (10 years ago), but have since replaced the chambering with another 6.5x55 (a Winchester FW).

Believe me, when I tell you, you WILL hate yourself if you pass on that rifle !

.

[dsmith512]

CZ produces several Mannlicher stock rifles including the 550FS in 6.5x55.



They're gorgeous and is on my want list.

For more details:
http://cz-usa.com/products/view/cz-550-fs/

[kimwcook]

Very nice looking rifles, both of them.

[John in MS]

There is NOTHING like one of the original Mannlicher Schoenauer carbines. They are truly made as well as Mercedes would like you to THINK they make their cars!! The machining,
fit, finish, etc. are off-the-charts superb. They also are not at all plentiful, and many have been beat up/butchered, so good specimens at a fair price are not easy to come by.

I've had the pleasure of shooting a 1903 carbine in 6.5x54 (with double-set triggers) and accuracy was excellent using Hornady's 160 gr. RNSP. It also had virtually no recoil... truly amazing. On paper, recoil "should" be about like a .30-30 Win. 94 -- basically same powder charge, essentially same bullet weight/velocity, but it was extremely mild -- like shooting a big .22. I dropped a sprinting wild hog with its ballistic twin, shot through the shoulder, and it fell instantly at the shot -- its chin dug a trench in the dirt. It literally didn't take another volitional step, just skidded to a halt. I still remember seeing the 2-3 foot dust plume kick up behind the hog and thinking "What the...??" as I didn't expect the slow, slender bullet to drop him like that. (About a 150 lb. boar.) Exit wound was small, but the pig didn't like it one little bit -- it expired like it was hit by lightning.

There is one little trick to loading for the original Mannlicher Schoenauers with the rotary
box mag that you need to know, if you will be handloading. The cartridges MUST be loaded
to correct (i.e., full) length or they will NOT feed from the magazine, as the bullet nose is what starts the process of camming the round out of the magazine. Due to the design of the magazine/feed ramp, if the cartridge is too short, you can push till the cows come home, and that round ain't going to exit the magazine. This is not a problem in my (limited) experience, but knowing about it will prevent some head scratching when you establish your cartridge OAL.

I hope you'll consider getting it. They are a rare treat in the firearms world, indeed!

John

[JerryB]

Even without a lever that is a BEAUTIFUL rifle.

[Lawyer Daggit]

Once had a MS in .243. It did not have the full stock. I currently have a Model 7 MS in .350 as a second best because I have never been able to find a good MS carbine chambered for a 'classic' calibre- for some reason most carbines imported down under were in .270- a poor choice calibre for a short carbine because of velocity loss and blast.

I would love to get my hands on a gun like yours.

[Streetstar]

get it get it get it

[Old Time Hunter]

Very, very nice!

[Booger Bill]

You can still buy a lot of meat for $1,600s! Not quite as much fun though, I guess!

[Harry O]

I have an original 1910 M-S in 9.5x57 caliber. It has the "swinging" peepsight. The rifle is the quickest handling rifle I have ever handled. It is light and well balanced. The sights are outstanding. The front sight is a german silver bead that makes the best use of any light available. The original rear sight is a "wide-V" 2-position folding sight. It is very easy to align for quick shots. However, it does not work well trying to shoot slow and accurately. It is too coarse for that. The swinging peep takes care of that problem, though. The only problem I have with it is that the 9.5x57 (270gr bullet at 2,150fps) in a 6-1/4lb rifle does kick. Now that I am taking blood thinners, every time I shoot it my shoulder is black and blue for a couple of weeks. The 6.5mm would be much better in that respect. As far as the price goes, I can't believe how much they go for now, but EVERYTHING that shoots is getting expensive.

[awp101]

Oh the angst this thread has caused me!

I came back to this thread at least three times yesterday and last night finally started looking around to see what's available.

Found a late-60s MCA in 7x57 for $750. Almost instantly I started mentally sorting the safe and projects. I decided it would take the place of a current project and at least one other semi-safe queen.

Went back this morning to get the stock number and contact the seller only to find it was already gone. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth...


Dang it!

[CarlsenHighway]

Guys I just bought one myself only last week! - buy it, you will not regret it. One of the most charming rifles you will ever meet, and the action and magazine is an engineering marvel. I have an old Lyman scope on mine with 1950's swing around detachable scope mounts....and without the scope they are wonderfully balanced little carbines, a real joy to shoot over open sights.

(The earlier poster is right - if you hand load you have to seat them to the magazine - but load the WHOLE mag to check - because the first two will go in fine but its after that that they jam if theyre too long...had to take the mag out and examine it to found that out.)

[Mitch1352]

I have an older Sako Mannlicher in .308. The styling is soooooo sexy! You should grab that M/S before someone else does.

[Pete44ru]

[Went back this morning to get the stock number and contact the seller only to find it was already gone.]

Yep - That's what usually happens, about 99% of the times a diamond isn't "jumped on" , when found.

.

[KirkD]

I've liked those since I saw a photo of one back about 40 years ago. You should probably get it, as I'm sure you will kick yourself royally for many years to come if you don't.

[awp101]

[Went back this morning to get the stock number and contact the seller only to find it was already gone.]

Yep - That's what usually happens, about 99% of the times a diamond isn't "jumped on" , when found.

.

AFAIK, this one was an absolute STEAL at that price:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/conte ... tid=108594

I found one locally for about $600 but it's been messed with quite a bit. It's had a recoil pad added, the stock doesn't run the full length and the only (proper) scope mounts I've found are $450!

[tdoor]

There is NOTHING like one of the original Mannlicher Schoenauer carbines. They are truly made as well as Mercedes would like you to THINK they make their cars!! The machining,
fit, finish, etc. are off-the-charts superb. They also are not at all plentiful, and many have been beat up/butchered, so good specimens at a fair price are not easy to come by.

I've had the pleasure of shooting a 1903 carbine in 6.5x54 (with double-set triggers) and accuracy was excellent using Hornady's 160 gr. RNSP. It also had virtually no recoil... truly amazing. On paper, recoil "should" be about like a .30-30 Win. 94 -- basically same powder charge, essentially same bullet weight/velocity, but it was extremely mild -- like shooting a big .22. I dropped a sprinting wild hog with its ballistic twin, shot through the shoulder, and it fell instantly at the shot -- its chin dug a trench in the dirt. It literally didn't take another volitional step, just skidded to a halt. I still remember seeing the 2-3 foot dust plume kick up behind the hog and thinking "What the...??" as I didn't expect the slow, slender bullet to drop him like that. (About a 150 lb. boar.) Exit wound was small, but the pig didn't like it one little bit -- it expired like it was hit by lightning.

There is one little trick to loading for the original Mannlicher Schoenauers with the rotary
box mag that you need to know, if you will be handloading. The cartridges MUST be loaded
to correct (i.e., full) length or they will NOT feed from the magazine, as the bullet nose is what starts the process of camming the round out of the magazine. Due to the design of the magazine/feed ramp, if the cartridge is too short, you can push till the cows come home, and that round ain't going to exit the magazine. This is not a problem in my (limited) experience, but knowing about it will prevent some head scratching when you establish your cartridge OAL.

Good point about care in loading the rotary magazine. I have also found that I cannot use neck sizing only die (my thought was to help preserve relatively scarce 6x54 brass). At least in my case, the expansion at the shoulder was just enough to preclude using the rotary magazine, even though the load was modest and the rounds chambered fine, so now full length resize, no problems. Great guns, love to carry them.
tdoor

[Pete44ru]

[I found one locally for about $600 but it's been messed with quite a bit. It's had a recoil pad added, the stock doesn't run the full length and the only (proper) scope mounts I've found are $450! ]

It's still a good buy.

The recoil pad is an EZ fix, even with a cut stock,

FWIW, M-S also made half-stock "rifles" ILO full stock carbines.

I'd peep it, but unless EAW European claw mounts are wanted, Leupold/Redfield/Burris turn-in scope mounts aren't a big deal, either ($165).

http://msbases.wattswalnut.com/

[awp101]

pete, it turns out the one I saw is most likely a sporterized Greek 1903 military rifle. It's had a dovetail cut in the front ring and filled/rewelded later.

I'll just have to think long and hard on that one...

Thanks for the lead on the mounts!

[brno602]

Very nice rifle!
I just saw some ammo for it last weekend at the gun show some old 6.5x54 C.I.L 160gr sp for only $22.00 a box seller had three boxes, I was looking for 6.5x55 so I was outa luck.
I always wanted a M,S in 6.5x54 one day- one day if the wife will allow it that is.

[barbarossa]

Still waiting to hear back from the seller but here are some more pics.The only thing that I can see is that the front swivel is missing

[Rusty]

...and what happened to the double set triggers?

[barbarossa]

Some were made with out double set triggers.Guns sent to england didn t have them as the Britsh preferred the single trigger.

[Rusty]

Oh well, I still like them.

I looked at the one on the Cabelas web site. there's something strange about that thing. No iron sights for one thing but the lines of the rifle it's self are just wrong.

I've also been thinking about the full stocked CZ in .223. That would be pretty sweet too.

[Pete44ru]

[/quote]AFAIK, this one was an absolute STEAL at that price:
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/conte ... tid=108594[/quote]

Not quite a steal - more like "all the money".

When you first spoke of a M-S Carbine @ $750, I presumed it was all original, but in poor/bubba'd condition, as in an added pad/etc - and not the Cabela's 7x57 with the aftermarket stock and the sights gone, as in: either shaved off or rebarreled w/o sights.

Any M-S with a dovetail across the front receiver ring (welded/filled or not), means that the front scope base was removed because a scope ring, soldered to a scope obj bell, stayed with the scope, both getting somehow separated from the rifle.
In Europe, many owners carried those scopes in a separate padded tube, hung from a shoulder strap, and only placed/installed the scope atop the rifle after entering their hunting stand with their guide and told it's "OK".

.

.

[348WCF]

Barbarosa,
Get it!!!!!! You will not be sorry. I agree with the above posts about the quality and craftsmanship that went into the Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifles. I am the proud owner of three original Mannlichers: 1952 carbine in 7x57mm, 1952 rifle in 30-06, and a 1961 in .358 Winchester. I would not trade any of them for anything.
If it's a slow day in the woods, you always can admire your rifle
Jim

[barbarossa]

Deal has been sealed it is mine

[Pete44ru]

CONGRATS ! ! ! - You won't be sorry.

I can't wait for the full range report, complete with pics of that beauty !

.