Original Austrian Mannlicher M1895 Infantry Repeating Rifle by Œ.W.G. Steyr – dated 1896 Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is really rare, a PRE-1899 MANNLICHER M1895 Infantry Rifle made at Œ.W.G. STEYR in Austria! The vast majority of these Carbines were made in the 1900’s and are therefore POST-1898 and require an FFL. This example however is is clearly dated 1896 on the receiver! It was acquired from a small museum collection, and still has the original museum plaque on the butt stock.

The Mannlicher M1895 (German: Infanterie Repetier-Gewehr M.95, Hungarian: Gyalogsági Ismétlő Puska M95; “Infantry Repeating-Rifle M95”) is a bolt-action rifle, designed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher that used a refined version of his revolutionary straight-pull action bolt, much like the Mannlicher M1890 carbine. It was nicknamed the Ruck-Zu(rü)ck (German slang for “back and forth”) by Austrian troops and “Ta-Pum” by Italian troops who even wrote a song about it during World War I.

The Mannlicher M1895 was originally made in Rifle, Stutzen (Short Rifle/Carbine), Carbine, and Sniper Rifle variants. The design was quite robust, and had a long service life of almost 50 years. It was a reliable, accurate and hard hitting rifle that was well liked by the troops who carried it. Moreover, it boasted one of the fastest actions ever devised for a manually operated rifle.

Originally they were chambered for the round-nosed 8×50mmR cartridge, but almost all were rechambered to accept the more powerful spitzer 8×56mmR cartridge in the 1930s. These would be marked with an “S”, however we cannot find any marking on this, so we assume it is in the original caliber.

This example is marked STEYR / M.95 over the chamber, and has a very low serial number of 1608C stamped on the barrel, receiver, bolt, and left butt stock. Condition is very nice, with a great used look. Loads of patination all over. The stock is solid, but does show decades of service wear, and is the original stock for this rifle. It doesn’t seem to have been refinished or refurbished. The bore shows lands and grooves, but is mostly dark from powder fouling.

Like most Austrian arms, it was manufactured by Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft, (ŒWG, Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company), a legendary factory with a long history. It has a nice brass museum plaque on the right side of the butt stock that reads: Austrian Rifle (Mannlicher) / Model 1895 – Cal. 8/mm.

In fine overall condition, very rare to find an ANTIQUE example of this model rifle. Ready to display!

Specifications-

Year of Manufacture: 1896
Caliber: 8×50mmR
Cartridge Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 30.1 Inches
Overall Length: 50.1 Inches
Action type: Bolt-Action
Feed System: 5 round En-bloc clip