What is a mannlicher schoenauer?

Answer 1

The Mannlicher-Schoenauer name describes a series of rifles and carbines built by the Steyrwerke in Steyr, Austria between 1900 and 1972. The factory was in production much earlier, but the Schoenauer version of the firearm resulted from the joining or the Mannlicher rifle design and the Schoenauer rotary magazine design in the Model 1900 firearm, which quickly morphed into the most famous model of 1903. The original Mannlicher-Schoenauers were built as military rifles which were only purchased in quantity by the Greek Government, beginning with the M1903, the 1903/14, 1927 and System 1930. The greater fame of the Mannlicher arose from the success of the M1903 as a hunting rifle, particularly in Africa, where its light weight, fast handling, and minimal noise for the day made it an instant favorite. The caliber of the M1903 is 6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Steyr created and marketed three more sporting variations of this rifle prior to the start of World War I, the M1905, chambered in 9x56mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer, the M1908, chambered in 8x56mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer, and the M1910, chambered in 9.5x56mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Steyr did not chamber their firearms for calibers other than these four proprietary cartridges until 1924, when they added .30-06, 7x64mm, 7x57mm, 8x57mm, 8x60mm, 9.3x62mm, and 10.75x68mm.

The Steyr rifles quickly found places in the hands of the hunters and explorers of the early 1900s, and if you observe the photos of the early African and Indian hunting parties you will usually find Mannlicher-Schoenauers in use. So many of these sportsmen appreciated their firearms such that they even carried them into combat in both World Wars. In the original models, the actions were of four different sizes, based upon the cartridge, and causing unnecessary expense. This error was partially cured in the Model of 1925, and not resolved until production resumed in 1950 with all actions set to the same size. The post World War II production consists of the M1950, M1952, M1956 MC, and M1961 MCA. Failure to control production costs caused the end of production of the Mannlicher-Schoenauer in 1968, with assembly of leftover parts continuing as late as 1972.