1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer
A very popular rifle used by hunters of the early 20th century was the 6.5 x 54mm Model 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Most often seen in carbine form with an 18” barrel, double set trigger and stocked to the muzzle, it can occasionally be encountered in rifle form with a single trigger and sometimes in takedown form. In my somewhat limited experience though, the 18” barrel length of the standard carbine seems to be something of an approximate measure. I have a reproduction 1932 Stoeger catalog that lists the barrel length of 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauers as 18” but the barrel on the first 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer I bought over a decade ago has a 17.7” barrel. It shows obvious signs of having been refinished but it has not been altered from its factory configuration as far as I can tell. Several of the high-end British gunmakers such as Gibbs and Fraser used them to make custom rifles for their clients. The rifles, either factory or custom-made, generally have very elegant lines and are some of the fastest handling guns to be found anywhere. Their petite dimensions made them very light and easy to carry and endeared them to all who used them. The 6.5 x 54mm MS cartridges they were chambered for were usually loaded with a 160 grain roundnose bullet that, by virtue of its high sectional density, penetrated deep into any game shot with it and made them lethal beyond all expectation. That assumes, of course, that the person using it knew how to shoot. While there were many hunters in Africa such as W.D.M. Bell who sang its praises, there were also quite a few tales of inadequate performance, which sometimes led to some rather unpleasant results. Bell stated that it killed like lightning but he was one of the greatest shots of all time and made sure he understood the anatomy of his game and what it took to bring them down. He once had an elephant’s skull sawed in half so he could study it in detail and understood just where he had to place his shots. He eventually gave up his Mannlicher-Schoenauer when shooting elephants for a .275 Rigby, mostly because he couldn’t find ammunition of consistently good quality.
The Mannlicher-Schoenauer was produced by Oesterreichische Waffenfabrik Gesellschaft Steyr beginning in the year 1900 as the Model of 1900 in sporting rifle and carbine versions. Although it was adopted by the Greek military as their standard issue service rifle in 1903, the Mannlicher-Schoenauer saw its greatest success as a hunting rifle. The first sporting rifles and Greek service weapons had round bolt knobs while the Model 1903 and subsequent commercial rifles used the classic, butterknife bolt handle. It was the last project of Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher, one of the most prolific gun designers of all time. One of the most unique features of the weapon was its rotary magazine. The internal, rotary magazine was designed by Otto Schoenauer, who was employed at the Steyr Armory as its general manager. The magazine was made of steel and could be loaded via a stripper clip or one round at a time. It could be emptied by pressing a button, located on the right action rail, allowing the cartridges to be forced out by the magazine rotor into the firer’s hand. The magazine was designed specifically for the 6.5 x 54mm MS cartridge, which made it difficult to chamber the guns for any other caliber. The magazines, especially the ones manufactured prior to 1924, required a lot of expensive machine work and for those familiar with older guns, bring to mind the rotary magazines of Savage 99 rifles. The rotor in the Mannlicher-Schoenauer also prevented bullet tip deformation from recoil of cartridges loaded in the magazine. The magazines could be removed from the guns by using the tip of a bullet to press the button located on the forward portion of the floorplate and rotating it 90 degrees clockwise, then pulling down to allow removal of the entire assembly. Typical of prewar guns, they exhibit superb workmanship and fine hand fitting. My friend Dick has a 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer that is so smooth that all he has to do to close the action is to tip the rifle forward with the bolt open on an empty magazine and chamber and let gravity do the work for him.
Many of the rifles and carbines you are likely to encounter today have had scopes mounted on them which, from my viewpoint, ruins the handling qualities of the little guns. The scope mounts themselves are awkward looking things because the split rear bridge of the action didn’t lend itself well to easy mounting of scopes. I was fortunate enough to be in Vienna, Austria in 1998 and 2000 where I was able on both occasions to visit the world famous gunshop of Johann Springer. The shop itself was a delightful, two story affair located near the corner of Kaerntnerstrasse and Graben and was chock full of everything the European hunter would need to pursue game. At that time it was still common to see customers of the store walking out with guns in their boxes or cases with nary a glance from passersby. The gun racks were full of new Steyr-Mannlichers and various other European guns that are rarely seen in the U.S. The staff I spoke to in 2000 were bemoaning the imposition of stricter gun laws that were soon to be enacted by the EU but unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it. At that time, they also had a second store near the Hofburg that dealt in used guns that was much more interesting to me as a vintage gun buff. When I was there, I saw a rack of a dozen or so Mannlicher-Schoenauers of various calibers for sale with most in very fine condition. Both stores have since been closed and the stock has been sent to a new storefront at Weihburggasse 27. If you get the chance to visit Vienna, by all means drop by Johann Springer because at the rate the world’s socialists are going, owning guns anywhere in the world may soon just be a fond memory.
If you’re lucky enough to own of these rifles, ammunition can sometimes be a bit tough to find. 6.5 x 54mm MS ammunition and brass were once made by practically every big munitions producer in the world but alas, those days are long gone. It is still possible to buy new ammo and brass made by Norma. RWS ammo and brass can sometimes be found at gunshows and various outlets but it can be pricey. If you reload your own ammo it isn’t so bad although there are a few things to take into consideration. The bore diameters of some 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauers are apparently a bit oversize so mediocre accuracy may be the result of using standard 6.5mm (.264”) bullets. Ken Waters wrote an excellent article for Handloader #108 detailing some of the steps he had to go through to make his particular rifle shoot well and is full of information that is of relevance to anyone interested in the subject. It is, in my opinion, required reading for anyone handloading the 6.5 x 54mm MS cartridge. Interestingly enough, the first edition of the Sierra reloading manual has load data for the 6.5 x 54mm MS and mentions that cases can be made from .30-06 brass. I haven’t tried it myself but the body dimensions vary just enough that I suspect you may only get a few firings, or maybe just one, before experiencing case splits. In the past, 6.5 x 52mm Carcano brass was used to form 6.5 x 54mm MS cases, which was probably an easier way to do it since they are more similar in dimensions. The Norma Reloading Manual Edition No. 1 has more current data for the 6.5 x 54mm MS and with brass available from said company, I see no point in trying to form your own cases.
Firing the guns is a very pleasant affair as there is relatively little recoil and muzzle blast. As is typical of rifles from this era, the combination of a small front bead and small rear notch can make it difficult to use the iron sights under less than ideal conditions. My vision is still pretty good but older shooters, especially those wearing eyeglasses, may have to work at shooting good groups with them. That is probably the reason why so many of the guns I have encountered have scopes mounted on them, even with the clumsy contraptions often used to attach them. Whatever the case, the guns will provide more accuracy than most hunters will ever need at the ranges most big game animals are shot at, even with iron sights. As stated earlier, you may find it surprising how deep the 160 grain bullet the guns fire penetrates into game. The ballistics aren’t that different from the 6.5 x 55mm Swedish Mauser and that cartridge has legions of fans among the moose hunters of Scandinavia.
The prewar rifles were made up till about 1939 or so and the first thing you will notice if you see enough of them is that there is a major difference between the guns made before Hitler took over Austria and those made after. The rifles made after the Anschluss are actually marked “Made in Germany” and “Kal. 6.5 Normal.” The German marked guns are crudely finished compared to the Austrian marked guns, which is no great surprise, since I’m sure by that time Hitler’s minions were busy gearing up Austrian gun factories to make Mauser 98k rifles. Production of sporting rifles would definitely have been a low priority for the Third Reich. Don L. Henry wrote two great articles about Mannlicher-Schoenauers, one for the 1996 Gun Digest and the other for Rifle #121. Both mention the Nazi marked guns and are full of information about Mannlichers in general. You will also see a photo of W.D.M. Bell’s rifle in the 1996 Gun Digest and that alone makes it a must have for anyone interested in the guns he used during his time in Africa shooting elephants. Bell apparently had his telephone number engraved on the inside of the trapdoor buttplate, which would erase any doubt as to the previous owner of the rifle. I’m not sure what Bell’s rifle would be worth nowadays but it is safe to assume it is beyond the reach of the average shooter.
Because of their legendary reliability and performance under the harshest conditions, explorers were especially fond of them. Don L. Henry mentions the famous explorer Vilhajalmur Stefannson using original Austrian guns along with ones built by Gibbs of Bristol on his expeditions to the Arctic. Like Bell, the only problem Stefannson had with the rifles was with ammunition made for a high velocity version that was intended for use in Gibbs Mannlicher-Schoenauers. The cartridge ruptured at the base and escaping gas blinded his right eye for a week. Other users of the guns included Kalman Kittenberger and Roy Chapman Andrews. Kittenberger was adamant that good quality ammunition be used but was very fond of the guns otherwise. Even Elmer Keith, the dean of big guns, had praise for the 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer. John Taylor was somewhat less enthusiastic about them, mostly because he felt that the guns had a bad habit of jamming, usually from a fired cartridge that would fail to extract. I would be willing to bet that it had more to do with poor quality ammunition, probably loaded with corrosive primers and fired in guns with dirty or rusty chambers, than the guns themselves. He did tell in his book, African Rifles and Cartridges, of one amusing instance of the rifle’s use by a fellow elephant hunter. As told by Taylor, “What must surely be the world’s record bag with any rifle, much less with a small bore, is held by the little 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer in the hands of Banks, recently retired from the Elephant Control staff in Uganda -- three elephant to the one shot! He shot one which fell against two others, and all three of them tumbled over a precipice.” I think it is safe to say that it will be a long time before anyone tops that feat!
With all the history and romance associated with Mannlicher-Schoenauers, it is not hard to see why they are so coveted by hunters and collectors. I don’t shoot mine very often and I have yet to take any big game with them but they still hold a special place in my heart and I don’t plan to part with them until I am called to the hereafter. Such is the almost mythical appeal of the guns and the hunters of the past that relied on them, sometimes putting their very lives at stake in doing so. If you would like to learn more about them, a good place to start would be to join the Mannlicher Collectors Association. They probably have the most extensive archive of information about Mannlicher-Schoenauers in the world. There are also quite a few books available from companies such as Safari Press and Trophy Room Books although there is very little I have found that is devoted exclusively to the subject. Most of the books I’ve been able to find that mention Mannlicher-Schoenauers have been hunting books written by the great gun writers of the past such as Keith, Taylor, Eddy and of course, Hemingway. Old issues of American Rifleman, Handloader and Rifle magazines have articles about Mannlicher-Schoenauers. If you are fortunate enough to have one in your gun safe, please do us all a favor and take care of it so that future generations will have the opportunity to experience it. If you are thinking of buying one, do some research, find a reputable dealer and buy it. Life is short and with the current gun ban crowd in Washington, D.C., it would be a good idea to take advantage of any opportunities that may come along to own one. -- John Swikart
Copyright May 2009 ALL ABOUT GUNS
