Regarding the Steyr Mannlicher M95

[glennsche]

I'll confess this rifle has started to catch my eye. I love my k31 and getting another straight pull seems kind of interesting. The rifles seem nearly as easy to find as the mosin 90/30s, and nearly as cheap.

my question for you lads is this: how expensive is it to shoot?

it seems like the only ammo i've seen is pre ww2 german stuff at gun shows. a brief perusal of the ammo sites i normally haunt is not encouraging.

are these types of guns worth it? i'm guessing no but i'd love to hear what people who have them have to say on the matter.

cheers,
glennsche

1937 90/30, 1944 M44, 1951 K31, 1952 Tula SKS, 1951 Mossberg .22

[Nodda Duma]

You will need to get your hands on a couple of en bloc clips to shoot it. If you buy from J&G Sales, they will sell you some milsurp ammo for it with your rifle order. That is one way to get the enblocs.

Other than that, if you don't reload now it'd be a great reason to. You can get the bullets, you can get the brass. It is available at grafs.com

-Jason

[tankerman]

I've got several dozen clips if you're looking.

[Jon Se]

The new production ammo is made by Hornady and sells for around $25 per 20. A few online vendors carry them, Cabelas and Grafs for example. The cost of ammo will quickly be more than the gun itself. If you reload, brass can be bought for about 50 cents apiece and bullets cost another 30 cents. Imo this is the only way to go if you plan on shooting this rifle often without breaking the bank unless you come across a stash of cheap surplus 8x56r.

I've never had a straight pull rifle before, so I'd have to admit that working the bolt feels quite a bit different from my other rifles. My rifle has some difficulty stripping the first round from the clip, but once that's off, everything else works fine.

With all that being said, I'm shooting it for the first time tomorrow

I've got several dozen clips if you're looking.

pm inbound

[glennsche]

The new production ammo is made by Hornady and sells for around $25 per 20. A few online vendors carry them, Cabelas and Grafs for example. The cost of ammo will quickly be more than the gun itself. If you reload, brass can be bought for about 50 cents apiece and bullets cost another 30 cents. Imo this is the only way to go if you plan on shooting this rifle often without breaking the bank unless you come across a stash of cheap surplus 8x56r.

I've never had a straight pull rifle before, so I'd have to admit that working the bolt feels quite a bit different from my other rifles. My rifle has some difficulty stripping the first round from the clip, but once that's off, everything else works fine.

With all that being said, I'm shooting it for the first time tomorrow



pm inbound

this is exactly the info i was hoping for, thank you!

[glennsche]

follow up for Jon Se...

where you shooting tomorrow?

[Jon Se]

I'll be at lytle creek in the am

[Seesm]

I looked at a Steyr at Big 5 but they did not carry the mag or know where to get them or the ammo for that matter.... nice.

[knucklehead0202]

i got lucky and stumbled across some surplus ammo a while ago when JG had it. additionally, these little suckers are an absolute blast to shoot and if you get a good one, fairly accurate. the sights take a little getting used to, but i got mine at big 5 for 80 bucks, matching numbers, a gorgeous stock, and a pristine bore. definitely get one, even if you end up having to buy the expensive hornady, it's reloadable, so do it. once i run out of my surplus stuff, i'll be buying about 100 rounds of the hornady stuff. hopefully, soon Prvi will be making it for cheaper. i could use a few of those clips too tankerman.

[Mustang]

I have an M95 Long rifle version (30" barrel). If you are expecting a smooth, easy action, like a K31, you may be disappointed. Mine is fairly stiff to manipulate and the trigger would do a bear trap proud.

[bobfried]

I have an M95 Long rifle version (30" barrel). If you are expecting a smooth, easy action, like a K31, you may be disappointed. Mine is fairly stiff to manipulate and the trigger would do a bear trap proud.

Yup, the only similarity an M95 and a K-31 have is strictly on paper. They are quite different in the way they work. I've owned a few M95 and they have all had what can only be call an atrocious action, a K-31 in comparison is silky smooth.

The real problem with the M95 (beside the recoil on the carbines) is that ammo and en-bloc clips will cost you more than the rifle. It's a bit easier to swallow if you reload but not by much. I remember one range day when I shot the equivalent cost of the rifle itself in just the ammo. That was than I called it a day and decided to sell all of them off. Basically that's my rule, if it costs me the same amount to buy the ammo as the weapon for one range day than I don't want to own it.

[glennsche]

Basically that's my rule, if it costs me the same amount to buy the ammo as the weapon for one range day than I don't want to own it.

that's a great rule of thumb!

[Fresno Minutemen]

I got mine at Big 5, With Budapest stamped on the barrel. It was on sale for $69.99. I couldnt pass it up. Also bought the custom 8x56r 205 gr. hornady from sportsmansguide.com $23.97 non magnetic . The clips I found on ebay... I have yet to take it to the range though. Nice light wood stock I bought it for its historical value.

[bigthaiboy]

Basically that's my rule, if it costs me the same amount to buy the ammo as the weapon for one range day than I don't want to own it.

It would be difficult for me to follow your rule on my M95, since I only paid $24.97 for it.

[pingpong]

You will need to get your hands on a couple of en bloc clips to shoot it. If you buy from J&G Sales, they will sell you some milsurp ammo for it with your rifle order. That is one way to get the enblocs.

Other than that, if you don't reload now it'd be a great reason to. You can get the bullets, you can get the brass. It is available at grafs.com

-Jason

Actually, JG Sales no longer includes the clips with the ammo. I ordered 40 rounds with the one I got last week, and no clips were included.