Unfortunately the M96 & M97 weren't marketed as a switch barrel design, even though the bolt locks up into a collar on the barrel and the barrel is only clamped in the receiver by two horizontal bolts (in a similar arrangement to the Sauer 202).

I get the feeling it was Mausers answer to the R93, and they strived to make something lighter (2.8kg max), higher capacity (5 rounds), and more "traditional" (16 lugs vs a collett) rather than compete as a switch barrel.

Given the action type, the M95 that I was drawing the comparison with is the work of Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher from a century before http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat....p;vc=1&nt=3
As discussed most modern straight pulls have the bolt knob travelling a longer path than the bolt head during the cycling process, the Helix being a notable exception.

BTW you can save on keyboard wear by just typing Doc