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Shooting & Reloading - Mausers, Big Bores and others >> Mannlicher Discussion forum & Archive

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Rule303
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Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 5063
Loc: Woodford Qld

Buying Mannlicher Schönauer what to look for.
#281540 - 25/04/16 06:09 PM

Hi all,

I have the chance to purchase a M1903 MS. This is full wood and has been converted to 308. The asking price is $1450 Australian and the owner tells me it is pre war production. Stock looks to be well used but action looks in good order. All this from photos.

Please educate me on any pitfalls to look for and would the asking price be reasonable. Also can these actions be easily scoped and what sort of scope mounts would I need to look at.

Thanks in advance.

Greg

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Ash
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Reged: 10/05/11
Posts: 1653
Loc: Australia

Re: Buying Mannlicher Schönauer what to look for. [Re: Rule303]
#281541 - 25/04/16 06:54 PM

Cracks in the stock - if you can take it out of the stock and check it all over around the magazine and tang. Apparently between the recoil lug and magazine they can start to go? Well, not sure if i got that right but its somewhere in that area.

If you have dummy rounds perhaps check if it feeds .308 too, because IIRC they are sensitive in preference? Don't quote me on that one. I haven't shot mine yet!

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xausa
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Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2037
Loc: Tennessee, USA

Re: Buying Mannlicher Schönauer what to look for. [Re: Rule303]
#281549 - 26/04/16 12:02 AM

Quote:

I have the chance to purchase a M1903 MS. This is full wood and has been converted to 308. The asking price is $1450 Australian and the owner tells me it is pre war production. Stock looks to be well used but action looks in good order. All this from photos.

Please educate me on any pitfalls to look for and would the asking price be reasonable. Also can these actions be easily scoped and what sort of scope mounts would I need to look at.

M/S magazines are designed to accept a specific cartridge and the .308 is substantially different from the 6.5X54 M/S, so feeding should be a primary concern. I would consider running dummy rounds through the magazine as a vital prerequisite for purchasing such a rifle.

Since the .308 is also a more powerful cartridge, you should check for cracks in the stock between the front action screw and the magazine.

To answer your question bluntly, no, the action cannot be easily scoped because of the split bridge which precludes mounting a rear base on the top of the bridge, where it would normally be. The mounts available range from moderately expensive to very expensive to astronomical. (I refer to the Redfield mount, the Griffin & Howe mount and the German claw mount.) I have all three of M/S rifles and they all function satisfactorily, although the Redfield mount cannot be depended upon to return the scope to zero if removed and remounted.

I have bought M/S rifles with claw mount bases installed. In that case, it is simply a question of finding someone competent to fit new rings to the old bases.

I have also bought a M/S with a Griffin & Howe mount installed. It proved to be a joy to use, but finding someone to install one in your part of the world may be a problem. Some M/S rifles are set up to accommodate side mounts and have a removable plate on the side which provides access to a flat surface, making installation a good deal easier.

Redfield mounts are no longer manufactured by Redfield, but there is at least one well made clone on the market. I have found it to be no different from the original in any significant way. Some M/S actions are drilled and tapped on the receiver ring and on the side of the bridge to accept the Redfield mount, and that makes installation not much different from an ordinary scope mounting operation.

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lonewulf
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Reged: 06/08/12
Posts: 227
Loc: South-East Otago, New Zealand

Re: Buying Mannlicher Schönauer what to look for. [Re: Rule303]
#281571 - 26/04/16 08:43 PM

Quote:

Hi all,

I have the chance to purchase a M1903 MS. This is full wood and has been converted to 308. The asking price is $1450 Australian and the owner tells me it is pre war production. Stock looks to be well used but action looks in good order. All this from photos.

Please educate me on any pitfalls to look for and would the asking price be reasonable. Also can these actions be easily scoped and what sort of scope mounts would I need to look at.

Thanks in advance.

Greg

When you say "converted", do you mean re-bored or re-barreled?

Is the rifle a genuine MS 1903 sporter? If it is/was, it will have 'Patant Mannlicher Schoenauer M. 1903' stamped into the steel on top of the front receiver ring.

Do all the parts to the receiver and magazine have a matching number? They should.

When buying MS rifles be aware that it is not uncommon to find military Mannlichers that are passed-off as genuine MS sporting rifles.

And finally the price. I'd have thought $1450 'Ocker' is quite a lot to pay for a heavily modified rifle of this type; particularly as this one doesn't sound in great condition. And as others have noted above, the mags in these rifles are specific to the chambering. The rifle may feed ammo perfectly (if the conversion was done by a good G/smith) or it may not. I would absolutely insist on seeing see first hand evidence that it actually feeds smoothly. There is a very good chance that is doesn't. Again, to my way of thinking, the rifle sounds very expensive for what it is. I'd be inclined to give it a miss and keep looking.

Edited by lonewulf (26/04/16 08:50 PM)

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Rule303
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Reged: 05/07/09
Posts: 5063
Loc: Woodford Qld

Re: Buying Mannlicher Schönauer what to look for. [Re: lonewulf]
#281609 - 27/04/16 04:36 PM

HI gents,

Thanks you for your replies. As I have no chance of inspecting the rifle I will give it a miss. I think you have saved me a bit of money.

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deeangeo
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Reged: 09/05/15
Posts: 207
Loc: United Kingdom

Re: Buying Mannlicher Schönauer what to look for. [Re: Rule303]
#281615 - 28/04/16 12:24 AM

Once converted, the rifle is no longer an M1903 & FWIW I concur, the magazines are cartridge specific.

As far as I'm aware, Steyr, Daimmler introduced a .308 cal. in 1952, into what effectively was a similar designed rifle, but not quite the same as original MSch rifles.

These older rifles with split bridges can be scoped and there are a number of different ways to fit whatever mounts are appropriate to you. I've just done that very thing and the detailes are under a recent different thread on this website.

My advice is find an un-altered MSch stutzen/rifle.
Cheers, d

--------------------
Blaser K95 Luxus Kipplaufbüchse, .25-06 Rem. Schmidt & Bender 8x56 & Nosler 110gn Accubond = Game Over!

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