Steyr-Mannlicher M95 Guidance/Advice?

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

I traded for this yesterday.



I've studied the Mosin for over 12 years now, and probably know most everything there is to know about it, mechanically speaking.

I intend to move on to the M95 now.

What can you tell me about the example I have here? I understand the bolts can be stiff on certain examples?

The way the "S" is printed indicates what country the conversation from 8x50r to 8x56r was done, correct?



Were they all converted, or were some built new to 8x56r?

What are the strengths and shortcomings of the M95? Anything special to pay attention to when I take it apart for the first time?

I can't wait to shoot this. I have a few rounds and a clip on the way. Any help is appreciated. And no, preservationists, I'll make no permanent changes to the rifle unless it's a repair.

Regards,

Josh

P.S. I apologize for the bad pics. I used my phone; the camera is at the shop. Thanks again!

[Noah_Zark]

Josh:

What can you tell me about the example I have here? Nice European elm stock on a typical M95 Carbine. Appears to have the shorter carbine-length sights so it was originally built as a carbine and not a rifle that was shortened. Converted M95 rifles have a longer sight leaf, much like the sight leaves on a Mosin 91/59 as opposed to those on M38s and M44s.

I understand the bolts can be stiff on certain examples? Yes. That's generally an indication of force of the extractor "tail" on the bolt body. There's a tab on the end of the extractor tail that engages slots in the bolt body, and if the tail is bent toward the bolt body too much, the bolt will be very stiff to manipulate. One can tune the extractor tail force (some call it "tension") but if its too light the bolt will be easy to work with but the bolt head will snap into the "closed" position when the bolt is removed from the receiver. When that happens, I use a 6" Crescent wrench to carefully twist the bolt head back out to the "bolt open" position for reinsertion in the receiver. NOTE that the bolt head may snap back into the "bolt closed" position at any point, especially if bumped against the receiver. Lather, rinse, repeat. Personally, I have "tuned" the extractor tails on all of my M95 Carbines and the two remining M95 rifles in my collection. The bolts manipulate easily, and most of the time do not snap to "bolt closed" position.

The way the "S" is printed indicates what country the conversation from 8x50r to 8x56r was done, correct? Yes, the large "S" indicates rechambering to 8x56R, regardless if Steyr/Austria or Fegyver és Gépgyár Rt, abbreviated as F.G.G.Y./Budapest, Hungary did the conversion between WWI and WWII. Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia used the M95, and Bulgaria did rechamberings, but Czechoslovakia did not. Small parts are marked with codes, either a "K" (Steyr) or "R" (Budapest). If you have one that does not have an electropenciled S/N on the bolt and no S/N stamped in the side of the buttstock, it was never subsequently rebuilt after initial conversion. It is not uncommon for M95 Carbine examples to have one or more S/Ns stamped in the buttstock.

Were they all converted, or were some built new to 8x56r? My understanding is any M95s chambered in 8x56R were converts and marked with an "S".

What are the strengths and shortcomings of the M95? Despite the barrel being somewhat thin-appearing in the area of the chamber, the rifle is sufficiently strong to handle the wartime 8x56R cartridge, and the 8x57 Mauser cartridge for which some M95s were chambered by Nazi Germany allies in WWII.
The barrels, being short, are comparatively stiff and that means a lower amount of vibration and generally better accuracy, but accuracy is dependent on many other things as well.
The 8mm bore is a touch larger in diameter than that of 8mm Mausers, and requires slightly larger diameter bullets if you reload.
Any of the 1938 "Nazi" ammo is corrosive, wash out the barrel with hot soapy water and oil afterward with Corrosion-X or similar to prevent corrosion.
Some M95 examples have sewer pipe bores, but as they all have strong rifling a pitted bore doesn't necessarily mean that a given example won't shoot well. What DOES affect accuracy of M95 Carbines (and rifles if you can find one) are worn muzzles just like any firearm; I've seen M95s that have virtually no lands remaining at the muzzle and I have steered clear of them.
The "safety" is chintzy. And when disassembling and reassembling an M95 bolt, DO PAY ATTENTION to the position of the safety catch or else you're going to have to repeat some steps (see 2nd video link below).


Anything special to pay attention to when I take it apart for the first time? See the following:

https://youtu.be/qhlpY4ag-o8

https://youtu.be/odTEVPtCAvM

When you disassemble and reassemble a bolt, grease lube the extractor tail and the spiral grooves in the bolt body.

The firing pin is "D" shaped in section, and there's a round, threaded bushing at the rear of the bolt head's cam body with an internal "D" aperture that retains the firing pin and spring in the cam body; these must be properly aligned when reinstalling the firing pin during reassembly.

Also, pay attention to the positional relationships between the bolt parts when disassembling so that it is properly reassembled. Chiefly, it is possible to get the bolt head "out of phase" during reassembly. Again, watch the 2nd video.



For additional information, visit: https://www.historyinfirearms.com/model-1895 from which the two above videos were taken.

HTH,

Noah

[Delkal]

I got one in the early 90's with hundreds of rounds of ammo but unfortunately can't tell you much more since I never shot it! It was freshly refinished after a rebuild and appears to be unfired but I started to have reservations about the straight pull back design and the short carbine seems like it will kick the hell out of you. And while the ammo is mint in the original boxes I am not sure if its OK to shoot Nazi marked ammo made in 1938.

[bortle]

As I remember they kick pretty good.

[RockIsland]

I got one in the early 90's with hundreds of rounds of ammo but unfortunately can't tell you much more since I never shot it! It was freshly refinished after a rebuild and appears to be unfired but I started to have reservations about the straight pull back design and the short carbine seems like it will kick the hell out of you. And while the ammo is mint in the original boxes I am not sure if its OK to shoot Nazi marked ammo made in 1938.

I was waiting for Noah to chime in.

Don't fear the straight pull. The bolt has lugs that rotate like a Garand. It's just a manual version.

The carbines do kick like a draught horse. I've only shot the '38-'39 Waffenampt stamped Austrian ammo. Only had two not go bang.

I let my dad shoot it once. He said, "Fuck that, you can keep that thing!"