SchwarzStock
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2024
- Messages
- 126
Mannlicher – Schönauer Stutzen
During my military career I was very involved in the sniper community and worked with a lot of high-tech systems. They would all shot extremely well making for me hunting with similar stuff just boring. For me much enjoyment can be had using vintage, classic hunting rifle and so I started looking for and using older sporting rifles. Being in Germany I have seen, handled or owned a number of civil Mausers (Mauser Sporting rifles) and the trim little Mauser Stutzen (Mannlicher stocked carbines) very beautiful but the Mannlicher-Schӧnauers are the very definition of the classic, European turn-bolt repeating sporting rifle.
I just acquired this carbine and am very pleased with it. It is a Model 1908 produced in 1910 and chambered for the 8x57 IS cartridge. I have owned several MS carbines over the years but they all had dovetail cut front receiver rings (as do most old Mauser or MS carbines) to accommodate mounting scopes with the standard main tube lengths. The Germans like to mount their scopes set back because they shoot mostly from a seated position, they want the ocular lens much more to the rear than usually seen in the US. That mounting is now forbidden in Germany (and destroys the receiver marking) and should you have to rebarrel a rifle the gun will not be proofed. Rebarreling requires a re-proof before the gunsmith can return the rifle. Barrels are now controlled much more closely than in years past and rebarreling in a home shop is no longer a possibility.
Anyway, I found this one a couple of weeks back. As I said, it is an 8x57 IS, the M1908 was primarily made in 8x56 MS. Ammunition for the 8x56 is available but being in 8x57 is just fantastic in that the ammunition with lead free bullets is much cheaper. Quite unusually this gun has a single trigger instead of the common double-set. The rifle is fitted with a Pecar Berlin variable scope: 1.5-4. The scope was manufactured after WWII so it is very interesting this rifle was not previously fitted with a scope during that 40+ year period. The scope is a straight tube design that allowed the front base to be fitted on the barrel. An interesting reticle is fitted that is meant for running game; two horizontal lines with a large dot in the middle. From this reticle and the condition of this rifle I suspect it was only used for Social drive hunts and the previous owner used another rifle for shooting from a stand.
I would like to fit this gun with a larger scope but the ring spacing requires a usable mounting tube length of 170mm (6.7 inches) so at this point I am looking for someone to retro-fit a reticle into the Pecar. I have a couple of leads and am pursuing that now.
During my military career I was very involved in the sniper community and worked with a lot of high-tech systems. They would all shot extremely well making for me hunting with similar stuff just boring. For me much enjoyment can be had using vintage, classic hunting rifle and so I started looking for and using older sporting rifles. Being in Germany I have seen, handled or owned a number of civil Mausers (Mauser Sporting rifles) and the trim little Mauser Stutzen (Mannlicher stocked carbines) very beautiful but the Mannlicher-Schӧnauers are the very definition of the classic, European turn-bolt repeating sporting rifle.
I just acquired this carbine and am very pleased with it. It is a Model 1908 produced in 1910 and chambered for the 8x57 IS cartridge. I have owned several MS carbines over the years but they all had dovetail cut front receiver rings (as do most old Mauser or MS carbines) to accommodate mounting scopes with the standard main tube lengths. The Germans like to mount their scopes set back because they shoot mostly from a seated position, they want the ocular lens much more to the rear than usually seen in the US. That mounting is now forbidden in Germany (and destroys the receiver marking) and should you have to rebarrel a rifle the gun will not be proofed. Rebarreling requires a re-proof before the gunsmith can return the rifle. Barrels are now controlled much more closely than in years past and rebarreling in a home shop is no longer a possibility.
Anyway, I found this one a couple of weeks back. As I said, it is an 8x57 IS, the M1908 was primarily made in 8x56 MS. Ammunition for the 8x56 is available but being in 8x57 is just fantastic in that the ammunition with lead free bullets is much cheaper. Quite unusually this gun has a single trigger instead of the common double-set. The rifle is fitted with a Pecar Berlin variable scope: 1.5-4. The scope was manufactured after WWII so it is very interesting this rifle was not previously fitted with a scope during that 40+ year period. The scope is a straight tube design that allowed the front base to be fitted on the barrel. An interesting reticle is fitted that is meant for running game; two horizontal lines with a large dot in the middle. From this reticle and the condition of this rifle I suspect it was only used for Social drive hunts and the previous owner used another rifle for shooting from a stand.
I would like to fit this gun with a larger scope but the ring spacing requires a usable mounting tube length of 170mm (6.7 inches) so at this point I am looking for someone to retro-fit a reticle into the Pecar. I have a couple of leads and am pursuing that now.
