Mannlicher Schoenauer Rifle Serial Numbers

Mannlicher-Schoenauers and their proprietary cartridges have lived in a world of song and story for over 110 years, and they are still going strong in 2010 as can be discerned by the advent of the.376 Steyr in the 1990s and the addition of the impressive.450 Marlin to the product line in the early 2000s. Traditional interest remains high concerning the 6.5x54mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer of 1903, the 8x56mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer of 1908, and the 9.5x57mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer of 1910, even in this day of high velocity ammunition, new stubby magnums and high intensity cartridges. So, what is the mystique of the Mannlicher that keeps these 110 year old firearms in the sporting interest? A writer can launch himself into page upon page of superlatives, legends, old hunting tales, personalities, and notorieties, such as Bell, Taylor, Stigand, and Sheldon, but, the mission of describing the mystique of the Mannlicher remains elusive, for there will always be one more incident, one more person, or one more characteristic to describe and discuss. After all, with 110 years to develop an intense following from a world often populated with intense and energetic people, the chance for a specific firearm to gain a famous and peculiar niche in history is only natural. This commentary is not intended to be a historical account of the Mannlicher-Schoenauer (M-S) and Steyr-Mannlicher (S-M) cartridges, but rather a listing of the cartridges chambered for these rifles and a for information purposes, nor does this writer profess to describe every variation of these Steyr rifles and carbines, as the factory continually produced uncatalogued limited production runs for special customers.

Various models of commercial Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifles and carbines were officially manufactured at the Steyr factory in Austria from 1900 to 1968, with clean up production adding approximately two years (1969 and 1970) of additional production to the noted manufacture dates. It may be argued that the origination dates should be extended into the early 1890s, as far as cartridges go, for the 6.5x53mmR, rimmed, was indeed the first of the famous 6.5mm Mannlicher rounds to be sold commercially. Mario vs donkey kong minis march again music.

However, these earlier rifles did not utilize the rotary magazine for which the Mannlicher-Schoenauer and Steyr-Mannlicher firearms are famous. What then, are the “Mannlicher-Schoenauer” cartridges? The pure Mannlicher-Schoenauer proprietary cartridges as chambered in the firearms of the SteyrWerke are as follows, (1) 6.5x54mm M-S of 1903, (2) 9x56mm M-S of 1905, (3) 8x56mm M-S of 1908, (4) 9.5x56mm M-S of 1910 (more on the names of this cartridge in its own section.) Other cartridges that are reputed to be Mannlicher, such as the 9.3x57mm, 10.75x57mm and 10.75x68mm, are more likely Mauser developments and rarely if ever seen in the M-S or S-M. The 9.3x57mm and 10.75x57mm being mentioned largely because some sources believe they were once Steyr cartridges, although specimens of such rifles have yet to emerge.

Mannlicher-Schoenauer Dating. There is a reliable way to date a Mannlicher-Schoenauer, at least on the commercial versions. I do not know if the military versions have the same proof requirements, and this data ONLY applies to Austrian Mannlichers, not the Breda ones. On the underside of the chamber you will find a number series like this 122345.19.