Austrian Steyr M95 Carbine - 8x56mmR

[Cosmiceyes]

What does anyone know on the action of this gun?I found one for sale,but price makes it iffy in my area.
The caliber I know about. http://www.surplusrifleforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=26899
The Austrian Steyr M95 Carbine I don't.
If I can find the rim base size I will know if the gun can be converted to a usable caliber I can have fun reloading.Like a 38-55.
So is the action workable in this reguard?

[nagantguy]

Straight pull bolt action, one of the first rounds to take advantage of the Spitzer style bullet as I've been told. Once owned a pair of them, one as issue the other sporterized. The big draw back is they only work with the stripper clip, it holds five shots and falls out the bottom when last round is chambered. Made in Austria and Hungry the Nazis issued them to home guard units and such. Mine shot well, and was light and handy now come to think on it why did I trade them off?

[Cosmiceyes]

Straight pull bolt action, one of the first rounds to take advantage of the Spitzer style bullet as I've been told. Once owned a pair of them, one as issue the other sporterized. The big draw back is they only work with the stripper clip, it holds five shots and falls out the bottom when last round is chambered. Made in Austria and Hungry the Nazis issued them to home guard units and such. Mine shot well, and was light and handy now come to think on it why did I trade them off?
So far sounds good except the stripper clip. I ADDED A LINK TO MY ORIGINAL POST / QUESTION (fat fingers hit caps) The link gives some very precise information about the cartridge.A good read with good pictures.

[dabsond]

The stripper clips are readily available from a number of sources. They are pretty sturdy and can be reused indefinately with care.

[gandog56]

Would you not buy a M1 Garand because it uses clips? I have three Steyrs, Austrian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian contract. All of them are fine shooters. The problem is ammo is scarce, but Prvi Partizan and Hornady make them. I actually had my reloading dies and never ever shot a commercial or old milsurp ammo through any of mine. Graf And Sons sells the brass, and .330" bullets. Lee makes the dies. Once you buy the initial brass, (or buy some of the Prvi or Hornady ammo and keep the cases), they cost about the same to reload as 8mm Mauser.

[Gtek]

In regard to the action, click-clack. Do not single feed rounds or you will be needing an extractor you cannot find. I picked one up almost twenty years ago with a couple hundred rounds. This gun and a 94 lever are the only two I have ever shot that cheek slap the poo out of me. Still a hoot to shoot though, if you can bang a stripper off the bench in a T-shirt you've earned your man card. Gtek

[Cosmiceyes]

That's good to know! Thank you!

[Cosmiceyes]

Would you not buy a M1 Garand because it uses clips? I have three Steyrs, Austrian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian contract. All of them are fine shooters. The problem is ammo is scarce, but Prvi Partizan and Hornady make them. I actually had my reloading dies and never ever shot a commercial or old milsurp ammo through any of mine. Graf And Sons sells the brass, and .330" bullets. Lee makes the dies. Once you buy the initial brass, (or buy some of the Prvi or Hornady ammo and keep the cases), they cost about the same to reload as 8mm Mauser.

Oh that's all good. Is 210 to much to pay for one?

[TreeKiller]

if you have a C&R Century has them from $120.00 to &148.00
Both the M95 and the M96/34.

[Cosmiceyes]

I wish I had a FFL lic. Saw what may be some good guns.Thanks for the info.I will check around to see who deals with them.

[junkbug]

I know the bottom budget dollar is about $130. For that, you get a gamble; good bore, great bore, frosty but service-able bore. Hopefully a stock that is not chewed up. Plus you still have to pay shipping, two ways if you want to return it. I do not like to gamble. Considering the cost of gasoline, and gunshop browsing time, $210 for carbine you like, and can hold in your hands and visually inspect with your own eyes, is a reasonable price.

Good luck.

[Wayne Smith]

I may be remembering wrong, but I think Buckshot rebarreled one in 45-70. Either that or 30US. If you do a search for the 1895 Steyr you will find several threads.

[Cosmiceyes]

Thank you everyone. I decided not to get one.Will go to the 1891 Argentine Mauser. More parts,new barrels sitting in stock,...etc...etc..

[Buckshot]

.............I know the OP said he'd decided to not get on of the M1895 Steyrs, but figured I'd chime in. Their are no flies on the action itself. It does have a rather poor trigger pull along the lines of the issue Russian M-N's. Difficulties with it accuracy wise and cast lay in the rather mismatched chamber and barrel dimensions. When you have a chamber that will accept a cartridge loaded with a .338" slug, and the throat will pass a .340" OD, then stuff it through a barrel with a .316" bore and grooves running from .330" to .334" you're moving a LOT of lead around.

In any event Wayne Smith is correct that I did convert one to 30-40 Krag. A new 30 cal barrel with sensible dimensions will have the Steyr shooting alongside most anything else.

http://www.fototime.com/A13422269DE91E3/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/CBEAAE5A40D244A/standard.jpg

The rifle.

http://www.fototime.com/F2618D4764522E3/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/8D145DDB43DD2B5/standard.jpg

Since the 30-40 is smaller around there are 2 simple modifications needed to the clips. One shown in the LEFT photo is to slightly bend the lips at the front slightly closer together. This causes the top cartridge to lay at a shallower angle so as to present the boolit to the chamber for smooth feeding. The second alteration is shown in the RIGHT photo. Doing a similar operation to the lips at the bottom take up a but of the looseness of the rounds in the clip due to their smaller OD. You don't HAVE to perform this one, but carrying loaded clips around WITHOUT doing it could have some partially empty strippers and loose rounds floating around.

A natural would be to re-barrel it to the 7.62x54R. Is it worth it? If all you want is a high powered rifle you might be better off buying one of the entry level bolt actions offered by Ruger or Savage. Or buy used. Depends on how much the original Steyr cost and what your gunsmith would soak you for rebarreling, and assuming you did the stock work yourself. I had an O1 FFL and paid $89 for the Steyr many moons ago. The 30 cal barrel blank from GPC cost the same ($89). The gunsmith charged me $150 for the work. I did the rest (sights and stock). If you had one with a good barrel and were only going to shoot jacketed ammo I'd leave it as is. But if the barrel is poor and you don't too many bucks in it a conversion might be the way to go.

................Buckshot

[Cosmiceyes]

WOW,that looks really really nice.I had 2 30-40 Kraig.One carbine that cost my Dad $10 with a case of 220gr Silvertips.The 2nd was a 200th year of American Liberty Ruger No.3.A really great cartridge.Yours looks amazing.
With what you said about cost the shipping,and transfers by a FFL person here is a additional $100 then sales tax.Sort of ruined the cheap out of the expense.
The Argentine is cheaper,and the barrels for 35 Rem.are easy to get while still fitting the original stock.I want it to travel with me as I crawl through the Manzanita,grass,and rocks.You never know whether you will get a shot or have to whack the pig in the snout.I want my sights to remain fixed through it all.

[bikerbeans]

This pic will give you the cartridge dimensions, assuming it is an 8x56R. I got one last year in a trade that has a very bad bore. I have been contemplating a rebarrel to .458 and short chamber for a brass length of 1.8" so the gun would be legal for deer in Indiana. If I use 45-70 brass then would have to turn the rims down to fit in the stripper clip. Other thought would be to fireform the 8x56R brass to fit a tapered wall 458 chamber but not so sure about that approach.

BB



http://stevespages.com/jpg/cd8x56r.jpg

[Buckshot]

............If in a hard way the 8x56R can be made out of 45-70 (been there and done that, but not many and not for long!) However to have a bolt action in 40-65 it would be worthwhile, especially since Starline offers 40-65 brass. Just a matter of turning the rims down a tad to fit the issue extractor. A .40 cal 300gr slug at 2200 fps or more could be useable?

..............Buckshot

[Larry Gibson]

I have converted several 8x56R cases to boxer primers. They were 1938 brass cases of good quality, well worth the minimal effort and a lot easier than converting 45-70 cases. Guy who has the M95 and did the rest (300+) himself has loaded them several times and hasn't lost a cast yet. Refer to the sticky on converting Berdan primed cases to boxer primers.

Larry Gibson

[Wayne Smith]

............If in a hard way the 8x56R can be made out of 45-70 (been there and done that, but not many and not for long!) However to have a bolt action in 40-65 it would be worthwhile, especially since Starline offers 40-65 brass. Just a matter of turning the rims down a tad to fit the issue extractor. A .40 cal 300gr slug at 2200 fps or more could be useable?

..............Buckshot

Damn, Ric, now you got me thinking! That's dangerous. Maybe send one of mine to JES for reboring to 40-65???

[Mike 56]

I never thought much about the M95. One day i was walking though Big Five and they had one in very good condition on sale for 79.00. I know the good old days. I cleaned her up bought some brass and bullets from grafs took her the range i was impressed the M95 was a good shooter i never played with my hand loads i was given a starting load of 48gr IMR 4350 and i could shoot it off a bench two inch groups or better at 50yd. You can make 8x56R brass out of 7.62x54R brass you can size .338 jacked bullets down to .330. I have never done ether. Here is a ton of info on the M95. http://www.surplusrifle.com/steyrm95/index.asp Grafs and Sons has 56R brass, bullets as well as boxer primed ammo in stock. http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/category/categoryId/471 I think 210 is not a bad price in today's market and i don't think things are going to get any better so if you see something you want should probably buy it.

[Janoosh]

Is the re-bore to 40/65 even possible? Given the barrel thickness? I've got three of these firearms and i'm thinking more on the lines of a 35x56. Kinda like the Finn 9.3 x54, or there abouts. It would make a nice handy carbine. Especially wth a peep rear sight. Or a low powered scout/ pistol scope.

[Andrew Mason]

I have one of these m95 carbines as well.

I must say, I love it.

I shot it for the first time a few weeks ago.
I am thinking of getting 2 or 3 boxes of the privi hunting ammo


my other idea is converting it to 7.62x54r and installing a scout style scope.

[Gtek]

Saw on AIM Surplus they had some Prvi, boxer/brass and not to silly on $. Gtek

[vincewarde]

I am far from a CB expert, but the one thing that I learned here was to slug every bore you are going to shoot cast bullets in. I think that is especially true for the m95. Mine slugged at .332! I haven't had a chance to develop loads for it yet, but I had Lee make up a .333 push through sizer. I also have a Lee .338 225 gr. mold. I'll either use cast or size down .338 jacketed bullets.

I've mounted a 2x scout scope and it points really well. Of course the bolt works easily from the shoulder. I'm hoping that it will be a nice short range deer/hog gun. Since I am in CA, I have to make it work with "Unleaded" bullets if I want to hunt. I can hardly wait to move to Idaho.

[Buckshot]

Damn, Ric, now you got me thinking! That's dangerous. Maybe send one of mine to JES for reboring to 40-65???

...............Wayne, I don't think that skinny small OD barrel would stand being re-bored and rifled to 40 cal. Best to simply get a Green Mountain 40 cal barrel, have it turned half round (maybe 22" total length) and go from there. I've thought of a 38-56 Improved ( a 40-65 with a modern shoulder necked for a .375" slug). Dave Corbin did this many years ago using a M86 Winchester. You get the case capacity to really power a 375" slug :-)

.............Buckshot

[Old Ranger]

I got lucky with my M95. It slugged right on at .329. My Lee mold casts at .331. I honed out a Lee .329 push through sizer die to .332. I use it to seat 8mm Hornady CG's then pan lube. I haven't shot it a lot but it does show promise with 2400 loads. Have shot some 5 round groups of around an inch and a half at 50yds.

[dnepr]

I have always thought most data for the 8x56r to be a bit on the mild side, this data on the other hand doesn't seem conservative at all , I would definitely work up carefully to this level and I probably not want go through a hundred full pop loads like this especially from the bench but if one needed the full potential of the handy steyr carbine these would do it :bigsmyl2:

http://www.realguns.com/loads/8x56r.htm

[john hayslip]

J& G in Shotgun News is offering the M-95 for under $100 and I think they are C&R - But if you get the Argentine it is very close in power to the 308 and inexpensive dies are available from Lee and Brass and ammo available from Graf and sons -Why spend the money to rebarrel. Might also be able to get barrel recut to 35 Rem w/o a new barrel.

[Buckshot]

..........So far as the loads from that "Realguns" place goes, shooting original 1938 Austrian ammo goes, I chronographed it at 2200+ (forget the exact velocity offhand and don't want to mess around checking). I'd think the powder used then would be what we'd consider a medium burning rate powder now, ie: 4064, 4895. A 208gr slug at that speed from a barrel less then 20" in length isn't a piker by any means for such an action. The little carbine backs off the bullet smartly :-)

There IS a couple real negatives to this action I failed to mention earlier, and that is the scarcity of exractors if you should break one. The second, also having to do with the extractor is that the tail of the extractor is used to retain the bolthead in the 'Unlocked' position. If the tiny nub on the extractor's tail be worn, or likewise it's mating groove on the bolthead shank be worn, the bolthead WILL rotate to unlock. However it will want to rotate BACK into the locked position (lugs at 12 & 6 o'clock) as you're pulling and pushing the bolt handle to and fro. The bolthead will cause additional un-needed tension between the lugs and the receiver. Otherwise the bolt will slide with ease back and forth in the action pretty much of it's own weight, IF the bolthead remains in the unlocked (9 & 3 o'clock position).

............Buckshot

[Cosmiceyes]

............If in a hard way the 8x56R can be made out of 45-70 (been there and done that, but not many and not for long!) However to have a bolt action in 40-65 it would be worthwhile, especially since Starline offers 40-65 brass. Just a matter of turning the rims down a tad to fit the issue extractor. A .40 cal 300gr slug at 2200 fps or more could be useable?

..............Buckshot

I like 40 caliber. I would guess a gunsmith would have to cut the barrel,and re-bore?How much is a re-bore normally?I never looked at changing one up this much.Nice chunk of lead. Low recoil. Maybe get more than one.The 30-40 Kraig looks amazing. looks easiest to achieve.Do you guy realize all the research I have to do because of you! :)'s

What about a 405 Winchester conversion?

[dnepr]

Buckshot thanks for the reminder about the "unobtainium " extractors , I get about 2375 fps with 1938 nazi surplus without difficult extraction or any signs of excess pressure , so I think with modern powders th 8x56r could have a lot of potential . But you are right I don't want to be pushing the pressures to the point where it is straining the extractor to remove the case , my styer will see a lot of cast loads . Now if I could find a mosin action and a styer barrel , fire up the lathe.... Ok time to ignore the " good idea fairy " :bigsmyl2: