Steyr 1904 en bloc charger help?

[flintlocke]

Well, it seems I have a 1904 Steyr, 8X57 rimless .318 bore. What I don't have, is the faintest clue what the required ammo clip looks like. Would the clip be unique to this rifle? Would something like the '88 GEW clip work? Perhaps the Carcano, even though it has a rather small rim at .449". But, some Carcano's were converted to 8X57 by the crafty Germans, retaining the Mannlicher feed system. Has anyone else encountered this problem? thanks, Paul.

[texassako]

I believe the '88 GEW clip is the proper one, but hopefully someone here can confirm that. The Carcano clip should not be it since it has to be ground on and bent a little to fit 8mm and 5 don't quite fill up the whole clip(to long).

[flintlocke]

Unbelievably I found some Commision '88 GEW chargers and they click in and work like they was born there, thanks much Texassako. I gotta add that the much ballyhooed Lee Enfield rapid fire capability may be a little exaggerated after dry running three chargers through this Mannlicher, flawless!~... Not that I would be willing to crawl out of the trench in front of either one of them. thanks, Paul

[aubrey16753]

Unbelievably I found some Commision '88 GEW chargers and they click in and work like they was born there, thanks much Texassako. I gotta add that the much ballyhooed Lee Enfield rapid fire capability may be a little exaggerated after dry running three chargers through this Mannlicher, flawless!~... Not that I would be willing to crawl out of the trench in front of either one of them. thanks, Paul

Hi Flintocke
Glad to hear you have picked up one of these old 1904 beauties, they are a dream to shoot.
Being a resident of Northern Ireland I have a particular interest in these guns and can verify what you say in relation to the Lee Enfield.
Does yours have any markings or cartouches stamped on the but, does all the serial numbers match and is it complete with cleaning rod.
I would be very confident that yours originated here in Ireland and was part of the 1914 shipment from Benny Spiro in Hamburg. There is belief that some 1904 Steyr's were sold to China, but through research I can find no evidence to back this up. I also have believe that a total of 20000 were made and sold, so if yours has a serial number greater than 20000 I would love to see a photo of it.
If you intend to reload for it I find that 34gr of Varget pushing a S&B .318 196gr s.p. works a treat.
Hopefully this info might be of some use.

Regards
Aubrey16753149794