Model 1895 8X50MM Steyr, also 6.5X53MM.

[Adam Helmer]

I just received my granddad's 8MM M1895 straight pull Steyr Rifle. I would appreciate any information on cases, bullets, reloading dies, etc. I also got a M95 (?) 6.5 X53R Dutch Carbine. I have a few 5-round clips, but no ammo, dies, etc.

As a serious collector, I would really like to shoot, again, these old veteran arms.

Adam

[pworley1]

Grafs should have just about everything you will need. They usually will have the 8mm dies and brass. Lee makes a mold just for it and they usually have the mold in stock. If you don't want to pay $180.00 dollars for the 6.5 Dutch dies, you can use 6,5 x 54 Mannlicher dies fro Lee and form brass from 303 British brass. Have fun.

[Adam Helmer]

pworley1,

Thank you very much for the helpful information. I will contact Grafs.

Adam

[richhodg66]

There's a few threads here about forming brass for the 6.5x53. It seems it's not so simple as just running a .303 case into a 6.5 MS die, but it can be done. I almost bought a nicely sporterized one a couple of years ago and while I was researching how to do it, someone else bought it out from under me. Neat cartridge.

[ticket machine]

I form 6.5x53R cases from .303 British, easy to do . I didn't have to turn the rims down. You can also buy the cases from Huntington's Die Specialties. Made by Bertram, they are ready to load. Loading data available from LoadData.com, or there is some in Cartridges of the World. Listed also as .256 Mannlicher. I have a Ruger No. 1 rebarreled to 6.5x53R and it is a nice little cartridge.

[Wayne Smith]

I think NOE now carries the Oldfeller Frankenstein mold that was created by members of this board (accidentally) for the Steyr 8mm. Grafs has the .330 bullets for it if you don't want to cast, and has had the brass as well.

[Multigunner]

Some 6.5 Mannlichers were converted to .303 British so its likely the bolt face can handle the .303 rim. Best check that first though, they may have altered the bolt face when they did the conversions.

Some Greek 1903 rifles had a generic chamber that could handle the Italian 6.5. Perhaps 6.5 Italian cases would be a better choice for reforming.

[EDG]

6.5X53R Dutch MANNLICHER is best formed from new RP or new WW .303 Brit brass. The Dutch rifle uses Mannlicher packet clips for a rimmed round. The bolt head and extractor are designed for a rimmed round.
My dies and 4 rifle chambers are all .005 larger at the head than a Mannlicher Schonauer case and die set.
I use either a .308 or 7.35 Carcano FL die to push the shoulder back. Then a 7mm-08, then a 6.5 Carcano trim die is used to reduce the neck. Then a 6.5X53R trim die is used to form the body.
Finally a 6.5X53R FL die is used.
With care you can get 100% yield.

I used ratty old multiple fired .303 cases to develop the process. I totally ruined about 15 cases. Federal brass would sometimes form perfectly with just the last trim die.
Sometimes it would accordion at the shoulder and collapse.

[john.k]

The most unusual cases I have formed 6.5 from are 220 Swift....bit of a bulge ,and they dont fit the clips.If you use 303 cases ,Remington are smallest base ,and never fail to fit............for the information of those not owning these guns,the bolt face (head) is flat,the rim is held between a tiddly extractor and the sliding ejector.I have converted a few to 303 using a smelly barrel,in the day when a new Lithgow H barrel was $30.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Grafs should have just about everything you will need. They usually will have the 8mm dies and brass. Lee makes a mold just for it and they usually have the mold in stock. If you don't want to pay $180.00 dollars for the 6.5 Dutch dies, you can use 6,5 x 54 Mannlicher dies fro Lee and form brass from 303 British brass. Have fun.

Probably you can, but it would be useful to hear from someone who has done it, exactly how that pans out with the Lee dies. The 6.5x54 is thinner in the neck, different accounts varying as to how much. Just looking at the database in my "Loads from a Disk", the rimmed round seems about .005in. smaller in the shoulder diameter, which might impede chambering, but more likely won't. I would neck-size as much as I can, and anneal the shoulder now and again. I don't think there is much doubt about .303 being the best starting point, as it was and is frequently done in the UK.

Both are extremely good rifles, without a record of defective manufacture that I know of. The short neck of the 8x50R isn't the best. With cast bullets you wouldn't want lube grooves or paper patching exposed behind the neck, and grooves exposed in front would have to be carefully protected from dirt or loss of lube. But that isn't an insuperable problem.

You should check, though, that it hasn't been rechambered for the 8x56R Hungarian round, after that country split away from the former Empire. Maybe there are markings you can fine out about online, but failing that you need a chamber cast. It is arguable that the 8x56R is a better cartridge, with its longer neck. Moulds are available, and you can size down .338 bullets, even jacketed, to the necessary .330 or so. I got good results from an NEI .330-245-GC in the Portuguese Guedes, and while many say NEI aren't like they were in their Walt Melander years, they presumably use the same tooling and most of the time don't misuse it.

Numrich are pretty good on parts for the M95, including clips. The Romanian version of the 6.5x53R has some interchangeable parts, but not all. If the supply of clips dries up, eBay has some, but watch out for ludicrous pricing.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/steyr/m95-straight-pull
https://www.gunpartscorp.com/gun-manufacturer/dutch/mannlicher-1895

I wonder if anybody knows the answer to a problem I have. Previous M95 straight-pull Mannlichers I have handled have a bolt-head which can be turned with the fingers till it locks in line for insertion in the receiver. But I have a sporting rifle in the very rare 7.7x60R chambering, which would be extremely valuable if it wasn't my own restoration from a rusty barrelled action. In this one the bolt-head obstinately refuses to lock in line, and I have to use a modified pair of circlip pliers to hold it there for insertion. I can't for the life of me work out what ought to hold it, but maybe someone with a rifle which actually does so can tell me.

[EDG]

Quote
I got good results from an NEI .330-245-GC in the Portuguese Guedes, and while many say NEI aren't like they were in their Walt Melander years, they presumably use the same tooling and most of the time don't misuse it.

Walt Melander's son in law or whoever replaced him recently died. So NEI has ceased operations and is seeking offers for the business.

[Wayne Smith]

I believe with the 8mm's - both Austrian and Hungarian - if rechambered to 8x56R they were stamped with a big "S" on the receiver.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Ah, I thought there would be some kind of mark. I believe Austria too adopted the 8x56R cartridge, but by that time Austria had shrunk drastically. Clearly a lot of rifles they had didn't get rechambered, but I don't know whether that was only those they had in store.

Whether the rifle was originally made in Steyr or Budapest has nothing to do with it. Austria and Hungary both ended up with a lot of both, after the divorce.

[northmn]

The 8X50 might be closer to the 323 8mm standard as Cartridges of the world claimed it had a smaller bore than the 329 8X56. I have an 8X56 straight pull and they were bought up fairly quickly when offered. Kind of a PITA because they needed a stripper clip to work as a repeater and the thing fell out when empty. While I could go on about the 8X56 you have a 8X50 which is an older rifle. In these situations you need to slug the bore. The 8X56 can be made out of the 7.62X54 Russian cases but will be slightly shorter, don't know about the 8X50.

DP

[justashooter]

teh dutch is an 1890 model, IIRC. i had one some years ago and gave it to a friend who was shooting 6.5 vetterli.