A Steyr M95 followed me home...

[LeadThrower]

...for a little more than $80, including tax.

I cleaned the cosmo and I've been scrubbing the bore. Things look to be in order (the bolt's apart, etc.), but I'm wondering if the pros here think there are any particular trouble spots I should look for.

Has anyone tried the sear spring replacement mentioned elsewhere in the forums?

Now I'm just waiting on brass and a mould... :)

[twotoescharlie]

I have a half dozen of these little carbines, the sear spring replacement helps very much.

don't single feed without a clip as extractor breakage will happen and spare parts are almost non-existant.

TTC

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Grease the bolt internals lightly. M-1 grease is good as is Swiss Rifle automatic rifle grease. Plain old wheel bearing grease works fine too. Good shooting. BvT

[LeadThrower]

Thanks for the input, TTC and BvT!

I've been doing a lot more reading, but haven't found anyone describing replacing the firing pin spring with a slightly lighter one, though it's been mentioned. Has anyone tried this, or has anyone decided it's sheer folly for some reason?

[DanM]

I did cut six coils off my firing pin spring with no problems. Bolt is easier to operate, but can't say that it made much difference with the trigger. Fired 50+ rounds including 20, 1940 dated surplus with no failures after the operation. I do think that the factory M95 firing pin spring is way overpowered, and that a lighter one can ease bolt movement without hurting reliability.
Still need to try the lighter sear spring....

[Baron von Trollwhack]

The triggers on mine have been satisfactory after the guns were cleaned and lubed.

One of the most critical things for reloading with cast, aside from bullet/bore criticalities is that you must take care that the bullet be seated with a band at the top and bottom on the bullet supported by the very short neck or some misalignment occurs & there goes accuracy. One band within the neck of the 8 X 56 R is just is not enough to keep the bullet aligned (according to my theory).

Shoot those dang j bullets if you must but just go get the 8mm ones and they will work fine. The Sierra 175 spitzers do very well in my 8 X 50 R Austrian. BvT

[DanM]

I use the Lee .338-220 boolit sized to .334". They are bore riders in my M95, even with a new looking bore. Good support and fill the throat nicely. Very accurate at 1800fps with IMR4350 and COW fill. I would like to see 2000fps with same accuracy, but not so far.

[Bret4207]

NEI has a boolit mould designated 330 or 331-245. Works great in my 95. I also have the Lee 338-220 but it doesn't work as well as the NEI. Lots cheaper though!

[Baron von Trollwhack]

You may wish to use a "foul-out" or clone after bore cleaning before shooting cast. That's my standard procedure and it seems to help the bore even if rough.

I was out this AM at the range and 33 grains of H4895 and 9 1/2 Remingtons and the Lee whatever @ .3295/LLA was making nice little round 4"/5 shot groups at 100 yards off sandbags about 4 inches above the battlesight POA. BvT

[afish4570]

Don't you have to be careful and reassemble the bolt properly otherwise they can take your head off...??I looked at a few and didn't care for the sights and my old eyes. Looked pretty interesting but I ha e my 91 Nagant (2) one Fin to play with 1st.afish4570

[DanM]

Well, you can put the bolt together wrong on an M95. It is posssible to put the bolt head on 180 degrees out of whack. I did it the first time I took mine apart, but it was no big deal. Couldn't get the bolt back in the receiver. I quickly realized that I had it wrong. I always try to be careful....

[acsteve]

These little steyrs are neat little guns. Interesting action. 9 grains of Trail boss under lee 329. Really pleasant. Sure a full power load would be great on deer or other similar game. Wish I could see them sight better.

[Newfoundlander2]

Thanks for the input, TTC and BvT!

I've been doing a lot more reading, but hen't found anyone describing replacing the firing pin spring with a slightly lighter one, though it's been mentioned. Has anyone tried this, or has anyone decided it's sheer folly for some reason?

It's absolute folly! "Stiff" M95 bolts are not caused by improper lubrication or an overly long firing pin spring. The extractors on these rilfes often bow with age causing burrs when the the bolt head and carrier body move over each other. Clean your bolt carrier mortices and bolt head grooves and just give them a LIGHT coating of preservative. Ferdinand von Mannlicher fired 50,000 rounds from one rifle during trials with no lubrication whatsoever. The thing you really need to pay attention to when maintaing the M90/M95 family of rifles is to keep the locking lug recesses clean. If you must use grease just put a tiny dab on the rear facing portion of each lug. Less is more with these guns as far as lube is concerned.

Sear springs will lose their temper over the years resulting in a mushy, dead pull. I have about 60 spring sets for the M90/M95 family of rifles and I'd wager more than half of the sear springs have long passed their "best by" date. If you're thinking of buying an extractor from one of the parts houses its a crap shoot as all are stripped and and most show signs of wear.

[DanM]

Hmmm, if the firing pin spring doesn't effect bolt operation, then why is the bolt so much easier to operate when you thumb cock after firing? My M95 bolt is much easier to operate with the shorter firing pin spring. No misfires, no folly, just better....

[acsteve]

Does anyones bolt have a slight bit of play in the rear of the bolt on an m95 when the action is closed? Isnt this why the trigger is a bit incosistent. I have noticed that other more traditional types of bolts lock up much tighter. thanks

[DanM]

Does anyones bolt have a slight bit of play in the rear of the bolt on an m95 when the action is closed? Isnt this why the trigger is a bit incosistent. I have noticed that other more traditional types of bolts lock up much tighter. thanks

Hard to say. There shouldn't be much play since the bolt body and the cocking piece both have sliders that ride in dovetail grooves. The cocking piece does have a flat that engages the sear. I am blanking out on a proper name for the part. :roll: There could be enough play to effect the pull, but IMHO, doubt it. A good polish job on the sear engaging surfaces and the trigger pivot cleaned my trigger up well.

[LeadThrower]

... for waiting for Lee GB's to arrive ...

Lee's 329 2-cav and dies arrived from Midway and brass from Graf's, I've got a few boolits casted up, and special thanks DanM for the samples! I hope to get a successful chamber cast tomorrow (first attempt was a failure). I did get a nice bore slug done... 316/332 iirc (my notes are not in front of me). The Lee mould is dropping at 331 so I'll likely have to open the mould up a little.

Now I just need some time to load a few and get to the range! :Fire:

All this has kept me busy and blissfully ignorant of the delay in Lee's 358-75wc group buy.

When impatient, buy into a different project :-D

[LeadThrower]

The top is a Lee 329-205R seated by the action. Below is a pure lead slug upset over a case full of boolit alloy. There's an arrow on the chamber slug pointing to the approximate beginning of the rifling, and the action-seated boolit showed the rifling just a tiny bit at the base of the ogive.

The chamber slug measured from left to right (bolt to bore) 0.345, 0.340, and 0.334. At the point half-way (approx) up the rifling as displayed on the slug, the measurements were 0.333 and 0.319 for the bore and groove. As mentioned, a slug through the barrel was .332/.316 (typical of what I've read on the forum).

I went to the range with unchecked as-cast (typically 12 bhn) boolits loobed with a LLA/JPW mix over 6.0 gr BE just to acquaint myself with the rifle and the feel of the trigger. (I did replace the sear spring.)

So, how serious an issue (and how typical) is some gas blowback with these rifles? I suppose upping the charge will seal the case neck, eh?

[acsteve]

one load I really hated is the lee book load for aa8700 with any boolit. The ignition was inconsistent at best and often left a barrel full of unburned powder and squib loads. Tryed with mag primers also, no better. any help?

[DanM]

one load I really hated is the lee book load for aa8700 with any boolit. The ignition was inconsistent at best and often left a barrel full of unburned powder and squib loads. Tryed with mag primers also, no better. any help?

How full is your case? If you aren't already, try filler with the mag primers, might bump pressure enough for a cleaner burn.

[NoDakJak]

An interesting tidbit! I am reading a book on sniping titled "out Of Nowhere". On page 95 it states that in 1914 the Austro-Hungarian Army was equipped with a good sniping rifle, the Mannlicher Model 95. They were equipped with german made scopes and mounts. It says that they also had carbine versions, probably for the alpine troops. There is a good color picture of one on page 96. Hmmm! Sounds as if they may have been world leaders in sniping in the WW 1 era. Neil

[Newfoundlander2]

[QUOTE=DanM;400489]Hmmm, if the firing pin spring doesn't effect bolt operation, then why is the bolt so much easier to operate when you thumb cock after firing? My M95 bolt is much easier to operate with the shorter firing pin spring. No misfires, no folly, just better....[/QUOTE

IMOE returning the cocking piece to full battery does indeed make opening of the bolt easier. HOWEVER, I find this to be the case with standard and shortned firing pins. Again I politley maintain stiff operation is principally the result of worn or bent extractors. As an aside I' d love to see Wolf make a spring set for the M95 for more consitent pull off and shorter lock-time.