m-95 carbine

[TDB9901]

My neighbor with an FFL got in a pair of M-95 carbines last week. One was in VERY good condition, very good clean blond stock, almost perfect finish on steel with reciever stamped BUDAPEST 1914. When I saw that the origional serial number before the importer added a few more digits was 1776, I knew I wanted it badly.......

However, the sear mechanism was completely missing, and when we got the cosmoline plug out of the barrel, we found lots of rust, and "sewer pipe " would be a good discription.

Stan called the distributer, and they are replacing it, due to the missing parts, but it was a big let down......

On the bright side, it's sister, although a little rougher on the outside, is brite shiny and sharp on the inside, and came home with me......

Got it cleaned up, and the bore slugs at .325..... I expected something in the .329 to .330 range for an 8 x 56 R.......

I expanded some 7.62 x 54 cases with a 8 mm Lebel die, and launched a few 00 buckshot with Red Dot powder just for fun.... Got minute of bunny group very near point of aim at 20 yards....... Nothing definitive for sure, but a nice start......

I really don't need another project now but 95 carbines are getting harder to find these days, and I'll have a lot more time in a few years.........

[swheeler]

Got it cleaned up, and the bore slugs at .325..... I expected something in the .329 to .330 range for an 8 x 56 R.......

That does indeed sound a bit strange? Most are .330+, two I've slugged are closer to .331x.316, and yes bright and shiny bores. I would clean it some more, slug an inch into muzzle and inch in from breech then check your slugs. .329 dia military ball down a .325 groove would churn up some serious psi, and they weren't known to be light loaded, ball I chronoed was about 2400 with the 206 gr bullet.

[TDB9901]

No, I understand that they were not lightly loaded......... "Flinchmakers"......at least in the light carbine.

I cleaned the bore after I got it with Ed's Red, and then Sweets until wasn't getting much blue.... it's been soaking with Eds Red for last few days so I went back downstairs, scrubbed it a bit more and re-slugged as suggested

Then I went to my son's place and got my good micrometer..... Should have done that first, but anyway, .3305 to .331...... :oops: Quality tools can make the difference.

Glad you questioned me, I would have probably found it eventually, but anyway..... I have a nice little carbine I'm going to have some fun with..

[JeffinNZ]

I bought 5 charger clips for a M95 at the gun show the other week. I don't have a M95 I might add. Thing is, I would rather like one and saw the clips for $2 a piece and thought for a the sake of $10, best to put them away now just in case.

I understand the M95 can put up a fight with cast bullets and I put this down to the amount of lead being displaced. .331/.316 makes for DEEP rifling and a bullet with a large bearing surface is going to be really hammered as it engraves. I like the idea of a long bore riding nose and short driving bands to minimize the amount of lead displacement.

That said, I don't have one............yet.........so you should take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

[twotoescharlie]

have you tried "oldfellers frankenstein" works very well in my M95's

TTC

[MtGun44]

Yep, I keep trying to warn folks that calipers are not the tool for measuring boolits and
bullets. A decent .0001 micrometer is a necessary tool in the cast boolit business.

Bill

[swheeler]

I bought 5 charger clips for a M95 at the gun show the other week. I don't have a M95 I might add. Thing is, I would rather like one and saw the clips for $2 a piece and thought for a the sake of $10, best to put them away now just in case.

I understand the M95 can put up a fight with cast bullets and I put this down to the amount of lead being displaced. .331/.316 makes for DEEP rifling and a bullet with a large bearing surface is going to be really hammered as it engraves. I like the idea of a long bore riding nose and short driving bands to minimize the amount of lead displacement.

That said, I don't have one............yet.........so you should take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Jeff; you got the clips now dies and a mold, then you have to buy a rifle!

[herbert buckland]

In my 95 I am geting very good acuracy yousing the Lee .329 mould and 11.5gr of Traill Boss

[NickSS]

I have a 95 carbine in the original caliber of 8 X50R Austrian and its bore measures .325. The Hungarians between the wars rebarreled a lot of the 95 they had to the 8X56R cartridge which has the larger bore size. The only problem I have had with the 8X50 was making the shorter brass from the 8X56R brass I found. Right now I neck size with an 8mm Label set of dies I got.

[Bret4207]

I believe they also converted some to 8x57.


On the rifling, I find the deep rifling to be a plus rather than a problem. I lucked into a good old Walt Melander .330x245gr mould that drops them around .334. They tend to fall into the nice round group consistently.

[Beekeeper]

I Have 4 of them ,all 8x56R and they shoot well with the Babore old feller frankenstein boolit.
They are certainly a shoulder jerker but I use a removeable recoil pad (can transfer it between rifles) and it isn't too bad.
Lot of fun to shoot and because of the noise an instant attention getter.


Jim

[roverboy]

I've thought about a M95 for a long time but just don't wanna take on another caliber. Its kind of a odd one too. I know you can get ammo and brass, but its not everywhere.

[Artful]

I've thought about a M95 for a long time but just don't wanna take on another caliber. Its kind of a odd one too. I know you can get ammo and brass, but its not everywhere.


Yep, Steyr M95 has the same problem as with k-31 or MAS 36/49/56 series, lovely iron but ammo in USA is either lacking or expensive to make. Especially with needing stripper clip to us as repeater. An they kick a little bit - my friend has a nice example with surplus Nazi ammo to boot but I don't think I want to go there.

[Wayne Smith]

Graf's had both the brass and the loaded ammo. Is this no longer available? I got a bunch when they had it.

[Buckshot]

..............I've got a pretty nice M95 Carbine:

http://www.fototime.com/00C73BAA827D746/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/749F5ACFFD11D67/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/0CDE251EA948FB4/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/69C7E42565020C7/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/9462DFF7D507304/standard.jpg

It all matches. It's not too bad a shooter. However if you get one with a trashed barrel, you can always do a converison:

http://www.fototime.com/A13422269DE91E3/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/EF48A81FED28FD0/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/FE72A73E5D9F8EC/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/CBEAAE5A40D244A/standard.jpg

The conversion was done to 30-40 Krag. No boltface mods, no extractor or ejector mods. Just screw on a 30 cal bbl and chamber it. The only 2 alterations needed were very minor tweeks to the upper and lower clip lips accomplished with needle nose pliers. Feeds'em and shucks'em just like real :-)

Of course a similarly simple conversion would be to the Russian 7.62x54R. I have a M95/31 with a ratty barrel and if I live long enough to do it, I'll have to decide
between that or a conversion to 40-60 Maynard!

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

[closey]

Mine is the full length service rifle in 8X56R. I have been shooting ex mil rounds up to now but have started collecting the makings for cast.
Got the lee mould which drops at .330 but my barrel slugs at a tad over .332 so some beagling is required for the next casting session.
Might even try some paper patched .323,s for this one.

Closey

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/joseyclosey/rifles/M95%20Steyr/SteyerM95002.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/joseyclosey/rifles/M95%20Steyr/SteyerM95005.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/joseyclosey/rifles/M95%20Steyr/SteyerM95008.jpg

[closey]

I pulled some of the ex mil stuff and will try the .330 boolit with a 10-12g charge of unique just to see what happens.

Closey :bigsmyl2:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v14/joseyclosey/ammo/M95004.jpg

[Buckshot]

............Might not be too bad. With lands that rutinely run about .316" and are as wide was the grooves, they might just shoulder enough lead off into the grooves to seal things up!:D BTW, I don't recall which it is, but either NOE or BRP (Vendor Sponser mould makers) offers a custom design especially for the 8x56. Another option is to buy the Lee C338-220R and size it down to .334" or so.

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

[closey]

Cheers for that info Buckshot.:D

Closey

[Shooter6br]

i beleive my dad had one in 303 British It was a carbine with a muzzle break! It was Indonesion

[twotoescharlie]

be careful with these firearms, If you slam the bolt forward very sharply the sear will disengage and you will get a slamfire. I have had three different ones do this on me. scares the dooley out of me.make sure you are always pointed downrange.

TTC

[Dschuttig]

Just out of curiosity, are most of the bbl's on these "corroded out"? I ordered three from century when they had thier three for 200 deal a couple of years ago, and two of them had light frosting and one had a not so pretty stock, but a brand new bbl that looks like it had never seen a round fired down it since install.
Buckshot, how much does a conversion on one of these run? I would love to find one with a shot out bbl and convert it to 30-40 Krag. Just wondering... Dan

[zuke]

I bought one of these and was going to reload for it but the cost of brass, die's etc. turned me off of it.
Instead I went with a bubba'd Ross Rifle in .303. Had the chamber opened up to .303 EPP's and fireformed 40 IVI case's but that's as far as I've gotten.
Since I already reload for .303 it wasn't too bad a thought.
Life got in the way :|

[TDB9901]

Other than the 00 buck plinkers, I haven't gotten back to do much more with mine, Like zuke says, "Life gets in the way". Work, chores, and running elderly parents to appointments cut into play time...... but it's pay-back time for what they gave up for us.

However..... I did see, while thumbing through a Buffalo Arms catalog this morning, that they have 100 grain .330 diameter pistol bullets for the 8 mm French Lebel revolver.

Wondering how those would do for plinkers in the 8 x 56 .... or if someone still made a mold for such a thing.

[Buckshot]

Just out of curiosity, are most of the bbl's on these "corroded out"?

I don't know what would be the correct answer. They've been around since 1895 and have been involved in 2 major wars and several smaller affairs including the Spanish Civil War. They were also used militarily by countries such as Russia, Italy, and Germany. I've bought 5 of'em over the years and 2 had rather 'indifferent' bores. One was converted and the other 'awaits' :-)

Buckshot, how much does a conversion on one of these run? I would love to find one with a shot out bbl and convert it to 30-40 Krag. Just wondering... Dan

I forget now how much it was to have done. I know I paid less then $100 for the 30 cal bbl blank, and maybe $150 for the gunsmith's work? The breechface needs a slight milling cut made to clear the nose of the extractor, but other then that it's a simple thread, chamber and install deal.

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

[DanM]

Out of a whole slew of military bolt guns that I own, the M95 Steyr is near the top of my list for the most 'fun to shoot' rifle. Reloading and casting for it does require some extra effort and cost. 8x56r requires a custom .333-4" sizer for cast, mine is honed out form a Lee .329. Cases from Graf's are a bit pricy, but are fine and durable. It will be necessary to hone out the Lee seater to accept the larger cast bullets, and the lee .338RN mold is a good one to start with. Mine has a basic trigger job, and a shortened FP spring which gives me a smooth trigger that breaks at 3lbs. This is an early target shot with the Oldfeller 'Frankenstein' 230gr FN bullet. The Lee .338RN is very nearly as accurate. I have since increased my loads to around 1900fps.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n24/DanM2000/M95%20Styer/M95232435036.jpg

BTW....Honing out the .329" sizer to .334" was way too much work. I now get all my custom sizers from Buckshot. He does fine work and you get it back quicker than most.