Steyr M95 rifle

[SteveM54]

"They're like dark beer - you have to develop a taste for them."
Crack me up

[Shawlerbrook]

I still have the last of many carbines I bought and sold back in the 90’s. They were tied with the Mosins for the cheapest milsurp to buy back then. Still have some of the case of 1938 Nazi ammo I also traded into back then. And they kick like a mule.

[TheAbe]

Question: my M95 carbine (an aresenal-shortened long rifle) came sans handguard. I found one that generally fits (but I think might be for another carbine variation), and I was wondering, should the handguard be pressing against the barrel? Also, should the barrel be in contact with the stock (like an SMLE) or should it be floating? My barrel appears to be floating until I attach the handguard, which is tight and then pressed the barrel against the stock. Just seems a bit iffy...

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Hard to say without some photos of your carbine. It may have been free floated by a previous owner. The several that I've owned (still have 2 of them) were not free floated. You could try shooting it both ways, with and without the hand guard, and see which gives the best results.

Like Shawlerbrook said, they have a very noticeable recoil. I fire mine (not much anymore) with reduced cast bullet loads, which tames them considerably. They are such a cool, unusual action that therein lies their main attraction. Very nice, lightweight hunting rifle. If you fall in love with them you almost have to become a handloader, and Lee makes a mold. The problem exists that you seldom encounter two with the same bore diameter. Whether due to the fact that the barrels were made in both Austria and Hungary at different arsenals, later re-barreled by countries receiving them as war reparations after WW I, or just wear and tear. Ideally they are .329", but one of mine is .336" and the other is .332". When I got my first one civilian-made cases were non-existent but I learned that they could be made from 7.62x54mm Russian brass. I bought the special dies to do so from RCBS, and they were expensive special order. Again, also like Shawlerbrook, I've got a lot of the original 1939 Nazi head stamped ammo, and the options exist to pull the bullets, adjust the powder charge, and reuse the bullets if that's desirable-- the only problem being that the corrosive Berdan primer remains. This stuff is getting very old, and although I haven't encountered the problem, some say that the primers are becoming duds.

DG

[TheAbe]

Loosened and re-tightened the trigger guard screws, tightening the front one first, and now the barrel beds to the stock properly. Stock has a lot of (repaired) cracks, and just took a bit of finessing to get it all to sit correctly. Thanks for the info about how yours sit DG.
For ammo I will soon be ordering the RCBS dies (they’ve come down in price a little), have a few dozen Norma 7.62x54r brass, a Lyman drill press universal trimmer en-route, and a couple boxes of 8mm 220gr aspire Points that should work decently. I’m not adverse to heavy recoil (yet), but I’m thinking the 8x50r gives a bit less than the upgraded 8x56r models. I can’t fire the WW2 surplus ammo, but bought some at my LGS as it was the cheapest way for me to get clips.

[john.k]

I recall the refurbished guns on sale for around$40,but at the same time there were far better surplus guns like the Portuguese Vagueiros in 8x57 for around the same price.