When the Steyr factory developed the M-S rifle in 1900, they freely borrowed and copied the basic receiver and bolt features of the 88 action, fitting it with the Schoenauer rotary-spool magazine. This was an expedient thing to do, since it was a smooth and very reliable turnbolt system and they were already making the 88 rifle. No doubt Mannlicher had a hand in modifying and adapting the 88 receiver for the Schoenauer magazine, but designing it so it could be readily detached from the rifle for cleaning. He was also responsible for the several changes and improvements on the bolt. The basic action, nonetheless, was not his creation.
Regardless of the minor role that Mann-licher had in the development of the Model 1903 Greek rifle, that rifle, as well as all future rifles based on this action, were and are still known as “Mannlicher-Schoenauer” actions.
Greece adopted the M-S rifle in 1903, and it was to remain their principle military shoulder arm until after WWII. Compared to many other military bolt-action rifles, the M1903 and the later 1903/14 Greek rifles did not gain any spectacular recognition as military arms outside of Greece. The M-S action, however, gained worldwide acclaim and popularity when used in the Steyr-built sporting rifles. First made and introduced to European hunters in 1903 or 1904, its most distinctive feature was a very short barrel and a very slim forend that extended to the muzzle. It is this feature more than anything else that the name “Mannlicher” has been associated with, and to such an extent that even today any rifle similarly stocked is called a Mannlicher-stocked rifle.
There were two model designations and a carbine and rifle version of each designation of the Greek M-S military arm. The 1903 Greek rifle (marked STEYR 1903 on the receiver) is 43.3” overall, has a 28.5” barrel and weighs about 8.3 pounds. The 1903 Greek carbine is 39.4” overall, has a 19.7” barrel and weighs about 7.3 pounds. Both have a wooden handguard which extends from the receiver to the middle barrel band. The Model 1903/14 Greek rifle and carbine (marked STEYR 1903/14 on the receiver) adopted in 1914 are almost the same as the 1903s except that the handguard extended from the receiver to the upper barrel band. All are chambered for the 6.5 M-S cartridge and made so a bayonet can be attached to the muzzle.
The 1903 and 1903/14 Greek military rifles were rather late-comers on the U.S. surplus arms market, not generally offered for sale until about 1961. Carbines were first priced about $35 each, the rifles at about $30; M98 military Mausers were then selling for about the same prices. I thought the Greek M-S rifles a good value when compared with any other military surplus bolt-action rifle then being offered, except that their bores were neglected and usually dark. However, they apparently sold well, for after a year or so they were no longer advertised. Evidently, however, many of them must have had bores and/or stocks in such poor shape that, shortly after the rifles were first offered, separate actions were also made available. Moderately priced ($10 to $15) the actions also apparently sold well, for they too were soon off the market. At any rate, for a short time the amateur gunsmith had the opportunity to purchase a genuine Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifle or action, an opportunity which may never again be presented.
The Greek Mannlicher-Schoenauer Action
The receiver is a heavy one-piece steel forging machined to accept the barrel, bolt, magazine and other parts. The front end of the receiver is bored and threaded to accept the barrel shank. Inside the receiver ring, there is a collar against which the barrel abuts. This collar surrounds the bolt head except for a slot on the left side for the ejector. Underneath the round receiver ring is a small stud projection, which is tapped for the front receiver screw. It is not large enough to transfer adequately the recoil to the stock, but on military rifles, a separate recoil plate is inletted into the stock, just to the rear of the stud.
The top and right center of the receiver are cut out to gain access to the magazine opening. Much metal is left under the center of the receiver, enough metal for front and rear walls, and this is milled to accept the various magazine parts. The magazine well opening in the receiver is milled out on the left side of the receiver bottom to allow passage of the cartridges from the magazine into the chamber.
The inside of the receiver proper is precisely bored and milled out for the bolt and its locking lugs. Recesses with angled approaches, cut into the rear of the receiver ring, leave locking shoulders to engage locking lugs. The angled slope on the forward corner of each shoulder draws the bolt forward as the bolt is rotated closed. The receiver bridge is slotted to allow passage of the bolt handle, and the front of this slot is grooved to accept a magazine-charger clip. The rear of the receiver ends in a tang into which the rear receiver screw threads.
Left-side view of the Opened military Mannlicher-Schoenauer action.
Greek Model 1903 military Mannlicher-Schoenauer action.
The small one-piece bolt-stop is attached to the left side of the receiver bridge and pivots on a stud made integral with the receiver. A pin holds the bolt-stop on the stud, and a coil spring in the rear of the bolt-stop provides the tension. An extension on the front of the bolt-stop, projecting through a hole in the receiver wall into the locking lug raceway, halts the bolt in its rearward motion as it contacts the ejector and bolt locking lug.
The bolt has a separate non-rotating bolt head. Mortised into the right side of the bolt head and its stem is a one-piece spring extractor—no stronger or weaker than that of the 88 Commission action. Loosely mortised into the left side of the bolt head, so that it has some longitudinal movement, is the ejector. It is held in place by a small screw. The ejector extends back and overlaps the locking lug when the bolt handle is raised so that, on pulling the bolt back, the bolt-stop pushes the ejector forward to eject the cartridge or fired case before the bolt is halted, when the ejector contacts the locking lug. This arrangement, and the ejector itself, is much better than the ejector system in the 88 action. The outside front edge of the ejector is beveled to move the bolt-stop out of the way when the assembled bolt is inserted into the receiver.
The bolt-head face is not recessed for the cartridge head. Instead, the breeching system is so made that, when the bolt is locked closed, the flat face of the bolt head contacts the breech end of the barrel. The chamber is deep enough to let the cartridge head lie flush with the end of the barrel. Shallow grooves cut across the face of the barrel allow room for the ejector and extractor. A good arrangement, but it makes barrel fitting a bit more difficult than it is with the 88 action, which has a recessed bolt head.
The bolt body is drilled from the front to accept the firing pin, mainspring and bolt head. A small lug on the stem of the bolt head, and a matching longitudinal and circular groove inside the front of the bolt, hold these two parts together, allowing the bolt head to be removed and replaced when it is turned to a certain position. The dual-opposed locking lugs are on the extreme front end of the bolt body, both solid and quite large. The top front corner of the right (or bottom) locking lug is beveled to match a similar beveled surface left inside the locking-lug recess in the receiver ring. This provides the initial extraction camming power when the bolt handle is raised.
The front of the left locking lug has a circular groove cut across its face. The rear of the projection on the bolt-stop, which projects into the locking lug raceway, has a ridge to match the groove in the left locking lug. Unless the ejector is in place, or the bolt head and ejector are not assembled on the bolt, the bolt cannot be inserted into the receiver unless the bolt-stop is purposely depressed in doing so. Thus, the groove and hook arrangement on the locking lug and bolt-stop serves as a warning that, unless the bolt can be inserted into the receiver without manually depressing the bolt-stop, something is amiss. This could prevent an extremely dangerous situation from arising, since it is possible to fire the rifle with the bolt head missing.
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