impresses the sportsman who handles this rifle for the first time.
I like the breeching system of this action, which is not too unlike the M98 Mauser breeching, and the bolt-stop and ejector system, plus the fact that both locking lugs are solid. I also like the cartridge-stop arrangement, which allows easy and convenient removal of cartridges from the magazine.
There are many things I don’t like about the M-S action, some of which I consider poorly designed. I don’t like the slotted bridge or the forward placement of the bolt handle, nor do I like the firing mechanism, with the heavy cocking piece and safety hung on the firing pin.
After almost 70 years of nearly continuous manufacture, the modern M-S action had almost the same firing mechanism, and I should think that it could have been improved.
I do not particularly dislike the separate bolt head, but the extractor is far from being the best. Of all its action parts, the bolt head and extractor are most often lost, and the extractor the part most often broken. Because of the separate bolt head design, the receiver ring and bolt travel are proportionally longer. Because of the long cocking piece, the receiver bridge is also quite long. The rotary spool magazine system requires longer space than would a staggered-column box magazine holding a cartridge of the same length. Considering, however, the size and length of the 6.5 M-S cartridge, the M-S action seems unduly long and heavy.
Close-up of the above sporting rifle showing the altered safety wing, flat bolt handle, 1903 Springfield trigger and guard bow, and Weaver scope mount.
Greek 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer
(Uses 6.5 M-S cartridges)
General Specifications
Type . . . . . . . . .Turnbolt repeater.
Receiver . . . . . .One-piece machined steel forging with slotted bridge. Stripper-clip charger guide milled in the bridge.
Bolt . . . . . . . . . .Two-piece, with separate non-rotating bolt head. Dual-opposed locking lugs on front of bolt body. Bolt handle acts as a safety lug.
Ignition . . . . . . .One-piece firing pin, coil spring powered. Cocks on opening bolt.
Magazine . . . . .Rotary spool, five-shot capacity, detachable box-type.
Trigger . . . . . . .Non-adjustable, double-stage military pull.
Safety . . . . . . . .Rotary wing-type built into cocking piece. 180° swing from left to right, locks striker and bolt when swung up or right.
Extractor . . . . . .One-piece non-rotating spring extractor mortised in bolt head.
Magazine cutoff None.
Bolt-stop . . . . . .Pivoting type, located at left rear of receiver.
Ejector . . . . . . .Sliding type fitted on bolt head, activated by bolt stop.
Despite these criticisms, I still like this action very much. Just as many shooters complained when the Model 70 Winchester action was changed in 1964, I imagine that a similar reaction occurred when the Mannlicher-Schoenauer action was changed.
Gunsmithing
When surplus Greek M-S rifles and actions were available in the early 1960s, amateur gunsmiths all over the U.S. and Canada expressed a great deal of interest in them. I know that many were rather disappointed in this action because of its limitations, while others bought a rifle or an action or two or more to lay away for the day they could build that “Mannlicher” rifle— that sleek little sporter they have seen in the Stoeger’s catalog for many years but could never afford.
When the Greek M-S military rifles and actions were first available as surplus arms, I obtained several of the actions. I did considerable experimental work with them, since little has been written about them in gunsmithing books. What I learned should interest those wanting to know the practical use of this rifle or action when remodeling or building a rifle on it.
If you have a complete and original Greek M-S rifle or carbine in excellent condition inside and out, you might consider the fact that they have some value as a collector’s item because they’re not very common.
The M-S rifle or carbine can be readily remodeled into a very fine sporter, for it has one of the best shaped and designed stocks of any military rifle. If you have the rifle, a standard-type sporter can be made from it by discarding the handguard, removing the rear sight, cutting off the forend just to the rear of the middle barrel band, and shortening the barrel to 24” or 22”. Or, if you want to make a typical Mannlicher carbine from either the rifle or carbine, shorten the barrel to 18”, fit a steel Mannlicher-type forend cap on the end of the forend and then trim the entire forend down. Install an open rear sight and a front sight of your choice on the barrel. Lastly, cut off the bolt handle and weld on a flat Mannlicher-type handle. I have made flat handles from the shank of a small open-end wrench or a flat spoke from an old farm implement wheel.
If your rifle or carbine has a ruined bore and you want to use it, my suggestion would be to have a new barrel fitted in its original caliber. It can then be remodeled as outlined above.
There is no receiver sight made for this rifle, and it is most difficult to adapt any other receiver sight to fit it. I’ve successfully mounted a scope on this action using the one-piece Weaver 60 base, attaching it to the receiver ring with two 8x40 screws. This also required the installation of a new bolt handle to clear the scope.
Typical “Mannlicher” styled sporting rifle made up on the Greek military M-S action. The action was attached to a 6.5 caliber barrel, open sights fitted into the barrel, the original bolt handle replaced with a flat type, and then a Fajen Mannlicher stock fitted to the barreled action.
In attaching a new bolt handle to achieve a very low profile, and so it will clear the eyepiece of a low-mounted scope, it may be necessary to weld it directly to the bolt guide rib. This will then require notching the side of the stock and cutting down the right side of the receiver bridge. In any case, the clip-charger humps should be filed down.
To my knowledge, there is no commercial safety or trigger made for this action. I solved the safety problem when a scope is mounted low by cutting off most of the wing from the original safety and silver soldering on an L-shaped piece of flat steel, as shown in the illustration. The original trigger can be improved by fitting it with an adjustment screw, as shown. I have also replaced the original trigger with a 1903 Springfield trigger, modifying it as required. The original M-S trigger guard bow is unusually large and heavy, and on one rifle, I replaced it with a 1903 Springfield guard. This not only improves the looks, but in combination with the Springfield trigger, the trigger and bow are placed farther to the rear and closer to the grip, making for better handling and feel.
