Dutch M95 Mannlicher spruce up

[Dave DeLaurant]

I've been watching Simpsons for the past year or so for a shot at a Dutch M95 carbine in good, shootable condition. Last month I finally found one, priced pretty reasonably (for these times) at $400:



The stock has been through the wars, but the bore is very good and the metal doesn't have any serious pitting. Given that this was a KNIL arm that saw service in the wet climate of today's Indonesia, I think the condition is quite remarkable.

There were a few things missing from it when it arrived. Both sling attachments were gone, but fortunately Liberty Tree had replacements for sale. The marks on the buttstock indicated that the rear attachment was the ring swivel, which C&rsenal says was adopted to help unslinging the carbine while wearing a gas mask.



The safety also proved balky to apply unless pulled rearward while twisting, which suggested a spring was missing. Upon disassembly of the bolt this indeed proved to be the case, so I ordered a replacement from Numrich Gun Parts, along with a dozen en bloc clips. Works slick now.

I made some cartridge cases from .303 British using 6.5x54 Mannlicher dies. I ground about 1mm off the bottom of the sizing die to also fit the slightly shorter rimmed case; I also had to remove a tiny bit of brass from the case heads to get them to chamber cleanly.



The last alteration I made was to fabricate a replacement for the missing wooden magazine cover on the left side of the triggerguard. It's not a perfect match, but I'm not trying to fool anyone. Anyway, many of the originals were mismatched replacements too.



I have no idea when I'll get to the range with this new acquisition, but for the moment I'm enjoying the feel working the ultra-smooth Schlegelmilch bolt, the same bolt used on the fabled Mannlicher Schönauer action.

 

[Scout21]

I've never heard of these rifles, but I've got to say I'm oddly attracted to the wooden cover.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Dang it Dave! What a cool project. What a cool carbine. I've never heard of it either.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I've never heard of these rifles, but I've got to say I'm oddly attracted to the wooden cover.

It was supposed to reduce fabric wear while slung -- I found it very appealing too!

BTW, the Dutch made more variations on this carbine than just about any other rifle I can think of, including the British Lee Enfield: https://surplused.com/index.php/2014/09/25/a-quick-and-dirty-guide-dutch-mannlichers/

 

[Ugly Sauce]

How is the wooden magazine cover attached?

 

[Jim Watson]

The Indonesians rebored and rechambered a number of these to .303.
I have read that when the original barrel was used, the .303 reamer did not clean up the .256 chamber and fired cases have a double shoulder.

 

[Scout21]

How is the wooden magazine cover attached?

I'm also very interested in how it is secured. If OP could post some more pics, that'd be awesome.

Does it have a cutout on the bottom? Can it be left on when firing? How thick is the wood? It looks like it could possibly be a bit fragile.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Lookin good, Dave!

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

The Indonesians rebored and rechambered a number of these to .303.
I have read that when the original barrel was used, the .303 reamer did not clean up the .256 chamber and fired cases have a double shoulder.

I've also been watching for one of these, but all the one's I've seen so far are in awful condition. Rode hard and put away wet.

Many of them were equipped with a distinctive muzzle brake during the conversion:

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

How is the wooden magazine cover attached?

It's a beast to get on and off and my woodwork is a bit crude, but I think I can show this using the same pics I based my repro cover on.

The side of the magazine has two massive steel lugs:



The lugs have a groove at the top; the cover has a brass (?) plate screwed to the back that slots into a gap at the top of the lugs:





The cover is installed by sliding it in from the top with the triggerguard removed from the stock. The brass (or steel) plate is firmly trapped against the side of the magazine and top of the wood cover is pulled in snug against the stock. The cover is just on the one side and doesn't extend below the TG.

The covers probably should have been removed regularly to prevent rust from forming underneath -- it's pretty common to find pitting here.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Very nice!

That action is also used on the GEW88- very smooth!

 

[Ugly Sauce]

I made some cartridge cases from .303 British using 6.5x54 Mannlicher dies. I ground about 1mm off the bottom of the sizing die to also fit the slightly shorter rimmed case; I also had to remove a tiny bit of brass from the case heads to get them to chamber cleanly.

A .303 case is pretty good case capacity for a 6.5mm bore, slightly shorter or not. Must pop off pretty good. I sure love them old odd-ball military carbines, I'm always thinking about what cool walk-about, hiking, trekking and exploring guns they would make.

 

[Mosin77]

Very cool Dave! I have a Dutch KNIL marechaussee carbine (it looks like a sporter but it ain’t!) and it’s a remarkably light and handy gun for an issue weapon. I’ve never shot mine. I bought some brass made from .303 but it’s on my “someday I’ll get to that” list.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Very cool Dave! I have a Dutch KNIL marechaussee carbine (it looks like a sporter but it ain’t!) and it’s a remarkably light and handy gun for an issue weapon. I’ve never shot mine. I bought some brass made from .303 but it’s on my “someday I’ll get to that” list.

It sounds like the KNIL Marechaussee 'borrowed' a lot of carbines for retrofitting to their tastes. Mine also has the skeletonized buttplate.

Real 6.5 Dutch reloading dies are unobtanium right now, but I think the 6.5x54 Lee die set will do the job for neck resizing, bullet seating, etc. I bought a bag of Privi 6.5 FMJs to get me started.

I'm hoping to eventually find a 6.5 M-S rifle, either in Greek service trim or a classic Steyr hunting carbine, and on that happy day those dies can do double duty.

 

[Jim Watson]

In its day, the .256 was so accurate and so light in recoil that it was not allowed for competition vs .303 service rifles in England.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

In its day, the .256 was so accurate and so light in recoil that it was not allowed for competition vs .303 service rifles in England.

Somewhere or other I recall that Frederick Selous had a prized single shot stalking rifle in .256 rimmed, possibly the one shown here:

 

[wiscoaster]

Dang it Dave! What a cool project. What a cool carbine. I've never heard of it either.

Oh, fer cryin out loud, my milsurp wanna list keeps getting longer and longer, and you're responsible!!

 

[dh1633pm]

Dave does that. Spent 45 minutes on Simpsons LTD today cause of him.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

That's okay. We should all get us one of them thar Dutch carbines, and Dave will make ammo for us. !! Not a bad deal.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Sorry brothers ...but not really.

My local shooting buddy Bob just shakes his head whenever he learns that I've started handloading for another weird cartridge, and isn't tempted even after I've let him shoot 'em a few times. He actually reloads more ammo than I do, but limits himself to five different pistol cartridges.

In Bob's defense, I do envy his Lugers and Broomhandle.

 

[czhen]

Dave, you have great taste for firearms. Thanks God my wife doesn't knows Simpsons exist.

 

[Archie]

The idea of altering or modifying the M1895 Royal Netherlands (Dutch) rifle to make a suitable hunting rifle is NOT a recent idea. Much in the same vein as the 7x57mm Mauser becoming the .275 Rigby, the Dutch rifle was cleaned up for use as a hunting rifle in Great Britain under the name of .256 Mannlicher. It is a rimmed round officially called "6.5x53.5mmR".
No ammunition is currently made for the rifle. One occasionally finds original ammunition but it is all FMJ (or full patch, as used to be) with cupronickel jackets. I personally consider them collectable and make cases from .303 British. Hornady makes a perfect substitute bullet (160 grain, RNJ, .264" I think designed for the 6.5x55mm round, but it is just the ticket). My experiments in reloading indicate 160 grain bullet in the low range of 2300 fps. Not awe inducing but quite sufficient for deer and such - and smaller. Very little recoil
. Left is 140 grain bullet, center is Hornady 160 grain, right is original military loading.
The receiver.
Buttstock with pad.
Muzzle and finished with Mannlicher type forend.

Entire rifle. I cannot figure out how to show entire rifle while presenting it visibly.


15th Lord Lovat (aka Simon Fraser) often carried his own rifle as Commanding Officer of No. 4 Commando. Seems to be an ongoing argument if that rifle was a Mannlicher - Schoenauer (M1903 Greek) or the Dutch M1895. It was the rifle he had carried, used and with which he was quite comfortable at home while hunting in Scotland.

Originally designed and made by Mannlicher, the rifle was sold to the Romanian Army (M1893) - slightly before the Dutch adopted the same design.

Comparing the cartridges,
the 6.5x53.5mm R,
the 6.5x54mm M-S,
the 6.5x52mm Carcano, and
the 6.5x50mm Arasaka rounds are all the same external dimensions (within manufacturing tolerances) except the Dutch round is rimmed, the M-S is rimless, the Carcano is rimless and the Arisaka is semi-rimmed. Which speaks to the ability of Brother DeLaurent to use the sizing die for the Mannlicher - Schoenauer.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Nice rifle Archie!

I remember reading somewhere (Greener?) that Romanian/Dutch Mannlicher pattern actions were a popular basis for English stalking rifles at one time, before the Schoenauer magazine elbowed it aside.

I found an interesting discussion along these lines here, with a couple of good photos:
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/bri...odified-mannlicher-sporting-rifles-t2011.html

Check out this beauty from George Gibbs' workshop:

 

[MacAR]

Entire rifle

Obsolete cartridge or not, I would love to add that rifle (or one like it) to my collection! There's just something about a well done sporter that I really, really like.

Mac

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Just about any cartridge can be fabricated, one way or the other. Dave's efforts being a good example. I was making 7.62X25mm out of .223 brass long before any commercial ammo or cases were on the market, and surplus wasn't common yet.

That Gibbs rifle is interesting. I have a LongBranch SMLE that looks much like that, with the long barrel and short fore end. I like the butt stock, usually I prefer a straight grip, but that has a nice, gentle, minimal curve to it. Would look great on my SMLE, which would then look very much like the Gibbs.