M95 Steyr "staight-pull"

[RWMC]

Have any of you had experience with the Steyr M95 bolt action rifle? Are they accurate? Do they have bad recoil? Does the straight-pull bolt work good, or are they clunky? I have thought about buying one ($100), but I thought it wise to consult THR riflemen. Thanks for the info and help in advance!

 

[Spiggy]

it's kinda clunky at first to take apart, but when you get used to it, it's pretty good.

Dont know about recoil or performance, never shot mine- taking it apart is fun, putting it back together was better when I couldnt figure out why the head was turned wrong

Ammo may be a problem if you rely on local sources as there isn't much commercial ammo

 

[MikeG]

I've got two of the carbines. They're fairly accurate, but ammunition is hard to come by. Recoil is pretty stiff. The bolts can be hard to work, but can be tweaked to work easier. All - in - all, I like them.

 

[Gordon]

My little carbine in 8x56R is surprisingly accurate, less than 2" at 50 yards with 1938 ammo! The recoil is surprising brutal with the 208 grain bullet at 2200 fps or so. The bolt take a real sharp pull to work but seems pretty reliable. I too like the little SOB!

 

[Harry Paget Flashman]

I have seen these for sale but always hesitated to buy because of the scarcity of ammo and also I believe they require the en bloc clip to load the ammo. That is, you can't load and fire them without the clip. I could be mistaken, but the scarcity of the ammo was enough to steer me clear of them. (I'd rather have a Nagant...got 6. )

 

[Cosmoline]

Recoil is brutal with the magnum surplus. It's delivering well over 3,000 ft. lbs. even out of that little carbine, so that's not too surprising. I believe it was the hottest and most powerful of all rifle ball ammo during WWII.

The good news is there's reloadable brass and properly sized bullets available now from Graf and others.

 

[Prince Yamato]

Hornady makes NEW 8x56 bullets, but they're like $20/10. There's enough surplus for it though. You're also not going to be firing like more than 20 rounds per range trip. The gun kicks like a mule. You'll hear !DWONK! then you'll feel OWW! I still love mine though It was my first gun.

 

[nwilliams]

I really like mine but as others have stated 8x56r ammo is very hard to find and what you do find is very expensive. Hornady makes some I believe at about $32 per 20rd box. So I wouldn't rush out and buy this rifle without making sure you can find a supply of ammo for it.

I purchased mine a few years ago for $200 and it came with 300rds of Nazi boxed ammo on stripper clips and a bayonet! Needless to say I still have most of that ammo since I'm afraid to use it up. From the 50 rounds or so that I have shot I can tell you that the gun is a hoot to shoot. Its fairly accurate and has got a big kick. One of the best things about shooting these guns is the ping you hear when the clip ejects out the bottom when you chamber the last round, reminds me of a Garand ping

The nice thing about them is theyre cheap, so even if you bought one just to have in your collection its not a big blow to your bank account. They are pretty neat and a fine addition to any surplus collection.

Here's a pic of mine, as you can see I have a number of emty stipper clips I need to re-fill. Although I may have tracked down a source for some cheap loose surplus ammo so I should have them filled soon! Then I might be tempted to shoot it again, if only a couple times a year.

 

[aaronrkelly]

If your into straight pull rifles consider a K31 Swiss.....nifty guns and ammo is easier to find.

 

[Essex County]

Got one because straight pull are unique. I love taking to the range and offering to the unsuspective. I was sore after 15 rounds. Essex

 

[llain]

Hornady makes NEW 8x56 bullets, but they're like $20/10. There's enough surplus for it though.

I don't see them on the hornady website. I'd love to try some. Anyone have a link. I've also been looking for surplus but so far everyones out. Where should I be looking for surplus?
thx

 

[SigfanUSAF]

Is SOG out? I bought a few hundred rounds from them last month.

 

[Prince Yamato]

I don't see them on the hornady website.

Do a google search. It's more like $40/20. It's basically a specialty ammo. Lots of gunshops carry it though. THink of it like 6.5 carcano, there once was a lot of it, then it became an expensive caliber to shoot.

 

[Coronach]

I just got one, free, from a friend.

If you didn't read the thread, don't get excited. The gun is a wreck. I have a line on a bolt, though (the one part I absolutely need to make to work), so I should have something shootable in a week, maybe. Then we get to see how well a barrel that looks like a sewer pipe will group. Le Sigh.

Yours looks very, very nice, NWilliams. I can only hope to get this thing back into that sort of condition.

Mike

 

[cracked butt]

I orderd one yesterday from AIM, I'll keep every posted on how it turns out.

I've been looking for one for several years but the ones I've seen were pretty ratty and far in between. Seems like Century got a shipment of them in a month or two ago.

 

[fatelk]

I've had one for years, bought it at Big-5 for $70 IIRC. The bore is pristine. The recoil is pretty bad, not fun. I sure wish I had bought up a bunch of the surplus ammo when it was cheap and plentiful, but I think I have a creative solution. I bought 100 pieces of Hornady brass (actually Prvi) from Buffalo arms for $29, and plan on putting in a Midway order for some cheap LEE dies and bullet molds in this caliber (was happy to see they make them!).

Hopefully I can work up a light lead-bullet load that shoots straight. That would make it much more pleasant to shoot.

 

[270Win]

I've been seeing a few here and there at gun shows, for between $100 and $150, depending the dealer and condition. The dealers never seem to know ANYTHING about them.

 

[llain]

Can anyone actually point out where to get 8x56r ammo? I can't find any. 2 places had web sites saying they had them but when I called said they were out.
I really want to get some.

 

[kungfuhippie]

I've got one, I love it. I'm going to start reloading for it as soon as my supply dries up (about 100 rds. left) Then I'll be working up a light load for the range, along the lines of what surplusrifle.com did for the arisaka. I'd love to get another, and rechamber it to shoot 7.62x54r.

 

[llain]

What's involved in rechambering one of these rifles?

 

[Cosmoline]

About three times more money than the rifle is worth, with crap as the end result. It's not a cartridge that lends itself to easy alteration.

rechamber it to shoot 7.62x54r.

Out of an 8+ mm barrel?

 

[kungfuhippie]

I'd be rebarreling it too...In reality it'd be reversable. And yeah, it'd be way too expensive to justifty. I just love the straight pull design (have a k-31 too) it is nice for lefties. In reality I'd get a savage in .308 long before I threw a few hundred at a steyr.

BTW
7.62x54r will chamber in a steyr as is, someone on another site was fireforming 7.62x54r brass by shooting it out of his-a real idiot...NEVER SHOOT THAT OUT OF A STEYR UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE DISFIGURED OR DEAD.