It was a few years back, but I came accross a Manlicher Shoenauer in as I recal 9X57 or 56. The round was described as somewhat less powerful then a 358 win, and firing .356" bullets, which aren't so common. The rifle had the nice full stock, butterknife handle, and rotary magazene. But the downside was a crudely repaired crack in the stock, poorly drilled scope mount, and a $900 price tag, that seemed way to high for the condition of the gun.
Anyhow, I was hoping someone could shed some light on the round.
Posts: 7213 | Location: Alaska | Registered: 27 February 2001
Sometimes listed as the 9.3x57 Mauser, it is based on a necked 8mm Mauser case. Performance is similar to the .358Win and factory ammo is available from RWS and Norma. This info is from the VihtaVuori #3 manual.
The cartridge is a 9x56ms. It can be fired in a chamber for 9x57 mauser, but not the otherway around. Do not confuse it with any 9.3 cartridge. The rifle you speak of is a Mannlicher-Schoenauer 1905. It is one of the rarer mannlichers and is not popular because of the bore differences. Original rifles had the .356 bore, while some post WWI rifles have been slugged at .358 groove. It can be loaded to equal a .358 Winchester, but original factory loads were closer to a .35 Remington. The rifles were not normally set up with factory scope mounts, so all kinds of home made mounts will be found on these rifles. A pristine rifle would be worth around $2500, more with proper mounts and rings. Shooters in decent shape are worth $700-900.
One of the rarest calibers to find in the Pre-64 Winchester is the 9mm. But they did make some. Saw one at the AGCA show in the Egan Center a couple of years ago.
------------------ AlleninAlaska
Posts: 1058 | Location: Lodge Grass, MT. Sitka, Bethel, Fort Yukon, Chevak, Skagway, Cantwell and Pt. Hope Alaska | Registered: 24 June 2000
Some years ago I had a 1905 MS that I took my first elk with. It was surprisingly accruate using bullets sized down to fit its .352" groove diameter and kicked like the devil with 250s at 2050 fps. Those carbines are light!
At the last Las Vegas show I picked up a "New Model" Haenel-Mannlicher in 9x57 that I'll be working up loads for when the bullet size die arrives. There's also a fair amount of late-production Kynoch 9x57 Mauser ammo floating around that is set up to work in either 9x56 or 9x57 chambers - a comparison of old fired cases from my 9x56 and new fired Kynoch cases from the 9x57 Haenel shows no difference at all. Boxes of old Winchester and Remington 9mm ammo are marked as fitting either as well. Remington even made the model 30 bolt gun in 9mm, prolly to keep up with Winchester...<g>
Posts: 978 | Location: paradise with an ocean view | Registered: 09 April 2002
As may have been mentioned, there was a 9X56mm Mann.-Schoenauer and a 9X57mm Mauser. They are distinct different rounds. The 9X56mm was never factory-loaded to the level of the 9X57 Mauser. An acquaintance of mine once owned a Mauser in 9X57mm, and a Drilling in 9x57R. We made cases for the latter from 7x57R Norma brass, and for the Mauser from 8X57 U.S. cases. Both of these rifles had .354" bores, as determined by slugging. But, their chamber case neck diameters were big enough for a .358" bullet to be easily released upon firing, so we used regular U.S. made .358 bullets in them with slightly reduced loads, and used the same load in both rifles. They weren't quite up to .358 Win. power, but were hotter than the .35 Remington by a couple hundred feet with 200 grain Hornadys. Both were fun to shoot!!
Thanks, AE, It is a cutie. There were actually two 9x57 Haenels there located only an aisle or two apart. One had an asking price of $1950 and the better of the two went home for $1200.
Posts: 978 | Location: paradise with an ocean view | Registered: 09 April 2002
