Hi All,

Recently purchased a Mannlicher in 6.5x54 in original condition - cleaning rod under the trapdoor buttplate included! It has an EAW QD mount and Lyman 4x scope. Seemed like the gun was in storage for a long time with a lot of grease on it - the pics still show some of the grease here and there.

Posting some pics below and would like to get some feedback from other owners. One thing I noticed is that the forearm has more checkering than any other Mannlicher I've seen. Definitely looks original and hasn't been recut.

Currently working on a 160gr Hornady load which is grouping under two inches with the first few tries.

Any info on loads and velocities for the 160gr would be much appreciated.

THAT is one Classic rifle.

Back in the day, the 6.5 was used by a bunch of World traveling hunters.

roger

VV, Very nice piece. The old Mannlicher-Schoenauers are elegant rifles, for sure.

Despite what some over in the USA think 6.5x54Ms was one of the "classic" British deer cartridges in the early 20th Century.

Indeed you would be far more likely to see someone "on the hill" in Scotland with one of these than with ANY rifle by Rigby!

(Although presented in a conventional stocking style and not your "schutzen" format).

Standard loading gave a velocity of about 2,330fps with the 160 grain bullet. A little faster than the current RWS loading.

It was favoured in Scotland as the long flight time enabled the stalker to actually hear the strike of the bullet on the target animal.

It fell out of favour in UK because of a an animal welfare body masquerading as a "deer society" promoted a ban on rifles of under 2,440 fps velocity for deer use.

So it was just some few score feet per second too slow to be legal. As a result many of these fine rifles became useless overnight.

Older rifles - I had one about thirty years ago - were sometimes known for headspace problems. Beware!

It is however a fine and practical calibre for both hill stalking on shots up to 150 yards or woodland stalking on shots at 50 yards or less in forests.

Don't be put off by the apparently poor velocity...that 160 grain bullet hits with authority!

The picture above came from here:

http://www.allaboutguns.net/19...cher-Schoenauer.html

Still my favorite rifle.

At one time or another I have owned or fired every std. factory calibre, except .458 WinMag.

I still mourn the loss of several in a fire and two to theft.

I have loaded the Hornady's, Norma's, Lapua's, Sierra's etc, etc of numerous weights in the 6.5.

My favorite 6.5 loves MRP 42.0 grs, .268 Hornady 160, Norma Brass ,Fed210GM, gives

inch or less out of the old rifle.

(Slug your bore some of the early 1903's slug .267-.268)

( My later ones slug .264-.265)

I'll dig through my notes to find other loads that grouped well.

The JaegerMeister: (as I call it)

Thanks everyone for the comments and information.

DuggaBoye, that's a nice looking rifle!! Is that a take-down model? What velocity are you getting from the loads that you mentioned? If you have any loads with the IMR powders I'd appreciate it as I have a good selection of those.

I'm currently working up a load with the Hornady .264 160gr bullets. With 40.5gr of IMR 4350 at 50 yards it's grouping 4 shots in 1/2" at 2205fps. Going higher or lower 1/2 a grain is opening up the groups to about an inch.

This load is lower than the factory advertised 2300+fps but hotter than the loads in Ken Waters acclaimed article in Handloader magazine which peaked at 2128fps. So I'm not sure whether I should try for a higher velocity (no signs of high pressure) or stick with what seems to be an extremely accurate load.

Although I'm not hung up about the velocity factor I want to try and get a representative load that matches factory velocity. That should help keep the iron sights lined up as well.

How long is your barrel?

If it is eighteen inches or less then I'd think that given the loss of length your 2205fps sounds about right for what you'd expect with the missing inches taken into consideration.

It does seem as if you have found the "sweet spot" with that loading recipe AND faster than the current RWS factory load.

Have you slugged the bore BTW?

This and Savage 1899 are about the nicest truly classic and affordable sporting repeaters one can still get. I prefer Savage just because it was made on our soil and it is 4th of july weekend after all.

VV,

I honestly do not recall the velocity, I've been using the load so many years,
I know I have chrono' ed, just cant recall.

The gun is not a British take-down,

it is a Vom Hoff, 20" full stock with tree spikes on either side.

as to IMR powders and 160's (or 155-156's)
my memory is that the best results were with
4350 and 4064 though as to the exact data I must dig through old notes to find.

I will say , much to my surprise the 100gr Sierra HP and 42 gr of Varget were surprisingly accurate out of my younger 6.5, despite the barrel twist.

quote:

Originally posted by enfieldspares:
How long is your barrel?

If it is eighteen inches or less then I'd think that given the loss of length your 2205fps sounds about right for what you'd expect with the missing inches taken into consideration.

It does seem as if you have found the "sweet spot" with that loading recipe AND faster than the current RWS factory load.

Have you slugged the bore BTW?

The barrel is 17.5". The Handloader magazine article from 1984 stated the RWS advertised load was 2,170fps but they actually chronographed it in the 17.5" barrel at 2,230fps!! I was considering slugging the bore but if I'm going to get 1-inch groups I probably won't bother.

quote:

Originally posted by DuggaBoye:
it is a Vom Hoff, 20" full stock with tree spikes on either side.

I will say , much to my surprise the 100gr Sierra HP and 42 gr of Varget were surprisingly accurate out of my younger 6.5, despite the barrel twist.

What are tree spikes? And what is that circular metal button on the left side above the trigger?

Interesting about the accuracy of the lighter bullet. I've never heard of them working well in these guns.

Tree spikes fold out from either side to punch into a tree or to rest on sticks.


The "button" is a Greener type safety.

Very classy. I would love to add one to the collection.

Nice rifle. Wrong forum!!!!

Barstooler

As for reloading,

The first step is to have a gunsmith slug your barrel to get the exact size. The barrels can and have ranged anywhere from .2635 up to (at least) .368.

The Hornady bullet is a true .264" just from the base to the cannelure. Hornady also make a bullet for the Carcano that is advertised as .368" all the way up. My pile of those measures .367".

Your present accuracy is more than reasonable. You would likely find the Lapua 156 grain "Mega" bullet to improve your accuracy. The best bullet for a nominally sized bore is the RWS 159 grain round nose. If you end up wanting to try those down the line, give me a pm.

Velocity from the 1903 Carbine (18.5" barrel) should be 2,100 fps. From a 24" barrel it should be 2,400 fps.

Hornady, Weiderladen-RWS, Weiderladen-DEVA and Ladeboken all show several loads for this cartridge.

I just read your results more closely. Do not touch a thing.

Norma makes good brass, Huntington's sells it.

Your rifle is as clean as any I have ever seen.

Duggaboy's rifle is indeed a certified "Hunting Master".

I had Mannlicher identical to yours many years back. As usual, I got a wild hair and traded it for something different. Anyway, I remember having good luck with 140's, but do not recall the data at this time. Cool guns aren't they?