Does anyone have anything to offer on the subject? I´m busy negotiating for one of these, and as this one is not in one of MS´s usually strange calibers and has a sweet action I´m very keen but afraid I might have to be so careful with ammo that it becomes a pain in the o-ring.
Speak o wise ones

You can use all factory stuff but not anything heavier..

They are lovely aren´t they.

Best regards Chris

Chris.
Thanks for that info. I´m going ahead with the deal, factory specs are fine with me

Use any current factory ammunition in a 7x57mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer. mine does well on Winchester, Remington, and Norma, plus my handloads. Works great, lasts long time, kills deer.

LLS

I´m almost ashamed to ask this, but have you guys scoped yours? If so, how?
Also, have you had problems with lighter bullets not stabilising?

The M-S 7x57 and 7x64 rifles have long throats for heavy bullets. 175gr will most likely shoot the best.

My last M-S was a 270 rifle. It had a Griffin & Howe side mount that had been installed by Pachmeyer. The base was welded to reciever. Rifle was completely refinished and was the absolute smoothest M-S I've ever handled. Pachmeyer did a terrific job.

Boet,
Lynx here in SA supplies a single piece base that is fixed to the receiver ring with two screws as per any normal block. The only way to make a side mount work is to weld it on and this is not an option for me. It requires clearancing of the woodwork and can never be reversed. I have repaired many screw on side mounts that have shot loose, ruining the original holes and resulting in a ruined hunt as well.

The Lynx top mount is the least intrusive mount and going back to unscoped is easy, requiring only two blank screws to be fitted to the holes drilled and tapped for the mount. Handloads at the recommended start load level work well. I have two customers with 7x57 MS rifles who load our 130gr HV to 2800fps and have excellent accuracy. They use their rifles on plains game as well as for bushveld distances. One is a PH and he has taken an eland at 120m with this combo. Broke both shoulders and recovered the bullet on the rib cage. You will enjoy this rifle, it is so beautifully made.

quote:

Originally posted by boet:
Does anyone have anything to offer on the subject? I´m busy negotiating for one of these, and as this one is not in one of MS´s usually strange calibers and has a sweet action I´m very keen but afraid I might have to be so careful with ammo that it becomes a pain in the o-ring.
Speak o wise ones

When was it made? I see that the Mannlicher-Schoenauers made after WWII were available in calibers like .270 Win., .264 Win. Mag., .308 Win., etc. All these are high-pressure rounds. So I am convinced you CAN SAFELY USE ANY MODERN LOAD IN ANY OF THE POST WWII M/S'S that is safe in any Ruger Model 77, Model 70 Win., etc., PROVIDED THE LOAD IS DEVELOPED IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL RIFLE. Throat length will determine when you reach a "do not exceed" load level.

My MCA carbine in 7X57mm happens to have a long throat, and it will fire a 175-grain bullet at nearly 2600 FPS with a load that gives me 2720 in a 22" barrelled Ruger 1A. This is with a load of RE22 or Norma MRP. But I redeveloped this load using the Mannlicher. I was NOT ABLE TO GET ENOUGH RE22 in a 7X57mm case to cause any sort of pressure signs with my M/S (or Ruger!). I for years used an IMR 4350 load in my M/S .270 Win. carbines that developed 2850 FPS with the Nosler 150-grain bullet with no pressure problems at all.

I suppose it is possible that a M/S made before the end of WWII might not be as strong. But I don't know if this is true or not....

quote:

Originally posted by boet:
I´m almost ashamed to ask this, but have you guys scoped yours? If so, how?
Also, have you had problems with lighter bullets not stabilising?

I used a Williams Gun Sight Co. M/S sidemount and HCO rings on two of my M/S .270 Win. carbines. My current one has a Redfield Jr. M/S mount on it. I object to the placement of the right windage adjustment screw on this mount. It scrapes your thumb as you push the rounds down into the magazine!

I have had no problems with grouping of lighter bullets! Both 130 abd 140-grain loads shoot well, as do the 175's!

quote:

A: The only way to make a side mount work is to weld it on and this is not an option for me.

B: It requires clearancing of the woodwork and can never be reversed. I have repaired many screw on side mounts that have shot loose, ruining the original holes and resulting in a ruined hunt as well.

A: Not true! Perhaps if you handle your guns like a tire iron or crow-bar, this would be so. However, a properly screwed down sidemount is no more subject to shooting loose than one that is screwed onto the receiver ring & bridge. I used the Williams mount on two of mine, drilled & tapped the holes myself, and used clear nail polish on the screw threads. Loc-Tite would have even been better. I mounted the last one in 1964, and the only time I had to re-zero the scope was when I put a new scope on it, 20 years later. Ther first three of these 20 years were spent using this rifle in Alaska, which is every bit as rough on equipment as Africa, maybe even moreso!

B: True-you have to inlet the base into the stock, and the cut can't be undone!

Good questions.
First, imho, there are only four suitable scope mounts for a post WWII Mannlicher-Schoenauer, the factory Steyr mount (rare), the Griffin & Howe side mount, the Jaeger side mount, or the Redfield two piece mount. All the rest are going to require nasty holes drilled above the wood line, ruining the collector value of other wise excellent rifles. The later MCA models are drilled and tapped for the Redfield mount. (FYI, all my M-S have either Redfield or G&H mounts.)

Second, All Post WWII Mannlichers are definitely strong enough to handle post war rounds like the .270, 7x64, and .30-06. They even extend to the magnums in .257 WBY, 8x68mm, .338 Magnum and .458 WCF. No strength worry there. As to known blow ups, the Mannlicher-Collectors Assoc. only has records of one blow up, and that was with a M1903 in 6.5x54mm under questionable conditions (handloads). Large action (M1910 type) Mannlichers made after 1924 were designed to handle the .30-06, 7x64mm, and 10.75x68mm, no worry about strength there either.

LLS
Mannlicher Collector

Thanks for all the advice. Its a 1968 model, and I´m gonna take a serious look at mounts suggested by gerard.
boet

quote:

Originally posted by boet:
Thanks for all the advice. Its a 1968 model, and I´m gonna take a serious look at mounts suggested by gerard.boet

I certainly agree that the Griffin & Howe and Jaeger side mounts are nicer than the Williams. But they don't hold your scope any better. I have a Redfield on my 7X57 M/S, but I don't like the way it tries to slice a piece out of my thumb every time I go to push a round down into the magazine.....

I have a couple of the old-time Bausch & Lomb W & E adjustable base sets for the M/s as well. But I've never actually used one on a gun......

Do you gents think it would be sacreligeous to ream the chamber to 7x57AI ? I want to use it as a springbuck rifle. I have two rifles in 7x64 for this, but the MS is just so light and just plain cool.