Went to a dud of a gunshow today and picked up a January issue of Shotgun News. Inside was a FULL PAGE advertisement by Mannlicher Steyer that said "Hasta La Vista, Baby" and then down below it said something to the effect that this is our message to all of you who have written us off.

Have I missed something? What the hell was this about? Can some one clue me in what is going on with them?

Thanks P45

I think their problem was that they owned the buildings but leased the land they were on. The land was sold and they were gone.

Oh Well, I think I can live without them, the European bean counters really screwed that one up..

They took it rather bad at SCI when they asked me what I thought of the Manlicher line, and I told them it was an absolutly wonderfull gun in 1903, 06 and 08, but they really screwed them up in later years and I wouldn't take one of the new ones if they tried to give it to me......

I am in the process of fitting a piece of Harry Lawson walnut to my 1903, 7x57 barreled Manichler right now. It will be a fine looking classic when finished.

Gentlemen,

New Steyr has no "sex appeal" they are lacking everything that the old ones had. I would never buy a new steyr rifle, out right uggly and too much new technology that never works better than the old

I'm glad the Austrians got a kick in the nuts

/ JOHAN

Steyr Mannlicher changed US distributors in January, moving from Gun South to Dynamit Nobel RWS. The new owners had a "realtionship" with their new distributors and fellow Austrians.

GSI was at SCI Las Vegas selling their Merkel line, but they had already been dumped and were not showing any Steyr relationship. I stopped to visit with them because I had been doing some work with them on an article on the .376 Steyr (which ran in the African Hunter).

Ray, was that conversation at SCI Dallas?

I had some email forwarded from one of the factory engineers at the end of June, and they are still in business in their "sort of" style.

jim dodd

Hunter Jim - Thanks for your post. I believe you're getting closer to the mark of what's going on with Mannlicher Steyer. I was just amazed that anyone would take out a full page ad to say little more than we're still in business and if anyone doesn't like our rifles, don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

This was the message I got from the ad. There wasn't even so much as a picture of a rifle!

I've never been a great fan of their rifles although many years ago they used to produce some that were very pretty and very smooth. But Mannlicher has always seemed to live in their own little world and pay little attention to what the REAL shooting world was doing, thinking or wanting.

This seems a suicidal approach for any business and I'm reminded of what happened to Smith & Wesson. The last Mannlicher rifles I picked up looked stupid and felt, well....stupid...unnatural. I hate to see it happen to a talented firearms company but I think they will reap what they sow.