I just picked up a Mannlicher Model 1903 in 6.5x54. Any of you have one and if so, what loads are the most accurate in your rifle?

The rifle is a 1903 commercial carbine with a Redfield scope mount. The gun has been reblued, but is in excellent condition.

When I had my 24" barrel sporter I used Hornady 160 gr Rn 0.268 inch bullets & H4350 40 gr for 2340fps & 42 gr VV N160 for 2370 fps.

I found MRP too slow. Be careful with these classic old rifles and keep your loads to the low pressure levels recommended. many such rifles have been ruined by loads that were presumed to be safe with modern powders.

3" groups with peep sights at 100 meters.



Great rifle.

I would like to see photos of your rifle.

If yours is an old Greek Military carbine sporterise, then the bore is likely to be dark & rough. I have one of those too.

The older rifles shot more accurately with the Hornady 0.268 inch bullets rather than the conventional 0.264 inch.

I would suggest that you read the article on this caliber by Ken Waters in his Pet Loads collection.

The rifle is a 1903 commercial fullstock with properly installed scope mounts the gun has been reblued, but is in excellent condition. I should have it in a couple of days, and will post pictures then. I have wanted one since I was a teenager and even more so after reading Roy Chapman Andrews'books about his explorations searching for dinosaur bones and such in Mongolia. I finally found a nice one I can afford; I just hope it shoots as good as it looks.

I have a 18.5" Mannlicher. I used 39 gr of IMR-4350 with the 160 gr Hornady RN at 3.050 COL. 2,120 fps. Norma brass, CCI #200 primers.

The cannelure sticks out a bit, I think Hornady recommends just under 3", but 3.050" fed best in my rifle. Shorter COL did not feed as well, nor did longer ones.

Nakihunter,m
That is one nice rifle, Id love to have one like that..and that is an awesome caliber.Very nice.

Can't comment too much on accuracy, but take note from above about length and feeding. I bought 5 boxes of the PPU(Prvi Partisan) 156g when it was available 1-1.5 years ago, but it wouldn't feed. I need to pull the bullets out a little on the PPU, then I can give an accuracy test. Looks like 3.00" is the magic number

Kynoch - 3.04" feed fine
Czech - 3.02" feed fine
PPU - 2.95" don't feed at all

Congrats on the Manni!

quote:

Originally posted by Austin Hunter:
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Love the Avatar. Was that you?

loud, delightful little rifles and a really underrated cartridge in today's world of high tech and plastic. I load 41 grs. of IMR-4831, (I have a pile of it) under a 140 gr. Sierra Game King. My particular 1903 did not like boat tail bullets. The 160 gr. bullet I tried, I forget the make, would not feed through the rotary magazine. The 140 works great but I believe I need to try a different 160, or I would prefer to. Mine shoots ok and it is as yours, the commercial model. As with you I wanted one since I was a young fella but as you mentioned...affording a good one. Good luck with it and you'll like it!

Congrats, they are lovely guns and hard to find in original unmolested shape. I love my 6.5 and it flattened the couple of deer that I shot with it at almost 200yds.

I use Hornady 160gr RN with IMR 4350 40.5gr to average 2292fps. Groups around 1"@100yds.

If you prefer to use factory loads the Prvi Partizan loads gave me good accuracy and excellent velocity ~2350 if I recall correctly.

I got old back issues of a couple of articles, from Rifle mag I think, that did a great job of discussing the various loads and things to watch out for with these old rifles.

One was that if it doesn't shoot accurately with the .264 bullets you'll need to slug the bore to determine the true diameter. In rare cases .268 bullets will need to be used and turned down to the correct diameter.

Another piece of advice was to always just use a neck sizer die to get good life out of the cases. Since some of these old rifles could have generous chamber dimensions, constantly full length sizing cases could lead to excessive stretch and potentially neck separation.

Enjoy and post some pics.

vv, I believe one of my loading manuals mentions the generous chambering and blamed that for the poor accuracy they received during their work up for data.

I would think acquiring or making a die to size down the .268 Carcano bullets would be a lot easier than turning them. .002-.003 isn't asking for a lot.

Photos added to original post.

The 1903 Manlicher S. was a classic as is the 6.5x54 cartridge...

"The 160 gr. bullet I tried, I forget the make, would not feed through the rotary magazine. The 140 works great but I believe I need to try a different 160, or I would prefer to."

When I first started playing with one of these years ago, I quickly learned that the cartridge length is critical. The rifle depends on the bullet tip's engaging the feed ramp, so that the cartridge can be cammed out of the magazine as it is pushed forward in chambering. Just a little too short, and it won't feed at all.

The little 1903 full stock carbine would group 1.5" at 100 yards from the sitting, unsupported position, using 160 gr. .264" RN's, IMR 3031 and the tiny open sights. (I could quasi-see back then.) Wonderful rifle, no recoil to speak of, and flattened a running hog like he was struck by lightning.

Enjoy!
John

John,
the 1903 was designed with the 160 gr. bullet in mind, howeve it was a round nose and came in soft nose with lots of lead exposed and of course in RN solids.

Of the ones Ive played with, only one would handle handle the Spitzer SP flat base, none would handle the SP boat tails, all handled the RN configuration..maybe this helps explain your delima??

Those old slow RN bullets are awesome on penetration and with all that lead exposed they kill exceptionally well. I have only shot one deer that proved penetration, a going away large mule deer and I broke the spine and pelvis on entry and the bullet exited just in front of the opposite shoulder, That's penetration in spades...

Wonderful caliber that made its rep on slow movinf SPRN bullets, something many of us have forgotten or perhaps never realized in todays climate. Its not always about velocity.

Love the little full-stock Mannlicher carbines. I have one in 30-06 and another in 308.

quote:

Originally posted by loud-n-boomer:
The rifle is a 1903 commercial fullstock with properly installed scope mounts the gun has been reblued, but is in excellent condition. I should have it in a couple of days, and will post pictures then. I have wanted one since I was a teenager and even more so after reading Roy Chapman Andrews'books about his explorations searching for dinosaur bones and such in Mongolia. I finally found a nice one I can afford; I just hope it shoots as good as it looks.

Nice looking rifle!
How does one tell the difference between a commercial sporter and sporterized military gun?
Also what is the availability of factory loads and brass for this cartridge?