Was the M72 front or rear locking action ? what calibres were they made in ? For how many years did they manufacture them ? were they good or not so good ? thanks for any info Cheers

Tankhunter,

I believe they were made for only a short period in the early to mid 70's.
they are an interesting receiver.
-large diameter bolt like Weatherby MkV.
-Front locking with 6-lugs.
-True Controlled round feed
-Mauser type blade ejector.
-Excellent "rocking" shroud safety.

handled one in 270 win a few weeks ago, I like them.

tough, smooth guns, but a little too much plastic.

I don't believe that there is any plastic on the M72, at least not on the few that I have seen, including an -06 I looked at a month ago. "Makrolon" didn't show up until a bit later.

In addition to the more pedestrian American calibers, I understand that they were offered in 7x57, 7x64 and probably others. I'd love to find a nice one at a fair price.

The M-72 is a front locking all wood and steel rifle made between 1973 and 1975, although I've never seen one dated other than 1975. There were two versions, the M (.30-06 class action) and the S (Magnum action) The S is the rare one and it actually has two subclasses. As near as I can tell from research, the S was only marketed in Europe, and you can find them on Euro websites. The M was chambered for 5.6x57mm,.243 WCF, ,270 WCF, 7x57mm, 7x64mm .308 WCF, and .30-06. I would suspect a 9.3x62mm too. The S was available in 6.5x68mm, 8x68mm, 7mm Remington Magnum, 300 Win Mag, .375 H&H and .458 Win Mag. The Model S/T (has a heavy 23.6 inch tropical barrel) was offered in 9.3x64mm, .375 H&H, and .458 Win Mag.
I own or have owned M-72s in 5.6x57mm, .243WCF, 7x57mm and .30-06. All have been typical under MOA performing Steyr rifles.

The M-72 is an example of a nice rifle that just did not make it in the market.

LLS
Mannlicher Collector

I have a M72 .270 and used to have one in .243. The magazine rotor definitely is made from plastic/makrolon in both of these examples. The mag other than the rotor is made of some sort of alloy - not sure what exactly.
I have some parts somewhere if anyone is looking for a double set trigger mechanism and matching floor plate.

Cheers.

GG