Disassembly/Reassembly of the Steyr-Mannlicher 1895 Carbine

During the Russo-Turkish war circa 1877, a rag-tag army of Turks stopped the best that Czarist Russia could throw at them. It happened at the Battle of Plevna. After flanking their foe on both sides, Turkish soldiers poured a huge and unprecedented amount of fire into opposition ranks, causing upward of 30,000 casualties. If you were on the Russian side, it was a massacre. If you were Turkish, it was a great victory made possible by the Winchester Model 1866.

Suddenly, all the great powers of Europe realized the advantage of a repeating rifle in combat, and each raced to develop their own. Somewhere toward the center of the melee was an Austrian named Karl Friedrich Ferdinand Von Ritter Mannlicher. Impressed by the giant leap forward taken by Lee in 1879 with a removable box magazine, both Mannlicher and Paul Mauser entered into extensive study of the Lee design.

Perhaps due to European fascination with (or fear of) the tubular magazine (like the Winchester Model 1866), Mauser brought out a tubefed version of his Model 1871 which soon went into service with the German and Turkish Armies. It remained for Mannlicher to demonstrate the advantages of the box magazine, and he did so in spades by introducing a means of loading it with a clip in 1885.

Called the "en block," the clip was inserted from the top and ejected from the magazine’s open bottom after the last round was chambered. Fast, the system was, but it had disadvantages: Primarily, the magazine could not be loaded without the clip, and its wide-open bottom allowed dust and dirt to enter the action. Regardless, the Austrian Army adopted the 1885 Mannlicher, which included a straight-pull bolt he had designed in 1884, exactly one year after the Swiss, Rubin, had introduced one.

Though the straight pull lacks the initial extraction power of most turnbolt actions, Mannlicher continued to perfect his design and in 1890 brought forth a bolt with a rotating head and two forward locking lugs. It was this bolt, with further improvements including a much smaller opening to the magazine, which became the basis for the Steyr-Mannlicher Model 1895. Seven million of them were employed in World War I, and the rifle or carbine served the military in several European countries until 1940.

The bolt of the Model 1895 has a separate bolt head with two locking lugs like the 1890 design. The head is inserted into the bolt body from the front, and the body has internal spiral-shaped ribs or rails. There are matching spiral cuts in the tail of the bolt head. The rails engage each oth-

The magazine-spring screw at the bottom of the guard must not be removed until the floorplate is out of the guard. er, causing the head to rotate open when the bolt is drawn to the rear, then counter-rotate and lock the action when the bolt is closed. Beyond Basic Disassembly Once you’re certain the rifle is empty, press the trigger forward, and open and remove the bolt to the rear. Essentially, that’s all you have to do when nothing but bolt and bore need a quick cleaning.

But let us assume the gun on your bench has seen more than a little action afield and has not been fully attended to by its owner. There could be unseen damage and rust or dirt lurking almost anywhere, so you must go farther. The two barrel/stock bands are removed. The forward band wears a bayonet lug. Back out the band’s screw and slip it off toward the muzzle. The other band has two screws, one of which captures a sling swivel.

Loosen the swivel screw, completely remove the second screw, and slide the band When the bolt is reinserted in the receiver, the bolt head must remain fully extended. Bending down the tail of the extractor slightly helps to keep the head extended. off the handguard. The handguard is pulled forward to separate it from the receiver. Undo both triggerguard screws. Set them on your bench. The triggerguard now joins them. Lift the barrel and receiver from the stock as a unit.

Thus taken down, the Model 1895 can hold few dirty little secrets. Detailed Bolt Disassembly You’ll need a nylon bench block. Lacking one, use a block of wood as you work your way through this. Compress the bolt (#10) by positioning the bolt head (#2) evenly on the block and pressing down firmly. Keep pressing while you pull the cocking piece (#9) to the rear and swing the safety lever (#7) beneath it. The lever will serve as a "rest stop" or support to keep the cocking piece extended.

Turn the cocking piece counterclockwise until it can be lifted free of the threads on the firing pin (#3). Invert the bolt (cocking handle toward your bench) and press the threaded, protruding end of the firing pin down on your block. This should raise the bolt head and extractor (#1) up from the body sufficiently for separation purposes. If it doesn’t, insert a punch in the rear of the bolt body and give the firing pin an encouraging tap forward. Grasp the bolt head and extractor as a unit and lift them free.

Separate the extractor from the head and stash both elements someplace where they won’t get lost. The safety screw (#8) retains the safety lever. "Lefty loosey" backs out the screw. Check to ensure the lever is

Steyr-Mannlicher Model 1895 Straight-Pull Rifle (Specifications subject to change without notice) 1 Extractor 2 Bolt Head 3 Firing Pin 4 Firing Pin Spring 5 Firing Pin Spring Retainer 6 Bolt Body 7 Safety 8 Safety Screw 9 Cocking Piece 10 Bolt Assembly positioned as shown in the photograph before taking it out of the bolt. The screw and lever should join all other components you have set aside. You haven’t taken down the firing-pin assembly yet, so it’s still under pressure exerted by the spring (#4).

No weak sister, this spring can put a dent in you or anyone standing nearby if you slip up during the next step. Place the back (threaded) end of the firing pin on your block and begin 11 Receiver 12 Barrel 13 Front Sight 14 Trigger and Bolt Stop 15 Sear Lever 16 Sear 17 Ejector 18 Ejector Pin 19 Sear Spring 20 Sear Pin 21 Clip Latch Spring 22 Clip Latch Screw 23 Clip Latch 24 Triggerguard 25 Magazine Floorplate Screw 26 Front Guard Screw to turn the spring retainer (#5) off the pin. Hang onto the bolt head.

You have to control the expanding spring, making sure it loses tension slowly, until you complete the removal of the retainer. When its internal threads have departed the firing-pin’s external threads, the retainer will snap down smartly’m eaning with considerable force’on the block.

Afterwards, the spring and firing pin can be withdrawn from the head and the 27 Clip Latch Screw 28 Magazine Follower Assembly 29 Rear Guard Screw 30 Magazine Spring 31 Magazine Floorplate 32 Follower Pivot Pin 33 Magazine Spring Screw bolt has been detail stripped. Detail Stripping the Trigger Examine the relationship of the trigger and the sear/ejector assembly.

Make sure it looks the same way after reassembly. (The ejector faces forward; the tail of the sear lever engages the trigger.) Push out the sear pin (#20) from its smaller end. Pull out the sear (#16), sear lever (#15), and ejector (#17) as a