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Mannlicher-Schoenauer Triggers Single and Double-Set for Rifles and Carbines

Adjustable Single or Double-Set Triggers

All models, both rifle and carbine, come with choice of regular single trigger or double-set triggers. The single trigger is of the clean crisp shotgun type, that is, it is completely without creep, the pull being about 4½ lbs., and is the type most shooters are accustomed to. Below, it will be seen that the single trigger is provided with a regulating screw, permitting adjustment of pull.

The double-set trigger represents a novelty to most American shooters, but once understood, has numerous advantages, particularly when used with a scope. In this type, the front trigger alone always fires the gun, the rear trigger never does, its sole function being to “set” the front trigger thus making a “hair” trigger of it. If the rear trigger is ignored, the gun is fired by using the front trigger, though the pull is somewhat heavier and less sharp than on the regular single trigger model. The reason for this will be clear from a study of the two illustrations, whereby it will be seen that the leverage exerted in the single trigger is several times as great as in the double-set.To make a “hair” trigger of the front trigger, the rear is pulled back until it clicks, and the front trigger is then “set” and a pressure of a few ounces fires it. This is perfect for long-distance scope shots as the gun may be fired the instant the bead is on the target. If the trigger is “set”, it can be unset without firing the gun or opening the bolt.To accomplish this, the rear trigger is pulled first, and while pressure is on the rear trigger, the front trigger is pulled very lightly, and the gun is back to normal pull. This last “trick” should be practiced on an empty chamber until it is thoroughly understood. A small regulating screw is located between the triggers, permitting adjustment of from nothing to about three ounces.

This illustration shows double-set trigger unit complete with trigger lever. This entire unit can be replaced or used interchangeably with the single trigger mechanism shown at right.

This is the new style single trigger mechanism (illustrated more fully below) which can be used to replace the double trigger unit if desired. This new-style trigger is being furnished on all current Mannlicher-Schoenauers.

OLD SINGLE TRIGGER MECHANISM

NEW SINGLE TRIGGER MECHANISM

A page from the 1939 Stoeger’s catalog showing the different trigger mechanisms for the commercial M-S sporter at that time. (Courtesy Stoeger Industries)

Regular sporter-type rifle built around the Greek military M-S action. The action was fitted with a new barrel, a flat bolt handle and a 1903 Springfield trigger guard bow, and to this the Fajen stock was fitted. The Weaver K-6 scope is mounted in Weaver top-detachable rings on a Weaver 60 base attached to the receiver ring with two 8x40 screws.

The floorplate can be removed by driving the spring clip off of the floorplate stud, which will release the floorplate and the spring catch. Reassemble in reverse order. The assembled magazine can then be inserted into the action and locked in place by turning the floorplate lengthwise with the action.

To remove the barrel and action from the stock, remove the magazine and barrel bands; turn out the rear receiver screw, lift the rear of the trigger guard out of the stock, slide it back and remove it; turn out the front receiver screw and the barreled action can be lifted out of the stock. Drive out (downward) the bolt-stop pin to remove the bolt-stop and spring. Turn out the cartridge-stop screw from the right side of the receiver and work out the cartridge-stop and spring. Drive out the sear lever pin to remove the trigger assembly. Drive out the sear and trigger pins to remove the sear and trigger. Reassemble in reverse order. The barrel is screwed tightly into the receiver (right-hand threads), and it should not be removed unless the action is to be rebarreled, and then only if the proper tools are available.

Rechambering and Rebarreling

I’ve already pointed out some limitations of the M-S action and magazine, but there are more. There is just no way in which this action, made for the 6.5 M-S cartridge, can be altered to handle a cartridge whose overall length is more than about 3.10”, nor any practicable or easy way it can be made to handle any cartridge much shorter than about 2.875”. The new cartridge, which must also be a rimless type, practically eliminates all modern cartridges except the 257 Roberts, 244 (or 6mm Remington) and the 7mm Mauser. While these three fall within the noted length limitations, they still pose an insurmountable problem in the altering of the magazine to handle them because the bodies if these cartridges are of larger diameter than the 6.5 M-S cartridge. I feel that the only practicable rebarreling of the Greek M-S would be to its original caliber.

Good and Poor Features

To begin with, all of the Greek M-S military actions I’ve seen and handled, whether Steyr- or Beretta-made, were very well made in every detail. Undoubtedly the very best steels were used to make the various parts, and these parts properly hardened and tempered (or heat-treated) according to the task they had to perform. All parts are well fitted, finished and smooth. Some parts are polished very smooth, including the exterior of the bolt, magazine spool and the contracting surfaces of the various moving parts. All of this makes for a tight fitting yet smooth working action. Its smoothness of operation rivals that of our Krag. In fact, most of these military actions I’ve handled operated as easily and as smoothly as the action of any commercial M-S sporting rifle made. It is this smoothness, plus the looks and feel of the sporting carbine, that most impresses the sportsman who handles this rifle for the first time.

I like the breeching system of this action, which is not too unlike the M98 Mauser breeching, and the bolt-stop and ejector system, plus the fact that both locking lugs are solid. I also like the cartridge-stop arrangement, which allows easy and convenient removal of cartridges from the magazine.

There are many things I don’t like about the M-S action, some of which I consider poorly designed. I don’t like the slotted bridge or the forward placement of the bolt handle, nor do I like the firing mechanism, with the heavy cocking piece and safety hung on the firing pin.

After almost 70 years of nearly continuous manufacture, the modern M-S action had almost the same firing mechanism, and I should think that it could have been improved.

I do not particularly dislike the separate bolt head, but the extractor is far from being the best. Of all its action parts, the bolt head and extractor are most often lost, and the extractor the part most often broken. Because of the separate bolt head design, the receiver ring and bolt travel are proportionally longer. Because of the long cocking piece, the receiver bridge is also quite long. The rotary spool magazine system requires longer space than would a staggered-column box magazine holding a cartridge of the same length. Considering, however, the size and length of the 6.5 M-S cartridge, the M-S action seems unduly long and heavy.

Close-up of the above sporting rifle showing the altered safety wing, flat bolt handle, 1903 Springfield trigger and guard bow, and Weaver scope mount.

Greek 1903 Mannlicher-Schoenauer

(Uses 6.5 M-S cartridges)

General Specifications

Type . . . . . . . . .Turnbolt repeater.

Receiver . . . . . .One-piece machined steel forging with slotted bridge. Stripper-clip charger guide milled in the bridge.

Bolt . . . . . . . . . .Two-piece, with separate non-rotating bolt head. Dual-opposed locking lugs on front of bolt body. Bolt handle acts as a safety lug.

Ignition . . . . . . .One-piece firing pin, coil spring powered. Cocks on opening bolt.

Magazine . . . . .Rotary spool, five-shot capacity, detachable box-type.

Trigger . . . . . . .Non-adjustable, double-stage military pull.

Safety . . . . . . . .Rotary wing-type built into cocking piece. 180° swing from left to right, locks striker and bolt when swung up or right.

Extractor . . . . . .One-piece non-rotating spring extractor mortised in bolt head.

Magazine cutoff None.

Bolt-stop . . . . . .Pivoting type, located at left rear of receiver.

Ejector . . . . . . .Sliding type fitted on bolt head, activated by bolt stop.

Despite these criticisms, I still like this action very much. Just as many shooters complained when the Model 70 Winchester action was changed in 1964, I imagine that a similar reaction occurred when the Mannlicher-Schoenauer action was changed.

Gunsmithing

When surplus Greek M-S rifles and actions were available in the early 1960s, amateur gunsmiths all over the U.S. and Canada expressed a great deal of interest in them. I know that many were rather disappointed in this action because of its limitations, while others bought a rifle or an action or two or more to lay away for the day they could build that “Mannlicher” rifle— that sleek little sporter they have seen in the Stoeger’s catalog for many years but could never afford.

When the Greek M-S military rifles and actions were first available as surplus arms, I obtained several of the actions. I did considerable experimental work with them, since little has been written about them in gunsmithing books. What I learned should interest those wanting to know the practical use of this rifle or action when remodeling or building a rifle on it.

If you have a complete and original Greek M-S rifle or carbine in excellent condition inside and out, you might consider the fact that they have some value as a collector’s item because they’re not very common.

The M-S rifle or carbine can be readily remodeled into a very fine sporter, for it has one of the best shaped and designed stocks of any military rifle. If you have the rifle, a standard-type sporter can be made from it by discarding the handguard, removing the rear sight, cutting off the forend just to the rear of the middle barrel band, and shortening the barrel to 24” or 22”. Or, if you want to make a typical Mannlicher carbine from either the rifle or carbine, shorten the barrel to 18”, fit a steel Mannlicher-type forend cap on the end of the forend and then trim the entire forend down. Install an open rear sight and a front sight of your choice on the barrel. Lastly, cut off the bolt handle and weld on a flat Mannlicher-type handle. I have made flat handles from the shank of a small open-end wrench or a flat spoke from an old farm implement wheel.

If your rifle or carbine has a ruined bore and you want to use it, my suggestion would be to have a new barrel fitted in its original caliber. It can then be remodeled as outlined above.

There is no receiver sight made for this rifle, and it is most difficult to adapt any other receiver sight to fit it. I’ve successfully mounted a scope on this action using the one-piece Weaver 60 base, attaching it to the receiver ring with two 8x40 screws. This also required the installation of a new bolt handle to clear the scope.

Typical “Mannlicher” styled sporting rifle made up on the Greek military M-S action. The action was attached to a 6.5 caliber barrel, open sights fitted into the barrel, the original bolt handle replaced with a flat type, and then a Fajen Mannlicher stock fitted to the barreled action.

In attaching a new bolt handle to achieve a very low profile, and so it will clear the eyepiece of a low-mounted scope, it may be necessary to weld it directly to the bolt guide rib. This will then require notching the side of the stock and cutting down the right side of the receiver bridge. In any case, the clip-charger humps should be filed down.

To my knowledge, there is no commercial safety or trigger made for this action. I solved the safety problem when a scope is mounted low by cutting off most of the wing from the original safety and silver soldering on an L-shaped piece of flat steel, as shown in the illustration. The original trigger can be improved by fitting it with an adjustment screw, as shown. I have also replaced the original trigger with a 1903 Springfield trigger, modifying it as required. The original M-S trigger guard bow is unusually large and heavy, and on one rifle, I replaced it with a 1903 Springfield guard. This not only improves the looks, but in combination with the Springfield trigger, the trigger and bow are placed farther to the rear and closer to the grip, making for better handling and feel.

A double-set trigger mechanism made for the M98 Mauser can be installed in the Greek M-S action. On one rifle I remodeled, I sawed off the bow, or loop part, from the guard, installed the trigger mechanism in the plate that was left, and then fitted a double-barrel shotgun guard to the plate and grip, nearly duplicating the original double trigger set-up of the commercial M-S rifle.

Additional Comments

I don’t know how many Greek M-S military rifles and carbines were made, but the figure must surely be in the scores or hundreds of thousands. Of all the military and commercial centerfire turnbolt actions discussed in this book, I believe more separate manufacturing operations are required to make the Mannlicher-Schoenauer action than any of the others.

The 1903 and the 1903/14 Greek M-S rifles are serial numbered. The complete serial number is usually stamped on the receiver ring, on the bolt guide rib and on the breech end of the barrel, and with two or more digits of this number stamped on such other parts as the bolt head, cocking piece, firing pin, firing pin nut and safety. If all the numbers match, this indicates all of the numbered parts are original. The place and date (year) of manufacture are usually stamped on the left receiver wall, as for example: STEYR 1914 or BERETTA and date. The model designation of the rifle is usually stamped on the receiver ring, as for example: Y:1903/14. A crown over a cross within a shield is also usually found stamped on the receiver ring.

The 6.5 M-S Cartridge

The 6.5 M-S cartridge was developed and introduced with the M-S military rifle in 1900, and adopted by Greece in 1903. It is a rimless, bottlenecked cartridge, loaded with a long round-nosed bullet. The 6.5 M-S case is slightly smaller at the head (.453”) than the 30-06 case (.473” head dia.). As a military cartridge, it was certainly as good as the 6.5mm Japanese and 6.5mm Italian-Carcano cartridges, but since Greece was such a small country, the 6.5 M-S cartridge never became a noteworthy military cartridge. It did, however, become a worldwide favorite sporting cartridge in the famous M-S sporting carbine, and it has been successfully used for taking all species of big game, including elephant.

The 6.5 M-S is also known as the 6.5x54 or 6.5x53 M-S. The “6.5” indicates the caliber in millimeters of .256”.the approximate bore size of the barrel. The “53” or “54” (the latter figure is most generally used today) is the case length in millimeters. Bullets are usually of .264” diameter to match the groove diameter of barrels made for this cartridge, which normally range from .266 ” to .268”. M-S rifle barrels usually have a very fast rifling twist, one turn in 7.87 ”.

The 6.5 M-S Greek military cartridge was normally loaded with a 159-grain full-jacketed round-nosed bullet, muzzle velocity about 2225 fps. Sporting loads, which were made in such countries as Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and the U.S., were usually loaded with 150- to 160-grain round-nosed expanding-type bullets.

If you own a rifle in this caliber and want to shoot it, you surely can find an ammunition source by contacting dealers who sell imported ammunition. Check the “Directory of the Arms Trade” in GUN DIGEST for the names and addresses of importers and manufacturers of ammunition. And when you shoot your rifle, save the empty cases because they can be reloaded. In the directory, you should also be able to find a commercial stock maker who can furnish semi-shaped/inletted stocks for the Mannlicher-Schoenauer.

The handloader will want to use Norma cases because they accept Boxer primers. Because the 6.5 M-S chamber has a very deep throat for the long-bulleted factory load, and the M-S action and magazine are made specifically for such a load, the handloader will have the best results with long and heavy 6.5mm bullets.

Beginning in 1903, the Mannlicher-Schoenauer factory began producing fine sporting carbines on the M-S action. These lightweight and short barreled rifles with a full length form became popular the world over. Pictured here is the 1905 Model. Other models followed including the 1908 and 1910. The most popular caliber was the 6.5x54mm but they were also made in 8x56mm, 9x56mm and 9.5x57mm. (Photo from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Winchester Museum.)