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March 2010 No. 249
$5.99 U.S./CanadaPrinted in USA
7 25274 01240 4
0 3
$5.99
The Winchester ’94 Is Back!
Marksmanship: Groups Versus Skill!
McMillanG30Legacy!
Euro Classics:• Schultz & Larsen
65DL 7x61 S&H• Mannlicher-Schönauer
M1908 8x56mm
TurnbullCustom
Levergun
March 2010Volume 42, Number 2
ISSN 0162-3593Issue No. 249
4
46 Thoughts onMarksmanshipGroups Versus Skill Mike Venturino
54 Up and ShootingPutting HistoricalRifles to Work John Haviland
64 Short-Lived LegendSchultz & Larsen offersEuropean quality atbargain prices.Terry Wieland
Page 38 . . .
Background Photo: © 2010 Royal Tine Images
24 Speer DeepCurlBonded BulletMostly Long Guns -Brian Pearce
28 .30 CarbineClassic Cartridges -John Haviland
32 McMillan G30LegacyA High-EndProduction RifleStan Trzoniec
38 WinchesterModel 1894It’s Back! Brian Pearce
Rifle 249www.riflemagazine.com
Sportiting FiFirearearms Joururnal al
8 Tough ShotsSpotting Scope -Dave Scovill
12 World War IISniper Scopes Down Range -Mike Venturino
16 Installing/RepairingForend andForearm Tips Light Gunsmithing -Gil Sengel
22 Wildcatter InventsNew .300Straight Talk -Ron Spomer
Page 46 . . .
Page 64 . . .
On the cover . . .The McMillan G30 Legacy .270 Winchesterfeatures a Leupold 3.5-10x scope in Talleybases. Photo by Stan Trzoniec. The limitededition High Grade .30-30 Winchestercommemorates Oliver F. Winchester’s200th birthday. Photos by G. Hudson.
Background Photo: © 2010 Royal Tine Images
Page 46Page 88Page 38
72 Testing .22AmmunitionHow does yourammo stack up?Charles E. Petty
78 Catalog CornerSpecial AdvertisingSection
80 What’s New inthe MarketplaceInside Product News -Clair Rees
85 Rifle ReaderSurvey
88 Doug TurnbullRestorationCustom Corner -Stan Trzoniec
94 Search for theNear-PerfectReticleWalnut Hill -Terry Wieland
Rifle 249www.riflemagazine.com6
Issue No. 249 March 2010
Sportiting FiFirearearms Joururnalal
Publisher/President – Don Polacek
Associate Publisher – Mark Harris
Editor in Chief – Dave Scovill
Managing Editor – Roberta Scovill
Art Director – Gerald Hudson
Production Director – Becky Pinkley
Contributing Editors
Associate Editor – Al Miller
Advertising
Advertising Director - Stefanie [email protected]
Advertising Representative - Tom [email protected]
Advertising Information: 1-800-899-7810
CirculationCirculation Manager – Michele Elfenbein
Subscription Information: 1-800-899-7810www.riflemagazine.com
Rifle® (ISSN 0162-3583) is published bimonthly withone annual special edition by Polacek Publishing Corpo-ration, dba Wolfe Publishing Company (Don Polacek,President), 2625 Stearman Rd., Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona86301. (Also publisher of Handloader® magazine.) Tele-phone (928) 445-7810. Periodical Postage paid atPrescott, Arizona, and additional mailing offices. Sub-scription prices: U.S. possessions – single issue, $5.99; 7issues, $19.97; 14 issues, $36. Foreign and Canada – sin-gle issue, $5.99; 7 issues $26; 14 issues, $48. Please allow8-10 weeks for first issue. Advertising rates furnished onrequest. All rights reserved.
Change of address: Please give six weeks notice. Send both the old and new address, plus mailing label ifpossible, to Circulation Department, Rifle® Magazine,2625 Stearman Road, Suite A, Prescott, Arizona 86301. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rifle®, 2625Stearman Road, Suite A, Prescott, Arizona 86301.
Canadian returns: PM #40612608. Bleuchip Interna-tional, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2.
Wolfe Publishing Co.2625 Stearman Rd., Ste. APrescott, AZ 86301Tel: (928) 445-7810 Fax: (928) 778-5124© Polacek Publishing Corporation
John Haviland Ron Spomer Brian Pearce Stan TrzoniecClair Rees Mike VenturinoGil Sengel Ken Waters
Terry Wieland
Publisher of Rifle® is not responsible for mishaps of any nature that might occur from use of published loadingdata or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may be reproduced withoutwritten permission from the publisher. All authors are contracted under work for hire. Publisher retains all copy-rights upon payment for all manuscripts. Although all possible care is exercised, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost or mutilated manuscripts.
Page 88 . . .
24 Rifle 249www.riflemagazine.com
In July 2009 I was invited to
tour the CCI and Speer plantslocated in Lewiston, Idaho, andbeing that it had been a numberof years since visiting either location, I accepted. I was joinedby Communication and EventsManagers Jason Nash and TimBrandt, as well as a number ofengineers, production staff anddignitaries from CCI, Speer, Fed-eral Cartridge, RCBS, etc., (allcompanies owned by ATK Com-mercial Products) and a handfulof other gun writers.
Wow! I was impressed with pro-duction developments, efficiencyand technology advancements inthe past few years. The numberof products manufactured underthese two roofs is remarkable, in-cluding a variety of rimfire am-munition, CCI primers (many formilitary contracts), Speer bullets,brass cases, centerfire ammuni-tion (law enforcement and civil-ian) and products for sistercompanies (offering consider-able synergy within ATK). Thecompanies are progressive with
state-of-art tooling, and in manyinstances the equipment was en-gineered and built for specific ap-plications associated with themanufacture of bullets, brass andprimers.
In addition to having the oppor-tunity to tour the plants, visitwith engineers and spend class-room time getting an overview ofproduct lines, asking questionsand offering suggestions, we alsospent time at the range shootinga variety of bullets and ammu -nition. There were samples of apreproduction bullet (without aname) that we fired into ballisticgelatin downrange. Penetration
of the .30-caliber, 180-grain bulletsreached around 20 inches at 100yards when fired from a .30-06.
Soon thereafter, samples of theabove bullet were forwarded tome, allowing the opportunity totry them at home for accuracy,fouling and on game. Finally inOctober the official name be-came DeepCurl and is slated forproduction by early 2010. Initiallya 180-grain bullet will be offeredin .308 caliber but will soon befollowed in all popular calibersranging from .243 to .338. TheDeepCurl line of rifle bullets willbegin to replace the popularSpeer Hot-Cors, which will begradually worked in as productionis converted over and could possi-bly take years to fully complete.
Details of the new bullet in-clude a lead core containing less than one percent antimony,while the copper jacket is bondedthrough an electro-chemical procedure (rather than solder).This process does not heat thecopper, which is highly tensilestressed, and will not foul boresas some non-gilded copper bondedbullets do. The jacket measuresaround .035 inch thick. There isslight lead exposed at the tip, andthe bullet is best described as asemipointed softpoint, althoughSpeer is referring to it as a soft-
MOSTLY LONG GUNS by Brian Pearce • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
SPEER DEEPCURL
BONDED BULLET
The Speer 180-grain DeepCurl bullet reached around 20 inches in bal-listic gelatin.
Above, expansion in ballistic gelatin was consistent. Right, the SpeerDeepCurl in .30 caliber 180-grain weight retained around 95 percentof its original weight in ballistic gelatin.
Rifle 249
charged with 75.0 grains of Al-liant Reloder 22 and capped witha Federal 215 primer, with anoverall cartridge length of 3.340inches. Velocity was 2,961 fps.From a 100-yard sandbag rest,bullets consistently groupedunder one inch for four shots, inspite of snowflakes making thetarget difficult to see well throughthe Weaver Super Slam 2-10x42scope.
Recovered bullets typicallyweighed around 170 to 175 grains,retaining around 95 percent oftheir original weight, and expan-sion was consistent and pre-dictable. Indications are that itwill make a great general-pur-pose bullet for hunting big gamesuch as deer, elk, pronghorn,black bear and other similargame. On broadside heart/lungshots, it appears to offer reliableexpansion and should completelypenetrate any of the above gameanimals.
Around 70 shots were firedthrough the Ruger .300 Winches-ter Magnum, which is scarcelyenough to draw any conclusionsas to bore fouling. There was cer-tainly evidence of copper, but itwas minimal enough that therewas no decrease in accuracy as
point. (Eventually roundnose,spitzer and flatnose versions willbecome available in suitable cal-ibers.) It is a flatbase design witha dimpled base; both features canincrease accuracy in productionrifles. Ballistic coefficient (BC) ismeasured at .483. For compari-son a Speer spitzer boat-tail anda spitzer softpoint of the samecaliber and weight offer a BC of.545 and .411, respectively.
Anticipating a New Mexico muledeer hunt, the new 180-grain bullet was tried in a stainlesssteel Ruger Model 77 MKII .300Winchester Magnum. The hand-load consisted of Hornady cases
26 www.riflemagazine.com
The Speer DeepCurl is a moderately priced bonded bullet, manufac-tured with state-of-the-art tooling. It will replace the Speer Hot-Corrifle bullet product line.
Building DOUBLE RIFLES on ShotgunActions, 2nd Edition - By W. Ellis Brown
This book is written to take the gunsmith or advancedhobbyist step by step through the process of building adouble rifle, using the action of a side-by-side shotgun.Chapters include evaluating actions and cartridges; build-ing monoblocks; ribs; bushing firing pins; and proof test-ing. Of particular interest is the chapter on regulating thebarrels to shoot to the same point of aim. Brown detailseach step of the entire process, to end with a functional,well regulated double rifle. Double rifle ribs are nowavailable on the web site.HB, DJ, Large Format, 217 pages with over 300 b/w photos,color photos and diagrams . . . . . . . . . . $54.95 + $5.00 S&H*Colo. Res. add 3% sales tax ($1.65) *Orders outside the U.S.: S&H is $13.00Also available: 2006 Double Rifle Builders Symposium DVD (visit our website)
Bunduki Publishing, 39384 WCR 19, Ft. Collins, CO 80524www.BundukiPublishing.com Dealer inquires welcome.
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'93-'96 MAUSERCock-on Opening Conversion
Cocking piece; Striker spring;Fully adjustable trigger included.
Cast steel; Blued; Safety notch cut.Dayton Traister Trigger Co.
4778 N. Monkey Hill Rd., Oak Harbor, WA 98277
March-April 2010
significant, as they are com-pletely barrel safe. There are notime limits that the solvent canbe left in the bore; an hour, aweek or a year will not etch, pitor damage the bore. With thatsaid, once the ammonia has es-sentially dried up, the workingaction has effectively stopped. Itis time to wipe the bore and satu-rate it with another coat of sol-vent until it is copper free.
Bore Solvent and Copper Killerare similar products, with the lat-ter being more of an industrialstrength version at a higher cost.Both products are aggressivecleaners. Recently I was breakingin the barrel of a new rifle, some-thing I rarely do based on thetime involved. It is only accom-plished on special rifles. After fir-ing each shot, the copper foulingwas removed using two or threeBore Solvent saturated patches.Five minutes later another wetpatch was pushed back and forthin the bore several times, fol-lowed by several dry patches.This was repeated until patchesshowed no signs of copper. Thebreak-in process was accom-plished more quickly based onthe speed of this solvent.
The Montana X-Treme productsare not “mouth wash”strength, but ratheroffer aggressive cop-per dissolving action.This comes at the priceof unusually strongvapors. It is suggestedto clean firearms in awell-ventilated area,preferably outside orin the garage. In thumb-ing through mail-ordercatalogs, a 16-ouncebottle of Bore Solventwill cost just over $20,while a 4-ounce bottleis less than $10. Formore information con-tact Montana X-Treme
at PO Box 158, MilesCity MT 59301; call 1-800-278-4129; or visit on-line at ramshot.com.
27www.riflemagazine.com
compared to groups fired withinthe first 10 to 20 rounds.
In spite of being a premium bul-let, the Speer DeepCurl is pricedin the middle of the road. The180-grain, .308-inch bullet carriesa suggested retail of $36.95 perbox of 100.
* * *
MONTANA X-TREME
BORE CLEANERS
For the past couple of years,I’ve been using products fromMontana X-Treme, which includeBore Solvent, Copper Killer (for-merly 50 BMG), Cowboy Blend,USA Shooting Rimfire Blend,Blackhorn 209 Solvent and sev-eral pastes and gun greases. TheCowboy and Shooting RimfireBlends are formulated specifi-cally for lead bullet and powderfouling, while Blackhorn is for-mulated for the unique chemistryof that black-powder substitute.The following focuses on BoreSolvent and Copper Killer, in-tended to remove copper andpowder fouling.
Like many copper solvents, theycontain ammonia as well as anumber of other special ingredi-ents, but rather than being water-based, they are oil-based. This is
Montana X-Treme offers a complete line ofgun lubrication and barrel cleaning prod-ucts such as Gun Oil, Bore Solvent and 50B.M.G. (now known as Copper Killer). R
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John Haviland
The moment the gun cabinetdoor opened, light shoneon one particular rifle. Thesilver flat bolt handle in
the center of the rifle’s receiveridentified the rifle as a Mann -licher. A scope mount covered thetop and most of the left side of thereceiver, so quickly determining themodel was impossible. The partialname OESTERR WAFFE. . . on thereceiver and a note with the riflestating it was chambered in “8x56”further kindled my interest. I knew Iwould buy the rifle and get it up andshooting.
Half the fun of owning these older rifles is the re-search and reading that goes into identifying anddiscovering their history, cementing a link to therifle and its past. I imagined myself carrying theMannlicher rifle up steep mountains to the bugle of elk and stalking pronghorn across rollingprairies, just like the original owner most likely didin Europe on his quest for red stag and chamois.
HISTORY AND A CHECKUP
With the rifle at home, I removed the scope andmount. On top of the receiver ring was printed:
Made in AustriaPatent
MannlicherSchönauer
M.1908
On the left side of the receiver was printed:OESTERR WAFFENFABRIK GES. STEYR.
A few of those letters were obscured by the scopemount holes, but an Internet search uncovered thecomplete lettering. The Internet also revealed thelast two numbers of a series of numbers on the bot-tom of the barrel at the breech indicated when therifle passed through the Vienna Proof House. Myrifle went through in 1920. Gun Trader’s Guide de-scribed the Model 1908 as having a double set trig-ger, full-length stock, rotary magazine and trap
Up and Shoot
54 Rifle 249www.riflemagazine.com
T
buttplate. The book also statedthe Model 1908 was chamberedin 7x57 and 8x56. However, othersources stated the rifle waschambered in only 8x56 Mann -licher-Schönauer while Rifles of
the World stated the Model 1908was chambered in “an 8x56mm(Austrian) and, apparently, an8x57mm (German). . . .” Othergood books on firearm identifica-tion and history include Flayder-
ing
Putting HistoricalRifles to Work
March-April 2010 55
The Bausch & Lomb Baltur 2.5x scope sits on the Mannlicher-Schönauerrifle like a wart. The rifle handles and points much easier without the
scope, just using the Lyman aperture sight. After some ammunition prob-lems were sorted out, the Mannlicher-Schönauer is ready for the hunt.
Rifle 249
man’s Guide to Antique Ameri-
can Firearms and Their Values
by Norm Flayderman and theBlue Book of Gun Values.
The condition of my Model 1908was pretty good for a rifle goingon 90 years. The metal was per-fect, except for the four holes inthe receiver for the scope mount.However, the stock was not. Ithad been refinished and thecheckering on the grip filled with
varnish. The buttplate had beenreplaced with a red recoil padwith white and black spacers,but the real disaster was thecomb. My niece looked over myshoulder at the rifle and com-mented, “It looks like somebodyglued the working edge of acanoe paddle on the stock.”
No doubt, whoever mountedthe scope had also glued thewood on the comb to raise the
eye to see through the scope. Butthe comb was so high I couldn’tget my head down to see throughthe scope, and the leaf and aper-ture sights looked like they wereway down in a canyon. Too, thetop of the comb was so thin itwould break my cheekbone if Ifired the rifle. I set to work witha rotary tool and sanded downthe comb until it was the correctheight to line up my eye with theopen sights, and I had to raise myhead just a bit to see through thescope. I formed the comb with aslight hump to give the stocksome Bavarian charm.
Older rifles can be in more of aquestionable shooting condition
than this Mannlicher and requirea checkup from a gunsmith. Agunsmith friend said he examinesmany firearms, old and new, thathave been altered and had partsreplaced. He said he alwayschecks a firearm’s safety to makesure it isn’t broken or hasn’t beenadjusted by a basement gun-smith. In conjunction with thesafety, he checks the trigger. Hecocks the gun, sets the safety onand pulls the trigger. “A lot oftimes when somebody has messedwith the safety or sear,” he cau-tioned, “the rifle fires when youpush off the safety.”
The correct headspace in thechamber is also critical. “A cham-
56 www.riflemagazine.com
Up and
ShootingLeft, the spoon-shaped bolt handleis one identifying feature of theMannlicher-Schönauer rifle. Above,the rear trigger of the M-S rifle ispulled to the rear to lighten thepull of the front trigger to slightlyover one pound. The front triggerreleases with about 3 pounds ofpressure without setting it.
Above, the M-S has a full-lengthstock with a steel cap.
Below, the previous owner of the Model 1908 Mannlicher-Schönauerrifle glued a hump on the comb to see through a scope.
The condition ofJohn’s Model 1908 waspretty good for a rifle
going on 90 years.
ber with excessive headspacethat has been shot a lot with re-loads will sooner or later have acase separate and part of it stick in the chamber,” he said.“Then somebody will try and digthe split case out of the chamberwith a screwdriver or knife bladeand scratch the chamber walls.Those scratches hold onto the
brass of a firedcase and makeit difficult toextract.
“However, a slight amount ofexcessive headspace is really nota problem with cartridges likethe .25-35 Winchester, becausethey’re loaded to such a lowpressure that all that happens is
the primer backs out on firing,”he said. “I’ve found brass doesn’texpand much until you reachabout 40,000 pounds of pres-sure.” The maximum pressure forthe .25-35 in 37,000 CUP.
Above, the rotary magazine holds four cartridges.A push on the button shoots the cartridges out.
Above right, pushing this recessed buttonreleases the floorplate to remove the rotarymagazine (right), which is easily removed.
March-April 2010 57www.riflemagazine.com
In his Pet Loads article “8x56Mannlicher-Schönauer” in theJune-July 1995 Handloader (No.175), Ken Waters agonizes overfinding correct dimension brassto form cases for the 8x56 M-S.Waters wrote the base diameterof the 8x56 case was .460 inch andthought he might have to swage
8x57 cases to fit his Model 1908Mannlicher-Schönauer. Luck ily,though, he found new Winchester8x57 Mauser cases had a base
Rifle 24958 www.riflemagazine.com
AMMUNITION
According to Cartridges of the
World, the 8x56 Mannlicher-Schö-nauer cartridge was intro ducedin about 1908. European andAmerican ammunition compa-nies loaded the 8x56 but discon-tinued it decades ago. A cartridgedrawing in The Handloader’s
Manual of Cartridge Conver-
sions shows the 8x56 is an everso slightly thinner and shorterversion of the 8x57 Mauser. Whywould the Mannlicher-Schönauerpeople chamber their rifle in acartridge that was so similar to the widely available 8x57Mauser? Well, the same situationcontinues today with companiesintroducing comparable size car-tridges. Remington has its .300RSAUM, Ruger/Hornady their.300 RCM, while everyone else inthe known world is loading andchambering the .300 WSM.
Ammunition for the 8x56 wasgoing to strictly be a handload -ing affair. I did find a couple ofsources of 8x56 cases but balkedat the $2.50 price for each case.
Up and
Shooting
Above, the 8x57 (left) andthe 8x56 are very similar.The 8x56, however, has ashorter shoulder and longerneck. Right, these bullets were fired in the 8x57 M-S. From left, theyinclude the Nosler 180-grain Ballistic Tip, Hornady 195-grain SpirePoint, Sierra 200-grain MatchKing HPBT and Sierra 220-grain spitzer.Although the 8x57 has a maximum loaded length of 3.228 inches, theM-S magazine will accept cartridges with a length of only 3 inches.
The Lyman Model 36 aperturesight swings away when it ispushed by the opening andclosing bolt of the M-S rifle.The sight has a small and largeaperture.8x57 Loads
for the Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1908bullet powder charge velocity group
(grains) (grains) (fps) (inches)
170 Remington Core-Lokt softpoint factory load 1,831 1.67180 Nosler Ballistic Tip Benchmark 40.0 2,086 2.25
RL-15 45.0 2,337 2.83Varget 44.0 2,297 2.05
195 Hornady Spire Point VV-N150 43.0 1,996 1.13Varget 44.0 2,232 3.75W-748 43.0 2,061 3.60
200 Sierra MatchKing HPBT IMR-4350 46.0 1,971 1.52VV-N150 43.0 2,067 1.04N203-B 45.0 2,339 1.28
220 Sierra spitzer VV-N150 40.0 1,867 1.95N203-B 44.0 2,259 2.43RL-15 40.0 2,004 1.47
Notes: All loads were fired at 100 yards.Be Alert – Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data.
Rifle 24960 www.riflemagazine.com
diameter of .464 inch, which al-lowed a close fit in his 8x56 riflewithout the need for swaging.
That sent me, with micrometerin hand, to measure the diameterof the rim, extractor groove andbase of a variety of 8x57 cases.Remington cases had rim di -ameters of .464 inch and base di-ameters of .463. I ordered 100Remington 8x57s.
The CH Tool & Die/4-D DieCompany website listed reload-ing dies for hundreds upon hun-dreds of standard, uncommonand nearly unheard of cartridgessuch as the .224 Krag, .25 Stevens,.300 Imperial Magnum, .450
Up and
ShootingThe Hornady 195-grain Spire Point (left) and Sierra 200-grain Match -King (right) over Vihtavuori N150 produced these groups at 100 yardsfrom the Mannlicher-Schönauer rifle. M-S rifles, and older rifles ingeneral, were never known for accuracy. Perhaps they were capableof good accuracy, but accurate bullets like Sierras were not availableback then.
to size down the base of the 8x57cases as much as possible, Iscrewed the sizing die down onthe shellholder, lowered thepress ram a bit and screwed thedie in another half turn. That set-ting did not size down the base of the cases, but it did set theshoulder of the 8x57 cases backabout .03 inch. The Handloader’s
Manual of Cartridge Conver-
sions states the case length ofthe 8x56 is 2.21 inches, so I setthe case trimmer for a trim-tolength of 2.20 inches.
I breathlessly held the firsttrimmed case. With trembling fin-gers I slipped it into the chamberof the Model 1908 and slid thebolt forward. The bolt halted,and I gasped. A slight additionalshove pushed the extractor over
Alaskan, etc. The list also con-tained the 8x56 Mannlicher- Schönauer, not to be confusedwith the 8x56R Hungarian Mann -licher or the 8x56R Kropatchek.
With credit card still in hand, Icalled CH to order a set of 8x56M-S reloading dies. The nice fel-low on the other end of the lineasked if the barrel of my rifle hada bore to accept .323- or .318-inch bullets. “There were a few8x56 rifles made with the old .318bore,” he said. I assured him thebore of my Model 1908 measured.323 inch between opposinggrooves. “We have those dies instock, and we’ll ship them rightout to you,” he said.
I asked him how difficult it wasto order dies for wildcat and re-ally obsolete cartridges. “Well,we have about 20,000 dies on the shelf,” he replied. “And if wedon’t have the dies you need,we’ll make them for you.” Hesuggested sending a couple offired cases for made-to-orderdies.
I set to work whenthe Remington casesand the CH dies ar-rived. Remember-ing Waters wanted
Once he figuredout the M-S rifle
was chambered in8x57, Haviland
spent a day in thehills shooting it.
The fired case lookedsuspiciously like an
8x57 Mauser.
March-April 2010 61www.riflemagazine.com
LEUPOLD ADJUSTO MOUNT
The Leupold Adjusto mount ad-justs scope windage by turningthe knurled screw on the right
sight of the mount. Elevation ad-justment is accomplished by turn-
ing a disk under the rear rings.
R
the case rim, and the case freelychambered. With the rim underthe extractor, the case slid in andout of the chamber without ahitch.
For a start, I loaded 10 caseswith 38.0 grains of VihtavuoriN150 and Sierra 200-grain Match -King hollowpoint boat-tail (HPBT)bullets. Only an hour remained ofthe day, so I hurried to the rangewith the Model 1908 and thestarting loads.
Inspection of the first fired caseindicated I had failed to fol -low procedure. The primer hadslightly backed out, and the caseshoulder had moved forward.The fired case looked suspiciouslylike an 8x57 Mauser. Back home,the fired case looked just like an 8x57 case. In fact, an 8x57 caseand an 8x57 cartridge fit in therifle’s chamber. The 8x57 car-tridge, with a piece of maskingtape on the case head face fit inthe chamber with a slight amountof resistance closing the bolthandle.
So in my haste to shoot theMannlicher-Schönauer rifle, I had spent an extra roll of cash by pretty well ruining 50 newcases and buying a set of special
order dies. I should have heededthe words from Rifles of the
World stating the Model 1908 was apparently chambered in8x57mm. In the long run, though,
The Leupold Adjusto mount and Bausch & Lomb Baltur 2.5xscope on the Mannlicher-Schö-nauer rifle are 1950’s technologyat its best. With no reticle adjust-ment on the scope, the movementof the scope’s reticle is made onthe Adjusto mount. After fiddlingwith the mount and shooting quitea few shots, I finally got the scopeand rifle pointing at the samespot.
Windage correction on the Ad-justo mount is done on the rearring by loosening the left screwand turning the knurled screw onthe right side of the mount – for-ward to move the reticle to theright and back for left. One clickis approximately .5 inch at 100yards. That was the easy part.
Elevation adjustment is accom-plished by turning a disk underthe rear ring. However, the left
side windage screw had to beloose to rotate the disk up ordown. I made a few turns of ad-justment to the elevation disk,retightened the windage screwand fired a group. Of course, thewindage screw failed to return tothe same spot, and I had to alsoreadjust it every time. Afterabout four tries and firing a boxof cartridges, the scope was fi-nally sighted in.
All that fine-tuning and shootingdemonstrate the internal adjust-ments on today’s scopes willmore than pay for the price ofthe scope in saved ammunitionover the years.
With that in mind I used my re-maining original 8x57 cases andloaded them with various bulletsand powders listed in the loadtable. Just like Waters discoveredwith his rifle, VV-N150 was theaccuracy champ in the rifle. TheVV-N150 loads listed in the tableare on the mild side, so theycould be increased a few grainsto up the velocity some. Anothergood powder was Norma’s 203-B,which turned in 2,339 fps withthe Sierra 200-grain bullet, re-spectable velocity from a 19.5-inch barrel. I’m going to use thisrifle mainly to hunt deer and elkin the timber, with perhaps a tripto the prairie for pronghorn. Forthat hunting I’ll probably removethe scope to use the cool LymanModel 36 swing-away aperturesight. So far, the Lyman sight isgrouping the Sierra 200-grain bul-lets in 1.5 inches at 50 yards.
Even with my false starts, I hadfun searching to identify theMannlicher-Schönauer rifle andgetting it up and shooting. Theenjoyment will continue as I prac-tice with the rifle in preparationfor that steep hike into the moun-tains, just like its original ownerdid on his hunts in Europe manyyears ago.
Rifle 249
other cartridges. You may have toextend your search beyond thelocal sporting goods store to findmany of them. Gun shows are agood source of vintage ammuni-tion. However the price of thisammunition is often astronomi-cal, due to its value to collectors.The ammunition is also likelycorrosively primed, and somecartridges may be corroded anddangerous to fire or may fail to fire. Luckily, Old Western
Scrounger sells newly manufac-tured ammunition for rare andobsolete rifle cartridges for nearlyeverything from the .219 Zipperup to the .50-70 Government.Cast bullets are about the onlyway to get some rifles up andshooting.
According to Waters’ Hand-
loader article, the Mannlicher-Schönauer is a strong action.However, he did not consider itthe equal in strength to the Model98 Mauser. He suggested loadsthat leaned toward accuracy andnot maximum velocities wouldspare the rifle unnecessary strain.
62 www.riflemagazine.com
I would come out ahead on thedeal, though, because 8x57 casesand ammunition are readily avail-able.
Time has been less kind to many
Up and
Shooting
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sporting goods store.
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80 Rifle 249www.riflemagazine.com
Like most shooters I know,
I’m a dedicated plinker. Soare my sons and grandkids, andone of our favorite outdoor pas-times is to collect several rimfirerifles and handguns, along with agood supply of .22 Long Rifle am-munition, and head to the near-est location we can safely shoot.
Punching paper targets growsboring after 15 or 20 minutes, soI’m always on the lookout for in-teractive targets – usually con-sisting of overripe fruit the localsupermarket is about to throwout. You have to ask permissionfrom the produce manager a dayin advance, then get up early tocollect this bounty. It’s worth the effort to obtain biodegrad-able targets that virtually explodewhen hit.
When Battenfeld Technologiesannounced a new interactive tar-get system for .22 rimfires, it gotmy attention. According to thefolks at Battenfeld, “The Shootin’Gallery is the first of its kind. It’s an affordable, interactive system that presents a steadystream of round steel targets mov-ing across the shooting window.”How affordable? MSRP is $279.99.
The Shootin’ Gallery is rated forstandard-velocity .22 rimfire car-tridges only, with a minimumshooting distance of 25 yards.The gallery is self-contained andweighs 55 pounds. It’s poweredby a rechargeable 12-volt battery(battery and charger are in-cluded). The unit operates fourto six hours on a single charge.
Once the Shootin’ Gallery is as-sembled, operation is easy. Justset the unit on the ground (don’televate the gallery – it’s supposedto be positioned at foot level)
and turn the switch. However, assembly isn’t quite as simple. Ittook my son and teenage grand-son, who are both adept at put-ting mechanical things together,more than two hours to get theShootin’ Gallery up and running.If I’d assembled it myself, it wouldhave taken even longer. The re-sults were well worth the time ittook. The gallery operated per-fectly right from the start.
The front of the gallery is steel,which protects the mechanismfrom shots that strike low. Theinstructions specifically warnagainst using anything other than standard-velocity .22 rimfireammunition. Smaller calibers(.17 rimfires) can damage theunit and cause unsafe conditions.The Shootin’ Gallery should beused only where a safe backstopis available.
The three of us had a great timebreaking in the Shootin’ Gallery.Those small, moving targetsproved challenging to hit. Withthe gallery set at the minimumrecommended distance of 25yards, misses were embarrassinglycommon – particularly when weswitched from rifles to .22 hand-guns. By the end of the session,our marksmanship had notice-ably improved. The Shootin’ Gal -lery will get lots of use in theweeks and months ahead. It givesme another excuse to spend timewith my grandkids – and work onbecoming a better shooter. Thisautomated gallery makes plink-ing more exciting and challeng-ing again.
For more information, visit:www.battenfeldtechnologies.com;or call toll-free 1-800-509-9160Monday through Friday from 8:00A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Central Time.
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