Mannlicher-Schoenauer 1903 carbine

File:Mannlicher-Schonauer.GIF

Mannlicher-Schonauer - 6.5 mm × 54 Mannlicher-Schönauer.

Mannlicher-Schonauer - 6.5 mm × 54 Mannlicher-Schönauer.

Mannlicher-Schonauer - 6.5 mm × 54 Mannlicher-Schönauer.

Characteristics

17.7" barreled fast cycling bolt-action rifle chambered in 6.5x54mm feeding from a 5 shot rotary internal magazine.

The Mannlicher-Schoenauer 1903 rifle or carbine was one of the first bolt action rifles heavily marketed to hunters. It was a fast, short, light handling carbine made by exquisite craftmen. It was exclusively chambered in 6.5x54mm for the first 45 years of production. The Mannlicher-Schoenauer 1903 rifle or carbine is normally found to be full of high end features such as exquisitely grained wood, fine checkering, and engravings on the metal portions of the gun. While there was a factory option for a single trigger, most of these rifles were made with high end double-set triggers.

The carbine was commonly found with a full length stock. When this style of stock is used by other gun makers it is termed 'Mannlicher'. The butter-knife bolt handle is not totally exclusive to Mannlicher-Schoenauer, but it is a key identifying feature. This bolt handle is situated a bit further forward than normal, but this was due to the rifle's short-stroke design. This feature made the gun very fast firing.

The carbine has a 17.7 inch barrel, and even a full length stock model weights only 5 1/2 lbs. Even though the firearm was quite expensive, it's light weight, fast shooting characteristics, and high quality made it very popular. Kilimanjaro Bell (the famed Ivory Hunter) was quite fond of his little Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Another fan of this handy carbine was Ernest Hemmingway, who included the rifle by name in his short story The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber

Film

• Don Johnson in A Boy and His Dog

See also

http://www.mannlicher.org/newsletter.htm

http://www.eschoder.com/english/englisch-reload.htm?/english/english-jagd-gewehr-waffen.htm

Supposedly this custom gunshop is being run by the last apprentice of the famed Mannlicher-Schoenauer and has a nice history of the gun