The concussion from these things (even in long rifle form) in 8x56 is immense. There were some of these used at Stalingrad and I think everyone had a serious case of tennitus when a group armed with M95s came up against a group armed with M38s. A couple friends of mine and I went to a gun range (indoor) and we brought an M38 and an M95 to their rifle range 😂. We were

Recently got my hands on one of these, unfortunately it was sporterized but I’m working to undo that. I’ve got an original handguard and rifle bands, now I just need the woodworking to replace the missing part of the stock under the handguard and then she’ll be in prime condition once again. Terrific rifle!

8x56R is loaded to 51,000 psi. 8x57 is loaded to a mere 46,400 psi. 8x57 case volume is about 4.5% less than 8x56R. Am going to try to emulate the 8mm pressure in the 8x56R and create a "reduced" load.

Shoot it at night and see how big that muzzle blast is :D

Some observations from an old hand at these rifles. The ammo is stout. Welcome to when military rifles were not for the faint of heart. Ballistics of the round put it nearly identical to the service ammo in a 98K Mauser in absolute energy. Not really a surprize but Mauser isn't really a fun gun to shoot either. Those rifles with their heavy boattail bullets were intended to really reach out to long ranges and still be effective. I've had the M95M, the M95 long rifle and a couple of the Stutzen. Definately prefer the long rifle because it is a bit more tolerable to shoot. The straight pull action is strong. Elegant and sleek lines mean the Mannlicher straight pulls can be beasts to shoot. Basic physics. Heavy bullet, light gun equals hard felt recoil. When I handload my ammo, I bring it down to Krag ballistics. Makes a world of difference in having a fun shooting session vs. feeling like you've been in mixed martial arts match with Godzilla.

These are sweet rifles. I bought 4 Steyr marked rifles from SOG back when they were cheap. I got one on a Christmas sale for 89 bucks and the other 3 were 119 bucks, all are super nice refurbs like most are. I also have a Hungarian Budapest marked one and a Yugo conversion 8mm Mauser M95M.

Might want to check your coil spring around the firing pin. You might be having light strike on the primer of those cartridges.

With the old ammo, shake it and listen to see if you can hear the loose powder. If you can hear it shake, it should be good. If you don't hear it shake, it's because the powder has clumped together (like little hairs growing in it, and that one will misfire/hangfire. If you pull the bullet on the hang fire, the powder comes may come out as one long clump. The bullet is able to be re-used. The brass is usually berdan primed, so is therefore not reloadable.

Regarding the hang fires, I think you need to strip the bolt and clean it thoroughly.

I have one too! I nicknamed it: "The A$$ Kicker".I love taking it to the range and letting the "pew-pew" guys shoot it. After one or two rounds, they hand it back to me and say "I'm good".

A hangfire is a delay in firing, what we are seeing is a dud. I have one of these and the same ammo, never had 1 dud, would be interesting to see the ding in the primer

Have had 2 for 18 years or so now 1 Long Style 1 Carbine I know the pain of the carbine, 18 years ago both had for under $200 GOOD LUCK TODAY. I do not think I have seen one under $500.

I have two of these rifles one marked with an S and the other one doesn’t have the S mark. My local gun shop always had this ammunition in their bargain bin and I would buy three or four at a time when I went in there and amassed over 60 boxes now. But good luck finding it anymore I’m glad I got it when I did. I still have not found any of the original 8 x 50 R ammunition for the unmarked carbine.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH for the video brother 👍

I had maybe 10 boxes of that Austrian ammo that I shot in mine about 10 years ago and had little to no duds that I can remember . I also had some Bulgarian (I think) that did have several duds. I've got a set of Lee dies and have done some reloading for 8X56 but I just don't get enough accuracy out of that rifle to motivate me to do much with it.

That’s weird! I just pulled 2 clips out of display case dated 1938 with the Eagle but my clips have ridges

There’s a guy on gunbroker who sells this ammo for $2/round and includes the clips and boxes and their shipping speed is wicked fast and the ammo is in great condition

I bought one these rifles about 2 years ago and it was made in Budapest, Hungry and my rifle has a “S” stamp for the conversion instead of the “H” I find that interesting!

I picked up one of these and I've never fired it. One reason I never fired it is because the ammo I bought with it also was also vintage, just like in the video. I don't know if that ammo will even fire, but I I figure it's worth more unfired.

En bloc 'clips' were originally patented and marketed as the 'Mannlicher Packet Loading System'.