The Other German Bolt Gun Guy
When you think of late 19th-century military bolt-action rifles, you tend to think “Mauser.” Well, at least, I do. But Paul Mauser had a contemporary who may not have sold as many rifles as Mauser, but the ones he did sell were unmatched in reliability and ease of operation.
This story starts in Germany, with an Austrian gunsmith born in 1948 in the Grand Duchy of Hesse, Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher. And no, that’s not any confusion about those locations; young von Mannlicher’s father was an Austrian official serving at the Austrian garrison in Mainz, at the Austrian garrison in the Confederation fortress. Ferdinand returned to Vienna with his parents at age 9. When his education was complete, he went to work for the Austrian Southern Railway Company, then later, moved to the Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway Company.
As it turns out, young von Mannlicher wasn’t satisfied working on the railroad. By 1878, the heady days of rapid weapons development were in play, with self-contained brass cartridges and the new smokeless powders being the new hotness. Young Ferdinand was determined to get a piece of that historical pie, so in 1878, he joined the Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft (Austrian Arms Factory) in the town of Steyr in Upper Austria. And yes, if you immediately thought of Steyr-Mannlicher (now just Steyr), yes, this was the origin of that great arms maker.
Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher’s name would go on to become one of the most recognizable names among shooters everywhere in the world.
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The name Mannlicher carries a lot of weight, but for the purposes of this piece, let’s look at the guns Ferdinand von Mannlicher designed personally.
The Designs
Mannlicher’s designs were often ahead of their time. In 1885, while working on his first rifle designs, he introduced the fast-reloading stripper clip system that was used on most bolt-action military rifles through World War II.
His first real commercial success was the Model 1886, a straight-pull bolt-action that was meant to replace the old Austrian M1867 Werndl-Holub single-shot rifle. The M1886 was put into use in the Austrian Army, but was quickly replaced by a newer bolt gun, the M1888.
The M1888 established some new design standards for bolt-action rifles. It was chambered for several new semi-smokeless-powder cartridges, including the 8x52R, the 8x50R, and the 8x57 IS. It used Mannlicher’s en bloc clip, broadly similar to the one used in the later, more famous M1 Garand.
The M1888 set the pattern for Mannlicher. It was used by dozens of armies around the world, and stayed in service in one place or another until 1945. It is rumored to have influenced the work of Paul Mauser in designing his bolt guns, in particular the M88-90-91 series. And to this day, it’s often described as one of the smoothest bolt-actions to have ever been made.
Some of Mannlicher’s later designs failed because the materials and metallurgy, not to mention the machining precision, weren’t up to producing his then-futuristic plans. But those designs are generally credited with having inspired, in part, not only the M1 Garand, but also the German MG 34 and MG 42 machine guns and a bunch of other military designs
But Ferdinand von Mannlicher wasn’t content to design rifles. He also designed several sidearms, one of the more unique among them being the M1901 Mannlicher “Self-Loading,” chambered in a proprietary cartridge, the 7.63mm Mannlicher. This was one of the first blow-back semi-automatic pistols.
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The Guns
Ferdinand von Mannlicher may not have been as prolific as John Browning, but then, nobody ever was. But he did have a pretty impressive stable of designs that actually made it into manufacturing.
Bolt guns:
The Model 1886, a wedge-lock straight pull bolt action, in military use from 1886 to 1918. About 100,000 built.
The Model 1888, a more traditional bolt action, again with the wedge-bolt locking system. These were in military use from 1888 to 1945; over a million were produced.
The Model 1890 Carbine, a newer version of the 1886 straight-pull design. These were in use from 1890 to 1918 with the Austria-Hungarian Army; about 115,000 were produced.
The Swiss Mannlicher Model 1893 Carbine, a straight-pull carbine made for the Swiss cavalry, using the 7.5x53.5mm Swiss round. The Swiss Army used these from 1893 to 1905. Only about 7,750 were made, making these quite the collector’s item these days.
The Model M1893, a standard bolt gun chambered in several martial cartridges. These were made mostly for the Romanian Army, although the army of Austria-Hungary ended up with some of them. These saw service from 1893 to 1946; about 500,000 where built.
The Model 1895, again, a straight-pull design with a rotating bolt head design replacing the older, weaker wedge-lock design.
The Mannlicher–Schönauer, a rotary-magazine, straight-pull bolt gun, perhaps the culmination of Mannlicher’s straight-pull bolt gun designs. This gun was produced by Steyr-Mannlicher for the Greeks, and was later used by Austro-Hungarian troops. The gun was in service from 1903 to 1941; about 350,000 where produced.
Semi-auto rifles:In 1885, Ferdinand von Mannlicher brought out a semi-auto rifle, one of the very first. He called it the Handmitrailleuse, and only a few prototypes were made. As noted earlier, the metallurgy and machining of the time, not to mention the ammo, just wasn’t up to the design. But the gun used a delayed-recoil system that was indeed ahead of its time. Mannlicher made several versions, including semi-auto and full-auto designs, but the gun never saw production.
Handguns:
The M1894 pistol, an early blow-back design, used a proprietary 6.5mm round. These were made from 1894 to 1897, with fewer than 300 guns built.
The M1901 pistol, an even simpler blow-back gun than the M1894, fired, again, a specially designed 8mm cartridge. These were made from 1901 to 1903, with a total of about 4,000 being made. This gun was, oddly enough, also sold as a carbine.
The M1905 pistol, using the 7.63mm Mannlicher cartridge and an improved delayed blow-back action. These were built for five years, from 1905 to 1910, and around 11,000 were built.
What About Now?
While you can still buy new rifles from Steyr, they are quite a ways from Ferdinand von Mannlicher’s original designs – although they are fine rifles in their own right. But the Curio & Relics pages of any online auction house almost always have quite a few Mannlicher arms, especially the M1888, which was made in great numbers. They remain great rifles, assuming you can find or load ammo for them. And you can still find Mannlicher sporters, which are a story for another time. But, like Mauser, it was the military rifles that got Mannlicher started.
They’re worth a look. This was a rifle designer who gave Mauser a run for their money, and in Germany in the late 19th century, that wasn’t an easy thing to do.
