1914 Steyr Mannlicher Romanian 8.2 x 50r

[brianbye]

I could use some help identifying this rifle. I have done a ton of research and keep coming up empty handed. I think I have a prototype or student/guide gun here (no serial number) but I cant find another rifle like this. I have included as many pictures as I can. All the research I have done leads me to believe that this is a Romanian made rifle before the war.

There are no serial numbers anywhere on the gun.. Any and all identifying marks have are in the attached pictures. Any help with identification andor value would be appreciated.

I have about 20 pictures but apparently I can only instert 4 here.. Below is a link to the photobuckett album with the other pictures.

http://s1239.photobucket.com/user/br.../library/steyr

[mike ford]

Brianbye,
I believe you have a sporter built on a military rifle, in 8x50R. Austrians used the groove diameter in it's proof marks and Germans used the bore diameter( ie 8.2x50 vs 7.9 or 7.92x50- the nominal caliber for either marking is 8x50, which was well known and popular-pre WW2).
Mike

[brianbye]

Any idea what its worth... Im going to put it up for sale soon and dont really know how to price it.

Thanks,
Brian

[mike ford]

Brian,
I don't usually estimate the value of someone else's gun that I don't have "in hand". I think you should keep and enjoy it.
Mike

[Axel E]

Your rifle was sporterized or built of left over parts post WW1. It started life as an Austrian „8-mm-Repetiergewehr M93 (adapted and rebored Romanian military rifle)”. Pre-WW1 Romania depended on Steyr for supplying their army. The standard Romanian rifle was the Mannlicher M93 in 6.5x53R, aka .256 Mannlicher, made by the Steyr factory. After the 1912-13 Balkan War ended, the Kingdom of Romania had to resupply it’s army. So they placed an order for 230 000 new M93 rifles with Steyr in 1913. When WW1 broke out 100 years ago, August 1, 1914, Austro-Hungary immediately stopped all exports of military rifles. About 75 000 rifles of the 1913 Romanian contract were still undelivered then and in various stages of manufacture. As the A-H army suffered terrible losses at the eastern, Russian front in 1914-15, they were in desperate need for rifles. The Romanian M93 Mannlichers still at the Steyr factory were the easiest to adapt to A-H supplies: The barrels were rebored and rechambered to take the issue 8x50R Mannlicher cartridge. Extractor and ejector were altered to take the larger rim. The magazine was altered to take the Austrian slant en-bloc clips as used in the M95 Mannlicher straight pull service rifles. Of course, all these left over rifles bear the 1914 manufacturing date on the left receiver wall. Other markings may have been scrubbed off during sporterizing.
For shooting your rifle you have to depend on handloading. AFAIK 8x50R Mannlicher ammo is now only made by the Indian government ordnance factory at Dum Dum near Calcutta, called .315 IOF by them, but is not exported. Brass is easily formed from PRVI Partizan 8x56R. Use heavy, 200-220gr .323” bullets.

[brianbye]

Id like to sell this rifle. Anyone have any suggestions on price or a good location to sell it?

[sharps4590]

I checked all the web auction sites I know of and saw none listed. Probably you have done the same. Scarcity doesn't always equate with value which I suspect to be the case with this rifle. My opinion, and it's worth what you paid for it, is that it's value would be as a hunting rifle/shooter and perhaps as a piece of the history Axel alluded to. I assume, and you know what happens when you assume, price would probably be in the same range as similar rifles.

[brianbye]

Thanks for the reply. I have had a really time getting an answer on pricing this rifle. I was looking to get about 1k for it. Does that seem within the realm of reasonable?

[Peter K]

Thank you Axel for your response. I really do enjoy the brief history lessons associated with your description of various arms.
Peter

[Dan Patch]

The rifles built for Austro-Hungarian service from Romanian components available at Steyr at the outbreak of war in 1914 actually made use of magazine box-triggerguard assemblies of new manufacture. Because the lower rear end of the trapezoidal clip employed with the 8 m/m M93 Austrian service cartridge was a good bit farther to the rear than the symmetrical clip used for the 6.5 m/m rimmed cartridge it was necessary to displace the triggerguard bow about 10 or 12 m/m (3/8-1/2 in.) to the rear.

With a rifle retaining its original military trigger this places the trigger pretty much in the center of the guard, whereas in the original Romanian triggerguard the trigger is found much farther rearward in the bow. These new magazine box bodies seem typically to have a reinforcing rib at the top corresponding to the lower rib which was also present in the original Romanian actions. Dan