Description

Offered for sale is this very nice example of a Bulgarian M95/30 which appears to be all original & mostly matching, including bolt.

The Mannlicher M1895 (Infanterie Repetier-Gewehr M.95) is a straight pull bolt-action rifle designed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher that used a refined version of his revolutionary straight-pull action bolt, much like the Mannlicher M1890 carbine. It was nicknamed the ”Ruck-Zuck-Gewehr” by Austrian troops (in common language meaning “really fast rifle”) &”Ta-Pum” by Italian troops who even wrote a song about it during World War I. Originally they were chambered for the round-nosed 8×50mmR cartridge, but almost all were rechambered to accept the more powerful spitzer 8×56mmR cartridge in the 1930s, hence the designation becoming M.95/30.

The primary producers were the OEWG in Steyr & FÉG in Budapest. Bulgaria was the biggest foreign user of the Mannlicher M1895 straight pull rifle & in 1903 Steyr produced a massive contract for their Balkan neighbor. These rifles saw use in the First Balkan War against the Ottomans, the Second Balkan War against Serbia & Greece plus WWI. Many were given as reparations to Italy, thus seeing later use by the Italians in WW2, mainly in North Africa. More still found their way to Yugoslavia were they where mixed in with M95/24 & M95M production. Nearly all of the long rifles remaining in Bulgaria were converted to the M95/30 short rifle format which is what this rifle is.

Bulgaria adopted the M95 weapons in 1897. These contract weapons were manufactured by the Budapest & Steyr factories & were purchased by the Bulgarians in 8x50r original calibre. Correctly, the Bulgarian national crest is stamped on the receiver ring above the M.95 designation. The place & date of manufacture are stamped on the left side of the receivers & Steyr 1903 can easily be seen on the side of this rifle indicating it is a Steyr made rifle.

Nearly all of these rifles have been  re-chambered/re-barreled to the 8x56R round, with most of this work completed in Austria between 1930-1940. The 8x56r cartridges were a large-rim with a pointed bullet (Spitzgeschoss) & an 8-12mm high letter ‘S’ was stamped on the barrel shanks to differentiate it from the unconverted weapons. Correctly, this rifle has this stamped just behind the rear sight. A very few converted weapons have no ‘S’ mark at all probably due to late-WW2 or post WW2 Bulgarian conversions or rebarrel jobs.

It was initially adopted & employed by the Austro-Hungarian Army throughout World War I & retained post-war by both the Austrian & Hungarian armies. The main foreign user was Bulgaria, which, starting in 1903, acquired large numbers & continued using them throughout both Balkan & World Wars. After Austria-Hungary’s defeat in World War I, many were given to other Balkan states as war reparations. A number of these rifles also saw use in World War II, particularly by second line, reservist & anti-Partisan units in Romania, Yugoslavia, Italy & by police forces in Germany & Nazi occupied countries.

The electro pencil on the bolt is a well known Bulgarian thing & is not indicative of any Russian interference.

Post war many were sold as ‘milsurp’ rifles, with some finding their way to the hands of African guerrillas in the 1970’s & many more being exported to the United States for the burgeoning collectors market. The M1895 bolt also served as an almost exact template for the highly collectable Canadian M1905 Ross rifle.

Regarding Mannlichers in Bulgarian service, the M1886-90 & the M1888 rifles were also used extensively, especially during the Balkan wars of 1912-1913. These were the predominantly used infantry weapons of that era. During WW1 the troops were largely armed with M95s but the earlier models remained in use on the front line as well.

The sans-serif ‘S’ marks indicating the use of Spitzgeschoss ammunition only seem to appear on Austrian dated rifles, which this correctly has. Correctly, it also has the taller front sight blade for the more powerful 8x56R ammunition.

These are interesting rifles & have recently come to the attention of serious collectors.

This example is all correct & in excellent original condition so would make an excellent addition to any collection.

Do your own research & you will know if this is for you. Please view the photos carefully & make your decision based on what you see as they form the main description & override all written information. Ask for more if desired.

We think we have described it accurately & correctly but do not claim to be infallible so if we have got anything wrong, it is unintentional & are happy for feedback from people who know more than we do.

Whilst we check these out for serviceability, the warranty has expired & this is sold on an ‘as is’ basis. As with all used guns, we recommend you have this checked by a suitably qualified person prior to shooting.

We have a pretty unique refund policy on our collectable guns whereby we will refund your money if it is not as described when you receive it. Just let us know before you send it back.

Being sold on consignment, call for shipping cost to your dealer.