It's Here!!! The Steyr M1895 Carbine Has Arrived!!

I got a large box in the mail today and immediately I'm thinking, that's my rifle, even though I'm surprised that it arrived so fast.  Ordered on Friday (around 8am).  Delivered on Monday.  Yup, that's fast shipping.  The folks at Southern Ohio Guns really know what they are doing!

So I unboxed it and all that jazz.  I was a little worried that I would find something rusty with the stock all chewed up.  But I was worried for nothing.  I pulled out a beautiful rifle.  The wood on it is amazing.  Metal looks good.  No rust.  Bolt has cosmoline or something that I'm going to have to clean off.  But other than that, the M1895 looked good out of the box.

Looking forward to using the "ladder" style sights.  Not sure what the technical term is for it.  But it looks like fun and the guy on youtube shooting watermelons with his Steyr M95 was using the "ladder" sights.  So I'm guessing it must be accurate.

Finally I shot some video of the Steyr M1895.  Nothing too fancy.  But I'll try to get it posted in a couple of days.  Also I'm planning on taking some video of me shooting the M1895 the next time I'm at the range.  So you can look forward to that as well.

One last thought on the Steyr.  I didn't plan it this way, mainly because I didn't know "SOG" would have the M95 on sale for Christmas, but it's funny that I chose the Steyr for my 1st "Guns I Want To Buy" post.  And now I actually own it.  Crazy how things work out.  Okay, this post is deep fried and done.  Order up.



     

Steyr Model 1895 Carbine: PURCHASED!!

Guns I Want To Buy: Steyr Mannlicher 95/34 

Guns I've Bought: Steyr Model 1895 Carbine

Let's update this previous Guns I Want To Buy post with a Guns I've Bought post.  I'm happy to report that today I bought a Steyr Model 1895 Carbine.   

I don't want to recap the old post too much, but needless to say, after Great Gun Scare of early 2013, the surplus supply of these old rifles dried up.  Or so I thought.  Thankfully Southern Ohio Guns had some squirreled away.  Regular price was $109.  But kindly enough, "SOG" decided to do a 12 Days of Christmas sale and included the Steyr M1895 as one of the specials.

So yeah, I got the rifle for $89.  Not too bad for a rifle that packs more punch than a Mosin Nagant.  I'm going to have to reload for it, though.  8x56R ammo is NOT cheap.  No sir or ma'am.  I'd be in the poor house shooting at those prices.  Anyway, I'll update as things go along.  Order up.    
  

Guns I Want To Buy: Steyr Mannlicher 95/34

This is the inaugural Guns I Want To Buy post.  And man, it was tough deciding on what gun to feature first.  I mean, there are LOTS of guns I want to buy.  I still don't own a 1911, an M1 Carbine, a Ruger Mini 14, a Browning Hi-Power...and the list goes on.  So I decided to go with something off the beaten path, something a little weird, a little different (after all, Kentucky Fried Firearms is a little different too).  So without further ado, let's give a warm welcome to the Steyr Mannlicher 95/34.

The picture (if you couldn't tell) is from J&G Sales, located in AZ but they do internet business as well.  The rifle is chambered in 8x56R, which is an oddball round.  The rifle has a straight pull bolt, which I'm assuming is just like the Schmidt Rubin.  Most other bolt actions like the Mosin Nagant and the K98 use a rotary bolt (turn the bolt up, then back).  The rifle is loaded with a 5 round clip.  At the last round, the clip automatically falls to the ground.  Without the clip, the rifle can only be loaded one at a time.  It's an old rifle.  The 95 stands for 1895 and the 34 for 1934.  And yeah, one last thing.  The Steyr Mannlicher has some SERIOUSLY STOUT RECOIL.  How stout?  Shooting it is the one time it is okay for a man to cry.

Alright.  Three things got me interested in the Steyr 95/34.  One of them was buying my friend's Mosin Nagant 91/30.  Man, the Mosin Nagant is a fun fun gun to shoot!  Lots of power, pretty accurate, and affordable surplus ammo.  Since I enjoyed the Mosin so much, I thought I should look into other bolt action rifles.  About a month later, my FFL 03 Curio & Relic license finally came in the mail.  And with that license in hand, I started looking for C&R guns to buy.  Which led me to J&G's website where I found the Steyr Mannlicher for sale.  Price: $100.  And a hundred bucks is always a great price to pay for a firearm that eats thunder and craps lightening.  So to recap:
1.) My Mosin Nagant love
2.) My C&R license
3.) El cheapo price   

But the reason I ultimately didn't get the Steyr Mannlicher back then was the scarcity and high price of 8x56R ammo.  And even though the Mosin Nagant's recoil never bothered me, I was a little worried the Steyr's recoil might get the best of me.  So I didn't buy it.  And guess what?  Due to the Gun Scare of early 2013 (when everyone freaked out about possible gun control legislation), J&G is sold out.  My other web sources for C&R guns like Classic Firearms, Wideners, and Aim Surplus don't have in in stock either.  So it looks like I missed the boat, right?  But wait.  I have a secret source for C&R guns.  Their website is only for FFL licensees (both FFL01/gun dealers and FFL03/Curio Relic Collectors).  And they still have Steyr Mannlichers in stock for $109.  I've been feeling non-buyers remorse for a while now.  Think I'm going to have to jump the gun on this one before they are gone for good.

Lastly, enjoy these Youtube videos of fine folks shooting their Steyr Mannlichers.  Aurora91sl shoots watermelons in his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dD3NAuKCmuU.  Watermelon action starts around 2:40.  And Iraqveteran8888 shoots his Steyr 95 carbine in his video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0kcuy7LPw.  He uses the 5 round clips and his video shows the system nicely.

Well, I think this is just about done.  I'll update when I buy one.  Order up.