The great combined Austro-Hungarian Army of Emperor Franz Josef– as well as its two national reserve forces, the Royal Hungarian Honvéd and Imperial Austrian Landwehr–fielded the enbloc clip-fed Mannlicher M1895 rifle for the last few decades of its existence.
Chambered in 8x50mmR, some 3.5 million(ish) of these were made by FEG in Hungary and Steyr in Austria as well as by CZ/Brno (the latter just starting in 1918.)
The straight-pull bolt action typically used a 30-inch barrel to produce a very hefty 50-inch rifle.
Clik here to view.
Thus. Also, great overshoes.
However, one of the rarer variants, sniper rifles which used telescopic sights made by Reichert, Kahles, Suss, Fuess, and Oigee, saw much lower production numbers, with just 13,000 made. Luckily Austria was home to the lion-share of optics makers at the time!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
An even rarer subset of these was the M95 sniper carbine. Yes, sniper carbine.
And, as the Italians took most of these for war reparations in 1919-20, which Rome subsequently scrapped, they are one of the rarest of all sniper breeds.
Clik here to view.
A WWI-era Steyr M95 sniper rifle with a 20-inch barrel and a three post-C. Reichert Wein-marked 3x optic. It carries a “Wn-18” acceptance mark. (Photos: RIA)
Clik here to view.
The optic uses a three-post European style reticle and a very…peculiar mount.
My homie Ian has details on such a rifle, below.
