doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion German & Austrian Sporting Guns @ doublegunshop.com 1954 Steyr Diamler Puch Help

Good afternoon all, I recently acquired this Steyr rifle that is marked 54 on the barrel & action on the left side. It was advertised as a 1954 chambered in .30-06. It is Highly engraved, both the wood & metal. It has a Nickel Zielfernrohre Marburg Supra 2.5x-6x E/D/S DP Scope mounted on detachable claw mounts. I can not find any info on this rifle so some help would be greatly appreciated. Here is a link to the pic. with more pics to follow.

Also it says Steyr Diamler Puch on the left side of the receiver.

Your rifle is also known as a Mannlicher Schoenauer. That will get you more hits on your internet search. I suspect it was made in '54 as the date on mine is. Butterknife bolt, rotary detachable magazine, 3 position safety plus slide safety. Very desirable.

JBLondon is correct. I had one in .270. The butt plate is a problem on all of them when they age---I see yours is as well.

Yours is super nice. In the same class as a custom model 70 but would have cost more. The model designations were all over the place depending on the market it was made for. The one's in classic American cartridges, and with white line spacers on the pistol cap, were made for US market for sure. In any rifle guy's top three list for smoothest action ever in a factory bolt action rifle. I have had two and both had date of manufacture on left side. The one I have presently is a 7x57 in model HK made in 1962 in a fullstock. Nice gun but not done up like yours at all in terms of engraving or stock carvings.

But not a double gun. Try https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=9&page=1 for advice on German and Austrian single barrel sporting rifles

It DOES have TWO triggers, he he he

There is a M-S forum on Nitroexpress.com. They are very knowledgeable and should be able to answer all of your questions.

I like the looks of the "Butterknife bolt". Are they as nice to work as they look?

I think that the intent was to achieve a smoother fit in saddle scabbards, particularly for the full stocked stutzen carbines.

They look nice but are not as handy to work with as a conventional bolt, particularly for a left hander like myself.

On Mannlicher Schoenauers there is a locking spring just behind the bolt handle. It is important to ensure the bolt is pushed all the way down into battery over this spring as otherwise a misfire can result.

I believe that is a Model 1952 M/S
The yr of mfg (proof date) will be on the bbl and the recv'r as a 2 digit number in line with the Proof marks on both parts. All above the wood line of the stock.
Likely the '54' number in this case.

Normally the rifle would have the standard M/S mfg'r marking on top of the recv'r ring along with the Model number of the rifle & the caliber.
It looks like that area was engraved over on this one

The Mod 1952 was the last M/S model with the straight comb stock .
They did elliminate the stripper clip guides on the recv'r with this Model and also added the swept back bolt handle

It was available in Standard grade as well as Deluxe, Super Deluxe grades. You could also special order a Custom Grade.
Might be a factory Custom Grade and that could account for the Factory markings usually found on the top of the recv'r ring being missing and engraved over instead.

Kutter's analysis (as is always on anything he comments about) should be accepted. I have found these rifles to be extremely accurate and of course one of the most smooth bolt actions ever built. The double set trigger is superb and can be adjusted to your preference. The custom work on your rifle is a rare find especially its condition after all these years. I notice that your rifle does not have the swing away scope mount that pivots from the front and swings away from a "gate" on the rear of the action. The swing away mounts were made available here in the USA and I have seen them poorly installed with scope not aligned with barrel bore by USA gunsmiths, so your scope mounting is likely a plus for accuracy concerns. Your scope mounting may be factory, I do not know and am interested in what Kutter thinks in this regard. Also since Kutter is such an excellent engraver and expert on same what he thinks as to the origin of the engraving--factory or not--I suspect the rifle is all factory work.

Once again you are a very lucky owner. As to the buttplate they can be found and fitted, although you should consider a 1/2 inch thick leather covered recoil pad for your comfort.



Kind Regards;
Stephen Howell

Well then, if operation is not smooth as butter, then the only thing to do is make the first shot the only shot required. I still like the way they look.

Looking again at the pics, I see that the 'scope is marked 'Kurt Jaeger, Mainz'

The work overall,,the engraving, the wood carving & checkering style, etc looks a lot like what his shop produced in the years after WW2 for GI's stationed in Germany.
They also did work for shops in the USA like Pachmyr.
That deer on the floorplate looked very familiar to me when enlarged.

So looking around for other examples from their shop, it wasn't hard to find some that were very similar.

Here's one:

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...stom-rifle---7x57mm.cfm?gun_id=101033119

Kutter;

Thanks for the identification of Kurt Jaeger.

Kind Regards;
Stephen Howell

Kurt Jaeger was the uncle of Dietrich Apel, the founder of the German Gun Collectors Assn., the brother of Paul Jaeger and the son of Franz Jaeger. The scope would have been mounted by Kurt Jaeger, not the factory, in claw mounts. He did not do engraving, rather he farmed it out, he may have farmed out the stock work as well.
Mike

Just a little history surrounding the purported date of 1954 for the longarm. On may 8th, 1945 hunting on German soil was transferred to the governing powers. The Brits were driving around in their vehicles & shooting game @ will with their military arms. The Germans became alarmed that if this continues, game populations could be devastated. So 2 Germans, Gerhard Wulff and H.W. Ottens confronted British commanders and by September 27th, 1945 the Lower Saxony Hunters' Association was formed. By April 23rd, 1950, the ground became the >>German Hunting Protection Association, Lowery Saxony State Hunting Association. This led the way for the German Hunters to actually possess shotguns, without penalty of death(remember in the East sector, the Russians either shot you on the spot or sent you on permanent Holiday to Siberia if you were caught with a weapon). So by January 12th, 1951 a German Hunter could obtain a permit to possess, store and carry scatterguns and associated ammo. Rifles were still barred from production & ownership. This privilege was not again allowed until 1953.

I haven't seen the proofs on the subject longarm, but it would be in the 1st year of production after ownership was again allowed.

Serbus,

Raimey
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