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The story of Steyr Mannlicher began in 1821 when Leopold Werndl, a blacksmith, started manufacturing iron parts for firearms in the city of Steyr. His son Josef Werndl took over his business and founded the 'Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten ' in 1864. In the following years, he played a crucial role in the development of several rifles, including the straight pull-rifles M. 85 and M. 86. At the beginning of the 20th century, the engineers Ferdinand Mannlicher and Otto Schönauer developed the Original Mannlicher Schönauer, a legendary hunting rifle, the production of which took place until 1973. The company grew over the years and reached a production capability of 4.000 firearms per day before World War I. After the War, Steyr was prohibited from firearm manufacturing after the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed. To avoid going bankrupt, they used their knowledge and machinery to manufacture cars, bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, trucks, dynamos, electric motors, and other things (they were not allowed to resume firearm production until 1930). In 1926, the company’s name was changed to Steyr-Werke AG. It merged with Austro-Daimler-Puchwerke AG in 1934 to form Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG. Both Austro-Daimler (previously a subsidiary of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft) and Puch (founded by the Slovenian inventor and mechanic Janez Puh) were active in the automobile industry, with Puch also manufacturing bicycles, motorcycles, and mopeds.
They even employed Ferdinand Porsche for a time – he made several contributions to the company – one of them was designing an air-cooled 3.5 L V8 engine for the Steyr RSO Raupenschlepper Ost tracked vehicle. Steyr is known for modifying Fiat cars and adding their engines to some of the models (Steyr-Fiat 1100 Mod E and Fiat 1400, for example). In 1972, they cooperated with Mercedes in the design of Puch G, also known as Mercedes Benz G-class.
During World War II, the company focused on firearm, vehicle, aviation engine, and ball-bearing production for the German military. After a short firearm manufacturing ban after the end of the War, Steyr resumed the production of arms in 1950. In the years that followed, they presented many innovative firearms such as StG 77 (also known as Steyr AUG), an assault rifle with a bullpup design; SSG 69, which was ahead of its time after its release in 1969, and many others. In 1989, Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG broke up into different sectors; Steyr Mannlicher AG became independent. The company has strived to be internationally oriented, so it changed its name to Steyr Arms in 2019.
Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK is a bolt action rifle with a cock-on-opening, controlled feed action. The rifle was succeeded by the Mannlicher Schöenauer M72. After World War II, Steyr took over the production of Mannlicher Schoenauer 1950 and 1952 models which were also manufactured under the GK denomination. The GK version features the European-style stock similar to the 1952 model but comes without clip guides. The steel action houses a bolt with a 90° lift angle that comes with dual front locking lugs. Releasing the bolt is done by pressing the release lever placed at the left rear end of the receiver. The flat bolt handle rides through the back of the split bridge receiver which is made of steel. This design makes the conventional scope mounting on the top of the receiver impossible – instead, the rear scope mounts should be mounted on the side of the receiver.
The rotary integrated magazine with a steel baseplate is loaded through the top and can hold up to five cartridges. There is a dedicated button positioned on the right side of the ejection port for unloading purposes. Positioned on the rear end of the bolt is a steel Mauser-style flag safety lever which was replaced by a plastic tang on later models. Mannlicher Schöenauer GK is available either with an internally adjustable single trigger with a pull weight of approximately 2041 g (4 ½ lbs) or an externally adjustable double set trigger. With a double set option, the rear trigger is used to set the front one (German-style hair trigger). Additionally, the rifle comes with pre-installed swing swivels and open sights.
Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer is available in the following barrel lengths: 470 mm (18.5-inch), 508 mm (20-inch), 559 mm (22-inch).
Figure 1: Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK, chambered for 7x64 (Source: https://www.dorleac-dorleac.com/arme/gk-first-model/?lang=en)
Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK is available in the following calibers:
.243 Win.
6.5x55
6.5x57
.270 Win.
7x64
.308 Win.
.30-06 Spr.
8x57
.358 Win.
9.3x62
Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK comes with a split bridge receiver; therefore, the rear scope bases should be mounted on the side of the receiver rather than on the top. The rifle shown in the first picture below uses Suhl mounting bases. Additionally, pivot and one-piece mounts are available for the GK model; however, one-piece mounts require three equidistant holes to be drilled on the left side of the receiver surface for mounting purposes. Pivot bases are installed in the same manner as the Suhl ones - with the rear one being screwed in place on the left side of the receiver and the front one being hammered in from the side.
Figure 2: The receiver of Steyr Mannlicher Model GK, chambered 7x64 (Source: https://www.dorleac-dorleac.com/arme/gk-first-model/?lang=en)
Figure 3: One-piece mounts require holes to be drilled on the side of the receiver (Source: http://forums.nitroexpress.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=247584&Main=247502)
The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension.
For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed.
There are currently no rifles that have the scope mounts interchangeable with Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK as it features a specific mounting surface. Contrary to various off-the-shelf systems, each Suhl mounting solution is unique and must be custom fitted on a rifle by a gunsmith.
This EAW slide mount is suitable for Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK; however, to fit on the rifle, three equidistant holes should be drilled on the side of the receiver. The mount is made of high-quality steel and comes with a thirty-year warranty.
Order EAW Lateral Slide-on Mount for Steyr Mannlicher Schönauer GK
If you are looking for a detachable mounting solution to fit on your Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK, we recommend this two-piece steel pivot mounting solution manufactured by the German company EAW. Instead of being installed on the top, the rear base is mounted on the left side of the receiver. The mount comes with a thirty-year warranty.
Check out EAW pivot mount
There is a Picatinny rail available for Steyr Mannlicher Schöenauer GK; however, to fit on the rifle, three equidistant holes should be drilled on the side of the receiver. This Lateral Slide-on mount with Picatinny mounting surface is manufactured by the German company EAW and comes with a thirty-year warranty.
Click here for EAW Lateral Slide-on Mount
If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the scope mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.
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