The M95 (temporarily) in my life

Fishhead · 02-12-2009, 01:41 AM

A friend of mine just bought a new, used Turkish M95 then had to leave town on business. Somehow, the rifle, a box of shells, and two clips got left at my house along with his blessing to see how the thing shoots. Well, normally I think the only thing lower than shooting someone elses firearm before they do is catching the first fish on their new rod. But come on, I'm only human. How much temptation is a guy supposed to take.

Most of the questions I had have been answered in other posts. Is this a great place or what? But I do have a few.

The first time I went to remove the bolt it decocked before it cleared the reciever. I didn't quite freak out, but it was close. Guns don't normally go together (or come apart) by force, but with a lot more umph than I wanted to use I finally got the bolt out. Then I just about wore my hand bloody trying to get the lugs back into the cocked position. Leather gloves make this process a lot less painful.

The bolt stays in the cocked position about 8 of 10 times I take it out, but I'm still wondering is this anything to be concerned about (bolt wear - unsafe) or is this just a characteristic of this weapon?

I've looked it over and it seems to be in pretty good shape for a rifle possibly as old as my grandmother. The serial numbers on the bolt, receiver, and barrel all match (along with the third s/n stamped on the stock). The bore and chamber look good. No rust or pitting anywhere.

Are there any other things I should look for before we (uh, I) take her out for a test drive? My buddy got it at a "chain" sporting goods store, and the clerk swore they were all test fired, but I trust that clerk about as much as I do our local weatherman. My friend paid $75. Did he get taken or did I screw up by not getting one too?

I was wondering about reloading components and info. It sounds like a couple sources have bullets, but do they have brass and dies too? The box I have came from Cabela's ($28 OUCH!).

One final question. The rear sight has range graduations on it from 6 - 24. Am I right in assuming these are in hundreds of meters?! 2,400 m is 1.49 miles. What could you possibly hope to hit at that range besides a warehouse? Not that it wouldn't be fun to try.

toolman · 02-12-2009, 08:43 AM

Do you mean a straight-pull Steyr M-95? If so, then it's pretty common for the bolt head to flip aroun when pulling it out, try slapping the bolt back sharply before you come out with it to make sure it goes fully into the holding notch. The onlt ource I know of for brass and bullets is Graf & Sons - The Reloading Authority or Welcome To Buffalo Arms Co.

bobvonb · 02-12-2009, 12:11 PM

There is a common method for holding the bolt extended before re-insertion. If you pull out the bolt head with the left hand, have a dime under the right thumb and slip it between the bolt body and the bolt head. partially insert and pop the dime out before pushing it all the way back in.

You can watch the whole thing on you-tube

YouTube - steyr m95 bolt assembly and placement...

No, he didn't get taken. I'm waiting for Big-5 to put them on sale again myself.

Over in the Mauser sub-forum of Military Firearms (I know wrong forum, but ...) there is a thread about converting the Steyr to a more common round. I have a project in progress to convert an M95 to 30-40 Krag. There is a link one of the posters gave to a previous project with some nice pictures too.

Fishhead · 02-12-2009, 08:32 PM

Thanks guys, both the links and the video are much appreciated. And, yes Toolman, it is a straight pull M-95. I think she'll be going to the range with me this weekend.

gandog56 · 02-13-2009, 10:06 AM

I make my own cartridges. I don't really want to shoot stuff from the 30's and 40's with their nasty corrosive primers that may or may not ignite. Bullets and cases are available from Graf And Sons. The Graf's bullets are 205 grain soft point Hornadys. I called Hornady to see if you could buy their stinking bullets direct, but they said they only sell them to Graf's.

toolman · 02-13-2009, 07:12 PM

gandog, have you tried the bullets rom Buffalo Arms? They're cheaper and you can actually get different weights.

Fishhead · 02-13-2009, 10:02 PM

Gandog,

Where did you find load data for the 8x56? Dakoma suggests (in another thread) handloads.com, but I can not find anything on the 8x56 there. I hope to inrtroduce my friend to reloading with this round, but without load data he is stuck with the Hornaday loads from Graf or Cabela's.

Also, since you load for it, do you think it is a good round for someone to learn on, or does the it have some personality quirks that put it in the experienced loaders only category?

gandog56 · 02-17-2009, 01:11 PM

You mean learn to reload? I suppose it is a good as any. But I sort of stumbled onto my own personal recipe. You can Google something like "8X56R reloading" and get some ideas. I started with about 45 grains of 4350 and kept getting sooty cases until I got to about 48 grains. Then I also got targets like this.

gandog56 · 03-30-2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishhead

One final question. The rear sight has range graduations on it from 6 - 24. Am I right in assuming these are in hundreds of meters?! 2,400 m is 1.49 miles. What could you possibly hope to hit at that range besides a warehouse? Not that it wouldn't be fun to try.

The M95 sights are graduated in schritten, not meters. 1 schritt = 0.75 meters.

Fishhead · 04-01-2009, 11:10 PM

Thanks Gandog. I'd saw the schritten info after I posted, but a second opinion is always good.

So, 2,400 schritten is only 1.12 miles, not 1.49. That's an entirely different story. lol

We did get the rifle to the range two weeks ago. Had one box of the Hornady rounds and shot them all up. The wind was howling, but we managed to keep everything on paper at 100 yds.

02-12-2009, 01:41 AM	#1
Fishhead Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: The gem state Posts: 61	The M95 (temporarily) in my life A friend of mine just bought a new, used Turkish M95 then had to leave town on business. Somehow, the rifle, a box of shells, and two clips got left at my house along with his blessing to see how the thing shoots. Well, normally I think the only thing lower than shooting someone elses firearm before they do is catching the first fish on their new rod. But come on, I'm only human. How much temptation is a guy supposed to take. Most of the questions I had have been answered in other posts. Is this a great place or what? But I do have a few. The first time I went to remove the bolt it decocked before it cleared the reciever. I didn't quite freak out, but it was close. Guns don't normally go together (or come apart) by force, but with a lot more umph than I wanted to use I finally got the bolt out. Then I just about wore my hand bloody trying to get the lugs back into the cocked position. Leather gloves make this process a lot less painful. The bolt stays in the cocked position about 8 of 10 times I take it out, but I'm still wondering is this anything to be concerned about (bolt wear - unsafe) or is this just a characteristic of this weapon? I've looked it over and it seems to be in pretty good shape for a rifle possibly as old as my grandmother. The serial numbers on the bolt, receiver, and barrel all match (along with the third s/n stamped on the stock). The bore and chamber look good. No rust or pitting anywhere. Are there any other things I should look for before we (uh, I) take her out for a test drive? My buddy got it at a "chain" sporting goods store, and the clerk swore they were all test fired, but I trust that clerk about as much as I do our local weatherman. My friend paid $75. Did he get taken or did I screw up by not getting one too? I was wondering about reloading components and info. It sounds like a couple sources have bullets, but do they have brass and dies too? The box I have came from Cabela's ($28 OUCH!). One final question. The rear sight has range graduations on it from 6 - 24. Am I right in assuming these are in hundreds of meters?! 2,400 m is 1.49 miles. What could you possibly hope to hit at that range besides a warehouse? Not that it wouldn't be fun to try.

02-12-2009, 08:43 AM	#2
toolman Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 7,135 Blog Entries: 25	Do you mean a straight-pull Steyr M-95? If so, then it's pretty common for the bolt head to flip aroun when pulling it out, try slapping the bolt back sharply before you come out with it to make sure it goes fully into the holding notch. The onlt ource I know of for brass and bullets is Graf & Sons - The Reloading Authority or Welcome To Buffalo Arms Co. __________________ cosmoline is an aphrodisiac!

02-13-2009, 10:06 AM	#5
gandog56 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Montgomery, IL. Posts: 11,784	I make my own cartridges. I don't really want to shoot stuff from the 30's and 40's with their nasty corrosive primers that may or may not ignite. Bullets and cases are available from Graf And Sons. The Graf's bullets are 205 grain soft point Hornadys. I called Hornady to see if you could buy their stinking bullets direct, but they said they only sell them to Graf's. __________________ People think I'm paranoid because I own guns. If I own guns, what do I have to be paranoid about?

02-13-2009, 07:12 PM	#6
toolman Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 7,135 Blog Entries: 25	gandog, have you tried the bullets rom Buffalo Arms? They're cheaper and you can actually get different weights. __________________ cosmoline is an aphrodisiac!

02-17-2009, 01:11 PM	#8
gandog56 Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Montgomery, IL. Posts: 11,784	You mean learn to reload? I suppose it is a good as any. But I sort of stumbled onto my own personal recipe. You can Google something like "8X56R reloading" and get some ideas. I started with about 45 grains of 4350 and kept getting sooty cases until I got to about 48 grains. Then I also got targets like this. __________________ People think I'm paranoid because I own guns. If I own guns, what do I have to be paranoid about?

02-12-2009, 08:32 PM	#4
Fishhead Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: The gem state Posts: 61	Thanks guys, both the links and the video are much appreciated. And, yes Toolman, it is a straight pull M-95. I think she'll be going to the range with me this weekend.

02-13-2009, 10:02 PM	#7
Fishhead Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: The gem state Posts: 61	Gandog, Where did you find load data for the 8x56? Dakoma suggests (in another thread) handloads.com, but I can not find anything on the 8x56 there. I hope to inrtroduce my friend to reloading with this round, but without load data he is stuck with the Hornaday loads from Graf or Cabela's. Also, since you load for it, do you think it is a good round for someone to learn on, or does the it have some personality quirks that put it in the experienced loaders only category?

04-01-2009, 11:10 PM	#10
Fishhead Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: The gem state Posts: 61	Thanks Gandog. I'd saw the schritten info after I posted, but a second opinion is always good. So, 2,400 schritten is only 1.12 miles, not 1.49. That's an entirely different story. lol We did get the rifle to the range two weeks ago. Had one box of the Hornady rounds and shot them all up. The wind was howling, but we managed to keep everything on paper at 100 yds.