AOI marked Austrian Rifles - Some pictures added

Nabs

Nabs

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I have one of these beauties, a 1917 dated M95 Stutzen that has certainly been around the block and back again. I just finished clean up work and she looks pretty good for her age and where she has likely been.

I am curious, does anyone else have one of these ? I remember reading that the Italians also sent M88, 88-90s, and possibly even M90s to their East Africa Colony. Has anyone seen these or have one ? I am also curious if anyone has an M95 rifle that has been to Italian East Africa as I have also read that generally Stutzens and carbines were sent.

Feel free to post pictures of your Austrian AOI beauties.
 
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I am assuming that these either were WW-1 captured rifles, or else rifles given to Italy as war reparations at the conclusion of that War.

Am I off-base here?

Personally, I have not seen an AOI rifle of Austrian make, only ancient VVs. Care to post a photo for us peasants, Nabs?

Thanks much.
 
You are right, these were war reparations or battlefield captures acquired by Italy that used them in their campaigns in the 1920s but most extensively in Italian East Africa as far as I have read. I have had one other example but she was a post WW1 reparation put together that my friend owned.

I recall seeing two other AOI marked M95s on the EE a while back but it has been some time since I have seen another.

I will post pictures of my AOI stutzen tomorrow.
 
Alright gents, as promised, here are pictures of my AOI Stutzen alongside my Bulgarian issued Budapest stutzen. The Budapest is typical of the examples you can acquire from our sponsors.

I got the AOI Stutzen from a good friend of mine who was able to acquire her as part of a larger deal. He mentioned she was in storage for over 30 years after coming into Canada.

When I first examined her, she was full of dirt, barn dust, and old grease and oil so I knew I had my work cut out for me. I can say it was thoroughly enjoyable to take her apart and start cleaning to make her functional again. The magazine would not accept any clips as the cartridge lever and en-bloc clip release were stuck in position. The butt stock also has an old crack along both sides of the toe that extend up to the lower swivel base. My friend and I couldn't understand why the butt plate screw she came with would not screw it all the way as well. Upon looking down the bore, it was dark and lands were barely visible.

It took a couple of days of meticulous work as I took apart the bolt, magazine, and carefully cleaned the exterior of the barrel and receiver with 0000 steel wool. The bore is now back to fair-good condition and I can see the lands and grooves again. The markings on the stutzen, which were mostly obscured by dirt some external corrosion, were now visible again. I also fixed the magazine and it accepts, holds, and ejects a clip filled with 8x56R dummy rounds I have.

I read that these ladies were used during WW1 (given the 1917 date, this girl certainly was), was given to Italy after the war as reparation, and issued to their troops. I believe Italy even made 8x50R ammo for all the firearms they acquired from Austria. One thing is for certain, this lady ended up in Italian East Africa and served there only to be used against the British in the 1940s. I'm not sure where she went after but it is likely she ended up being sent to British India to be used as a rear guard or training rifle. India today, produces a commercial round called the ".315 Indian" that apparently is a clone of the 8x50R Austrian round. I don't know if this round is usable in Steyr M95s in the original calibre but I read on U.S. forums that they should be. Has anyone seen this commercial round in Canada ?

All in all, considering what this girl has been through, she looks pretty good. She certainly appreciated the tender loving care of being cleaned in a long time. At present, I have to work on the butt stock as I noticed there is an old broken off screw wedged in the lower butt plate screw hole and it will have to be removed if I wish to secure the butt plate completely. I also have to repair the toe so I'll be able to fix two problems at once.

One thing I did notice is her rear sight was modified for a shorter distance as compared to my Budapest Stutzen. I haven't seen this before but given her past and working in Italian East Africa, the modified sight makes sense. I don't know what she sights in at but I would guess somewhere around 100 or 200 yards. The original sights were in Austrian "Schritt" or paces and, I believe, are roughly 0.75 of a metre.

I hope you guys enjoy the pictures :). The Budapest is on top, the Steyr AOI is on the bottom.

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Here is mine. I had to had one to fill my italian collection, but looks reblued. Must have seen hard times! I like the carving on stock!





 
Nabs, the 8x50R is an easy cartridge to make.

I needed a box for this little 1917 Police Carbine that hides in the Sock Closet. Used 7.62x54R Russian brass, knocked the shoulder back just a tad with an 8mm Lebel die, trimmed and loaded 'em up.

Biggest problem is a complete dearth of 244-grain bullets: have to use 220s for the Remington Magnum. I tried 150s but they shot WAAAAY too high!

BARNES (COTW-6) duplicated the MilSpec load with 45 grains of 3031. Recoil must have been murder!

I would think a box of gas-checks and a tin of Red Dot would do some of these a world of good. Nice light load, shoot all day, no therapy afterwards and only a dime a pop.

Thanks very much for showing these.

I really wonder what the story is on that Bulgarian-issue one....... I have a Bulgarian rifle and it is crested and datd as per the 1903 contract.

War aid, most likely.

If only these things could talk......
 
Good news! There are 8mm molds available that straddle the 244 gr weight. The bad news for some, is that they are made by the Great Satan Lee, and are inexpensive and therefore of unacceptable quality (this is sarcasm for the many who would not see that).

MidSouth Shooting Supplies sells a set of custom Lee dies for all of US$18. The "Karabiner" and "Maximum" fit the bill. Unfortunately for the impatient, they are presently "Out of Stock", but they seem to replenish their stocks of these regularly (as Lee is able), and they do ship to Canada!

I find those molds very useful in a wide range of 8mm Milsurps, of which there are many.
 
Thank you for the information gents. I have been looking into reloading for 8x50R Austrian for a little while now. I have wished to shoot an M95 and a Carcano side by side and get an idea of how these rifles would have performed against each other.

George, I absolutely love this Bulgarian issued Budapest. She fits my shoulder beautifully, her beech stock is gorgeous and has some nice repaired battle damage, and, strangely, her serial number appears 3 times on the stock. She shoots damn well with 8x56R surplus and even commercial. The tall front sight blade really helps in acquiring the sight picture quickly.

This little AOI stutzen also has my heart as she has been around the block and back again and shows every bit of service she has seen. I just finished cleaning the bore and she is back in shooting condition again. I can't wait to see how she shoots with this rear sight modification.
 
Examined a M1888 once that had the metal under the stock painted khaki and the long range rear sight extension ground away and lr front site removed. Believe it may have been one of the Indian repairs.
 
It is possible though I am having a difficulty in locating good sources of information on what happened to Austrian rifles after WW1.
 
Nabs, I think that if you check the actual TREATIES of Peace, you might be surprised. Some of them were extremely detailed, especially as regards military equipment and war reparations..

Paris Peace Conference took place over a period of about 16 months; it was no overnight affair by any means. In the end, there were five (later six) separate Treaties to end the Great War.

Treaty of Versailles was made 28 June, 1919 with the Weimar Republic (bunch of Socialists) subbing for the deposed Imperial Government (Hoch der Kaiser!).

Treaty of Saint Germaine was 10 September, 1919, with the new Republic of Austria replacing the KuK O-U Reich.

Treaty of Neuilly was 27 November 1919, with the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

Treaty of Trianon was 4 June, 1920 with the new Regency of Hungary (which was rather hungry at that time!).

Treaty of Sevres was 10 August, 1920 with the Ottoman Empire/Republic of Turkey. It was modified greatly by the Treaty of Lausanne on 24 June, 1923.

Any good University library should have a complete set.

Encyclopedia articles deal with the "important" things generally and leave out incidentals such as the Fokker D-VII (a Prohibbed Milsurp!) and the 50,000 Maxims and 4,000,000 rifles that Germany had to turn over..... for just one example.

Hoover Foundation will definitely have them all on-line.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks George, I will have to make a request at the library though I have to admit, it will likely be a request they haven't received before.

The Austro-Hungarian navy was certainly well built and trained, another under appreciated foot note in WW1 history sadly.
 
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