UVF Steyr 1904
- Thread starter JTF#
- Start date
Eaglelord17
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Sault Ste. Marie
Very cool rifle, I personally have quite a interest in Mannlicher and Gewehr 88 based rifles. Out of curiosity what type of cocking piece does it have? Is it just a rounded one like the early Gewehr 88s or is it a gas shield/deflector later Gewehr 88 style?
I have one as well and yes, very cool rifles. I bought mine online a few years ago not really knowing what it was until I actually got my hands on it and did a bit of research on it. JTF, your photo of the butt solves a bit of a mystery for me as my rifle has had the same treatment as yours on the UVF stamp except mine is kind of hard to figure out as it has been really roughed up. I wasn't really certain what that stamp was to be honest.
My rifle had a terrible looking bore but has cleaned up somewhat with lots of elbow grease, it does, however, shoot fairly well with handloads. These rifles were originally chambered for the old style 8X57J round and not the updated 8X57S. That being said I use 170gr 0.321 dia. bullets intended for the 32 Win Special in mine with decent results. Nice to see a few other guys with these rifles.
JTF, your rifle is missing the handguard and cleaning rod, do you have them?
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i am not sure about how to tell about the cocking piece.
i will shoot the gun once i get some proper ammo but like bj said its a pretty rough bore. its not cratered out its just dark. i have had this problem with many older English sporting rifles.
did some one use the number 2 to stamp out your stamp? i dont have the extra parts but i am not worried about it. i would like to get an 1888 clip for it at least and maybe the bayonet.
i will shoot the gun once i get some proper ammo but like bj said its a pretty rough bore. its not cratered out its just dark. i have had this problem with many older English sporting rifles.
did some one use the number 2 to stamp out your stamp? i dont have the extra parts but i am not worried about it. i would like to get an 1888 clip for it at least and maybe the bayonet.
Yes, the butt of my rifle has had the same treatment with a number 2 stamp but in such a way I could never really figure out what it was until I saw your example, yours has several clearly discernable " 2 "s, mine are all messed up.
I was just being nosy on the missing handguard and cleaning rod. From what I've gathered from different sources the cleaning rod is the same as one from the Model 88 Commission rifle and the rod from my own 88 does fit the 1904 perfectly.
As for the clip needed to use the gun, I had no luck sourcing an original. Use to see them fairly often when I was a military cartridge collector but they seem to have dried up.Corwin Arms, a sponsor here did source some reproduction ones awhile back and they work OK in mine, took some minor tweaking. Maybe they can source some more, might be worth a quick call to find out.
All in all, these rifles are heavy with history and a great addition to any collection.
I can lend you repro enbloc I have if I get to look up the rifle.I have bunch of casts for 8x57,slug the throat and maybe one of them will fit.
One annoying thing i found about shooting Gew 88 with casts is that I have to crimp boolits every single time if I'm loading from magazine.
Feeding ramp size and design puts considerable force on bullets in cartridge.This isn't an issue with jacketed bullets but it's causing cast bullets backing into the case.
One annoying thing i found about shooting Gew 88 with casts is that I have to crimp boolits every single time if I'm loading from magazine.
Feeding ramp size and design puts considerable force on bullets in cartridge.This isn't an issue with jacketed bullets but it's causing cast bullets backing into the case.
Super neat rifle. I used to have one that was identical to that except the hand of ulster wasn't covered with 2s.
My rifle slugged at .318" bore dimensions so it was chambered in 8x57j not 8x57js. I fired mine once with with a cast bullet sized to .321" and 13 grains of red dot.
Then somehow it got perminently left at Smellie's place lol!!
I wonder how many are in this country? Cant be a ton of them.
My rifle slugged at .318" bore dimensions so it was chambered in 8x57j not 8x57js. I fired mine once with with a cast bullet sized to .321" and 13 grains of red dot.
Then somehow it got perminently left at Smellie's place lol!!
I wonder how many are in this country? Cant be a ton of them.
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Strictly speaking, the Ulster Volunteer Force was about as British as it was possible to be. Calling them Irish at the time was an excuse to burn your house down with you in it.
The Ulster Volunteers was a unionist militia founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government (or Home Rule) for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the northern province of Ulster. Many Ulster Protestants feared being governed by a Catholic-majority parliament in Dublin and losing their local supremacy and strong links with Britain.
tac
The Ulster Volunteers was a unionist militia founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government (or Home Rule) for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the northern province of Ulster. Many Ulster Protestants feared being governed by a Catholic-majority parliament in Dublin and losing their local supremacy and strong links with Britain.
tac
I had the same issue with the 1904 Steyr when I loaded up my first batch of rounds for it with jacketed bullets intended for the 32 Special because of the .321 diameter bullets. Switched over from the 8X57S expander ball to one from a set of 32 Special dies and that tightened the necks up a bit more. The flat nose bullets feed fairly well, get the odd hang-up on the ramp but at least the bullet doesn't get rammed back into the case.
Absolutely love this rifle.
They have to be pretty scarce for sure, I've only seen a few discussed here since I've been a member, admittedly I'm not an old timer on CGN by any stretch, but they seem to be fairly far in between. Who knows what lurks out there in the hands of people not associated with forums such as this one, but I'm betting not too many.
Claven, love that cartouche, a real beauty.
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For the 8x57mm cartridge there was only one bore diameter of 7.9mm or 0.311 inches.
There were two grove diameters, the first adopted in 1888 of 0.1mm for a grove to grove diameter of 8.1mm or .3189", approximately.
The second adopted in July 7, 1896 by a Prussian “All-Highest Decree” N0. 10 345, was 0.15mm, or a grove to grove diameter of 8.2mm or .3228", approximately.
“S ammunition” adopted by order of 4/3/1903, No. 251.03. The “S” bullet had a diameter of 8.22mm (0.3236”). The larger bullet needed the chamber to be modified as the 1888 case was still used. This meant opening up the throat of the chamber.
The chamber was marked with a “S” 3mm high = Rifles suitable altered for S-Munition. 1903-5. An additional 7mm crowned “S” may be found on the right side of the butt.
The preceding information was from “German Military Rifles and Machine Pistols 1871 – 1945”,
By Hans Dieter Gotz. Translated by Dr. Edward Force, CCSU. Includes information on assault rifles and Sten copies.
I seem to remember pictures of the rifle with the old 1888 round nose ammunition. I think it was the from the Alfa Waffenkatalog 1911 reprint.
Contains a photo of UVF with the 1904 rifle
ERRORS CORRECTED !
There were two grove diameters, the first adopted in 1888 of 0.1mm for a grove to grove diameter of 8.1mm or .3189", approximately.
The second adopted in July 7, 1896 by a Prussian “All-Highest Decree” N0. 10 345, was 0.15mm, or a grove to grove diameter of 8.2mm or .3228", approximately.
“S ammunition” adopted by order of 4/3/1903, No. 251.03. The “S” bullet had a diameter of 8.22mm (0.3236”). The larger bullet needed the chamber to be modified as the 1888 case was still used. This meant opening up the throat of the chamber.
The chamber was marked with a “S” 3mm high = Rifles suitable altered for S-Munition. 1903-5. An additional 7mm crowned “S” may be found on the right side of the butt.
The preceding information was from “German Military Rifles and Machine Pistols 1871 – 1945”,
By Hans Dieter Gotz. Translated by Dr. Edward Force, CCSU. Includes information on assault rifles and Sten copies.
I seem to remember pictures of the rifle with the old 1888 round nose ammunition. I think it was the from the Alfa Waffenkatalog 1911 reprint.
Contains a photo of UVF with the 1904 rifle
ERRORS CORRECTED !
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BlackPowderBurner
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- the chesterfield
My Steyr 1904 - interesting the UVF cartouche is defaced in the same way. I wonder if these were all imported in one batch?
Your photobucket links are not appearing for anyone but you. PB decided to screw everyone and their dog who uses their services without paying. Time to find a new host or buy a CGN membership...
Eaglelord17
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Sault Ste. Marie
Most early 8mm Mauser rifles will have .3215 dia bores, even 'S' marked Gewehr 88s. Always good to slug the bore if unsure.
I found the .32 special bullets (.321 dia) work excellently in my 88/05. I did have to buy a 8mm Mauser crimp die though to properly hold them in place as otherwise with the steep feed angle they were squishing into the cases.
I found the .32 special bullets (.321 dia) work excellently in my 88/05. I did have to buy a 8mm Mauser crimp die though to properly hold them in place as otherwise with the steep feed angle they were squishing into the cases.
