Tag Archives: bolt action rifle

Steyr, Now Czech Owned

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Legendary Austrian firearms maker Steyr Arms has been purchased by the Czech Republic-based RSBC Investment Group.

RSBC, with its corporate headquarters in Prague, has been in the small arms business for almost a decade, having previously acquired Slovenian gunmaker AREX Defense in 2017. The group announced last week that it had assumed a 100-percent stake in Steyr from the German-based SMH Holding group.

Steyr, between its Austrian operation and Steyr USA subsidiary, employs over 200 and includes the legacy Mannlicher brand. It dates to at least 1864 when it was founded by gunmakers Josef and Franz Werndl.

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The Werndls had fast success in their innovative 11mm M1867 Werndl–Holub breechloading rifle, of which some 600,000 were ordered by the Austrian military and police. Changing the company’s name to OWG (Osterreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft = Austrian arms factory company), it followed up with Ferdinand Mannlicher’s bolt-action magazine-fed rifle platform in 1886, of which over 3 million were built before 1918.

And who can forget the Steyr 1912?

Remaining foremost a firearms company, it branched out over the years into bicycles, trucks, and automobiles and evolved first into Steyr-Werke AG in 1924 and then to Steyr-Daimler-Puch in 1934.

Following World War II, Steyr made the FN FAL under license for the Austrian military as the StG58, then found international success with the SSG precision rifle and MPi 69/81 submachine gun.

The Austrian Bundesheer’s MG 74 is an MG42/59 variant licensed from Beretta and manufactured by Steyr Mannlicher used since 1974

In 1977, Steyr introduced the revolutionary AUG bullpup rifle, adopted by the Austrian military as the StG 77, followed by the pioneering GB and M series pistols, and the Steyr Scout bolt-action rifle.

A Royal Oman Army soldier with an Austrian-made Steyr AUG, standard issue not only in Austria and Oman but also in Australia Bolivia, Ecuador, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malaysia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Pakistan

By 1989, with the breakup of the Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate, the firearms and air gun business spun off into the firm of Steyr Mannlicher before morphing into Steyr Arms in 2019. It was purchased by SMH Holding in 2007.

RSBC plans to fold Steyr and AREX into a division headed by current AREX CEO, Tim Castagne, to “enable both companies to offer an all-encompassing portfolio in the future.”

European rifle makers resurgent

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One of the interesting things I came across in my travels around SHOT Show last month was that some classic Central European arms makers are still in the business of making classic European arms.

Over at Mauser’s booth, besides offerings in their classic M98 line for $10K+ safari rifles (!) there was the new M18, a $699 bolt-action billed as the “People’s rifle” (Volkswaffe) or “People’s repeater” (Volksrepetierer) by the German rifle maker. It’s a pretty sweet design, complete with a detachable mag, hidden cleaning kit in the butt (hey, it’s a Mauser) and a wide offering of calibers.

More about that over in my column at Guns.com

As for Steyr, which of course continues to market modern polymer framed pistols, precision rifles to include the giant HS-50 and their iconic AUG line of bullpups, they are bringing back the Zephyr. Now I had a chance to get my hands on a Zephyr .22 that belonged to my great-uncle as a kid and absolutely loved it. The reboot includes a traditional Bavarian cheek piece and fish scale checkering on a walnut stock, and an action so smooth it will make you cry.

More on that after the jump.

Forgotten import: The Swiss/Italian Vetterli rifle

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In the 1860s, the Swiss government went looking for a rifle that would replace older percussion muskets and elevate them into the revolution in worldwide military arms ushered in with the U.S. Civil War. What they came up with saw extended service for the next 80 years in one form or another and was one of the most popular hunting arms in the U.S. for generations.

Why was it adopted?

In 1864, the standard Swiss Army rifle was the M1842/59 Milbank-Amsler, a gun that began life as a muzzleloader (M1842) then was modified over the years to a breechloader along the lines of the American Allin Springfield design of the same period. It was functional, but after the advent of rifles such as the Winchester and Spencer repeaters, and the French Chassepot and German Dreyse needleguns (both of whom shared a border with Switzerland), the Swiss needed to up their game if they wanted to remain quietly neutral.

This led to the one Friedrich Vetterli, a well-known firearms designer, joining with the Swiss gun maker Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft Waffen-Department (SIG) to come up with a neat design for its time.

We give you: the Repetiergewehr Vetterli and its Italian cousin, the Vetterli-Vitali

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Read the rest in in my column at Firearms Talk