.458 Mannlicher Schoenauer ( from Rhodesia era ) available for sale in South Africa

[Gert Odendaal]

Good day all members, here is a .458 Mannlicher Schoenauer hunting rifle available . It was used by the owner during the Rhodesia era to hunt Elephants /Buffalo .It is currently in South Africa .Export to the USA is an option. I did exported my own .458 Mannlicher Schoenauer to one of our members in the USA as well. USA $4696,32

 

[grand veneur]

Highly interesting, rather rare, and also wanted by some of us in Europe. Unfortunately I have a gun-safe full of rifles that I don't need and, due to my age, I am rather trying to get rid of some of them. I hope you will find a buyer in the USA. If not, keep us updated.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

Only 77 built in the entire world and quite possibly the greatest .458 Winchester Magnum in existence. I had a dear friend in Rhodesia who used to cull elephants for the game department (being Chief Ranger of the Zambezi controlled hunting areas), by the name of W. Middleton Lofty Stokes. He used to own one of them and preferred it exclusively for all his dangerous game hunting. As did another friend in Rhodesia by the name of Donnie Jan Bredenkamp (who was Chief Ranger of the Wankie controlled hunting areas).

 

[grand veneur]

The outside from the german speaking area lesser-known Austrian hunter and author Ernst Zwilling also used a rifle MS of this caliber on his numerous hunts in Africa.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

The outside from the german speaking area lesser-known Austrian hunter and author Ernst Zwilling also used a rifle MS of this caliber on his numerous hunts in Africa.

What really impresses me, is that (even back in those days of the 1960s) the guys at Mannlicher refused to build .458 Winchester Magnum rifles with barrels shorter than 26”. Because they understood that factory loaded Winchester & Remington ammunition in this caliber couldn’t deliver the advertised 2130 FPS with shorter barrels.

All the while, the corporate crooks at Winchester shortened the barrel length to 22” !

 

[skydiver386]

Interesting list of calibers that these rifles were available in. During that time period, I'd have thought many European and American calibers would sell better than the 257 WBY and 264 WIN.

 

[skydiver386]

What really impresses me, is that (even back in those days of the 1960s) the guys at Mannlicher refused to build .458 Winchester Magnum rifles with barrels shorter than 26”. Because they understood that factory loaded Winchester & Remington ammunition in this caliber couldn’t deliver the advertised 2130 FPS with shorter barrels.

All the while, the corporate crooks at Winchester shortened the barrel length to 22” !

What a lot of the factories hid in the fine print of their ballistic tables was that they obtained their numbers from 30" test barrels. The production rifle with a 22" barrel produced far less.

This was even more so of the super high velocity cartridges of that era.

 

[saswart]

View attachment 731621

Some highly irrelevant & trivial info.... for some

If you bought the gun in 1958 and sold it as the asking price, your "investment" would have grown at 1476%. US inflation numbers, places $298 in 1958 at approximately $3,340.58 today... Seems like the gun was a good investment.

More interesting though, if you bought $298 worth of Coca Cola stock in 1958, your investment would be around $4,696 today...same as the gun.

Bottom line, it is is better to buy a gun and use it, your investment will mirror the stock exchange and be better than inflation plus you can still use the gun. Wonder what Buffett would say about that?

 

[grand veneur]

Whether rifles are an investment is another question. In this case, it is about something completely different. Rare rifles that have served well need to find a good home at the end of their service life.

 

[Odinsraven]

Some highly irrelevant & trivial info.... for some

If you bought the gun in 1958 and sold it as the asking price, your "investment" would have grown at 1476%. US inflation numbers, places $298 in 1958 at approximately $3,340.58 today... Seems like the gun was a good investment.

More interesting though, if you bought $298 worth of Coca Cola stock in 1958, your investment would be around $4,696 today...same as the gun.

Bottom line, it is is better to buy a gun and use it, your investment will mirror the stock exchange and be better than inflation plus you can still use the gun. Wonder what Buffett would say about that?

Sir add in the dividends... different outcome.

 

[grand veneur]

Finances should not play a role here. It is about tradition and the price is very reasonable for a rare rifle, even if it is not in super optimal shape.

 

[saswart]

Sir add in the dividends... different outcome.

Yes yes - it was meant tongue in cheek - if truth be told, cost of ammo would have tanked your "investment"

 

[coreydb]

This rifle is functional history for sure.

 

[steve white]

I could have bought one for $1800 in 1980 in Ft. Worth. Wow, they've really gone up, though probably not at all given inflation....