Poor Man's Mannlicher Schoenauer 1903

[Fallschirmjaeger]

I understand that these are worth more as original Greek rifles, but years ago I bought a semi-sporterized Breda 1927 that was too far gone to restore to its military garb. I had been reading a book by W. D. M. Bell and his elephants and I was just kind of enamoured at the time. This one has about a 25" barrel and was closer to the rifle that Bell carried than the stutzen MS guns. I wasn't a fan of the sporterized stock it sat in, and found a gent on a forum who had an inletted and terribly bedded Fajen stock with fantastic grain. I ground out the bedding and re- inletted it. Then I carved it down, added an ebony tip and grip cap, and bedded it again. That was a nightmare. But now I'm to the point where I'm adding a few coats of alkanet oil and she's starting to get prettier. I found another guy on eBay who sells MS parts and he sold me an original rear sight base, banded front sight base, and barrel mounted sling band. The original sporterizing gave the bolt a swept back butter knife bolt handle similar to the later MS models, but I prefer the straight butter knife handles of the early MS guns. So back to eBay, I purchased a spoon bolt handle that I filed to match what i was looking for. The gun still needs to have the sights soldered on (I suck at soldering and wouldn't trust myself to get proper alignment), and the bolt handle welded on, but it's getting there. Bluing will also need to happen, but I considered getting it ceracoated with the gun blue color.

In the meantime, I ended up purchasing a 1903 stutzen and I'm starting to lose interest in this project. Do you feel it's a worthwhile endeavor to keep going with the project, or am I better off just selling the thing as a project for someone else to finish? The bore is nice, and it will probably shoot pretty well, but this has been a labor of love and I'm running out of motivation lol.

 

[Altitude sickness]

very nice

 

[93marlin]

You have a really good start on it! It's going to be a good looking rifle.

 

[F. Vaccaro]

You have a really good start on it! It's going to be a good looking rifle.

I agree, be kind of a shame to quit now!

 

[MontanaGrant]

Beautiful rifle. You've already put a bunch of work into it so pursue your dream and finish it! If not let me know! I personally agree I like the look of the long barrel, short stock vs the stutzen rifles.

 

[BC Tal]

Years ago I had a Greek Mannlicher Schoenauer that I gave to a gun smith to turn into a poor man's 1903 sporter. The gun smith's shop burnt down with my rifle in it before it could be finished. I got paid out, but I still wish I had that rifle.

 

[BC Tal]

In the meantime, I ended up purchasing a 1903 stutzen and I'm starting to lose interest in this project. Do you feel it's a worthwhile endeavor to keep going with the project, or am I better off just selling the thing as a project for someone else to finish? The bore is nice, and it will probably shoot pretty well, but this has been a labor of love and I'm running out of motivation lol.

It's a cool project and nice build so far!
Sounds like you have your heart set on selling it because you already have the 1903 sporter. If I was looking for a rebuilt Greek MS, I would be looking at the price point vs the build; is it built the way I want it, if not, can I accept it for the price. On the other hand, other buyers don't want to mess around and want a completed build. I would think there is a market for both types of buyers, but probably more that want a finished build. Good luck with whichever route you go.