Unique M95 brought back from WWII

[twarrencsi]

My Great Uncle brought this back from WWII. It has not been fired since WWII.

Has anyone seen anything like this?

[Junk Yard Dog]

That level of carving is something I have only seen in presentation guns, Somebody would have to translate what is written on it. Presentation guns would have the metal engraved, and polished, something not seen here. Probably the favorite hunting rifle of some political, or industrial bigshot. Welcome to the board.

[SA1911a1]

That is outstanding.

[ffuries]

Rough/loose translation, some letters I can't decipher so some of it comes out as jiberish. You need a native speaker to help with it.

Top line of buttstock. УРУКАМА МАНДШКЋА ВУКА aka BY or IN THE HANDS OF A MANDUŠIĆ VUK.

Middle line of buttstock possibly. ПОР.СТО.САКС aka POR.STO.SAKS, or ЏОР.СТО.САКС aka JOR.STO.SAX or ЦОР.СТО.САКС aka COR.HUNDRED.SAX, they're either initials or some sort of acronym.

Bottom line of buttstock possibly СВАКОЈ ЈЕЦУШКА УБОЈИТА aka KILLED EVERY SINGLE.

Under the bolt ОСВЕТА КОСОВА 1912 - 18г aka REVENGE OF KOSOVO 1912-18. On 18г, г means God or year.

[twarrencsi]

Thank You!

[ffuries]

Thank You!

Like I said I'm not 100% sure on some of the translations. Some Cyrillic letters/symbols aren't used today or some the Cyrillic letters/symbols look so close in appearance to several letters/symbols.

That said I believe it's written in Serbian, and again a native speaker could make quick work of it and give you a better translation.

Awesome looking rifle and history on how it got to the US, and welcome to the RMNF.

[ffuries]

Thank You!

On the dates is it 1912-18 or 1912-13?

If 1913 then the 1912-1913 dates would line up with the First Balkan War.

[twarrencsi]

It appears to be 18...

[twarrencsi]

Just to add a little more spice.... My great uncle claimed that it is a sabotaged rifle. The bolt flies back and impacts the user's face with force enough to kill or maim when fired. Was this a Psyop weapon? Or just a malfunction?
We were told to never fire it, so we have not.

I will eventually get it to a gunsmith to check out....

[ffuries]

Just to add a little more spice.... My great uncle claimed that it is a sabotaged rifle. The bolt flies back and impacts the user's face with force enough to kill or maim when fired. Was this a Psyop weapon? Or just a malfunction?
We were told to never fire it, so we have not.

I will eventually get it to a gunsmith to check out....

Can't say anything on that, seems like a lot work on a rifle (Carving and all) just to sabotage the bolt.

BTW the coin is a Yugoslavian coin, and translates as follows.

АЛЕКСАНДАР I. КРАЉ СРБА, ХРВАТА И СЛОВЕНАЦА A.PATEY aka Alexander I, King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

Alexander I, was King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes from 1921 to 1929, and King of Yugoslavia from 1929 until his assassination in 1934. 

[twarrencsi]

Mike,

Thank you! You are awesome.

If it is meant to injure, most likely not sabotaged by original owner. It was found near a trail somewhere in Europe. It would have been a great set up. Or it could just simply be malfunctioning.

[ffuries]

Mike,

Thank you! You are awesome.

If it is meant to injure, most likely not sabotaged by original owner. It was found near a trail somewhere in Europe. It would have been a great set up. Or it could just simply be malfunctioning.

You can find videos online on how to disassemble/reassemble the bolt, to check if all the parts are there. Then have a gunsmith check it out just to be sure. Never say never, but there was a lot of stories on booby trapped firearms etc. Some of those stories came from people trying to fire ammo in Japanese training/school guns (Not made to shoot live ammo) with bad results, so the story was all Japanese weapons were made from inferior metal or sabotaged and prone to blowing up in your hands. Some came about due to people using the wrong ammo. Some stories came about to keep GIs from doing stupid things, etc.

So in the end he have to take these stories with a grain of salt and an open mind. Could it be sabotaged maybe, or is it a story like if you make a bad face too many times it'll stick, just to scare the kids......

Awesome piece of history, that deserves research and that research and history documented for future generations, including who brought it home etc. Oh and a safety inspection just to to confirm or put to bed the sabotage story once and for all.

[twarrencsi]

Thank you, will do.

When I find out more, I will post here.

[ffuries]

Thank you, will do.

When I find out more, I will post here.

Cleaned my translations up a little, the middle buttstock phrase eludes me, and the meaning of one word in the first line on the buttstock eludes me. Translation changes made to/in my original post.

УРУКАМА МАНДШКЋА ВУКА aka BY or IN THE HANDS OF A MANDUŠIĆ VUK. MANDUŠIĆ VUK was a person see link below.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vuk_Mandu%C5%A1i%C4%87

ПОР.СТО.САКС aka POR.STO.SAKS, or ЏОР.СТО.САКС aka JOR.STO.SAX or ЦОР.СТО.САКС aka COR.HUNDRED.SAX. I keep coming back to references to CCCC aka Serbian Cross in my searches. Can't tell which one of the following is correct for the first term ПОР or ЏОР or ЦОР.

Additional note: The absence of the large S on the receiver would lead one to believe this rifle is still chambered in 8x50R versus 8x56R, and I'm not seeing any indications/markings suggesting conversion to 7.92x57 by the Serbians. But one should always confirmed that and not rely on markings alone. This would mean the rifle is a Steyr made (1896-1918l) M95 Mannlicher versus a M95/30. I'm curious as to the markings on the barrel top (See cropped picture). Just noticed the rear sight has been modified.

[twarrencsi]

The stock is not the original and then carved. Appears it was made from scratch. It should have the upper part with the metal strap over the barrel after the chamber as well as a groove along each side. I noticed the markings on the barrel later as well. I will try to get a better pic next time I am at his house. I had never really looked at a Steyr M95 very closely, and don't have another to compare other than just pictures.

[ffuries]

The stock is not the original and then carved. Appears it was made from scratch. It should have the upper part with the metal strap over the barrel after the chamber as well as a groove along each side. I noticed the markings on the barrel later as well. I will try to get a better pic next time I am at his house. I had never really looked at a Steyr M95 very closely, and don't have another to compare other than just pictures.

Well sometimes original stocks are cut down and reconfigured. Normally Bubba is the culprit now, in the past it was gunsmiths etc. In all honesty, not being able to put an unchanged one side by side, with the exception of the missing finger grooves (White line in picture) the stock looks like it could be an actual stock that's been re-contoured. Yours IF yours was/is an actual Mannlichsr stock would have been cut down behind the rear barrel band. Something that is not uncommon when someone customizes a rifle. Yours being a short stock like it is, would not have a need for the upper handguard (Purple line in cropped picture), and the front and rear barrel bands (Green circles) become useless.

See the image attached to see approximately (Red line) where yours would have been cut if it's an original stock. White line for finger groove location, green circles where un-needed barrel bands and purple line where un-needed upper hand gaurd is.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Yes, the level of craftsmanship shown in that carving is well above anything the typical soldier, or Bubba does. This is professional level work that was commonly found on high end presentation grade shotguns and rifles in old Europe. Only the lack of metal engraving differs from a presentation rifle. I have a hard time envisioning this rifle left on a trail someplace as a trap, the metal shows normal wear to the finish but no pitting, the wood is excellent, and any soldier German, American, or other would covet a rifle like this for themselves, there were plenty of ordinary rifles around to booby trap. I would put this up on the wall, it's a work of art, if you must shoot it then strap it to a tire securely and fire it with a string around the trigger from a safe distance.

[twarrencsi]

Oh no, it will not be fired. I just want to get it checked out to prove the theory right or wrong. I would bet that the stock and rifle were not a match. I can invision 2 soldiers striking a bargain, with one taking the tooled metal, and the other the stock. We will likely never know...

[ffuries]

Oh no, it will not be fired. I just want to get it checked out to prove the theory right or wrong. I would bet that the stock and rifle were not a match. I can invision 2 soldiers striking a bargain, with one taking the tooled metal, and the other the stock. We will likely never know...

Do you mind if I cross post the pictures of your rifle on another (None gun site) site? We were talking about custom stocks and such and your rifles stock, with its old school craftsmanship, would water their eyes.

[Darryl]

Bling!