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  1. #1
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    Default The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    So around 1976 my Father's good friend stopped by his workshop and offered him his much cherished kudu rifle (a 1972/3 Steyr Mannlicher model S in 7mm rem mag, complete with a Karl Kaps 1.5 to 6 scope on Steyr quick detach mounts)
    My Dad's friend, known affectionately as Zulu, sold the rifle to my Dad for R50 and a Honda monkey bike, it turns out his wife had come pretty close to shooting him with said rifle the previous night after discovering some of his extra mural activities (of the female kind) so he wanted the rifle gone asap.

    My Father enjoyed it for about 20 years but stopped hunting when I was about 10 (1989) so we only occasionally did some target shooting with it, in 1996 the rifle was sold to a family member and remained with him, unused until now. I have been offered the rifle at 10k which is what he paid my Dad for it in 96.

    This is where the story starts going tits-up.

    The rifle stood in a safe in PE for the last 24 years and developed some surface rust on the outside of the barrel, at some point it was cleaned with steel wool so the bluing is now ruined, the stock is in pretty good condition but could use a refurb. by our best estimates the rifle has only fired about 200 rounds and fortunately the rifling looks perfect, upon disassembly i found some tiny cracks in the polymer trigger guard unit and the rotary magazine has a broken latch.

    So what do I do with this rifle? spend 20k plus and have it completely refinished, or maybe modernize it a bit by having the sights removed and the barrel threaded and fitting a modern scope? The detach scope and open sights don't make much sense to me on a 7mm rem mag?
    A friend in the USA can bring me a new magazine and trigger guard for less than 3k so thats not an issue, i doubt whether the rifle can be blued due to some shallow pitting on the barrel so a bead blast and matt finish (cerakote ?) might be the only option.

    A new Steyr is 50k + so I suppose it's worth spending the money even though I don't hunt, so it will probably be a safe queen.

    It's a beautiful rifle with a lot of character so it is worth saving so I guess the question is to keep it original and just do the minimum or go the whole hog and make it my own?

    I have never had a rifle worked on before so any gunsmith recommendations will be appreciated.

  2. #2

    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    Quote Originally Posted by eon View Post
    So around 1976 my Father's good friend stopped by his workshop and offered him his much cherished kudu rifle (a 1972/3 Steyr Mannlicher model S in 7mm rem mag, complete with a Karl Kaps 1.5 to 6 scope on Steyr quick detach mounts)
    My Dad's friend, known affectionately as Zulu, sold the rifle to my Dad for R50 and a Honda monkey bike, it turns out his wife had come pretty close to shooting him with said rifle the previous night after discovering some of his extra mural activities (of the female kind) so he wanted the rifle gone asap.

    My Father enjoyed it for about 20 years but stopped hunting when I was about 10 (1989) so we only occasionally did some target shooting with it, in 1996 the rifle was sold to a family member and remained with him, unused until now. I have been offered the rifle at 10k which is what he paid my Dad for it in 96.

    This is where the story starts going tits-up.

    The rifle stood in a safe in PE for the last 24 years and developed some surface rust on the outside of the barrel, at some point it was cleaned with steel wool so the bluing is now ruined, the stock is in pretty good condition but could use a refurb. by our best estimates the rifle has only fired about 200 rounds and fortunately the rifling looks perfect, upon disassembly i found some tiny cracks in the polymer trigger guard unit and the rotary magazine has a broken latch.

    So what do I do with this rifle? spend 20k plus and have it completely refinished, or maybe modernize it a bit by having the sights removed and the barrel threaded and fitting a modern scope? The detach scope and open sights don't make much sense to me on a 7mm rem mag?
    A friend in the USA can bring me a new magazine and trigger guard for less than 3k so thats not an issue, i doubt whether the rifle can be blued due to some shallow pitting on the barrel so a bead blast and matt finish (cerakote ?) might be the only option.

    A new Steyr is 50k + so I suppose it's worth spending the money even though I don't hunt, so it will probably be a safe queen.

    It's a beautiful rifle with a lot of character so it is worth saving so I guess the question is to keep it original and just do the minimum or go the whole hog and make it my own?

    I have never had a rifle worked on before so any gunsmith recommendations will be appreciated.
    Where are you based ? If in Gauteng take the firearm to Henry Nabal , you can view his work on FB and he can do a full refurb including stock and bluing etc for about 2k which is worth it I have an old timer rifle myself that took some beating and after refurb done through him rifle looks immaculate

    Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    Please share some more details on this Henry Nabal. Sounds like a useful contact assuming he is a licensed g/smith.

  4. #4

    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Wells View Post
    Please share some more details on this Henry Nabal. Sounds like a useful contact assuming he is a licensed g/smith.
    Facebook Page : Henrys Rifle Stock Refurbishment
    Contact Details : Henry Nabal : 083 443 8872 and he is licensed etc

    Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk

  5. #5
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    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    If you are going to use it seldomly, just get it back into shape. No use spending good money to let it stand again. If you have a dedicated purpose, do a complete make-over.

    If you like spending money, we'll be ready with many suggestions

  6. #6
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    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    Thanks SS

    Quote Originally Posted by simonsmal View Post
    Facebook Page : Henrys Rifle Stock Refurbishment
    Contact Details : Henry Nabal : 083 443 8872 and he is licensed etc

    Sent from my SM-A515F using Tapatalk

  7. #7

    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    Bottom 'metal' and magazines can be scarce for those rifles, so confirm that you can get these parts. If so, then it seems reasonable to clean it up, refinish and use it.

    If it doesn't have much sentimental value to you and the costs start to climb, you could sell it and buy a Howa.

  8. #8
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by kayaker View Post
    Bottom 'metal' and magazines can be scarce for those rifles, so confirm that you can get these parts. If so, then it seems reasonable to clean it up, refinish and use it.

    If it doesn't have much sentimental value to you and the costs start to climb, you could sell it and buy a Howa.
    These are available. Inyathi imports them.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    I've already purchased a new magazine and trigger guard from the steyr online store in the US ($135) so that part is sorted.

  10. #10

    Default Re: The Steyr Mannlicher refurb story, please throw some opinions in the hat.

    Quote Originally Posted by eon View Post
    I've already purchased a new magazine and trigger guard from the steyr online store in the US ($135) so that part is sorted.
    That's not bad at all. Sounds like its worth shooting, doing a new surface finish. A friend here in Canada has one in 7mm as well. Shoots well.

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