Two years later, the semi-smokeless 8x52R Gewehrpatronnen M1888 was adopted and existing mannlicher rifles were upgraded to suit the round and re-designated the Model 1886-88. The initial order placed with the Steyr factory for 143,000 rifles was immediately suspended after only 80,000 rifles had been produced while the General Staff figured out what to do about France's new superiority in the field of small arms. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had just adopted the straight-pull Model 1886 infantry rifle designed by Ferdinand von Mannlicher, almost a year before, chambered in an 11x58Rmm (11mm Werndl) compressed black powder loading.

the 8mm Lebel round was the first smokeless round to be fielded and its introduction was the 19th century's equivalent of the atomic bomb. The 1886 adoption, by the French, of the 1886 Fusil d'Infantrie dit Lebel with its corresponding 8mm Lebel smokeless powder round set off a furor of arms development activity in Europe as the Great Powers attempted to play catch-up. Note: Pics of rifle provided courtesy of moderator Claven2. Mannlicher Military Rifles by Paul Scarlata, ISBN No. 2,500,000 (approximately - includes Rifles and carbines) 4 groove, 1 turn in 10 inches (Right Hand Twist)īarrel Length.

Steyr m95 manufacture date