The Repeating Rifle Model 1886 commonly known as Mannlicher Model 1886 was a late 19th-century Austrian straight-pull bolt-action rifle, adopted in 1886. It used a wedge-lock straight pull action bolt. It was the first straight-pull bolt-action service rifle of any nation.

History

The M1886 itself was an improvement of the Mannlicher Model 1885 Trials Rifle that was a prototype, meant to replace the by then obsolete M1867 Werndl-Holub drum-breech single-shot rifle. It was the first of the Austro-Hungarian service rifles to introduce the feature of the clip dropping out of the bottom of the magazine when the last round is chambered.

Conversions

Between 1888–1892 95% of the M1886 rifles were converted (rebarreled) to

8×52mmR Mannlicher The 8×52mmR Mannlicher cartridge was first introduced in 1888 for the Mannlicher M1888 rifle, an updated version of the Mannlicher M1886. Description The round was given the designation ''8mm M.88 scharfe Patrone'' (8mm M88 Sharp Cartridge). It ...

under the designation ''M1886-88''. Rifles in original (11mm) caliber with Austrian acceptance marks are a rare find.

Service history

The rifle was quickly made obsolete by the introduction of the

Lebel Model 1886 rifle The Lebel Model 1886 rifle (French: ''Fusil Modèle 1886 dit "Fusil Lebel"'') also known as the ''"Fusil Mle 1886 M93"'', after a bolt modification was added in 1893, is an 8 mm bolt-action infantry rifle that entered service in the French A ...

with its new smokeless cartridge. As such it was quickly replaced in Austrian service by its successor the M1888. The rifle still had a long life, however, and turned up in Spain in the hands of republican troops during the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlism, Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebeli ...

in the hands of members of the British Battalion at Madrigueras where they were used for training before being replaced on the eve of the

Battle of Jarama The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and ...

by more modern rifles such as the Mosin-Nagant.Dr Matthew Hughes The British battalion of the international brigades and the Spanish civil war, 1936–39 The RUSI Journal Volume 143 Issue 2 pp59-74

Controversies

According to an unconfirmed theory Ferdinand Mannlicher could adapt in his rifle some construction details from Orville Robinson's straight-pull magazine rifle with a hinging wedge breechblock. In 1876 Mannlicher visited the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

to study firearms design, and he researched plans and models at the patent office in Philadelphia. He may have been exposed there to Orvill Robinson's project which was patented in the US (but not in Europe) (and produced, until his company was bought and shut down by W.R.A.). However, it is unknown if Mannlicher has even seen any Robinson's project

Users

* * * Chinese Warlord Armies 1911-30 by Philip Jowett, page 22. * * :Surplus rifles were bought from German dealers, they were still in use in the 1930s *

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

References