Mannlicher mistake?

Guns Magazine, Oct, 2004 by Andy Breglia

I read the article on the Mannlicher M95 Stutzen (Guns August, 2004) and noted a possible error or two. The feed system on this rifle looks a lot like the feed system on the Mannlicher Carcano, and appears to use the same style of enbloc clip to hold the cartridges. The second paragraph of page 30 describes its function. There are two minor errors in the way it was written. First, if it functions like the Carcano I redid for a co-worker many years ago, the clip falls out by gravity and is not ejected. Secondly, the clip falls out after the last cartridge is chambered. The follower pressing against the cartridges is all that keeps the clip from falling out the bottom. When the last cartridge is gone, nothing holds the clip in place and it falls out. Because the article cites the Garand clip, I might point out that because the Garand is closed on the bottom, the last cartridge has to be fired, ejected and the action locked open before the clip is forcibly ejected out the top.

I realize this may be kind of nit-picky, but unlike the anti-gun fanatics who have an established reputation for abusing, torturing and misusing the language for their own nefarious purposes, we of the shooting community pride ourselves on our precise use of the language. This is why I thought I'd point this out to you.

Andy Breglia,

Via E-mail

Roger on that Andy, and you brought up a good point. I'm sure Holt didn't mean to imply anything that wasn't the case! Of course, now we can talk about "snicking" on those revolver safeties and screwing silencers onto Colt Detective Special revolvers before we "rub-out" bad guys.

Editor