Mannlicher M1895

Infanterie Repetier-Gewehr M.95 Gyalogsági Ismétlő Puska M95 (Infantry Repeating-Rifle M95)
Mannlicher M1895 Rifle. From the collections of the Swedish Army Museum.
Type	Bolt-action rifle
Place of origin	Austria-Hungary
Service history
In service	1895–1945 1895–1918 (Austria-Hungary)
Used by	See Users
Wars	Boxer Rebellion First Balkan War Second Balkan War World War I Russian Civil War Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia Revolutions and interventions in Hungary Second Italo-Ethiopian War Spanish Civil War Second Sino-Japanese War Sudeten German uprising 1938 World War II
Production history
Designer	Ferdinand Mannlicher
Designed	1895
Manufacturer	1896–1918: Œ.W.G. in Steyr 1897–1918: F.G.GY. in Budapest 1918–1920: Zbrojovka Brno
Produced	1896–1920
No. built	approx. 3,500,000
Variants	See Variants
Specifications (M95 Long Rifle)
Weight	3.78 kilograms (8.3 lb)
Length	1,272 millimetres (50.1 in)
Barrel length	765 millimetres (30.1 in)
Cartridge	M95: 8×50mmR Mannlicher M95/30 & 31.M: 8×56mmR M95/24 & M95M: 8×57mm IS
Action	Straight-pull bolt action
Rate of fire	approx. 30–35 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	M93 (8×50mmR): 620 m/s (2,000 ft/s) M30 (8×56mmR): 720 m/s (2,400 ft/s)
Feed system	5-round en bloc clip (stripper clip in M95/24 and M95M), internal box magazine
Sights	Rear V-notch flip-up sight and front post (telescopic sight on sniper variant)

The Mannlicher M1895 (German: Infanterie Repetier-Gewehr M.95, Hungarian: Gyalogsági Ismétlő Puska M95; "Infantry Repeating-Rifle M95") is a bolt-action rifle, designed by Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher that used a refined version of his revolutionary straight-pull action bolt, much like the Mannlicher M1890 carbine. It was nicknamed the Ruck-Zu(rü)ck (German slang for "back and forth") by Austrian troops and "Ta-Pum" by Italian troops who even wrote a song about it during World War I.

The M1895 is unusual in employing a straight-pull bolt action, as opposed to the more common rotating bolt-handle of other rifles. It is consequently renowned for combining a high rate of fire (around 30–35 rounds per minute) with reliability and sturdiness, although this requires decent care and maintenance with an extractor that is vulnerable to breakage due to a lack of primary extraction.

Originally they were chambered for the round-nosed 8×50mmR cartridge, but almost all were rechambered to accept the more powerful spitzer 8×56mmR cartridge in the 1930s.

It was initially adopted and employed by the Austro-Hungarian Army throughout World War I, and retained post-war by both the Austrian and Hungarian armies. The main foreign user was Bulgaria, which, starting in 1903, acquired large numbers and continued using them throughout both Balkan and World Wars. After Austria-Hungary's defeat in World War I, many were given to other Balkan states as war reparations. A number of these rifles also saw use in World War II, particularly by second line, reservist, and partisan units in Romania, Yugoslavia, Italy, and to lesser degree, Germany. Post war many were sold as cheap surplus, with some finding their way to the hands of African guerrillas in the 1970s and many more being exported to the United States as sporting and collectible firearms. The M1895 bolt also served as an almost exact template for the ill-fated Canadian M1905 Ross rifle, though the later M1910 used a complicated interrupted-thread instead of two solid lugs.