Anyone used or heard reliable reports of this gun?
Steyr Mannlicher Pro Hunter
- Thread starter ghermitage
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I've shot a Steyr Scout in .308. Bolt was smooth, trigger was good. That's about all I can say.
I've shot a Steyr Scout in .308. Bolt was smooth, trigger was good. That's about all I can say.
I have used the Scout - was invited to a novelty shoot but had no gun with me so I borrowed one there - came second in the competition which was my first club competition,I have recently joined that club). The Scout was up against heavy barrel 6.5/284s, you name it, but came out very well.
It has a 19.2" very light barrel, and the bullet drop seemed to be twice that of other 308 shooters there, but accuracy didn't suffer. Apparently the barrel had seen a fair bit of sustained hot work in the past, but was still doing fine with 168gr Ballistic Silvertip factory loads. This was the gun that sold me on light triggers,it had some trigger work done apparently) - you just had to think "now" and the bullet was away. I have succeeded in persuading my primary hunting buddy that Remington triggers as set at the factory simply won't do, and he has just now adjusted it 3 lbs, and I have yet to persuade him that 1 lb or less is where he wants to be on his Rem 700 VSSF II 204R and if the factory trigger won't take him there get a new trigger.
It has a 19.2" very light barrel, and the bullet drop seemed to be twice that of other 308 shooters there, but accuracy didn't suffer. Apparently the barrel had seen a fair bit of sustained hot work in the past, but was still doing fine with 168gr Ballistic Silvertip factory loads. This was the gun that sold me on light triggers,it had some trigger work done apparently) - you just had to think "now" and the bullet was away. I have succeeded in persuading my primary hunting buddy that Remington triggers as set at the factory simply won't do, and he has just now adjusted it 3 lbs, and I have yet to persuade him that 1 lb or less is where he wants to be on his Rem 700 VSSF II 204R and if the factory trigger won't take him there get a new trigger.
Moderator said:
Thanks for the tip. If they do export to Australia, the aforementioned hunting buddy might just have to deal with the export/import paperwork and buy from them.
hi
over here in england the styer is so popular that there are'nt many people without 1 in their gun cabinet
they are extremely accurate the safety machanism is brilliant
they all come screw cut the only down side to them is that the barrels are press in barrels therefore they can only be replaced by styer at an extremly high price
but if you chose to go for 1 i would chose something with a bit of barrel life eg 223
this is the pro varmint
comes standard with a fluted heavy barel and piccatiney rail
available in 223/ 222/ 204 ruger /and there was talk of a 22-250 on its way
if you need any more info just let me know
over here in england the styer is so popular that there are'nt many people without 1 in their gun cabinet
they are extremely accurate the safety machanism is brilliant
they all come screw cut the only down side to them is that the barrels are press in barrels therefore they can only be replaced by styer at an extremly high price
but if you chose to go for 1 i would chose something with a bit of barrel life eg 223
this is the pro varmint
comes standard with a fluted heavy barel and piccatiney rail
available in 223/ 222/ 204 ruger /and there was talk of a 22-250 on its way
if you need any more info just let me know
He's looking for a deer gun this time around, having only had varmint guns previously. While I think he should focus on fallow deer for this next gun because that is his present opportunity, he wants to be able to also take Red deer, Red/Wapiti hybrids, Sambar and scrub bulls with this one. I think this compromises the choice too much, but its not my money. He would select a 338 WinMag, but the Steyr Mannlicher Pro Hunter is not available in that calibre so 300 WinMag was the probable choice, though I see email this morning about 8x86S and I am about to check its availability in the Pro Hunter - I am reasonably sure there will be no luck there.
The press-in barrels you mention is a concern, but I expect with the bigger bores he will be unlikely to reach the barrel life.
I had heard that the stock on the Pro Hunter is very flexible, and someone was complaining about some difficulty this was causing for benchrest sighting in - I guess they were talking about the zero point changing depending on how the gun was supported. I see that there is a fibreglass reinforced stock option - how expensive is this option? What about the carbon stocks? The colour,blue) of the carbon stocks is a bit of a worry, but maybe in their colour blindness the deer don't care.
223 having been mentioned:
After much shooting with the 22-250, I did some fox hunting with a 223 one weekend recently and was surprised at how conclusive the results were as I had expected less explosive results than the 22-250. There was some debate at to whether the this was due to Nosler Ballistic Tips,CT Ballistic Silvertips) or the fast twist,1 in 8") of the Tikka Varmint. That Tikka is showing .5 MOA at 200 yards with factory ammo very early in its life - very promising. The other thing that is impressive is that the barrel stays cool when the 22-250 barrel does not - it speaks well for the barrel life. If I wasn't so keen for a 6mmBR varmint gun next, it would be a 223 for large volume shooting of varmints instead of the 17HMR for that purpose.
The press-in barrels you mention is a concern, but I expect with the bigger bores he will be unlikely to reach the barrel life.
I had heard that the stock on the Pro Hunter is very flexible, and someone was complaining about some difficulty this was causing for benchrest sighting in - I guess they were talking about the zero point changing depending on how the gun was supported. I see that there is a fibreglass reinforced stock option - how expensive is this option? What about the carbon stocks? The colour,blue) of the carbon stocks is a bit of a worry, but maybe in their colour blindness the deer don't care.
223 having been mentioned:
After much shooting with the 22-250, I did some fox hunting with a 223 one weekend recently and was surprised at how conclusive the results were as I had expected less explosive results than the 22-250. There was some debate at to whether the this was due to Nosler Ballistic Tips,CT Ballistic Silvertips) or the fast twist,1 in 8") of the Tikka Varmint. That Tikka is showing .5 MOA at 200 yards with factory ammo very early in its life - very promising. The other thing that is impressive is that the barrel stays cool when the 22-250 barrel does not - it speaks well for the barrel life. If I wasn't so keen for a 6mmBR varmint gun next, it would be a 223 for large volume shooting of varmints instead of the 17HMR for that purpose.
While the http://www.steyrarms.com site doesn't list the 8x68 S, a local distributor's site does http://www.sportingguns.com.au, so the 8x68 is presently the front runner calibre for the new gun.
yes the stock is a bit flexible and with a bipod there can be a poi change some people add some form of poly filla to the forend which helps but is also adding weight to the forend which leads to needing to add weight to the rear end to balance the rifle this to me is too much hassel for a factory rifle
iv no experiance on the blue stocks so i cant comment
mcmillan make a stock for the styer ssg police so they may be able to make a stock for the pro hunter
or the other option would be to buy a laminate blank and mill it out yourself again to me its too much hassel
as a general light weight stalking rifle theese rifles are fine as they are and messing around with them excedes what they are worth realy
good luck anyways let me know what you decide
smackum
iv no experiance on the blue stocks so i cant comment
mcmillan make a stock for the styer ssg police so they may be able to make a stock for the pro hunter
or the other option would be to buy a laminate blank and mill it out yourself again to me its too much hassel
as a general light weight stalking rifle theese rifles are fine as they are and messing around with them excedes what they are worth realy
good luck anyways let me know what you decide
smackum
ghermitage, I have a Steyr Pro Hunter in 243 that I shot in the very competitive deer hunter class at the St. Thomas Groundhog shoots. The Steyr is unbelievably accurate and shoots right up there with the Sakos and Tikas. We shoot 3 relays of 3 shoots for score, unlimited sighters, within a 6 minute time period. The rifle averages near ½ MOA 3 shot groups and has shot a 3 shot group into the x that measured in the 3s at 200 yards. It really is hard to believe how good the European sporting barrels can shoot.
The action and bolt are long and heavy. But that means the plastic magazine is plenty long enough for 80 Bergers that’ll be jammed into the lands. Like a Tika it’s a real pain to single feed and I feed from the magazine even during competition
The plastic stock is much stiffer than what you get on a Savage or Remington and has no trouble staying away from the barrel on the rests. I’d advise bedding the action, a time consuming job with all the nooks and crannies, because a bedding job is what turned mine from a good shooter into the best shooting sporter I’ve ever owned. The stock also comes with a rear system that allows for changing the LOP. I left mine at max. But it’ll make an outstanding hunting gun in 3-4 years for my young boy once it’s adjusted and it’ll grow with him.
The trigger is good and consistent. But I couldn’t figure it out and landed up taking it to the smiths where it got turned down from 3# to a little under 2.
Tried measuring the twist with a cleaning rod and it came up around 11â€. Not sure, but it may be some metric twist. The barrel is an eye catching hammer forged beauty. With the swirl that makes it look like a super hard piece of real steel that’d snap another barrel in 2 if you ever had to use it in a sword fighting type duel. Ahh, you never know. ;-)
If I remember right you can use scope bases for a Browning A-Bolt. So that’s no problem.
It doesn’t have your typical sling studs. But uses a proprietary style that inserts into a spring loaded round socket like thingy which makes for a nice smooth ride on the rests when removed. But I’m sure it’ll cost you a fortune to replace them if you’d loose em.
The safety is a little odd and incorporates the bolt release. But unlike my 22 Varmint CZ it’d make perfect natural sense in the field being positioned center rear tang.
If you’re looking for a great gun that’s a little different for hunting I’d go with the stainless version. IMO it puts the rushed out, rough barreled Remington, Ruger, & Savages with their crooked necks and chambers to shame. A real quality, practical hunting piece that has everything but the feel and looks of a good Win 70.
Just can’t help but wonder what the Varmint Version is like.
The action and bolt are long and heavy. But that means the plastic magazine is plenty long enough for 80 Bergers that’ll be jammed into the lands. Like a Tika it’s a real pain to single feed and I feed from the magazine even during competition
The plastic stock is much stiffer than what you get on a Savage or Remington and has no trouble staying away from the barrel on the rests. I’d advise bedding the action, a time consuming job with all the nooks and crannies, because a bedding job is what turned mine from a good shooter into the best shooting sporter I’ve ever owned. The stock also comes with a rear system that allows for changing the LOP. I left mine at max. But it’ll make an outstanding hunting gun in 3-4 years for my young boy once it’s adjusted and it’ll grow with him.
The trigger is good and consistent. But I couldn’t figure it out and landed up taking it to the smiths where it got turned down from 3# to a little under 2.
Tried measuring the twist with a cleaning rod and it came up around 11â€. Not sure, but it may be some metric twist. The barrel is an eye catching hammer forged beauty. With the swirl that makes it look like a super hard piece of real steel that’d snap another barrel in 2 if you ever had to use it in a sword fighting type duel. Ahh, you never know. ;-)
If I remember right you can use scope bases for a Browning A-Bolt. So that’s no problem.
It doesn’t have your typical sling studs. But uses a proprietary style that inserts into a spring loaded round socket like thingy which makes for a nice smooth ride on the rests when removed. But I’m sure it’ll cost you a fortune to replace them if you’d loose em.
The safety is a little odd and incorporates the bolt release. But unlike my 22 Varmint CZ it’d make perfect natural sense in the field being positioned center rear tang.
If you’re looking for a great gun that’s a little different for hunting I’d go with the stainless version. IMO it puts the rushed out, rough barreled Remington, Ruger, & Savages with their crooked necks and chambers to shame. A real quality, practical hunting piece that has everything but the feel and looks of a good Win 70.
Just can’t help but wonder what the Varmint Version is like.
tripcrow, thanks for the information.
I only have one concern remaining, and that is that it sounds like replacing the barrel isn't something that is going to happen because it is supposed to go back to the factory and be replaced there at great expense. So I guess the thing to do would be to select a cartridge that gives long barrel life.
I only have one concern remaining, and that is that it sounds like replacing the barrel isn't something that is going to happen because it is supposed to go back to the factory and be replaced there at great expense. So I guess the thing to do would be to select a cartridge that gives long barrel life.
Sal said:
If it is no trouble, then yes please. How is the barrel taken out before the receiver is threaded?
If the accuracy of Sako, Tikka and Mannlicher are comparable, and the Sako,and I assume Tikka) barrels are more readily replaceable, perhaps there is a case for looking at Sako or Tikka if barrel exchange can be expected to be necessary with the cartridge chosen. However, in that situation, it is hard to argue with the barrel replaceability of a Savage,I am less familiar with the European barrel-replaceable rifles).
Savage owners have the luxury of being able to change over their barrels without metalwork in 15 minutes in their own garage! The special equipment involved is limited to a holder that goes in a vice and a particular spanner.Sal said:
Sako and Tikka are very well regarded here in Australia, but Sako tends to be on the expensive side.
Spoke with the,previous) owner of the Steyr SSG. The barrel was cut off, and drilled and tapped. He said it cost about three hours of gunsmithing time, and although the weapon functioned great afterwards, he considered it a waste of time. He much preferred a Sako or rem, as it is much more versatile when it comes to parts and replacements.
As an addition I can mention that I have a SSG that has done more than 9500 rounds, and although it is visible in a borescope that it is pitted and worn, it still holds most ammo below 25mm/100m, with carefully loaded rounds probably in the 20mm/100m/ area.
I have no problem keeping it for hunting purposes. Still, I will not bother rebarreling, as the bolt in the SSG has the locking lugs in the rear,not so on the pro hunter) and a large ejector hole in the bolt, which makes it prone to flexing when high pressure occurs., and sometimes it does, when you reload for speed and accuracy. )
.. My 2c.
As an addition I can mention that I have a SSG that has done more than 9500 rounds, and although it is visible in a borescope that it is pitted and worn, it still holds most ammo below 25mm/100m, with carefully loaded rounds probably in the 20mm/100m/ area.
I have no problem keeping it for hunting purposes. Still, I will not bother rebarreling, as the bolt in the SSG has the locking lugs in the rear,not so on the pro hunter) and a large ejector hole in the bolt, which makes it prone to flexing when high pressure occurs., and sometimes it does, when you reload for speed and accuracy. )
.. My 2c.
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