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 Austrio-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 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 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 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 by more modern rifles such as the Mosin-Nagant.
Variants - Carbine M1886 - M1886-88
Used By - Austria-Hungary - Chile - Republic of China - Spain, Republican troops, British Battalion of the XV International Brigade
Wars - World War I - Spanish Civil War
No. built - 100,000
Small Arms of WWI Primer 038: Austro-Hungarian Mannlicher 1886 to 1888-90
Weapontype: Bolt-action rifle
Manufacturer: Steyr Mannlicher (Œ.W.G.)
Operation: Straight-pull bolt action
Cartridge: M86: 11×58mmR, M86-88: 8×52mmR
Weight: 4.52 kg (10.0 lb)
Length: 132.6 cm (52.2 in)
Barrel: 80.6 cm (31.7 in)
Magazine Capacity: 5-round
Feed system: en bloc clip, internal box magazine
In service dates: 1886–1939
In Production: 1886–1887
Sights: Quadrant sight graduated 300–1500 paces (225-1125m), long range volley sight adjustable 1600–2300 paces (1200-1725m)
Effective range: 2300 paces 1,725 m (1,886 yd)
Muzzle Velocity: 440 m/s (1,444 ft/s) (M1877 ball cartridge)