Some of the most beautiful work of this craftsman, and many others, are in this book “Liège Gunmakers through their Work. 1800 - 1950”.
For more detail see: LIEGE GUNMAKERS
Manufacture d’armes de l’état
Manlicher 1885
This
weapon is 1. 33 m long, the barrel is 80 cm long and the total weight is 4,200
kg.
The
caliber is, in my opinion, 8 mm. It’s a rifled barrel.
The year
1887 is engraved on the barrel.
Although
rusty, the rifle is still in fairly good condition. However, it is regrettable
that the bolt is broken (I don’t have the missing piece) as well as the back
sight. The stick was drilled with two holes because the owner wanted to make it.
. . a street lamp.
The
breech wasn’t in the gun when I received it, but its number matches the other
numbers punched on the gun. So it’s the breech of the gun, but I haven’t tried
to put it back in place until I can identify it and clean it up.
This
Mannlicher 1887 rifle, number 18 was probably part of the batch presented to the
Belgian Army when he wanted to modernize his weaponry. The Mannlicher was not
selected and it was finally Mauser who was chosen.
The
problem was that the bolt lever was broken, probably due to the stupidity of one
of the previous owners who did not know how a linear breech worked and who
probably forced with an hammer.
I found a
gunmaker who re-locked me. I was able to put it back in the gun after I had to
adjust it with a file and it works perfectly.
All I
have to do is try to redo the missing part of the back sight and find a wand. I
will also have to replenish the four holes that the previous owner had drilled
to turn the gun into a streetlight (still the stupidity of some people).
J-C. R.
This is a war rifle, the Mannlicher 1885 rifle (linear repetition) (see Appendix).
It was a
pre-series of the 1886 model introduced by the Austro-Hungarian Army.
It is
very interesting to know that the Belgian army has also tried this weapon.
The marks are those of the
Fabrique
d’Armes de l’Etat Rue Saint Léonard in
Liège.
These
are:
G. B. in
an oval:
at the thunder of the barrel, it is the mark of the Belgian government, owned by
the State.
ELG in a
vertical oval:
Belgian government proof.
LH
letters in a circle,
struck on the stock: various markings of controllers
3-part circle FDG – JD – 1887: This is a stamp with the initials of the weapons inspector and the chief controller.
The crowned L stands for Leopold. This stamp was placed on the right side of the butts of the long arms.
1887:
year of manufacture.
18: serial number ??
GG
