Mannlicher 1886 / 1888 vs Steyr M95 Piling Pins

[peregrinvs]

Does anyone know if the piling pin fitted to the M1886 / M1888 Mannlicher rifles is interchangeable with the one fitted to the Steyr M95? They look very similar, but I have no idea if the diameter and thread is the same.

Thanks.

Information

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[Aragorn243]

What is a piling pin?

[browningautorifle]

What is a piling pin?

This one... Looks like one's on the side and one the bottom.

[Aragorn243]

I call that a stacking rod. The "pin" screws into the band so it is separate.

Easiest way to find out if something is interchangeable is look up the part at Numrich and see what models it fits.

But that won't work this time because none of appropriate parts seem to be listed.

[peregrinvs]

Apologies for the mixed terminology. Yes, I have already looked at the Numrich parts listings.

Basically I have a Mannlicher 1886 with a missing piling pin / stacking rod and want to know if the available Steyr M95 equivalent will fit. I suspect they don’t as that would be too convenient, but would be grateful if someone could confirm it one way or another.

[Aragorn243]

I’ll see what I can do. I have both around here somewhere, just not sure where. If I can locate them I’ll see if they interchange.

[peregrinvs]

Thank you. I’d appreciate it.

Another rather basic question that has since occurred to me is whether they are the same length?

[Aragorn243]

I can report that the pins from an 1888/90 and an M95M do interchange without difficulty. There are two slight differences. The 1888/90 pin is maybe a mm longer from start of base to tip. Not noticeable in my opinion. The M95 pin has one additional thread length on it which would not be seen obviously as the 1888 does not have a rear to it on the bayonet band like the M95. Oddly enough, both also had the screwdriver slot on the thread end which may indicate the one was replaced at some point. The 1888/90 came out of Ethiopia. The M95M out of Yugoslavia. Barrel on this was replaced to the German 8mm but the bands were not. This was a part I had to replace myself and the pin is an M95 pin. Here they are. The 1888/90 I replaced the magazine assembly because I wanted to. It came with a functional one but it was fairly well pitted, more so than anything else on the rifle. The M95M was restored from a sporterized stock. If yours is a true 1888, tbe possibility exists the parts are different, but I wouldn't think so. They kept things simple to keep costs down and I believe they just upgraded the chamber on them for the newer cartridge.

[Aragorn243]

Did your's also come out of Ethiopia? Mine was missing a couple of small parts that I was able to get at the time but they might be gone now due to other people restoring these. Neither was actually missing I guess, one was the volley sight pin that they had pounded over flat and the other was the safety screw which was homeade. The safety itself was worn so I replaced it also.

[peregrinvs]

Thank you for the helpful information about the piling pin and the pictures. I was hoping it would be a case of them not reinventing the wheel and designing a new pin.

Mine is an 11mm M1886 and is one of the ex-Chilean ones. A significant quantity of them were imported into the UK (via Ecuador and Italy supposedly) by the now defunct militaria company Worldwide Arms. The 11mm Werndl BP round is designated an an ‘obsolete calibre’ in the UK which means that a live M1886 can be possessed as a ‘curiosity or antique’ without a firearms license - as long as you don’t fire it or own any live ammunition. The 8mm M1888 doesn’t benefit from this, so it would have to be held on a firearms license or deactivated.