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Steyr SM 12 S

The History of Steyr

The story of Steyr Mannlicher began in 1821 when Leopold Werndl, a blacksmith, started manufacturing iron parts for firearms in the city of Steyr. His son Josef Werndl took over his business and founded the 'Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und Sägemühle in Oberletten ' in 1864. In the following years, he played a crucial role in the development of several rifles, including the straight pull-rifles M. 85 and M. 86. At the beginning of the 20th century, the engineers Ferdinand Mannlicher and Otto Schönauer developed the Original Mannlicher Schönauer, a legendary hunting rifle, the production of which took place until 1973. The company grew over the years and reached a production capability of 4.000 firearms per day before World War I. After the War, Steyr was prohibited from firearm manufacturing after the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed. To avoid going bankrupt, they used their knowledge and machinery to manufacture cars, bicycles, motorcycles, tractors, trucks, dynamos, electric motors, and other things (they were not allowed to resume firearm production until 1930). In 1926, the company’s name was changed to Steyr-Werke AG. It merged with Austro-Daimler-Puchwerke AG in 1934 to form Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG. Both Austro-Daimler (previously a subsidiary of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft) and Puch (founded by the Slovenian inventor and mechanic Janez Puh) were active in the automobile industry, with Puch also manufacturing bicycles, motorcycles, and mopeds.

They even employed Ferdinand Porsche for a time – he made several contributions to the company – one of them was designing an air-cooled 3.5 L V8 engine for the Steyr RSO Raupenschlepper Ost tracked vehicle. Steyr is known for modifying Fiat cars and adding their engines to some of the models (Steyr-Fiat 1100 Mod E and Fiat 1400, for example). In 1972, they cooperated with Mercedes in the design of Puch G, also known as Mercedes Benz G-class.

During World War II, the company focused on firearm, vehicle, aviation engine, and ball-bearing production for the German military. After a short firearm manufacturing ban after the end of the War, Steyr resumed the production of arms in 1950. In the years that followed, they presented many innovative firearms such as StG 77 (also known as Steyr AUG), an assault rifle with a bullpup design; SSG 69, which was ahead of its time after its release in 1969, and many others. In 1989, Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG broke up into different sectors; Steyr Mannlicher AG became independent. The company has strived to be internationally oriented, so it changed its name to Steyr Arms in 2019.

Steyr SM 12 S Rifle Review

Steyr introduced the SM 12, a rifle of the bolt-action type, in 2012. Its steel receiver houses the unique Safe Bolt with four frontal locking lugs. There are grooves on the side of the push-feed bolt body so that it continues to operate smoothly in adverse conditions. A patented safety bushing encases the extractor, additionally contributing to the safety of use. There are multiple gas ports on the bolt.

The SM 12 is equipped with Steyr’s Hand Cocking System which allows the user to manually cock the internal firing mechanism using a thumb. The trigger is smooth, adjustable, and secure. It can be pushed forwards to activate an even lighter trigger pull. The magazine holds four rounds, except for the magnum versions which have a 3-shot capacity. The non-magnum models’ barrel length is either 508 mm or 558 mm (depends on the variant), while the magnum SM12 rifles’ barrel measures 635 mm. 

Steyr SM 12 S

Figure 1: Steyr SM 12 S (B: 87.5 mm), chambered for .300 Win. Mag (Source: https://www.borchers.es/blog/59_Steyr-Mannlicher-SM12-SX-en--300-Winchester-M)

Steyr SM 12 S Calibers

The magnum-action model is chambered for the following calibers:

  • 7mm Rem. Mag.

  • .300 Win. Mag.

  • .300 Wby.

  • 8x68 S

Steyr SM 12 S Variants

The rifle is available in the following variants:

  • Halfstock Magnum and Halfstock Magnum SX*

  • Halfstock Stainless and Halfstock Stainless SX

*SX models come with a polymer stock. 

All other SM 12 action lengths: 

 There are six holes for mounting purposes on SM 12’s receiver, 3 on the front, and 3 on the rear mounting surface. There is no difference in height between the surfaces.

Steyr SM 12 S

Figure 2: The receiver of Steyr SM 12 S (B: 87.5 mm) (Source: https://www.gunbroker.com/item/909589732)

Skica dimenzij

A1: 11.84 mm

A: 10 mm

B: 87.5 mm

C: 11.84 mm

C1: 10 mm

BHU: 0 mm

Ø: 6-48

R1: R35

R2: R35

Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr SM 12 S

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr SM 12 S

The necessary condition for rifles to have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable is that the mounting surfaces of these rifles match in every dimension. Rifles that have one-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Steyr SM 12 S are the following:

  • Steyr Pro Hunter S

  • Steyr Classic S

  • Steyr CL II S

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr SM 12 S

For two-piece scope mounts to be interchangeable, the mounting surfaces of the rifles must match in every dimension except the action length which can vary. This is because the distance between the two pieces of the mount is not fixed. Rifles that have two-piece scope mounts interchangeable with Steyr SM 12 S are the following:

  • Steyr Mannlicher Classic SL

  • Steyr Mannlicher Classic L

  • Steyr Mannlicher Classic M

  • Steyr Mannlicher Classic S

  • Steyr CL II L

  • Steyr CL II M

  • Steyr CL II S

  • Steyr CL II SL

  • Steyr SM12 SL

  • Steyr SM12 L

  • Steyr SM12 M

  • Steyr Pro Hunter SL after 2003

  • Steyr Pro Hunter L after 2003

  • Steyr Pro Hunter M after 2003

  • Steyr Pro Hunter S after 2003

  • Steyr Pro Hunter S before 2003

  • Steyr Pro Hunter M before 2003

  • Steyr Pro Hunter L before 2003

  • Sako A7 S

  • Sako A7 M

  • Browning A-Bolt LA

  • Browning A-Bolt SA

  • Browning A-Bolt II LA

  • Browning A-Bolt II SA

  • Browning Eurobolt LA

  • Browning Eurobolt SA 

Should you have any additional information regarding possible mount matches, please contact us. We will gladly accept your help and expand our database accordingly.

Best Scope Mounts for Steyr SM 12 S 

Fixed Scope Mounts for Steyr SM 12 S

MAKfix Rings are the most suitable fixed mounting solution for Steyr SM 12 S. They are simple to install, reliable, and recoil resistant.

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Steyr SM 12 S

This two-piece, steel pivot mount made by Recknagel is a perfect choice for SM 12 S (Magnum) as it is designed to withstand harsh recoil.

Picatinny Rails for Steyr SM 12 S 

When choosing a Picatinny rail for Steyr SM 12 S, you need to keep an eye on the distance between the holes on the rail. There are a few manufacturers which produce Picatinny rails for Steyr SM 12 S (B distance of 87.5 mm). EAW's steel Picatinny rail is an excellent choice as it perfectly matches SM 12's steel receiver.  

Help Us Build Our Riflescope Mounts Database

If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.

Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: info@optics-trade.eu  

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VIDEO

Introduction

In recent years we can observe that a trend of Picatinny rail has become widespread and global. It is driven by the NATO standardized rails, more commonly known as the Picatinny rail standard. Picatinny rail being the New Jersey Arsenal that developed it in 1995.

These mounting options are revolutionary. The biggest and best advantage being that the Picatinny rail can be used its entire length and not bordered to a few pre-designed slots like for example the Weaver rail standard was before.

The other main advantage is the ease of use and interchangeability. If a product is meant for a Picatinny rail design it will fit all Picatinny-rails, no matter the manufacturer or date of production.

Picatinny/Weaver Rail

Picatinny Rail and Weaver rail profile

Design

The Picatinny rail is almost exclusively crafted from a single piece of metal (in some cases aluminum). In this manner, the axis of the Picatinny rail is perfectly straight and aligned with the axis of the firearm. Therefore the rifle scope which is mounted onto this kind of configuration is certainly aligned with the rifle / gun and the trajectory of the ammunition.

Weaver rail design on the other hand is usually manufactured in two separate pieces, greatly increasing the possibilities for the axis to be crooked, overlapping, and out of line.

It is always harder to align two separate pieces to a third line than it is to align one piece to another. In this way, the lapping of two mounting rings on a single-piece Picatinny rail is no longer required.

The single-piece rail will assure that both rings are perfectly aligned to each other and that no unwished stress is transferred to the riflescope.  

Picatinny compare to Weaver Rail

The Picatinny rail itself is an evolutionary step forward from the older Weaver rail. The main difference between Picatinny rail and Weaver rail is the spacing of the slots. Picatinny rail design has them evenly placed exactly 5.23 mm from one slot to the other, 3 mm deep. For this reason, the mounting options are repeatable and the same as other firearms using the Picatinny rail standard.

Interchangeability was a major driving force in the development of the new standard as different NATO armies need to be compatible with each other.

Weaver rail has 3.8mm wide slots and these slots can be placed anywhere on the Weaver rail and in any number that the producer wished.

Advantages of Picatinny design

A big advantage for using the Picatinny rail design is the ever-present recoil stop. Furthermore, the manufacturing of the rail is not very technically demanding and can be done without the use of state-of-the-art machines which greatly reduces the cost of the finished product, making it very affordable.

The Picatinny rail is easy to mount and usually, this type of configuration does not transfer negative stresses and forces from the fired weapon to the rifle scope.

In addition, the Picatinny rail with its very long useable surface works well for mounting longer rifle scopes or to achieve optimum eye relief.

The durability and toughness are other big pluses for this solution.

Manufacturers of Popular Models

A majority of the Picatinny rings are fixed, but a number of best rated European manufacturers (EAW, MAK,..) have, in recent years, put a lot of effort into the development of detachable ring with100% repeatability, with which it becomes easy to remove the scope from the weapon without the use of tools.

No re-zeroing is needed with such mount options, but these models tend to be expensive. 

Weaver and Picatinny Rings

Picatinny rail and weaver rail share one more thing. It is possible to use the Weaver ring and the Picatinny ring on the Picatinny-rails, but it is usually impossible to use the Picatinny ring on the Weaver base. The reason being the above-mentioned positioning and spacing of the slots.

  • Picatinny mounts have a 5mm recoil stop that goes into the rail slot and since
  • Weaver rail only has 3.8mm wide slots such rings do not fit on Weaver rails.

Due to this reason, the Picatinny-rails are popular and prevailing on the market in recent years and eventually, these options will completely oust the Weaver rail from the market.