Steyr Elite

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Mono-block Mounts

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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 Elite Rifle Review

Steyr Elite, also known as Steyr Tactical Elite, is a push feed bolt action sporting rifle. Steyr presented it as a tactical version of Steyr Scout, meant to be used primarily in law enforcement. Compared to the original Scout, the Elite has some added features such as an adjustable buttpad and height-adjustable cheek pad. Instead of the Weaver rail which can be found on Scout, it comes with a full-length Picatinny rail for mounting purposes. The bolt uses six front locking lugs - a feature that was inspired by the Steyr SSG 69 rifle. Contrary to the SSG 69 which had a rear locking mechanism, the lugs are positioned at the front of the bolt on the Elite. Additionally, the bolt comes with grooves machined into the body, allowing debris to exit the action, guaranteeing reliability even in adverse weather conditions.

On the action tang, there is a protruding cocking indicator which lets the user know when a round is chambered, and the rifle is ready to be fired. Users can choose a variant with the integrated bipod that is released by pushing the button at the bottom of the forearm. The rifle utilizes Steyr’s SBS (safe bolt system) safety with the lever positioned on the rear side of the receiver, behind the cocking indicator. Steyr Elite is available with a two-stage or a forward set trigger which is factory pre-set at a pull weight of approximately 1360 g (3lbs). The box magazine is removable and is available in either five- or a ten-round capacity.

Steyr Elite is available in the following barrel length: 570 mm (22.7-inch).

Steyr Elite, chambered for .308 Win.

Figure 1: Steyr Elite, chambered for .308 Win. (Source: https://www.njuskalo.hr/puske/steyr-mannlicher-elite-308win-oglas-25401390)

Steyr Elite Calibers

Steyr Elite is chambered for the following calibers:

7mm-08 Rem.
.308 Win.

Steyr Elite Variants

Steyr Elite with integrated bipod

Steyr Elite comes with a full-length integrated Picatinny rail for mounting purposes.

The receiver of Steyr Elite, chambered for .308 Win.

Figure 2: The receiver of Steyr Elite, chambered for .308 Win. (Source: https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/tactical-rifles---bolt-action/steyr-tactical-elite--308.cfm?gun_id=100473854)

Full-length Picatinny rail on Steyr Elite, chambered for .308 Win.

Figure 3: Full-length Picatinny rail on Steyr Elite, chambered for .308 Win. (Source: https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/rifles/tactical-rifles---bolt-action/steyr-tactical-elite--308.cfm?gun_id=100473854)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Elite

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Elite

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 Elite are the following:

Rifles featuring a Picatinny rail for mounting purposes

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Elite

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 Elite are the following:

Rifles featuring a Picatinny rail for mounting purposes

Best Scope Mounts for Steyr Elite

Fixed Scope Mounts for Steyr Elite

If you are looking for a fixed mounting solution to install on your Steyr Elite, we recommend this mono-block mount for Picatinny manufactured by the Swedish company Spuhr. It is made of high-quality aluminum and comes with a two-year warranty.

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Steyr Elite

We recommend this mono-block mounting solution manufactured by the German company ERA-TAC that provides the user with the flexibility of easily attaching and detaching an optic without any tools and retaining zero at the same time.

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 scope 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