Steyr Mannlicher Pro Hunter II

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 Pro Hunter II Rifle Review

After Steyr had announced the Pro Hunter series to be discontinued in 2017, they decided to reintroduce the Pro Hunter II in 2020 for the American market. Compared to the previous models, this generation of Pro Hunter comes at a more affordable price without making any build-quality compromises.

It features a laminated wood stock and a hammer-forged barrel which is also available in stainless steel for the 7mm-08 Remington caliber version. The steel action houses a bolt with four opposed locking lugs. The traditional SBS (Safe Bolt System) wheel switch is used for safety. The cocked rifle is ready to be fired when the slide is rolled in the frontmost position and a red dot is visible. The safety is put into the loading position by turning the safety wheel rearwards until a click is heard. When the rearmost position is reached, the protruding grey catch is visible - in this position, the trigger is locked, and the bolt cannot be opened. On the top of the receiver, there is a pre-installed Picatinny rail for scope mounting purposes. The direct trigger is crisp and comes with a pull weight of approximately 1361 g (3lbs). The rifle comes with a two-stage, four-round magazine with a double stack loading system which is held in by two catches positioned on each side. When pushed into the well, the first stage locks the magazine in but allows the bolt to be operated while not engaging and chambering the rounds in the magazine. When the second click is heard, the magazine is put in the final, second stage. Pro Hunter II is only available in short action calibers.

Steyr Pro Hunter II comes with a barrel length of 508 mm (20-inch).

Steyr Pro Hunter II, chambered for 7mm-08 Rem.

Figure 1: Steyr Pro Hunter II, chambered for 7mm-08 Rem. (Source: http://adelbridge.com/product/steyr-arms-pro-hunter-ii-7mm-08/)

Steyr Pro Hunter II Calibers

Steyr Pro Hunter II is available in the following calibers:

.223 Rem.
.243 Win.
7mm-08 Rem.
.308 Win.
.300 Win. Mag.

Steyr Pro Hunter II Variants

The rifle is available in the following variants:

Steyr Pro Hunter II Mossy Oak Elements Terra Gila
Pepper Wood Grain

The receiver of Steyr Pro Hunter II comes with a pre-installed Picatinny rail for mounting purposes.

The receiver of Steyr Pro Hunter II, chambered for .223 Rem.

Figure 2: The receiver of Steyr Pro Hunter II, chambered for .223 Rem. (Source: https://www.eurooptic.com/Steyr-Arms-ProHunter-II-223-Rem-20-1-9-1-2x20-Bbl-Rifle-PHII223MO.aspx)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Pro Hunter II

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Pro Hunter II

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 Pro Hunter II are the following:

Rifles featuring a Picatinny rail for mounting purposes

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Pro Hunter II

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 Pro Hunter II are the following:

Rifles featuring a Picatinny rail for mounting purposes

Best Scope Mounts for Steyr Pro Hunter II

Fixed Scope Mounts for Steyr Pro Hunter II

We recommend this fixed mounting solution manufactured in Germany by the company INNOMOUNT. It fits the mounting surface of Steyr Pro Hunter II perfectly and comes with a 10-year warranty.

Detachable Repeatable Scope Mounts for Steyr Pro Hunter II

If you are looking for a detachable mounting solution, you might consider purchasing this once-piece repeatable mount made by the German company EAW which comes with a thirty-year warranty.

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