Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08

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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 Mannlicher SSG 08 Rifle Review

The SSG 08 is a highly accurate bolt-action sniper rifle that was introduced in 2008 and developed for Austrian special Task Force Cobra. Like the SSG 04, it is based on Steyr SSG 69 and is still in production today.

It shares many features with the SSG 04 model with the differences mostly in the structural design of the stock which is side-foldable on the SSG 08 model and comes with a height-adjustable monopod. Another improvement from the previous model is the pistol grip with exchangeable portions allowing for adjustment to fit the the size and the shape of the shooter’s hand. The cheekpiece and recoil pad are adjustable and most other structural components are shared as well and can be easily interchanged between the two models. However, the short magazines with a smaller capacity used on the SSG 04 model cannot be swapped with the SSG 08 as the latter comes with a deeper magazine well.

The rifle uses the same three-position roller-style SBS manual safety as the SSG 04, which is positioned on the rear tang. The red dot indicates when the rifle is ready to be fired and the white one when the rifle is put on safe. The third position allows for a small plastic piece to protrude upwards and locks the safety and the bolt with a positive click. The rifle comes with a ten-, eight- or six-round double-stack detachable box magazine that sits flush in a plastic magazine well which encases the stock and a small part of the forearm. The SSG 08 boasts a two-stage direct trigger with several adjustment points.

Action on the SSG 08 is rounded with a closed top and a Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver. The European version comes with the bipod slot rail at the bottom of the forearm with four strong points on the sides that allow for additional Picatinny rail mounting. The short barrel version of the rifle comes with a longer Picatinny rail on the top of the receiver contrary to the short-barrel version where the Picatinny is shorter to reduce the overall weight. Additionally, the long-barrel version is equipped with a Versa-Pod – a bipod manufactured in the USA.

The SSG 08 is available in the following barrel lengths: 508 mm (20-inch), 600 mm (23.6-inch), and 690 mm (27.2-inch).

Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08, chambered for .308 Win.

Figure 1: Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08, chambered for .308 Win. (Source: https://www.akah.eu/precision-rifles/steyr-ssg-08-18857128)

Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08 Calibers

The SSG 08 is available in the following calibers*:

.243 Win.
.308 Win.
7.62x51 NATO
.300 Win. Mag.
.338 Lapua Mag.

*Caliber choice depends on the variant.

Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08 Variants

The rifle is available in the following variants:

Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08 A1

The receiver of Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08 comes with a preinstalled Picatinny rail for mounting purposes. The long barrel version of SSG 08 features an extended version of the Picatinny rail that protrudes along the barrel length.

The receiver of Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08, chambered for .300 Win. Mag.

Figure 2: The receiver of Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08, chambered for .300 Win. Mag. (Source: https://www.austriaarms.com/neuwaffen/praezisionsgewehre/0/2/34/1/1181/steyr_ssg_08%2C__.300_win.mag./)

Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08

Rifles That Have One-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08

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 SSG 08 are the following:

Rifles featuring a Picatinny rail for mounting purposes

Rifles That Have Two-Piece Scope Mounts Interchangeable With Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08

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 SSG 08 are the following:

Rifles featuring a Picatinny rail for mounting purposes

Best Scope Mounts for Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08

Fixed Scope Mounts for Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08

If you are looking for a fixed mounting solution to install on your Steyr Mannlicher SSG 08, 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 Mannlicher SSG 08

We recommend this mono-block mounting solution manufactured by the Swedish company Spuhr 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

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