Steyr SM12 Review: Shooting a Classic in 6.5×55 Swede

Like a lightsaber, the Steyr SM12 is a sublime weapon from a extra civilized age. The hogsback walnut inventory with Bavarian cheekpiece, butterknife bolt deal with, and light-weight spiraling on the barrel — the telltale marks of cold-hammer forging — level to the rifle’s Previous-World origins. And if its pedigree have been ever unsure, that it sports activities a single set set off firing essentially the most iconic of European big-game calibers — the 6.56×55 Swede — ought to settle the matter. The Steyr SM12 is old style.

It is available in three inventory configurations and is on the market in lots of short-, long- and magnum-length calibers. For my cash, the Halfstock Customary model I examined is essentially the most interesting, although the others have their charms. The total-length “Fullstock” has aristocratic snob attraction to spare and in “Mountain” trim the rifle is lithe and delicate.

Except for the inventory profiles, the opposite distinction between these trims is their size. The Customary rifles all have 22-inch barrels, whereas the Fullstock and Mountain model of the Steyr SM12 have 20-inch barrels. The Magnums include 25-inch tubes.

Steyr SM12 Halfstock Customary Options and Specs

• Cartridges: 6.5×55 Swede (examined), 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win., 7mm-08 Rem., .270 Win., and .30-06
• Barrel: 22 inch, cold-hammer cast, threaded ½-28, 1:7.9 twist
• Motion: Push-to-cock, 4-lug (two rows of two) bolt motion
• Capability: 4+1 removable field journal
• Inventory: European walnut with ebony tip
• End: Proprietary Mannox end
• Set off: Single set set off
• Set off pull: 1 pound, 11 ounces (4.8 ounces in “set” mode)
• Weight: 7 kilos, 9 ounces (measured)
• Size: 43 ¾ inches
• Worth: $3,499

Key Options

• Embodies traditional European design components
• Push ahead set set off system
• Handbook push-to-cock arming and security mechanism
• Two-stage journal for simple feeding of single rounds
• Motion rated to face up to 120,000 psi of stress with out harm

Assessment Highlights

• Glorious craftsmanship
• Clean operation
• Nice ergonomics
• Conventional aesthetics
• Accuracy:  2.094 inches (Common of 40 5-shot teams with 7 several types of ammo)

Configuration As Examined

Finest Performing Ammunition

One factor concerning the 6.5×55 Swede is the relative shortage of manufacturing facility ammunition. I needed to scrounge to search out ammo from Nosler and Hornady. To get essentially the most from this venerable cartridge you’re going to need to contemplate reloading. Not surprisingly, the very best outcomes I had have been with ammo I made myself.

Steyr SM12: Conventional Hunter

Excessive-tech searching rifles are the fashion proper now — and have been for a few years. Hunters and shooters have an countless fascination with rifles constituted of light-weight supplies like carbon fiber, magnesium, aluminum, and titanium that make them easy to carry for mountain hunting, in addition to rifles that are optimized for hitting targets at distances that may have appeared unimaginable a era in the past. I rely myself amongst those that are intrigued by these instruments.

The Steyr SM12 belongs to neither camp. It’s so out of favor that in the event you wished to connect one thing as newfangled as a bipod you would need to take away the entrance sling buckle that comes hooked up to the forend.

And fact be advised, there isn’t a bipod made that may be at house on the inventory. The Schnabel forend — tipped in wealthy, darkish ebony — is contoured for the human hand, not some synthetic help.

Fish Scale Checkering

To drive this level house, the inventory is checkered with an efficient and engaging fish scale sample. There are laser-cut panels on both facet of the forend and on both facet of the grip. The grip is deeply radiused and completed with an ebony grip cap, inside which a steel oval bearing the Steyr brand is completely inletted.

The grip additionally has a little bit of a palm swell on its proper facet, filling the shooter’s hand and inserting the set off naturally underneath the index finger.

Enhancing the inventory’s unapologetically right-handed design is the raised cheekpiece that slants off the left facet of the buttstock. The cheekpiece is completed with three folds carved into the wooden and is minimize within the Bavarian type, which curves on the entrance in order that its strains stream into the grip and has an almost straight drop on the rear.

The opposite sort of cheekpiece you’ll usually see on rifles with a hogsback comb is the German type, which is a raised oval.

Hogsback Comb vs. American Traditional

The hogsback has a humped comb in distinction to the American Traditional, which has a flat comb. A real hogsback offers the rifle vital drop on the butt to align the shooter’s eyes with iron sights, whereas the flat American Traditional comb retains the shooter’s head positioned larger and is optimized to be used with scopes.

The Steyr SM12 is a bit sneaky on this regard. The rifle doesn’t include iron sights, until you organize them particular. Figuring out that almost all of their prospects are going to run an optic on the rifle, Steyr stored the drop to a minimal. The curve within the hogsback comb slopes up alongside 75 % of its size earlier than dropping for simply the final 25 %.

On this method the designers let the shooter have their cake and eat it too. The rifle maintains the standard look of an open-sighted rifle for pushed recreation but positions the shooter’s head excessive sufficient to work with a scope.

The butt is fitted with a skinny rubber recoil pad that’s efficient and appears good. It’s joined to the inventory with a skinny spacer and reveals a excessive degree of workmanship for the way nicely it’s fitted to the wooden.

In terms of attractiveness, nevertheless, the true star of the present is the European walnut the inventory is constituted of. The oil end on my pattern brings out the depth of the determine within the wooden. It has an attraction that no artificial inventory, irrespective of how expertly executed, can mimic.

The inventory is beautiful on the within as nicely. The inletting is clear and exact. It has twin aluminum bedding pillars with a skinny, almost translucent, layer of bedding compound utilized evenly round them. This enables the inventory and motion to mate up in a constant and powerful method and is one other instance of the standard gun maker’s hand work that goes into the Steyr SM12.

Steyr SM12 Motion

European rifle makers place nice inventory within the {smooth} operation of their actions, extra so than uncooked accuracy. A lot of their searching tradition revolves round pushed recreation, so the pace with which a hunter can run a rifle trumps its capacity to print tiny teams.

How deftly a rifle handles is a mixture of many components, together with inventory form, the sighting system it makes use of, the ergonomics of the security, set off and bolt deal with, and the way the rifle balances between the arms. However all these qualities are for naught if the motion has a heavy bolt elevate or tends to bind and chatter within the receiver.

Full-Diameter Bolt

The bolt on the Steyr SM12 has two rows of two lugs which might be machined right into a full-diameter bolt physique. The coatings on the bolt and within the receiver are fairly slick. And since the bolt physique fills the raceway within the motion and is nicely supported by the quantity of fabric within the rear a part of the motion (from the again of the ejection port to the place the receiver ends) the bolt travels simply forwards and backwards.

I used to be unable to make the bolt bind or hesitate even when placing an exaggerated quantity of lateral stress on the bolt deal with when working the motion. After I put about 80 rounds via the rifle the bolt developed a minimal quantity of resistance from the accrued fouling. After a spritz of gun solvent and a wipe with a rag, nevertheless, the motion was again to its glass-smooth self.

Handbook Cocking System

Actions with guide push-to-cock arming and security mechanisms are extra frequent in Europe than the U.S., although they’ve been slowly making headway with American hunters who’ve bought sure rifles from Sako, Blaser, Sauer, and Mauser.

The Steyr SM12 has a two-position tang-mounted toggle that sits naturally underneath the thumb of the set off hand and doesn’t take a lot pressure to push ahead. When slid to the ahead, armed, place the cocking piece reveals a crimson circle, indicated the rifle is about to “fireplace.” Inside the cocking piece is a button that when pushed decocks the rifle, returning it to its authentic place, and uncovering a white circle to point “protected.”

The system is intuitive and simple to function. I had no points beginning with the rifle within the low prepared place and cocking it whereas bringing it as much as my shoulder. Likewise, returning the rifle to “protected” quickly grew to become second nature.

Working the Steyr SM12

The butterknife bolt deal with on the rifle isn’t notably lengthy, however the way in which it’s formed, with a little bit of an outward bend on the finish, supplies ample buy and loads of leverage when opening the motion, extracting an empty, and chambering a recent cartridge.

In the course of the sensible portion of my analysis, I had no concern rapidly relieving the journal of its contents and making correct hits on metal plates at 100, 200, 300, and 430 yards. This can be a rifle that likes to be run quick and doesn’t really feel in any respect awkward or unwieldy when pushed exhausting.

One element I actually like on the SM12 is the orientation and relative positioning of the lugs, extractor, and ejector. When the bolt deal with is lifted, and the bolt rotates out of battery, the lugs are positioned at 6 and 12 o’clock. This provides the decrease bolt lug loads of engagement to select up the highest spherical within the double-stack journal, which it did with out fail throughout my testing.

The extractor is located simply to the left of the highest lug within the 10:30 place, whereas the plunger ejector is lined up on the alternative facet of the bolt face at 4:30. This propels the brass up and out of the oval ejection port at a 45-degree angle in a optimistic and dependable method.

Bench Capturing: Set Set off and Two-Place Journal

I spent many hours with the rifle on the bench gathering accuracy information, which is detailed under. Two issues that make the Steyr SM12 a pleasure to shoot from the bench are its set set off and two-position journal.

Set triggers have been extremely in style again within the day. They work a pair alternative ways, both with a two-trigger setup the place one set off cocks the second set off, which takes little or no stress to launch, or with a single set off that’s pushed ahead to “set” it.  When set it wants solely a lightweight contact to journey it. This latter system is what the SM12 has.

The fascinating factor about these set triggers is that they don’t alter the quantity of effort required to launch the sear. As an alternative, the set off will get a literal spring-loaded working begin on the set off mechanism and slams into it with sufficient momentum to beat the sear engagement and fireplace the rifle.

When setting the set off on the Steyr, it strikes about 3/8 inches ahead earlier than clicking into place. It requires solely 4.8 ounces ounces of stress to fireplace the rifle this manner, in comparison with the 1 pound 11 ounces of the set off in its regular place.

To “unset” the set off with out capturing it you merely decock the rifle by miserable the button on the cocking piece.

The opposite function on the rifle that makes it bench pleasant is the two-position journal. When inserted totally the journal operates usually, however you may push the discharge tabs on both facet of the journal and decrease it by about 5mm (.19 inches) to a second setting. When on this place the bolt gained’t decide up the highest spherical within the journal permitting you to single-load rounds as an alternative.

This can be a remnant from an previous navy requirement the place a soldier may have to load a distinct sort of ammo on the fly and doesn’t have any sensible software for the fashionable shooter apart from making single loading extra handy. It’s one other charming reminder of the rifle’s venerable design and heritage.

Granddaddy of Large Sport Cartridges: 6.5×55 Swede

Talking of venerable, few cartridges can match the 6.5×55 Swede with regards to O.G. standing. It was developed again in 1891 as a three way partnership between Sweden and Norway and formally entered service because the navy spherical for each international locations in 1894. Although its official title is the 6.5×55 Swedish Mauser, the agency Mauser had nothing to do with the creation of the cartridge.

I gained’t delve too deeply into the historical past of the Swede apart from to notice that it has earned its stripes on the battlefield, in Olympic competitors and different high-level rifle matches, and has a sterling status as a searching spherical, getting used for all the pieces from moose to grumble.

With a monitor report like which you could perceive why 6.5×55 Swede followers get their lederhosen in a pretzel when heathens like me sing the praises of the upstart 6.5 Creedmoor and different stylish rounds based mostly on Modern Cartridge Design.

Although the Steyr SM12 is obtainable within the 6.5 Creed and different newcomers just like the 7mm-08, .308 Win., and .270 (the .30/06 will get a go as a result of though it was developed within the 20^th Century it’s a two-time World Conflict champ) I used to be by no means tempted to check the rifle in something apart from the 6.5×55.

Swede vs. Creed

Susceptible to being canceled by the International Order of Saint Hubertus, I need to confess that the efficiency of my rifle possible suffered by going this route. Sorry, fellas, however the 6.5×55 Swede can’t do all the pieces the 6.5 Creed can, even when I “do my half.”

The 6.5×55 Swede doesn’t have the identical diploma of inherent accuracy because the Creed and that confirmed throughout my accuracy testing. Even when utilizing meticulously crafted handloads with high-quality elements, the Swede isn’t on par with the Creed.

This isn’t to say that there aren’t some actually correct rifles on the market within the spherical. In fact there are. And to be clear the efficiency I received remains to be greater than ample for searching at typical distances. However the place it’s troublesome to supply an inaccurate 6.5 Creed, an off-the-shelf Swede that shoots bug-hole teams is a rarity.

Steyr SM12 Accuracy

For manufacturing facility ammo, I used to be restricted to the three masses I might get my arms on. These have been Nosler 140-grain Ballistic Suggestions, Nosler 120-grain E-Suggestions, and Hornady 140-grain SSTs. The 140-grain Ballistic suggestions turned in 5-shot teams that averaged 2.280 inches. The Hornady 140-grain SST teams have been about the identical, averaging 2.422 inches. The Nosler 120-grain E-Suggestions opened as much as 2.639 inches on common.

By as we speak’s requirements, none of those outcomes are spectacular. All advised I put 21 teams downrange with the manufacturing facility masses and picked up the brass to reload.

Reloading the 6.5×55 Swede

I chosen 4 completely different bullets for the reloads: two match bullets (Lapua 136-grain Scenar and Nosler 140-grain RDF), a big-game bullet (Nosler 140-grain Partition), and a varmint bullet (Hornady 95-grain V-Max). I used three sorts of powder (H4340, StaBall Match, and N555) and two primers (Federal 210s and Federal 210Ms).

Reloading information for the Swede is already gentle. The utmost SAMMI stress is 55,000 psi, whereas the 6.5 Creedmoor is rated for 62,000 psi. The rationale for that is the variety of older navy actions that aren’t constructed to the identical degree as trendy rifle actions.

I picked cost weights that have been in the course of the pack and shot a number of 5-shot teams, which I aggregated into 20-shot teams. I did this with Hornady’s shot-analysis device on their 4DOF app, which additionally calculates imply radius.

I allotted powder on my SuperTrickler, which is likely one of the greatest powder throwers in the marketplace when it comes to its pace, accuracy, and flexibility. All my powder costs have been inside +/- .02 grains of powder, which is roughly equal to a single kernel of H4350, Varget, H1000, N555 or comparable extruded powder.

I used a Redding Premium die set on my Redding T-7 turret press to resize, decap, prime and seat bullets.

A Word On Outside Life’s Accuracy Knowledge

When you’ve learn Outside Life firearms opinions earlier than you may discover two further information factors on this chart. One is a 20-shot group and the opposite is imply radius. Each are calculated by overlaying consecutive 5-shot teams and utilizing the group evaluation device in Hornady’s 4DOF app. The chart above is sorted by the 20-shot teams, from smallest to largest.

Within the greater than twenty years I’ve been at Outside Life, we’ve at all times used a five-shot protocol to explain accuracy, with a pair exceptions. (With some competitors rifles we’ve shot 10- or 20-shot teams, and with some dangerous-game rifles in heavy safari calibers we shot 3-shot teams.) This has been our customary and we’ve talked about its worth in contrast with three-shot groups.

Nevertheless, we’ve come to be taught that five-shot teams are too small to appropriately confirm accuracy, and that 20-shot teams present extra statistically legitimate information.

This isn’t our opinion. That is based mostly on the details that underlie the science of statistical evaluation and it has been backed up by a mountain of real-world information that’s been gathered by the ballisticians at Hornady. If you wish to make a journey down that rabbit gap, begin with the podcast, “Your Groups Are Too Small.”

We’ve at all times prided ourselves on the standard of knowledge we collect and disseminate. We don’t make excuses for the weapons. We don’t filter out “fliers.” And we shoot till we really feel like we’ve received sufficient information to help what we write.

That stated, we’ve concluded that we’ve extra work to do if we’re going to serve our readers to the very best of our talents. It’s going to contain much more capturing and spending much more time crunching information. However we expect it’s well worth the effort.

What Is Imply Radius?

The thought of imply radius is straightforward and highly effective. It’s the common distance from the middle of your group that your pictures affect. The smaller the imply radius, the higher your firearm shoots. What’s notably vital about it, in comparison with common group dimension, is that it’s a predictive device, reasonably than one which simply tells you what occurred — which is what group dimension does.

A bunch simply data the unfold of the 2 worst pictures — these which might be farthest aside. That doesn’t let you know what may occur sooner or later. Imply radius, alternatively offers you a mean that applies to subsequent pictures.

If that appears complicated or counterintuitive, consider it when it comes to muzzle velocity. Let’s say we report 20 pictures measuring muzzle velocity. The distinction between the 2 worst pictures — the quickest and slowest — is our excessive unfold, which is analogous to the intense unfold we use to outline group dimension. For argument’s sake, let’s say the typical pace of the 20 pictures is 3000 fps. And let’s say the slowest shot was 2800 fps and the quickest shot was 3200 fps. All the opposite 18 pictures have been inside a couple of fps of 3000, giving us an general common of 3000 fps and an ordinary deviation (SD) of fifty fps.

Whereas the intense unfold (group dimension) on this instance is 400 fps, that doesn’t present any perception into what future pictures may register. As an alternative, we have to flip to the SD, which is a calculation based mostly on all of the pictures. The SD is a predictive device (not only a historic report of what occurred) that we are able to use to anticipate the pace of our bullets sooner or later.

Statistical evaluation tells us that about 68 % of our pictures will likely be inside one SD of our common (imply). Whereas 95 % will likely be inside two SDs of the imply. And 99 % will likely be inside three SDs.

Figuring out this, we are able to predict that greater than half our pictures will fall between 2950 fps and 3050 fps, whereas 19 out of 20 pictures will vary from 2900 to 3100 fps. The intense unfold advised us nothing past what occurred as soon as.

Whereas imply radius isn’t precisely the identical as SD, like SD it has predictive worth.

Imply radius gained’t supplant group dimension anytime quickly (if ever) for many shooters. However a savvy minority of set off pullers will begin to use it, whereas gathering bigger, extra related, pattern sizes with their capturing information.

My colleague Tyler Freel has an excellent story on mean radius that it’s best to take a look at in the event you’re curious to be taught extra.  

Deciphering The Steyr SM12 Accuracy Knowledge

The three handloads on the high of the chart are all inside spitting distance of one another with respect to their precision, with the imply radius of the 95-grain Hornady V-Max edging out the others. I’d fortunately maintain capturing any of them, however I plan to load one other batch of the 136 Lapua Scenars and 140 RDFs with H4350. I’d anticipate to see good SDs (observe that whereas the teams with the 140 Partitions weren’t notably good, the H4350 delivered constant velocities and SDs) and good imply radiuses.

I’ll additionally attempt loading Hornady 143-grain ELD-X bullets. In an authentic 6.5×55 Swede the 1:9 twist would do a marginal job stabilizing these bullets, however the Steyr has a sooner 1:7.9 that ought to do nicely.

Steyr SM12 Professionals and Cons

On the “professional” facet of the ledger, the Steyr SM12 is a fantastically crafted firearm that blends wonderful manufacturing processes with expert handwork. The tight and even metal-to-wood match alongside the barrel channel is an efficient instance. The hole on both facet is minute, however you may slide a chunk of paper between the barrel and inventory and watch it glide unimpeded till it contacts the recoil lug.

Different professionals embody the rifle’s reliability and sensible ergonomics. Options just like the set set off and two-stage journal are helpful with out being gimmicky.

As for cons, the massive one is price. I see and recognize the complexity and craftsmanship that results in its $3,500 value, however that’s nonetheless a heavy elevate for many hunters. I additionally want the rifle have been extra correct. It isn’t a contest rifle and don’t anticipate that degree of precision, however I’d be a lot happier if I might discover (or load) ammunition that printed 20-shot teams round 1.5 inches or higher.

Closing Ideas on the Steyr SM12

This elegant rifle harkens to a bygone period. It’s designed for the one that prioritizes custom and who relishes the heat of walnut and metal over carbon fiber and polymer — even when that selection prices efficiency. The SM12 remains to be a very succesful searching device, and I stay up for taking mine afield this fall. And the truth that I’ve to work tougher to get essentially the most out of it, frankly, appeals to me. It’s the distinction between rolling as much as the sting of an alfalfa subject at nighttime to select off a cow elk at first mild versus trekking into the mountains to find a solitary bull.

There’s nothing incorrect with choosing the simple route infrequently, whether or not in your selection of quarry or searching rifle, however there’s worth, too, in taking the trail that’s adopted by the few reasonably than the various.