This is an Austrian Steyr M95, the parts of which were used by Austria in WWI, and by an unknown entity during or after WWI. The final user is a mystery, but there are a few clues as to usage.
This rifle has no matching numbers on it - the stock, barrel, receiver, and handguard are all different. The barrel is Austrian accepted in 1916, and the bore is excellent. The stock is beat up, oily, and has X's in both finger grooves; the buttplate has a 64th Infantry Regiment unit marking. There are no import marks anywhere.
The 64th "Ritter von Auffenberg" regiment was composed of 86% Romanians and 14% other nationalities - not uncommon in the Austro-Hungarian empire, which then encompassed much of Europe. The unit saw action in Galicia, Serbia, and specifically at the Battle of Caporetto in Italy. The likely Romanian soldier may have deserted/surrendered with parts of this rifle, especially upon Romania attacking Austria-Hungary in August 1916.
The oily stock reminds me of my Albanian M91 Carcano; the X kill mark graffiti in both finger grooves reminds me of my second Bulgarian Partisan Steyr M95/34. But with no other markings, this rifle could have been many places.
This rifle seems to have been rebuilt (but not refurbished) by somebody, owing to the excellent bore and mismatched parts. Was it a lower-level WWI Austrian rebuild, then captured later? Or was it rebuilt from many captured rifles by a partisan group? These and other questions cannot be answered. Maybe this rifle ended up in Russia, or Romania, or Serbia, or Albania, or Italy. Also it may have seen WWII service.
I showed pictures of the small stock proof marks as these are often lost on other M95's. They likely do not help finding the final user.
This rifle has no matching numbers on it - the stock, barrel, receiver, and handguard are all different. The barrel is Austrian accepted in 1916, and the bore is excellent. The stock is beat up, oily, and has X's in both finger grooves; the buttplate has a 64th Infantry Regiment unit marking. There are no import marks anywhere.
The 64th "Ritter von Auffenberg" regiment was composed of 86% Romanians and 14% other nationalities - not uncommon in the Austro-Hungarian empire, which then encompassed much of Europe. The unit saw action in Galicia, Serbia, and specifically at the Battle of Caporetto in Italy. The likely Romanian soldier may have deserted/surrendered with parts of this rifle, especially upon Romania attacking Austria-Hungary in August 1916.
The oily stock reminds me of my Albanian M91 Carcano; the X kill mark graffiti in both finger grooves reminds me of my second Bulgarian Partisan Steyr M95/34. But with no other markings, this rifle could have been many places.
This rifle seems to have been rebuilt (but not refurbished) by somebody, owing to the excellent bore and mismatched parts. Was it a lower-level WWI Austrian rebuild, then captured later? Or was it rebuilt from many captured rifles by a partisan group? These and other questions cannot be answered. Maybe this rifle ended up in Russia, or Romania, or Serbia, or Albania, or Italy. Also it may have seen WWII service.
I showed pictures of the small stock proof marks as these are often lost on other M95's. They likely do not help finding the final user.