Steyr Mannlicher Zephyr II in 17 HMR / Sportsman Gun Centre Blog

By Chris Parkin

The Zephyr II from Steyr Mannlicher is a great looking rifle, I love the look of the external spiral created by the cold hammer forging process on Steyr’s excellent barrel with its matt blue/black finish, classic metalwork contrasting the traditional oiled walnut stock. With a ½” screwcut for sound moderator, the barrel tapers straight from 15.2mm at the muzzle to 21mm before entering the cylindrical receiver. This is topped with 11mm dovetails for scope mounting. The action shares an identical magazine to that of the CZ rimfires in any of the 22 RF or WMR calibres as well as this HMR. The bolt shows similar operation dynamics with a small rear locking lug and handle itself sitting within an abutment. Twin extractor claws are present on the face with a fixed ejector positioned in the floor of the action which as the bolt is pulled back, draws the spent case over it as it runs within a slot on the underside, flicking the case from the spacious open topped receiver.

Machining standards and assembly of all the mechanicals seen here are finished to a high standard so you are getting your money’s worth with more attention to tiny details and subtle mechanisms. Using the 5-round mag from the CZ family is a wise move, these are effective, easy to load with smooth cycling and easy to replace if lost or you ant spares at minimal cost. Rather than using the trigger as a bolt release, the Steyr has a locking lever on the left side of the rear action bridge to release the bolt and this allows the trigger to concentrate on its specific task, releasing the firing pin to initiate the shot. The bottom metal of the rifle is exactly that, again CZ 455 esque design made from folded steel fastened in three positions. The two forward Torx fasteners hold the action in the stocks’ accurately machined inlet that is executed extremely neatly in the well cured walnut, with an oil finish on all surfaces too to minimise any moisture absorption. The magazine catch sits ahead of the mag well with easy linear insertion or extraction regardless of gloves, unfamiliarity, or darkness. A gold finished trigger blade with vertical serration operates with a two stage pull and 825gr break on the latter stage. The break itself is reasonably crisp with long first stage travel. Adjustment is possible, I would have tweaked it bit heavier were the gun mine for more tactile assurance wearing gloves. A tang safety is positioned right under your thumb to block the trigger yet allow normal bolt operation, it’s quiet to use with slow movement and full thumb contact. Bolt operation from the characterful 60mm handle is part of the Steyr look. Everything loaded and unloaded smoothly with a slick mirror finish to the bolt’s shaft.

The accuracy of the gun straight from the box was confidence inspiring, 17HMR performance with occasional 5 shot groups at 100m maintaining sub 20mm centre to centre performance is better than average. It was nice to feel assured by the gun so that the odd flyer, was easier to determine to be the fault of ammo inconsistency or poor wind call, rather than human error. This ammo batch seemed fast and the 19.5” barrel may have assisted with 834 m/s (2734 fps), certainly well above the 2550fps region we usually appreciate from the HMR. That is 282 ft/lbs and shows the usual devastating effect on rabbits where field use had me confident to headshot as far as 100 metres with chest shots intended beyond that. Accuracy was retained for 30-40 rounds after which the groups opened a little but soon tidied up with quick clean. I find 17HMR always needs a regimented cleaning regime and found myself happy with this barrel, repeating that minor clean every 50-round box of ammo as a good reminder

Sling studs are fitted fore and aft with a slim rubber recoil pad gripping your shoulder securely. It was a light, well balanced rifle to carry and I shot it freehand or rested on a soft bag most of the time with a 10x Minox scope on top, no more magnification desired. Walnut stock profiling is very nice to look at with smooth lines detailing the shapes, but on a calibre that will spend its life getting used for daily hunting, it would be a shame to damage it with everyday bumps on vehicles, walls, fences or foliage.

The grip shows a heavy right-handed offset palm swell with comfortable reach to the trigger, it is not unpleasant to use left-handed from improvised positions or a vehicle, but no specific left-handed gun is available. Chequering shows a fish scale design I find attractive and grippy with `angled` curves and facets on both butt and forend to define a very graceful rifle, all the way to the Schnabel tip of the forend. The barrel is fully free floated under all conditions, and you can take the gun out of the stock and return it using a toque wrench and retain zero. That is a good factor to show the accuracy and consistency of the action’s seating within the inlet. I may have preferred a slightly beefier forend to fill my hand when it was rested but tactile finger/thumb grooves do highlight if your gloved hands are about to touch the barrel, the flip side to this slender elegant design is that for a walkabout hunter, it was a delight to shoot from improvised positions, rested on tree trunks, logs or fences with superb balance we forget in these days of compact moderated synthetic rifles.

Overall

This is one of the nicest rifles to carry and shoot I have had for quite some time, lovely looks, lines and balance. I think if you want a tough working tool, this might not be the best stock material to stand up to brutal environments but where looks count, this is a lovely demonstration of the gunmaker’s art in less common rimfire format.

Specification
Calibre,                                                            17 HMR (22 LR and 22 WMR also available)
Capacity,                                                         5+1
Trigger,                                                           Single stage 1500 gr
Barrel,                                                             500mm/19.75”, screwcut ½” for moderator
Length,                                                            1005mm/39.5”
Length of Pull,                                                 365mm/14.38”
Weight,                                                           2.77kg/6.1lbs
Scope Mounting,                                             11mm dovetails
Stock,                                                              Oil finished Walnut

Recommended Retail Price
£970.00

Contact
www.sportsmanguncentre.co.uk
01392 354854

Photo Captions

1. The Steyr is a beautifully slender rifle with great accuracy and a pleasure for walk and stalk rabbiting
2. The bolt handle looks lovely and follows true Steyr design styles
3. Straight line feeding from the CZ pattern 5-round polymer mag was faultless, quiet, and non-damaging to the intrinsically delicate 17 HMR ammunition
4. Adjustable trigger may benefit with a little more pull weight in the second stage
5. A very neatly machined and finished stock inlet
6. These grooves look nice but are so easy to mark
7. Strip down and re-assembly with a Torque wrench provided perfect return to zero which is a great indicator of action to stock fit with minimal induced stress
8. Familiar looking twin extraction claws with the fixed ejector pin running along the underside groove for user induced ejection force
9. Familiar looking twin extraction claws with the fixed ejector pin running along the underside groove for user induced ejection force
10. Length of pull suits average adults with a grippy recoil pad locking the rifle into your shoulder
11. Distinctive external spiral fingerprint left by Steyr’s Cold Hammer Forging process looks wonderful on a truly free-floating barrel, central in the forend’s channel
12. Fish scale chequering pattern
13. Scope mounting dovetails machined directly into the steel of the action
14. Note the distinctive right-handed palm swell and grip offset. Still shootable left-handed when required but no specific left hander is available