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Steyr Zephyr II

GoggledIt

Private
Minuteman
  • Oct 6, 2020
    88
    154
    USA
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    I've been around long enough to remember the original Steyr Zephyr. My best friend's dad had one and it was the first rifle I ever shot with double set triggers and a full length Mannlicher stock. Compared to my dad's old Marlin, the Zephyr looked like it was from another planet which, Austria kinda is when you really think about it? Lederhosen. Yodeling. Ein pils, bitte!



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    Original Steyr Zephyr

    I just remember that hitting Coke cans at 50+ yards wasn't that difficult to do with iron sights-only. When Steyr finally quit building the Zephyr in 1971 due to increasing cost and diminishing sales, not many tears were shed over its demise in spite of being one of the 20th Century's best bolt action .22 rifles. Steyr killed it when it went from being ridiculously priced to there's-no-way-in-hell-I'm-paying-that-much-for-a-22 priced.

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    The Zephyr II is a very good looking rifle and IMO every bit a worthy successor to the original. Between the pretty walnut stock and spirally 19.7" semi-bull barrel, it's very stout but only weighs-in at 5.8 lbs. I'm very impressed with how Steyr managed to do that.

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    Leupold VX3i (30mm) 4.5-14x40 wind plex, side focus, Talley rings

    Whenever I get a 55 degree day in January with no wind and no rain/snow I'm heading to the range, even at the risk of pissing-off the wife who wanted to go antiquing and junk hunting this afternoon.

    Today was the first chance I had to really put the Zephyr II thru its paces and here's how it did at 50 yards shooting off sandbags.

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    Wolf Match Extra, first shots, first target (lower right) on a cold barrel. I made one minor elevation and windage adjustment and put five shots on each target, going from bottom to top.

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    SK Rifle Match, the Zephyr II seems to really like it. That's about as good of a 10 shot group (lower right) as I'm capable of shooting...with anything.

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    Eley Team, again, started with 10 shots on the lower right target and five in each of the rest. Eley Team shoots only marginally better in the Zephyr II than it does in my Ruger. Unless I can a great deal on it, I probably won't buy any more of it.

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    Eley Club, it was nice to see this load perform well in the Zephyr II and in the Ruger LRT. Those consistent flyers at 6 o'clock? Well, that's a fine example of me pulling the trigger instead of squeezing it.

    Total: 100 rounds.

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    Steyr USA guarantees this rifle's accuracy to be sub-MOA or they'll buy it back and now I see why they do. Even a mediocre shooter, like me, can shoot decent groups at 50 yards with a Zephyr II and a good optic mounted on it. Steyr may not be the biggest or the best known name in the business but, one thing they definitely still know how to do is make an accurate, good-looking rifle barrel. I'm thrilled, so far, with how it looks and how it performs.
     
    Nice, shoots about like mine did. I got really nice wood on mine and it was the most eye appealing rifle I ever owned. I sold it because it jammed 50% of the time when loading the 5th round. The Zephyr II is fantastic for shooting offhand but from the bench it's a challenge. You shot it very good.
     
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    Nice, shoots about like mine did. I got really nice wood on mine and it was the most eye appealing rifle I ever owned. I sold it because it jammed 50% of the time when loading the 5th round. The Zephyr II is fantastic for shooting offhand but from the bench it's a challenge. You shot it very good.

    Thanks! I just used my old Caldwell shooting bags for a rest. They're nothing fancy but they work pretty good.

    I read about some feeding and extraction issues with the Zephyr II when it first came out. Thankfully, mine didn't have any problems with the three brands of ammo I tested. I had one empty case of SK Rifle Match eject straight up, hit the bottom of the scope and bounce back into the breech but, that was probably my fault for not cycling the bolt aggressively enough. Everything else fed and extracted perfectly.

    I wanted something lightweight and accurate to carry on my in-law's farm to deal with pests. It's just a bonus that the Zephyr II is such a looker.
     
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    Hi Googledit.
    I just joined a few minutes ago and in my introduction I described my project of building a 22lr and the parameters.
    This rifle is beautiful.
    Would you please elaborate on the feel of the action and the trigger pull and may I ask where you made your purchase?
    Thanks so much.
     
    Hi Googledit.
    I just joined a few minutes ago and in my introduction I described my project of building a 22lr and the parameters.
    This rifle is beautiful.
    Would you please elaborate on the feel of the action and the trigger pull and may I ask where you made your purchase?
    Thanks so much.

    Out of the box, it's very stiff. Once lubed and cycled (without dry-firing) several dozen times it begins to get smoother. Now that it has had 120 rounds fired, it's even smoother. I imagine it'll just continue, with use, until it can't get any smoother.

    I love the trigger on the Zephyr II. There's about 1/8" take-up before a very crisp and predictable break. Steyr sets it at 2 lbs. and that's good enough for me. I don't think I'd want the trigger on a carry gun any lighter than that.
     
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    Very nice! Do they offer it with metallic sights?

    Not in this configuration. The only option is for a threaded barrel. The Zephyr II is also chambered in .22 Magnum and .17 HMR in addition to .22 LR.

    It is my understanding that Steyr made a very limited run of Zephyr II's with a full length Mannlicher stock but I don't know if they come with iron sights or not.
     
    Thanks Goolgedit.
    I must say this is almost exactly the rifle I was imagining.
    I looked at their site and they have a custom shop.
    They do case coloring and engraving, even gold plating on their centerfires and shotguns. A completely 24kt gold plated centerfire is available.
    "If you have to ask please move on."
    I imagine you wouldn't use it to clear vermin.
    I'll have to inquire about cost, but this may be the answer to my question.
    The Zepher II, not the 24kt gold plated centerfire.
    Thanks for being so clear about the action and trigger feel.
    I agree, 2lb pull would be lightest for my use.
    You guys on this site are great.
     
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    I had an original one a few years back.. nice little gun.

    I had a laugh when they released the Zephyr II...because it looked SO bad in comparison.
    But yours is actually very nice! I think I have to look into a bit more now!

    Love the fish scales and hammer marks on the barrel.


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    I had an original one a few years back.. nice little gun.

    I had a laugh when they released the Zephyr II...because it looked SO bad in comparison.
    But yours is actually very nice! I think I have to look into a bit more now!

    Love the fish scales and hammer marks on the barrel.

    Would love to have an original. That gun brings back a lot of good memories.

    I've heard that the first production runs of Zephyr II's weren't quite as good as they should've been. The walnut wasn't anything special and there were some nagging issues with .22 feeding and extracting reliably. Steyr seems to have addressed those concerns.
     
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    Supposed to be in the upper 60's and low 70's here this week and I'm looking forward to some long overdue trigger time with the Zephyr II. Next trip, I've got Eley Tenex, Norma USA Match Rifle, SK Standard Plus and Fiocchi Official 300 to try-out at 50 yards.

    I'm thinking this thing is gonna be a nice rifle for Critters matches at my club. I've never shot one before but, basically you shoot it from a standing offhand position at extremely small, steel plate silhouette targets spaced from 10-60 yards and are scored on the # of hits. A friend of mine uses his Winchester 52 with an old school Unetrl 10x scope mounted and he rocks it pretty hard.

    So the plan this week is to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather, shoot some groups and practice some standing offhand shots.

    Stay tuned.

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    Had a gusty 10-15mph West-East wind today which, under normal circumstances I'd find annoying but, I didn't care. It was 56-58F and it felt good just to be outdoors after two straight months of snowstorms and cold weather. Today, I just wanted to get back in some kind of groove.

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    SK Standard Plus, (50 yards) I started with 10 shots at the center target from a cold bore and then five shot groups from top to bottom. I bought two bricks back in January so I'm glad it shot fairly well.

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    Eley Tenex, (50 yards) the fouling group in the center was pissing me off so I corrected with two clicks up and two clicks left after the 9th shot and put the last one where I was aiming. Wind really started whipping and I decided to wait until tomorrow and give it another try.

    Like I said, it felt great to get out and get some fresh air. Tomorrow is supposed to be almost ten degrees warmer and less breezy.
     
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    Reactions: SourMash
    uk4ZqyV.jpg


    Had a gusty 10-15mph West-East wind today which, under normal circumstances I'd find annoying but, I didn't care. It was 56-58F and it felt good just to be outdoors after two straight months of snowstorms and cold weather. Today, I just wanted to get back in some kind of groove.

    k9LhHyY.jpg

    SK Standard Plus, (50 yards) I started with 10 shots at the center target from a cold bore and then five shot groups from top to bottom. I bought two bricks back in January so I'm glad it shot fairly well.

    dKQPTUx.jpg

    Eley Tenex, (50 yards) the fouling group in the center was pissing me off so I corrected with two clicks up and two clicks left after the 9th shot and put the last one where I was aiming. Wind really started whipping and I decided to wait until tomorrow and give it another try.

    Like I said, it felt great to get out and get some fresh air. Tomorrow is supposed to be almost ten degrees warmer and less breezy.