At first sight many confuse it with a Mauser rifle, due to the similar bolt and handguards. Interestingly, while the more famous Mannlicher M1895 had a straight pull bolt, the bolt of the Mannlicher-Schönauer has a rotating action, more reminiscent of the competing Mauser design. The rifle action was designed by Ferdinand Mannlicher and the rotary magazine by his protegee Otto Schönauer of the Österreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft (Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company now Steyr Mannlicher).
The Mannlicher-Schönauer rifle was one of these novel designs. These were offered for the consideration of the Austro-Hungarian Army, for export to other Armies and for the civilian market. Following the introduction of smokeless powder in the Lebel rifle at the end of the Century, the Steyr factory worked on new Mannlicher designs, using more effective modern cartridges. In the late 19th century, the classic Mannlicher designs for the Austro-Hungarian army were based on the en-bloc magazine, a straight-pull bolt mechanism and were designed for obsolete large caliber cartridges.