Along with James Paris Lee, Mannlicher was particularly noted for inventing the en-bloc clip charger-loading box magazine system.

His ambitions were fueled by the Austrian defeat in the 1866 Battle of Königgrätz, which he traced back to the inadequate equipment of the Imperial and Royal Army.

In 1876 he travelled to the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia to study numerous construction designs and afterwards drafted several types of repeating rifles with tubular magazines.

In 1885-1886 he patented the "Mannlicher System" of a breechblock on a bolt-action basis, which was adopted as a service rifle by the Austro-Hungarian Army in 1886 and by several other armed forces.

On 14 December 1892 Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria vested him with the title of Ritter von (loosely translated to: 'knight of') due to his earlier ennoblement.

In 1899 he was given a lifelong appointment to the Austrian Upper House (Österreichisches Herrenhaus) of the Imperial Council parliament.

Mannlicher's successful designs during his lifetime included bolt-action rifles, both military and sporting, in both turn-bolt and straight-pull actions.

The Model 85 would have fit the same tactical role as the American BAR or British Bren of World War II fame.

In this system there was no recoiling barrel nor gas piston as with other rifle-caliber autoloading designs, so the mechanism was simple, but ejection of fired cartridge casings was so fierce as to be hazardous to bystanders.

The Model 1900 semi-automatic rifle was also gas operated but used a short stroke piston with a camming lug that engaged the bolt to open it.