The Husqvarna Model 46 Project

[am44mag]

Do you have brass and everything already? I used PPU 8x57 and just necked it up in one pass, seems to work great. Wayne wanted the correct head stamp and ordered Norma 9.3x57 brass. Just to see if I could, I converted some 30-06 brass. I cut them down, ran through the 9.3 die to form, then necked up to .375 to turn the necks, then back down to 9.3 and loaded with cast bullets after anealing. They worked great.
Another thing I noticed with a chamber cast of both the M46 and M46A is that the chambers had excessive headspace. So I necked the brass up, then back down with the sizeing die not all the way seated, to give a tight squeeze when the bolt handle was lowered, then fireformed. After that I just neck sized and haven't noticed any case stretching.

I had some 8x57 that I had made from 30-06. I just necked them up, no neck turning to speak of. There was zero resistance in getting them to chamber. I know a lot of these old 9.3s suffer from having the chamber cut too tight in the neck area, but that doesn't seem to be the case with mine. We'll have to see if that holds true when I stuff some cast in it.

I'm using Hornady custom grade dies, and they have quickly become my favorite set.

[Texas by God]

Very nice! I want one. They are built on the 1896Swedish action, correct?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[am44mag]

Very nice! I want one. They are built on the 1896Swedish action, correct?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

I believe they're actually a 94 action. Some are made with 98 actions, though those are actually M146s. I've also seen a few guns listed as an M46, but that has a small ring 98 action. Mine's very smooth to work, and has a decent trigger too. Its nothing to write home about, but it's certainly better than most military triggers. As soon as I can get my hands on some more powder, I'll work up a load and post what kind of accuracy I'm getting out of this old beauty.

Also, it's a bit of a moot point now as the scope prevents their usage, but standard 8mm Mauser stripper clips work moderately well with this action, though not quite like they're supposed too. It'll guide the rounds into the mag, but it's loose enough that it's not going to stay put and get ejected when you run the bolt like it would with a k98k. I've heard some 7.62 NATO stripper clips will work better, but if I had to guess (not much of a guess considering the action and where it came from), these are cut for 6.5x55 clips. Still, I like the idea of using 8mm Mauser stripper clips to keep the ammo organized and handy even if I can't use them to feed ammo into the gun.

[Landy88]

Yes, that elliptical expander, for necking up, and their cataloging this old 9.3 as almost standard makes the Hornady dies the ones to get for it. Nice dies in general, too.

Yes, to your supposition on the 6.5 strippers for these - that's what I'm using.

[W.R.Buchanan]

I got here a little late and you seem to have gotten the scope mounted. The mount in post #12 is the one that is removable and the scope will re-index perfectly every time. Makes it nice when you wnat to use irons interchangably.

Most all Swedes that have or had scopes mounted use the same basic hole pattern, and drilling and tapping the receiver for other solutions would have been a mistake.

Like to see a good pic of the left side of the gun showing the Scope Mount as you have it now.

I have a guy in Sweden who probably has the correct mount if you are interested.

Randy

[Texas by God]

I have found the Weaver rings to be pretty good at holding zero when removed and remounted. They've never been pretty but they flat out work. Getting the crosshairs square can be a challenge, though.

[500Linebaughbuck]

great, you got me buying 9.3x57 dies, brass and some more boolits!!!!!!

[Texas by God]

It looks serious next to an empty 30-06!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[am44mag]

I got here a little late and you seem to have gotten the scope mounted. The mount in post #12 is the one that is removable and the scope will re-index perfectly every time. Makes it nice when you wnat to use irons interchangably.

Most all Swedes that have or had scopes mounted use the same basic hole pattern, and drilling and tapping the receiver for other solutions would have been a mistake.

Like to see a good pic of the left side of the gun showing the Scope Mount as you have it now.

I have a guy in Sweden who probably has the correct mount if you are interested.

Randy

I'll get a pic posted either tonight or tomorrow. I have thought about getting the correct mount/rings imported, but aren't there restrictions on stuff like that? I sent an email to US customs asking about it, but in typical bureaucratic fashion I was informed that a response might take 1-3 months...

I have found the Weaver rings to be pretty good at holding zero when removed and remounted. They've never been pretty but they flat out work. Getting the crosshairs square can be a challenge, though.

I've always had good luck with Weavers. They aren't fancy, but they sure do work.

great, you got me buying 9.3x57 dies, brass and some more boolits!!!!!!

You're welcome.

It looks serious next to an empty 30-06!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

It looks mean, and acts mean downrange, but honestly it's a pretty nice round to shoot. Not as nice to shoot as something light like a .243, but comparable to my Rem 700 in 30-06 with light loads. Considering how light this rifle is, that's pretty darn good.

[am44mag]

I have decided on the NOE 280gr FN. I think I'm going to go for the gascheck design over the PB. I usually prefer plain base, but after doing some reading I think this is the best way to get exactly what I want out of that boolit. The mold should drop at 0.368", which is right on the edge of what I can probably get away with in regards to size. If I need to, I can always PC the boolits to get an extra thousandths or two, or I can either hone out the mold or add a strip of aluminum tape to it. It's not gonna need much no matter what I do. I might get lucky and it get a mold that casts just a little bit oversized.

I'm curious as to how well it's going to fit in the rifle. Tight necks aren't uncommon, and I really don't want to have to deal with neck turning brass.

[am44mag]

Almost forgot. Here's that picture of the mount.



Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[Texas by God]

That looks fantastic.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[RustyReel]

I know it works, but it just doens't look right stuck between that classic rifle and classic scope. I'd keep an eye out for an original set of rings. Otherwise, nice lookin' rifle.

[am44mag]

Finding an original set of rings is like trying to find an honest politician. There's more than likely one out there, but I haven't seen it yet.

I ordered the NOE mold. 3 Cav GC, with a Lyman top punch and 1000 9.3mm gas checks. Cost me $101 after shipping and a 20% coupon for the 4th of July. That's a heck of a deal!

[lar45]

I'm curious as to how well it's going to fit in the rifle. Tight necks aren't uncommon, and I really don't want to have to deal with neck turning brass.

When Wayne and I first got ours, I did chamber casts for both of them.
Wayne's is an M46 and the neck was .394" with a .371 throat that is .565" long, the barrel is .359x.371 6 groove.
Mine is an M46A and the neck is .395" with a .371" throat that is .565" long, the barrel is .356x.368 4 groove.

If your dimensions are similar, then it looks like it will depend on the thickness of your necks. That bullet shot well in mine, but I didn't push it very fast.

Here's a pic of my M46A

[nekshot]

the correct mauser rings are available but I sure can't see paying almost as much as the gun for rings and mounts(well they are all one pc.) I sure enjoy looking at your pictures as I have drawn a line about my finances.

[W.R.Buchanan]

AAron,,, so the center piece with the weaver rail is clamped to the part that is screwed to the receiver?

Pretty sure the rings you are looking for are the ones in Post #12 but can't be sure without seeing the mount on your gun without the scope mounted.

For that gun in lue of a scope I wouldn't hesitate to drill and tap the rear receiver for a Steel Lyman #48 Receiver Sight. I have one on my M96 and it is more than up to the accuracy of the gun which is exceptional. The iron sights on those guns are usually pretty good too.

The good thing about the scope mount base for that gun is that you can remove the scope and replace it without losing the zero, so it makes it possible to go back and forth from iron sights to optics easily. IE: more shooting options.

The guys name in Sweden is Peter Soneson he is at armynavy@ansmag.com

I have dealt with him several times and if anyone can produce those rings it is him. He is also very reasonable. There should be no problem importing scope rings to the US from Sweden, but Peter would know for sure.

It won't cost you anything to ask him, just tell him/show him what you've got and he can tell you if it is fesible.

hope this helps, you've got a cool rifle and I hope you get alot of use out of it. With cast boolits it should last forever.

Randy

[sharps4590]

am, any updates on the 9.3?

[am44mag]

Not yet. I finally got some H4895, so I'm going to work up some loads with the 270gr Speers this weekend. The mold should be here Monday, so I'm really looking forward to that. Really, it's just been too hot to shoot. It's already over 100 here, and will probably hit 107-108 before the day is over. All this next week is going to be high 90s, low 100s.

I have cast a ton of boolits in the last few days though. I've been going stir-crazy not being able to do anything outside.

[am44mag]

I made up 20 pieces of brass. I had about 3 pieces split while I was necking them up. That's not very surprising. The brass was originally 30-06 that was converted to 8mm Mauser. Necking up to 9.3mm is moving quite a bit of brass. I finally bit the bullet and annealed the cases to prevent them from splitting once fired. I'm new to annealing and am frankly terrified of accidentally annealing the case head. I used the lead pot methods, which seems to be the most idiot proof to me other than having an actual annealing machine. A little on the necks helped prevent the lead from sticking (mostly, and it smoked like crazy), and some steel wool and a X-acto knife cleaned up the rest. 10 seconds seemed to be just right. By that point, I could still hold on to the bottom of the case, but it was getting very uncomfortable. Only did that a couple times to confirm that the case head wasn't getting too hot and wore welding gloves the rest of the time.

Just to be safe I'm going to test these cases with low pressure loads first. If no pressure signs show up, they're good.

They're sized, primed, and ready to go!