Back in '05 or '06 I was into NRA XTC competition & had just added CMP competition with an H&R Garand. Well you folks know how it is: the Garand matches were so much fun that you want to add to the fun with an '03 and maybe something for the Vintage Rifle Match.
I have a shooting buddy that came on board with the XTC shooting & had bought a Garand also. We entered the game late in life: I'm 78 now & he's 77.
In response to an add in the Gun List (or one of the other names it took on) I sent a certified check to a gentleman in Ohio for 3 Swedish Mausers: 2 had turn down bolts & one with the straight bolt. My shooting buddy was @ my house when UPS delivered the rifles & when I unwrapped them I was very pleased. They were all in excellent condition (later we discovered that they had cosmoline in the bbl. & on all parts).
My shooting buddy was particularly impressed with the one with the straight bolt & said he'd like to have it. I knew at that time the gentleman selling these rifles had 22 more, so I told my buddy to take the straight bolt gun & pay me only what I had paid for it & I'd order another with a straight bolt. The replacement straight bolt gun was in good condition, but not quite as good as the one I had surrendered to my shooting buddy.......but, I was happy.
It didn't take me long to figure out that the turn down bolt may look better, but the straight bolt version had a definite advantage in the rapid fire stage of the CMP Vintage Rife Match. The turn down versions became safe queens. The rifle that my buddy ended up with had a #1 bore as did the replacement. These were very accurate rifles (I earned a gold in the '08 CMP National Match @ Camp Perry with it).
The time came when our ageing bodies could no longer endure the prone position & we stopped all competition shooting. We sold our XTC rifles, cart, coat, spotting scopes'stand, and funky looking "cyclop" glasses, but kept our Garands, 03-A3's & Swedes.
Recently my friend decided to sell all of his military rifles (this surprised me). His Garands (and mine) and been tuned for CMP competition by Gerald "Hook" Boutin (he was the chief armorer for the AMU @ Ft. Benning back when the army team shot Garands. Mr. Boutin is a legend (he died in 2015). One of my buddy's Garands was a CMP Special that has never been fired.
Getting back to the story: my buddy knew I had a soft spot in my heart for the Swedes (and maybe feeling a little guilty about getting the pick of the litter) offered the Swede back to me for exactly what he paid me for it years back. So this is how I came to have this rifle back & it will stay with me until I go to meet my maker.
The photos follow. The Swede is long & long objects are difficult to photo.......believe me the rifle looks better than the photos.