Slugged the Swede

[DanM]

I got a M96 the other day, and slugged the bore last night. Measurments are a little worrisome: .2650" just ahead of the throat, and .2656" at he muzzle. The bore looks bright and sharp, but I am worried that the 6 tenths spread will hurt accuracy. What do yall think? Am I going to be able to get this one to shoot, or will I be wasting my time with it?

[Ben]

You got a .267 sizer and a bullet that will cast .267 - .268 ?

[DanM]

Just got the rifle, don't have anything for 6.5 yet. I am worried about the boolit developing a wobble as the bore gets .0006" fatter at the muzzle, and ruining accuracy. Obviously it has a little cleaning rod wear at the front. Maybe 6 tenths is not enough to worry about....

[jswaff]

That's 6 thousandths, I don't think it will make that much difference.

[Morgan Astorbilt]

No, He's right, it's six tenths. In machinist talk, "six tenths" is six ten thousandths, of an inch, not six tenths of an inch. Dan, don't worry, only air gauged barrels are guaranteed within a couple of tenths.
Morgan.

[Bob S]

I think the issue is not the number, but the fact that the bore tapers in the "wrong" direction. It probably won't be a match rifle, but will probably shoot acceptable military accuracy.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Maximilian225]

If it won't shoot to suit your taste you might consider slugging it deeper, say 3 - 5 inches, (I'm assuming this still has the 29" barrell). If it slugs better there, cut the barrel and recrown.

[mike in co]

cut and recrown is a good idea. brownells and has a small hand/drill crowning tool. i cut less than a 1/2" off of a bbl and then got good numbers....sometimes the cleaning rod stuff dont go far.

mike in co

[runfiverun]

dan wesson pistol bbls do this" bugling"
and i havent heard any body ever complain about how they shoot cast.

[johnly]

Dan,

Some 6.5mm molds drop close to .264" , others cast fat bullets so they can be used in the old 6.5MS .268" bores. My RCBS 140 SP mold drops bullets close to .264" while my lyman 130 grain drops plump .270" bullets. If you want to give the molds a try, I can send them to you along with a .266" sizer.

John

[DanM]

John, that would be great. What I really need Is a chance to try some .266 or .267" boolits and just see what it will do before buying any molds. The only problem I have is that Midway and Midsouth are both sold out of 6.5 checks at the moment. As soon as I get the checks in, I will take you up on your offer. In the meantime, I have detailed the rifle, and it at least looks like a keeper. I know that cutting the barrel would improve accuracy, but I would hate to do that to this rifle.

[Maximilian225]

Grafs has some
http://www.grafs.com/product/189457

[Dutchman]

Sometimes slugging techniques can vary between different people. I'd suggest that .0006" is absolutely nothing to worry about as far as accuracy or manufacturing tolerance.

Swedish military barrels were being made from 1898 into the 1970s as some of the Swedish Mausers were in use into the mid 1980s by Landstormen (older reserve units). Rifles that have later replacement barrels could have fairly wide diversity in dimensions compared with early original barrels. In other words, there is no one single right answer when it comes to barrel dimensions. Some will say "oversize" but we don't know what era those barrels were made nor do we know the amount of use they've had. Don't even think about *numbers*. Think about accuracy by experimenting, not defeating yourself before you even begin. Nobody on the internet can tell you how accurate your rifle will be based on *numbers*.

One of the 3 Swedes I shoot at the range has a very worn barrel. It came to me with a #3 disc straight from Sweden but it shows a lot more wear than other #3 I've seen. But with .266" 140 gr and 170 gr .267" Lee it shoots very accurate at 50 yds off the bench. In the neighborhood of MOA. Very worn barrel. The other two rifles, one a m/96 and one a 96/38 also have worn barrels. None of the rifles I shoot have new or sharp rifling. I do have other m/96 with new barrels but they're mostly safe queens. I shoot the worn ones. I have one m/96 with a barrel so bad it throws 140 gr Loverin sideways at 50 yds. That's the best candidate I have for the one spare m/96 barrel I have.

I'd suggest you shoot some m/41 military ammo for a test group before cast bullets. It will give you a better idea of how the condition of the barrel is overall instead of beginning with fickle cast bullets. I've been very pleased with the accuracy I've gotten so far with my rifles.

P.S. - suggesting cutting off barrels of collectable rifles is blastphemy! I'm keeping track of youse who suggest such things :Fire:.

As well, never never never recut the crown of a collectible Swedish Mauser with anything other than a genuine Swedish crown freshening tool. Its a hand cutter that was used quite frequently. On many m/96 barrels you can *see* the remains of the 4 flutes of this cutter. Swedish Mausers are no longer $50-$100. They can easily get to $500-650 anymore. The last thing you want to do is destroy the crown with a Brownell's crowning tool. You might as well throw your rifle in the street and watch trucks run over it because it won't ever be a desireable rifle to another collector.

As a rule, the Swedish military cleaned their rifles from the breech but they also issued a cleaning rod guide that attached to the muzzle. They're not an uncommon thing to find but with more competition the prices are climbing.

Swedish Musketry School circa 1902.

http://images31.fotki.com/v1085/photos/2/28344/5902270/musketry_school_1902b-vi.jpg

Dutch
www.rebooty.com/~dutchman
Swedish Mausers

[scrapcan]

Dutch,

Do you hav one of hte swiss crown freshening tools? I say them in an old book and have been wondering what they looked like and if a person would be willing to rent.loan.lease.

Jeremy

P.S Nice pictures by the way.

[DanM]

Thanks for all the good info. My slugging was done with the double rod technique. To me, that means supporting the slug with a second rod behind as sort of an anvil, and tapping on the slug via another rod so that the slug is forced to expand fully into the grooves. I think this method is more precise than just pushing the slug through. I wonder if you guys could spare me some sample boolits sized .266-7" to help me decide which mold to buy first? Likely I will start with the cruise missle mold from Midsouth when they get some more in. I will go ahead and get some 6.5 checks from Grafs.