My new Swede

[M1fuzz]

I bought a M96 Swede from a shooting buddy of mine recently. The old girl was born at CG in 1904. I used to have a Swede but, been looking for a replacement and he had an extra in great shape w/ a good price.

I got some NOE 140 grain 266 flat point bullets to try in her. Did pretty good I thought but, this one seems to be the best. 17 grains IMR4227, WLR primers, and PPU virgin brass. Put together a/ the Lee collet die set. The shot to the left I called that I pulled it. I am going to try a Lyman cast bullet as well in the near future to see how it compares.

https://i.postimg.cc/06sJ0JRx/11-BDD1-B5-08-CE-41-C1-A073-E8346-AE70793.jpg (https://postimg.cc/06sJ0JRx)

[Der Gebirgsjager]

A photo of the rifle would be nice. What distance were you shooting at?

DG

[Mk42gunner]

I never had a 96, have had a couple of M38's though. Both were very accurate rifles.

Robert

[Thumbcocker]

How far?

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[M1fuzz]

https://i.postimg.cc/xXYDV6Ys/644-C462-C-F218-4755-BC9-B-03-E2555-BF338.jpg (https://postimg.cc/xXYDV6Ys) https://i.postimg.cc/5X3c482f/86-B5-E26-A-755-A-4-F07-8693-E7-E9-E3-D0-D3-D8.jpg (https://postimg.cc/5X3c482f) https://i.postimg.cc/0M31gx2m/A5-DF8-F32-76-DA-430-B-86-D4-772-D8107-B369.jpg (https://postimg.cc/0M31gx2m) https://i.postimg.cc/9zGLHCMh/88-C1-B68-C-3-AE1-46-CE-B9-A1-92-BABA61-CCF1.jpg (https://postimg.cc/9zGLHCMh)

Here is some pics of the rifle some had requested. The targets were at 50yards. I try different powder loads and find one that groups half way tight. Then I start fine tuning from there.

The rifle is super clean. My buddy never shot it after purchase. Had to clean a bunch of cosmoline out of her before we went to the range.

[Hahndorf1874]

G,day 18gns of 4198 or 2207 here in AU. behind Saeco 140 gn Lino alloy GC Alox tumble lube shoots those groups @ 100yds in my 96. Cheers Mal.

[beemer]

I have had a lot of fun with Swedes over the years. When guys would brag and blow over their Remchester I would drag out a Swede and give them a lesson. The first remark was " But it ain't got no scope". A few people actually left mad.

Still have the rifle but I can't see and shoot like I did back then, sure was fun. Enjoy your new rifle!

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I have an M38 6.5x55 with an equally old 6x "Prominar" scope that I paid $AU250 for way back. Last week I had a shoot off with a young fella and his 'new' Winchester 6.5 Creedmoor. The young bloke later said he had never heard of the Swede cartridge.

[Shanghai Jack]

Its nice to haul out the oldsters and trounce the new stuff. Good work Bad Ass.

[Ray1946]

M1fuzz; how much "jump" did your boolits have when you seated them? I usually give mine about .005. I used to seat mine hard into the lead, but after a few years found they grouped better with just a few thousandths travel.....................

[M1fuzz]

You know Ray. I really don’t know. I will have to measure. I usually try to get the bullet right on the rifling with a dummy case and bullet then back down the bullet seating die a hair.

[garrisonjoe]

With the fast rifling twist rate in Model 96 Swede, mine gives best cast bullet accuracy at 1550 to 1600 FPS muzzle velocity. Faster velocity blows group sizes (perhaps due to the nose bending).

For a Lyman mold, I've gotten reliable 1.25" groups at 100 yards with the 266673 (about 150 grains) with wheel-weight and linotype mix at 16 Brinnell. Most consistent load was 17 grains of Reloder7 (no filler).

The NOE 270-163 mold drops a very accurate bullet, too.

good luck, garrisonjoe

[Tedly]

I've got a few Swedes and two Norwegian Krags , all shooting #266469 at ~1550 fps/mv . A5744 or now using Buffalo Rifle by Shooters World

[Dutchman]

I've tried to avoid this topic but.....

Not all Swedish Mausers are equally capable of stellar accuracy. Most depends on the condition of the barrel. I've seen Swedes with new barrels and I have one m/96 with a barrel completely washed out... no rifling. Many will shoot good with visibly worn bores but you won't get MOA accuracy with a worn barrel. You need to be able to assess the condition of a barrel from the breech end. It takes only two seconds to notice if the rifling is approaching invisibility. Same as any rifle, worn bore just won't produce MOA accuracy no matter how ~fat~ a bullet you try. I seat all cast bullets to touch the rifling. I use a shop-made version of the Stony Point seating gauge.

266673 and 266469 both sized .266". Neither touch the rifling in my best rifle. And yet 266673 will shoot 5 rds into one hole at 50 yds doing 1,500 fps.

https://images108.fotki.com/v388/photos/4/28344/9430776/photo1-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/bullet-casting/dscf2107cb-jpg.html)

This is 266469 with 10.5 grs Unique at 50 yds. Pretty powder puff load. Also shot with a rifle with scope.
https://images12.fotki.com/v1580/photos/2/28344/157842/65x55140105Unique1b-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/vintage_firearms/65x55-140-10-5unique1b.html)

Lee Cruise Missile 170 gr .267" using 13.8 gr 2400 also 50 yds with scope rifle.
https://images12.fotki.com/v1580/photos/2/28344/157842/65x551701382400ab-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/vintage_firearms/65x55-170-13-8-2400ab.html)

266673 .266" 50 yds. Don't recall at the moment what the powder charge was but approx 1,500 fps also scoped rifle.
https://images44.fotki.com/v696/photos/2/28344/157842/020x2-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/vintage_firearms/020x2.html)

My ammo testing platform is this Carl Gustaf m/38 mfg 1915. Owned since 1969. Bore is not pristine but its good enough to shoot sub-MOA. Scope is Tasco 6-18x44. This rifle will show me if a bullet and load combination are good. Or not. If a load and bullet shoot good in this rifle they'll shoot good in the other rifles.
https://images46.fotki.com/v1645/photos/4/28344/9597910/photo3-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/swedish-mauser/dscf1959-jpg.html)

This target was shot using a m/96 equipped with diopter target sights. 50 yds. Very worn barrel but clean and smooth just not real good rifling in the breech end of the barrel. That group is 1" using 266469 .266". Its really more of a pattern than a group but its a $40 rifle, 1903 Carl Gustaf m/96.
https://images44.fotki.com/v1067/photos/2/28344/1676633/011yy-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/wapenroom/011yy.html)

The method you use to shoot targets needs some careful thought. Using a front and rear rest is very helpful. You don't get one hole groups without effort and sometimes no matter how much effort you expend you may not get the accuracy you want.

In an attempt to get better results I haunted ebay for an early Ideal 266469 mold that were said to drop .268" bullets. I got one and it does drop .268". Testing this bullet will come in the next couple months.

I accept the conventional wisdom that the 200mm twist rate limits accuracy in cast bullets to "about" 1,500 fps. I can live with that. I have other rifles in other calibers if I want more power or speed. My best range rifle is a m/96 1905 Carl Gustaf with excellent bore and has a long eye relief scope set at 7x. It has a Dayton single stage trigger and a m/63 target rifle bolt with slightly faster lock time. The bipod is attached via modified band keeper and works real good.
https://images43.fotki.com/v1384/photos/2/28344/6806565/DSCF1354yy-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/ler/dscf1354yy.html)

This rifle is my FrankenSwede Oberndorf 1900 put together from a barreled action that cost me $18. Those 140 gr 266469 are accurate to minute-of-woodchuck. This was one of 37 I killed when I lived in Indiana.
https://images12.fotki.com/v1667/photos/4/28344/9597910/DeadChuck1-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/swedish-mauser/deadchuck1.html)

https://images46.fotki.com/v1645/photos/4/28344/9597910/photo2-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/crufflerstuff/swedish-mauser/dscf6669cm-jpg.html)

Dutch - who loves his Swedes [smilie=s:

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Nice rifles, guys. I have a couple myself. :happy dance:

DG

[Gtek]

"Had to clean a bunch of cosmoline out of her before we went to the range" Does that include inside of bolt? They seemed to be pretty thorough in their preservation routine, mine were slapped full. My collection being purchased in the early to mid nineties it is mind blowing what I picked these wonderful pristine rifles up for.

[Dutchman]

"Had to clean a bunch of cosmoline out of her before we went to the range" Does that include inside of bolt? They seemed to be pretty thorough in their preservation routine, mine were slapped full. My collection being purchased in the early to mid nineties it is mind blowing what I picked these wonderful pristine rifles up for.

Yes, clean inside the bolt. Reason being that any viscous substance will slow the lock time by inhibiting clear function, namely the mainspring. When completely clean just a couple drops of oil on the firing pin will lubricate the process satisfactorily. You may use grease on the Buttress threads and safety shaft.

Dutch

[Uncle Grinch]

I gave my Swede M38/96 to my son many years ago after he promised no to sell it. I still have a Husqvarna FN 98 action that you see in my avatar. It shoots great with my RCBS 140GC mould.

I do still have regrets of the many fine Swedes that I sporterized back in the late 60’s and early 70’s.

[pworley1]

Nice groups.

[M1fuzz]

Dutchman,

Thanks for the info. I do appreciate it. I am still working on my Swede. I have been using two bullets. Both NOE and both 140 grains with both sized to .266. One is a round nose and one is a flat point. I cleaned inside the bolt and everywhere.

The target I displayed here was the very first target ever shot(by me) with this rifle. I know I and the rifle can do better. Just wanted a baseline and to see if it work, ha ha….

Now, I have done some more experiments w/ different powder weights including a different powder. In fact using Red Dot I have tighten the groups(almost half the size, honest)even more than my loads using IMR4227. I also use a steady front rest and a nice rear bag. I know this rifle has potential.

Also, what do you think about diopter sights? I have a Hooka and a Busk. Been mulling over the idea of drill and tapping to mount one of them.

Talk to you later, Matt

[Dutchman]

Dutchman,

Thanks for the info. I do appreciate it. I am still working on my Swede. I have been using two bullets. Both NOE and both 140 grains with both sized to .266. One is a round nose and one is a flat point. I cleaned inside the bolt and everywhere.

The target I displayed here was the very first target ever shot(by me) with this rifle. I know I and the rifle can do better. Just wanted a baseline and to see if it work, ha ha….

Now, I have done some more experiments w/ different powder weights including a different powder. In fact using Red Dot I have tighten the groups(almost half the size, honest)even more than my loads using IMR4227. I also use a steady front rest and a nice rear bag. I know this rifle has potential.

Also, what do you think about diopter sights? I have a Hooka and a Busk. Been mulling over the idea of drill and tapping to mount one of them.

Talk to you later, Matt

Greetings Matt -- Measure your two cast bullets. If you can shoot them unsized it might be a good experiment. Some rifles like .268". I generally load 20 rds to see what's what.

Fast pistol powders seem to produce excellent accuracy. I use Reddot, Unique and 2400. At the moment I'm very short of Unique so I'll use Reddot. I also just bought a 8 pound jug of 5744 so I'll load some with that.

I don't have a photo of a Busk diopter. The Hooka looks a lot like the Lyman 48. You'd need an appropriate front sight as well. The Swedish target front sights are rather scarce anymore. I like the Lyman MJT which is a large tunnel target sight that takes various inserts. The little dinky Lyman 17 is way too small to hang off the end of a 29" barrel, IMO. The Hooka looks like you'll need to remove some wood on the right side directly in front of the bolt handle. If you go that route do a neat job and it won't kill the value of the rifle down the road. At least its a Swedish diopter. I have one rifle set up with an Elite and one with GF.

http://dutchman.rebooty.com/targetsights.html

This is the GF diopter.
https://images20.fotki.com/v1666/photos/4/28344/9895637/m12-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/firearms/m12.html)
https://images40.fotki.com/v1668/photos/4/28344/9895637/m13-vi.jpg (https://public.fotki.com/dutchman/firearms/m13.html)

[M1fuzz]

https://postimg.cc/gallery/tg2dN0kHere are some pics of the Busk. I think I’m going to like this sight. Don’t have to carve out any wood like the Hooka.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/tg2dN0k

[M1fuzz]

<a href="https://ibb.co/wsVTy5n"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/Ryf12RX/429-D1-EAA-3-F4-D-41-E7-8-FF3-F2-E888-DBEACF.jpg" alt="429-D1-EAA-3-F4-D-41-E7-8-FF3-F2-E888-DBEACF" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/WypbPvn"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/bBRS251/C823231-B-D12-B-487-A-A22-C-2721-D78-CD729.jpg" alt="C823231-B-D12-B-487-A-A22-C-2721-D78-CD729" border="0"></a> <a href="https://ibb.co/ccXKWP9"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/qMFLHz8/459-A940-A-2-FFA-421-C-ACAA-444994-C5-E951.jpg" alt="459-A940-A-2-FFA-421-C-ACAA-444994-C5-E951" border="0"></a><br /><a target='_blank' href='https://imgbb.com/'>alanon images</a><br />

[M1fuzz]

https://ibb.co/wsVTy5n https://ibb.co/WypbPvn https://ibb.co/ccXKWP9https://ibb.co/wsVTy5n https://ibb.co/WypbPvn https://ibb.co/ccXKWP9

[M1fuzz]

Here are some pics of the Busk. I think I’m going to like this sight. Don’t have to carve out any wood like the Hooka.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/tg2dN0k

[M1fuzz]

I tried to post more. I just hate trying to post any pics here. Can never get it to work right.

[M1fuzz]

https://postimg.cc/gallery/FFwYDMp

[M1fuzz]

Here is a pic of the bullets I have been using. The flat point has been doing better than the round nose. But, more experimenting needs to been done

https://i.postimg.cc/Sx4RJZ8G/5665-EAA7-C656-48-E1-81-E2-5-E28-A6-C76798.jpg (https://postimg.cc/nCdpWG3s)