Question on Swedish 96 6.5 Mauser made in 1942

[Hang Fire]

Was in the gun shop today and they had a beautiful (almost like unissued) 6.5x55 Swedish 96 Mauser made by Husqvarna in 1942 for 350 bucks. Is that a decent price?

I was surprised the fit and finish was that good for a war time rifle, then realized that Sweden was a supposedly neutral country.

I hemmed and hawed, then left without buying it, got home, procrastinated some more, then the wife got owly and told me if I wasn't going to buy it, she was going to do it for me. So I called the shop up to put it back for me to pick up tomorrow, so looks like I have a Swede.

So will now be reviewing some of the best cast boolit loads for it.

[1874Sharps]

Wahoo, I think you got a reasonable deal and have a remarkable wife as well!

[smlekid]

nice 40's Husky's are sowewhat rare they didn't make a lot I think these were the only '96's built by them the M38 is much more common good find and price here in Australia you'll pay a lot more for a '96

[Bret4207]

Good price if it's in nice shape. The day of the $75.00 Swede is long gone.

[EOD3]

IIRC, the Husky rifles were built as a contingency, the people that got them had to agree to return them if the SHTF.

IMHO, you got a smoking deal on a great rifle. Check the washer for erosion.

[pietro]

Hopefully, the bore will still be in the condition indicated on the brass stock disc.

Congrats - That's a great find, in this day/age.

.

[jh45gun]

Even some what worn Swedes shoot better then most guns they are an awesome gun and caliber.

[Hang Fire]

Hopefully, the bore will still be in the condition indicated on the brass stock disc.

Ditto on that, picked the rifle up today. The brass disc shows the triangle punch mark on #1, which indicates an excellent bore, and it sure looks like it still is. I am still rather amazed that a military rifle made 68 years ago is still in near pristine condition with all matching numbers etc.

The only ammo I could find was 20 rds of Sellier and Bellot, (39 bucks, ouch) 131 grn at 2923 fps as marked on box. Not sure, but that may be a bit stiff for the small ring Swede. I have read the Europeans load considerably hotter than domestic here in the US.

Ordered out couple hundred pieces of Prvi brass, dies etc, so now need to find a mould. (I see Lee don't carry such)

[mooman76]

Go to Midsouth shooting supply. Under their moulds custom made they get a Lee 6.5 made especially for the swede. Don't know if they have any now but they keep ordering and restocking.

[Buckshot]

.............I had a M38 Husky that I'd bought years ago from Century Int'l for $89 ($79 + $10 hand picked) and it too looked like it'd never been issued. I sold it 3-4 years ago for $425. To find one in great shape today for $350 is a real find. At the time I'd bought that M38 Century was also selling externally matching M96's for $59.

http://www.fototime.com/BE9E30A0AAA4EA8/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/5EAA52F07B7726E/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/321BF8204663A5D/standard.jpg

I'd bought this one maybe 6-7 years back for $125. It was made by Mauser in 1899. It's all externally matching but I've never had it out of the stock to see if it matches too.

...............Buckshot

[Dutchman]

Ditto on that, picked the rifle up today. The brass disc shows the triangle punch mark on #1, which indicates an excellent bore, and it sure looks like it still is. I am still rather amazed that a military rifle made 68 years ago is still in near pristine condition with all matching numbers etc.

The only ammo I could find was 20 rds of Sellier and Bellot, (39 bucks, ouch) 131 grn at 2923 fps as marked on box. Not sure, but that may be a bit stiff for the small ring Swede. I have read the Europeans load considerably hotter than domestic here in the US.

Ordered out couple hundred pieces of Prvi brass, dies etc, so now need to find a mould. (I see Lee don't carry such)


The Husqvarna m/96 was not a military rifle. I think there were just 18,000 or 20,000 made for the shooting clubs (FSR).

In truly "excellent" condition $350 is about HALF what it's worth, no kidding. These don't belong with Carl Gustaf m/96 in pricing. Not that the Husqvarna are better, they're not, it's the limited production and market demand among collectors.

Get some photos and let's check it out.

Dutch

[6.5 mike]

One of mine someone cut the barrel off at the first step from the reciever leaving a 21 in barrel. It's just as accurate as my m96/38 with the full 24 in tube. Both will shoot 5 shots, at 24/2500 fps, you can cover with a quater, if I do my part. I use sierra's accurate load with either imr 4895 or 4064 & rem 140 gr bulk bullets for bambi with deadly results. I call the short one stumpy, makes a great treestand rifle.
moonman76 is right about midsouth, I looked on the computer then called. They had the cruise missle & 8m/m karibner in stock, so ordered both a while back 4 or 5 days later they where at the house.
Like ducthman said, if your's is in real good shape you got it for about half price.

[EOD3]

I thought the later model Swedish Mauser was a stronger rifle than the prewar version.

[Multigunner]

Somewhere around here I have a fairly long detailed article on the Swedish Mausers. Been years since I read it but IIRC there were very few problems with the early production Carl Gustaves, but any rifle that failed its accuracy tests was immediately chopped and the metal sold for scrap and the stock thrown in the furnace. No part was recycled. At least thats the story, which might well be true considering the levels of National pride in military firearms of the day.

I've only seen one Swedish Mauser that had a visible defect, it was an early Carl Gustave, I think 1916 dated and well used.
The defect was a crack in the V of the firing pin retractor cam of the bolt. The rest of the bolt was in fine shape, and the receiver was still fine as well.
That rifle did have a very frosty bore though, worst I've seen on a 96 rifle. The owner decided to just strip it for parts rather than take any chances, especially since it really needed a new barrel and these weren't available at the time.

Had it been mine I'd have opted to lapp the bore and see how it shot before scrapping it, even if a new bolt were called for.

Swedish Iron Ores are among the most sought after for making the highest quality steels.

[6.5 mike]

IIRC, from the first 94's made by mauser until the end of production the swede's never changed the alloy that was used.

[Hang Fire]

I have found out I made a mistake, it is in fact not a 96, but a M-38. I had assumed (I know, I know) it was a 96 rifle. Even the gun shop owner listed it on the receipt as a 96 Swedish Mauser, so we were both ignorant. I have never had or even shot a Swede Mauser, so still playing catch up on learning curve. I sure appreciate all the info you knowledgeable guys have given.

Pics:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010058.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010071.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010068.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010066.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010064.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/TANSTAAFL-2/P1010062.jpg

[challenger_i]

I have only ONE thing to say, about the M38 Swede: Its DANGEROUS! Send it to me, before you hurt yourself! :-P

If you use 139-140gr jacketed bullets, with a little practice, you will be driving nails with it.
One other pointer: DON'T use 110gr hollow-points to go rabbit hunting.... Tain't nothing left, but fuzz, and ears!

Enjoy your Swede. She's going to show you a good time, Pard!

[Dutchman]

Ok, so it's a m/38 and not a m/96. You still got it for under market value.

It kinda looks like somebody has applied some linseed oil to the stock in the not too distant past but that's just from looking at the photo. The stock does not appear to have been sanded at any time, which is majorly good. It's a darn nice looking rifle.

If you're interested.... things you should get to go with it sooner rather than later:

- sling
- cleaning rod extension & chamber brush (screws to end of cleaning rod)
- maybe a bayonet/scabbard/frog if you have really dangerous jackrabbits around.
- cartridge belts are kinda cool and not expensive.

Check with Ken Buch first.
http://www.kebcollc.com/index.html
He has new Swedish bore brushes that screw onto the cleaning rod extension for $1. I just bought a dozen from him while they're available... not that I use them... just to get them while the gettin's good.

All the parts he has that are "new" are unnumbered. Husqvarna's have the least number of numbered parts and those are usually/sometimes/frequently electropenciled instead of stamped.

You might think about getting a couple/few taller front sight blades as the Husqvarna is zeroed for 150 meters using m/41 ammo. FYI m/41 ammo is capable of sub-MOA.

He has used slings for $15.

Dutch

[Hang Fire]

Ok, so it's a m/38 and not a m/96. You still got it for under market value.

It kinda looks like somebody has applied some linseed oil to the stock in the not too distant past but that's just from looking at the photo. The stock does not appear to have been sanded at any time, which is majorly good. It's a darn nice looking rifle.

If you're interested.... things you should get to go with it sooner rather than later:

- sling
- cleaning rod extension & chamber brush (screws to end of cleaning rod)
- maybe a bayonet/scabbard/frog if you have really dangerous jackrabbits around.
- cartridge belts are kinda cool and not expensive.

Check with Ken Buch first.
http://www.kebcollc.com/index.html
He has new Swedish bore brushes that screw onto the cleaning rod extension for $1. I just bought a dozen from him while they're available... not that I use them... just to get them while the gettin's good.

All the parts he has that are "new" are unnumbered. Husqvarna's have the least number of numbered parts and those are usually/sometimes/frequently electropenciled instead of stamped.

You might think about getting a couple/few taller front sight blades as the Husqvarna is zeroed for 150 meters using m/41 ammo. FYI m/41 ammo is capable of sub-MOA.

He has used slings for $15.

Dutch


Thanks Dutchman, will be checking Ken Buch out, for as you say, getting some accoutrements while they are available sounds like a good idea.

[Multigunner]

IIRC, from the first 94's made by mauser until the end of production the swede's never changed the alloy that was used.

I've read that a few of the Model 94 carbines were made using a German alloy, but the swedes then insisted that all other production be manufactured using Swedish Steel. There was something about swedish Steel containing trace amounts of copper, and Bosworth on the Rifle mentions Swedish Iron as being a Magnetic Iron Ore, whatever that meant in the 1840's.

The Germans later began importing Swedish Iron and Steel to make rifles and MGs. So ts likely many post 1896 German made rifles have the same metalurgy.