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Thread: Successful cast bullet shooting with Swedish Mausers

  1. #1
    Boolit Master

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    Successful cast bullet shooting with Swedish Mausers

    I've been shooting the Swedish Mauser since 1964 or 65. It was a m/1894-14 carbine dated 1932 and with the highest known serial number I've seen or heard 113150. Having fun with this carbine is what led me to buy a Carl Gustaf m/38 in 1969 for the high price of $65. The bolt handle had been forged but nothing else was done to it.

    Starting in 1969 I began handloading 6.5x55 mostly with Winchester or Hornady 100 gr jacketed to around 3,000 fps. It was very fast and very flat shooting and would kill coyote deader than dead. In the ensuing years I've loaded every bullet available from 77 gr Norma soft point to Hornady 160 gr RN. I'm very fond of the Hornady 160 gr RN.

    Cast bullet loading in 6.5x55 didn't start until about 20 yrs ago with purchased .266" Loverin 266469. It wasn't spectacular or encouraging. What improved my efforts in this caliber was this forum. Knowledge improved performance.

    First off not every Swedish Mauser has a barrel that will provide outstanding accuracy. And its the barrel that determines, to a great degree, how that rifle will respond when fed cast bullets.

    I have owned 30 or so Swedish Mausers. From m/96 with new condition barrels to a particular 1902 Gustaf m/96 that has NO rifling left, completely shot out. How is it that such a rifle escaped Swedish military maintenance? Easy answer to that.

    When all the Swedes were imported into the U.S. and elsewhere, most of those rifles came out of military stores. Many of those rifles were rebuilt prior to storage to include new barrels and new stocks. They are generally tight and crisp rifles and will make you happy. But many rifles came from the various Swedish shooting clubs, FSR, and those rifles escaped military inspection and maintenance. Some of them were shot to death, literally.

    Somewhere in between shot-to-death and like-new will be your rifle. How do you assess the condition of your rifle's barrel? Slugging the barrel will give you the numbers, bore and groove. Pin gauges will tell that land diameter at the muzzle but the real inspection comes from your eyes.

    I separate a 29" barrel into 3 sections, the 10" at the breech, then the middle 10" and then the muzzle end 9". Many Swede m/96 will have very worn barrels to the point that the lands are very rounded in the breech end and some barrels will show only a hint of rifling in the breech end. I have a couple rifles like that.

    This rifle was outfitted with a Tasco 3x28 handgun scope. On the outside its a very decent rifle. But the bore is very worn at the breech end. Shooting .266" Loverin 266469 with a light charge of Unique. That's a 1" group, the best it would do. I've not worked further with this rifle because of the poor bore. But later this summer I'm going to shoot it with Lyman 266673 .266" and Ideal 266469 .268". Powder change will remain on the light side to maximize accuracy potential. Instead of optical sights I'm going to install the diopter target sights as they offer an advantage over optical sights in a way I can't really explain but it has to do with error and math.

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



    A different rifle, an Oberdorf m/96 dated 1900 that I call my FrankenSwede because I put it together from parts. The bore looks VG but the shooting was VP (very poor). And this was with a 7x long eye relief scope on the rifle. At 50 yds that's not a group its a pattern.



    Shot with my m/38 Carl Gustaf with 6-18x44 Tasco target scope. This is what a Swedish Mauser can do if you start to put together the right ingredients.



    This is how you eliminate error when testing handloads. This is the 1915 Carl Gustaf m/38 I bought in 1969.


  2. #2
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Good post
    Don Verna


  3. #3
    Boolit Master

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    These next two targets are very interesting. Same rifle, same shooter. Different cast bullets. Top target is with Loverin .266" and 10.5 grs Unique. The lower target shot with the Lee Cruise Missile 170 gr with 13.8gr 2400. There's a bit of a corkscrew effect if you could see them fly.

    I've said before, I'll say again. Take that Lee 170 gr two cav mold from Midsouth and throw it out in the street and sit back with a beer and watch trucks run over it. The two molds to use are 266469 or 266673.





    You have to follow basic handloading protocol with these rifles. Inspection of the cases and those should be proper dimensional cases. I use Norma exclusively and have since the beginning as that's all there was available.

    I've had excellent accuracy with .266" but when I found the older Ideal two cavity mold for 266469 on ebay I snagged it and it makes beautiful boolits. It drops bullets at .269/.270 sized to .268" in a special made die.



    Lyman 266673


    I load to touch the rifling and I use a shop-made version of the Stoney Point tool. With 266673 the nose never did touch anything yet it shot 5 into 1 hole at 50 yds.



    The oft repeated advice to keep velocity to 1,500 fps is good advice. The twist rate of the Swedes is 200mm. One turn in 200mm. (close to 7.8"). Don't try and buck those with successful results. Work with 1,500 fps knowing its capable of excellent accuracy.

    Dutch

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    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	303108 Great post. I put together a 6.5x55 Swede using a Turkish Mauser action and a 6.5 barrel from Numrich. I've only had it to the range once, and it shot surprisingly well. The photo is a 10 shot string at 50 yards. I pulled the one low shot. The rest went into less than an inch. This was off the bench with the Lyman #266673 (sized .266") and 14.0 grains of 2400. I'm going to make a trip to the range next week and try out the same load again, plus loads with 18.0 grains of AA-5744 (lowest load for that powder in the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook at around 1600 fps) and see how they shoot. Dutchman's previous posts about keeping loads at around 1500 fps is paying off. I can hardly wait to see if the 5744 loads are as good as the ones with 2400.
    Last edited by 405grain; 08-13-2022 at 12:15 AM.

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    ............Dutchman, Yeah I remember back in the 90's when Europe, was emptying their warehouses of military antiques. Found a decent market in the States, didn't they? I had an 01 FFL for close to 20 years and it was well used from the early '90's to about 2002. Those $39 Rooski's and $89 Chinese SKS's are going for a tad more these days.

    IIRC I had a hand in helping to develop that 170gr Lee mould We had to do SOMETHING to get'em to shot cast . All I have left of the Swedes is a nice M38 Husky. Only 2 Rooskies remain. An M44 and a M98-30. Also gone except one are the Turk Mausers that were $38 per. Glad to see someone out there still pushing cast in the old Milsurps.

    ...........Buckshot
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    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    Really enjoyed rigs thread - have been thinking a 6.5 Swede might be a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing.

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    Boolit Mold
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    I found my M1896 prefers IMR 4227 father than 2400.

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    Dang, I have to drag out my M96 and Cruise Missile mold and start shooting again.
    Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!

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    My two Swedes shoot lead just fine. I tumble lube with Lee Alox. Once before sizing and adding the gas checks and then one again afterwards.

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master


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    My nicest Swede, in basically new condition. It is a fine cast bullet shooter.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Larry Gibson

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  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    Would love to have a swede, but have never bought one. I have dies, and keep telling myself one of these days.
    Great write up, and I will draw my brother's attention to it, as he shoots cast in his.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    I use the RCBS 140gn Silhouette bullet, gas checked to .265 in my arsenal refurb 1915 CG Model 96.Click image for larger version. 

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    ukrifleman

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    Just tested some cast loads with my scoped M-38 at 100Y. Not bad, I'm happy with less than 1.5 MOA!

  14. #14
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    I bought 1800 of the wooden Swedish blanks for $50. I pulled the wooden heads and began experimenting with the Lyman 266673 and the powder that came in the blanks. I found it's burn rate around the same as 2400. There's 23 grains of the blank powder in each blank. I finally arrived at a load of 19 grains of the blank powder with the Lyman boolit. Shoots great (3-4 inch groups at 200 meters) and fast. Only downside is the powder is dirty, but since the primers are corrosive anyway, the rifle gets cleaned same day as it's shot, no excuses.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    Thanks so much for this great post! Got my Swedish M96 from Cabelas about 3 years ago and am planning on shooting it this year. I have 3 bullet designs; the Lyman 266673 and an NEI with two different cavities in the same mold. The one bullet is 130 grs. and the other is 160grs. The 160 gr. I think will be interesting as replicates the exact dimensions of the original 1894 round-nosed loading. Thanks again for a great post!!!.......................

  16. #16
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by dogmower View Post
    I bought 1800 of the wooden Swedish blanks for $50. I pulled the wooden heads and began experimenting with the Lyman 266673 and the powder that came in the blanks. I found it's burn rate around the same as 2400. There's 23 grains of the blank powder in each blank. I finally arrived at a load of 19 grains of the blank powder with the Lyman boolit. Shoots great (3-4 inch groups at 200 meters) and fast. Only downside is the powder is dirty, but since the primers are corrosive anyway, the rifle gets cleaned same day as it's shot, no excuses.
    FYI... they are not "blanks". And the powder is not "blank" powder. And they are not corrosive primed. The reason I emphasize this is because so many American handloaders get their eyes crossed when talking about USGI "blanks" which used a bona fide blank powder. This is not the case for Swedish military ammunition.

    Gevärsexerciskrut 1 = rifle practice powder #1 (weighs very close to Unique)

    The following translated from Swedish by former sergeant in Swedish army.

    6.5mm Lös patron m/94. (blank m/94)
    Uses reloaded cases. The bullet is a hollow wooden one which disintegrates
    after it leaves the barrel. A very fast powder called "Gevärsexerciskrut 1
    is used. The cartridges are packed in boxes containing 10rounds on
    strippers. The boxes have have green labels. The boxes (without linen
    straps) are packed in green wooden cases m/68. The cases are not steel lined
    and the lids are fastened with screws.

    6.5mm Kammarpatron m/12 (gallery practice round m/12). <----what I use..
    Uses reloaded cases, no crimping of the bullet. A tight fit is possible due
    to the fact that the bullet is slightly oversized compared to the case neck.
    The bullet is made of wood and has a cupro-nickel jacket. The muzzle vel. is
    300meters /sec. Due to it's limited mass and velocity the bullet is harmless
    over 200 meters range. The powder is of the same type used in the blanks.
    The cartridges are made at Marieberg. The cartridges(without strippers) are
    packed in paper boxes containing 100rds. The boxes have blue labels. The
    boxes, are packed 27 in cartrigde case m/05. The case are steel lined and
    with a soldered lid. The wooden lid is attached with screws.

    I use a Lyman M die size .26 for .266" cast bullets and a .268" expander made by NOE for the .268" Ideal 266469. All are crimped via Lee factory crimp die, fairly light crimp.

    Some comparisons I did using Lee dippers:



    Dutch

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    How come none of you all are shooting that 130 grain Kurtz designed by that banned member. That fellow from Michigan cut the molds I believe. It's really a pretty good shooting bullet in not only the Swede, but other 6.5's.

    Buckshot you mentioned you had a hand in that 172 Cruise Missile. Wasn't it an old memeber named Oldfellow requested it to be designed? Dutchman those later Cruise Missile molds from Midsouth were way way to fat. The original dropped at .268-.269 with the right alloy.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by TD1886 View Post
    How come none of you all are shooting that 130 grain Kurtz designed by that banned member. That fellow from Michigan cut the molds I believe. It's really a pretty good shooting bullet in not only the Swede, but other 6.5's.

    Buckshot you mentioned you had a hand in that 172 Cruise Missile. Wasn't it an old memeber named Oldfellow requested it to be designed? Dutchman those later Cruise Missile molds from Midsouth were way way to fat. The original dropped at .268-.269 with the right alloy.
    I purchased 500 of the original Cruise Missiles from Gardner's Cache. They sized them .267".

    I prefer heavy cast bullets in most all rifles. There's not a lot of leeway with the 6.5 as far as weight goes. The 140 Loverin is the lightest bullet I want to shoot. I've had good luck with the Lyman 266673 @ 153 grs.

    Dutch

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dutchman View Post
    I purchased 500 of the original Cruise Missiles from Gardner's Cache. They sized them .267".

    I prefer heavy cast bullets in most all rifles. There's not a lot of leeway with the 6.5 as far as weight goes. The 140 Loverin is the lightest bullet I want to shoot. I've had good luck with the Lyman 266673 @ 153 grs.

    Dutch
    Have you seen the new LEE 6.5 mold? Look here:

    https://leeprecision.com/mold-dc-c266-140-rf

  20. #20
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    "I've said before, I'll say again. Take that Lee 170 gr two cav mold from Midsouth and throw it out in the street and sit back with a beer and watch trucks run over it."

    Sage advice for the "Cruise Missle" bullet. My experience with that bullet reflects the same opinion........
    Larry Gibson

    “Deficient observation is merely a form of ignorance and responsible for the many morbid notions and foolish ideas prevailing.”
    ― Nikola Tesla

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