A few questions regarding my 6.5 x 55 Mauser

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Eat more possum

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Okey dokey, I have this Swedish Mauser that looks to me like it is a nice rifle in nice shape. It is a Husqvarna, Ser # 6551XX, mfg in 1942. The numbers on the action, the bolt, bolt handle, cocking piece, magazine floorplate and the buttplate all match. The number on the bolt release lever does NOT match. The bore is in very good to excellent condition as are the chamber and throat(I was an armorer in USMC and looked at thousands). The stock is in good condition, with some handling, use and carrying marks and a chip maybe 1/2" wide by 1/8" deep near the buttplate. The blueing is 95% or better on the action, barrel and furniture. Cleaning rod is present, but no sling and no cleaning kit per se. No bayonet, but I ASSUME the forwardmost hole in the front barrel band is a mounting lug.

There is a round brass medallion on the right side of the stock that has two concentric rings of lettering followed by some mysterious (to me) numbers and symbols. The inner ring reads: Torpedam 1106. There are very small heart shaped symbols over each numeral 1. The outer ring reads Overslag 1 Str 325432. The brass medallion has three dividing lines making it into a "pie" with odd shaped pieces. If you look at the medallin as a pie, the first piece has on the inner ring the numeral 1 with a small heart insignia over it. The outer ring has numeral 2 3. The second piece of the pie has on the inner ring numerals 9 0 1, with a small heart insignia over the numeral 1. The outer ring has numerals 2 3 4 5. The third piece has on the inner ring the letters Torpedam and the outer ring Overslag 1 STR. What I am describing as the 1 between Overslag and STR could be an L in a different script?

Now for the questions:

1. What the heck is this brass medallion about and what does it mean?

2. I am smart enough to know the mostly matching numbers are a good thing. Any ideas why the mismatch on the bolt release lever? Do the mostly matching numbers positively affect the value of this piece? How big of a deal is the mismatch on the release lever?

3. There is a stamping on the left side of the barrel near the muzzle, a part of which is too small to be legible to my aging eyes. The part I cannot make out is something like: x## xx. z& IL The part I can read is M38 SWEDEN 6.5x55. Any ideas on what it is I can't see and what it might mean?

4. Are there bayonets available for this rifle? Where? How much dinero?

5. The standard military trigger is O.K. if you are used to the B.R.A.S.S. method of firing, but I wouldn't mind an aftermarket improvement for decent money. Any recommendations that are appropriate for self installation?

6. I just ordered a MOJO rear sight based on a recommendation from another user on TFL. My only concern (which I was willing to risk $35 on) relates to the MOJO method of holding zero. Can anybody speak to that?

7. Any recommendations for slinging this rifle? It has fixed sling swivels. I do intend to begin using it in the field.

8. Any suggestions for locating cleaning kits that would complement the originality of this piece?

9. I am not familiar with the field or detailed stripping and cleaning procedure for this piece. Any suggestions for locating this type of information would be greatly appreciated.

10. Should I load for this rifle conservatively or is the 1942 Husqvarna action and barrel up to some of the more aggressive modern loading recipes?

Many thanks to any and all who respond to this admittedly long and probably over detailed and confusing post.
 
I can help a little bit...

The brass marking disk relates to the bore condition, among other things. The smallest pie wedge, with the numbers 1, 2, and 3 represent the grading of the bore. That heart shaped marking is actually a triangle stamp that indicates the number at it's point. The numbers actually go from 0 to 3, but to denote 0, they simply didn't mark any numbers at all. A "0" bore is actually a brand new barrel. "1" is near new, "excellent", while "2" is "good", and "3" is "fair". After "fair" they replaced the barrel. The Swedes were overly conservative in their bore rating, my "2"-marked 1917 Carl Gustaf M96's bore looks like a mirror finish with sharp rifling, for example.

You'll see two numbers on the disk, a larger and smaller value. These are the bore dimensions, lands and grooves, in millimeters, obviously.

I haven't quite gotten a good reading on the other sets of numbers in the biggest pie slice, I've heard throat length, headspace, etc. I'm hoping our TFL family can pick up on this glaring omission in my Mauser knowledge.

I'd have to look this up, too, but if I remember correctly, Torped Overslag refers to the calibration of the rear sights to account for the newer, lighter spitzer loads that came out after the M96 and it's original 158gr loads. Your M38 probably didn't have one, but there was also either a plate or decal that was affixed to the M96 Swedes to allow the shooter to make sight corrections for the "new" ammo.


The forwardmost hole in the front barrel band is the detent hole to attach your bayonet, you are correct.

The mismatch on the bolt release is fairly common, I'm assuming it was something that happened at 5th echelon depot repair. My otherwise 100% matching 1917 Carl Gustaf also has a mismatched bolt release.

The stamping on the barrel near the muzzle is the importer's mark, as required by the BATF. It should actually read something like CAI ST. ALB VT, or whoever actually was the importer, to include Samco, Century Arms, etc. It's the import mark that some collectors use as a basis to adjust the values of these guns, you'll see prices are typically lower when they're import marked.

Bayonets are easy to come by, and not too expensive. Try samcoglobal.com, or cheaperthandirt.com, or some of the other surplus gun places like Sonja Ellison. You're looking for a bayonet that has a tubular metal handle and an angled latch button on the heel, as compared to other Mauser bayonets with wooden scales and push button releases.

The two-stage trigger is actually pretty good, but if you must have an aftermarket version, Timney and Bold are two suppliers, as well as Dayton-Traister. The Timneys are easy to install, I can't speak for the others.

The original GI slings are out there, as are good reproductions. Again, try the surplus places listed above.

As for loading, load only what the books say is safe for the Model 96 Swedish Mauser action. It's a Small Ring Mauser, having only two locking lugs with no safety lug, and was never intended for rounds more powerful than the original 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser chambering. If you want to run hotter stuff, like 8mm Mauser, .308 Winchester, .30-06, or .35 Whelen, go for the Model 98 Large Ring Mauser, or better yet, a modern Remington, Winchester, or Sako action.
 
Thank you Gentlemen

Most informative and helpful. Now can anyone help with information regarding cleaning kits to use with the rod supplied on the Rifle? And I would still like to access instructions for field and detail strip of this piece. If anyone can help it would certainly be appreciated.
 
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