Got that Swedish Mauser today....

F

Futo Inu

New member
Very excited here. Well, didn't "get" it (NICS put the sale on hold - i.e. they were on a coffee break), but I paid for it and should get it tomorrow. M38 short-barreled, stamped "1" meaning good condition, and "0", meaning bore land diameter of 6.50 mm, which is pretty good, IINM. Can't wait to shoot it. Any input, this being my first "real" rifle - I consider the SKS and 10/22 carbines, not rifles.

[This message has been edited by Futo Inu (edited June 06, 2000).]
 
I bought an M38, bore condition "2", bore diameter 6.53mm about a month ago. Finally got it to the range last week. A really SWEET shooter -- fun to shoot and quite accurate, although mine shoots a little high with the 140 grain Federal Classic load. I have some work to do -- acquiring a higher front site post. Enjoy!!
 
This is a fine quality rifle! I see the safety and how the bolt/cocking mechanism works, but:

1. What is the little doohickey on the left side of the bolt that pulls out a little ways?
2. How is the cleaning rod released?
3. Should I slug the bore before firing over the counter commercial ammo, like PMC, or should I rely on the brass plate, which shows 6.50mm land diam? If the land diam is 6.5mm, or .256, then what is the groove diameter? It should be .264 or .263, no? Is there a real danger here?
 
OK, figured out pretty quickly that the latch is the bolt release, and the rod just unscrews, but now have the other questions and these too, if you know:

1. What is the semi-circle-shaped cutout on the left side of the receiver for?
2. Is it safe to dry fire this rifle? Limited; unlimited amount?

Many thanks - somehow the instruction manual hasn't managed to stay with it since 1913.
 
The half moon cut-out is a recess for your thumb when you push down to load 5 rounds off of a stripper clip. Not sure about dry firing the rifle. Do a search on Swedish Mauser and you will come up with a post from about a month ago that lists a half dozen websites for the Swede. I think there is a reference to dry-firing in one of them.
 
Thanks, Dogger. Yeah, I figured out the thumb recess thing too after looking at it. Now I wondering this. It says in a book I have "Bolt Action Rifles" that the Model 38/96 Swede was not made until 1938. So why is my rifle stamped 1913 - I suppose the reciever was made in '13, but the rifle was assembled with the short bbl in '38 or later?
 
Futo Ino:

You most likely have an M96 (rifle) that was converted to a carbine (M38). Hence, you have what is referred to as an M96/38 carbine. I believe that these conversions began in 1938. If you check carefully you may notice that not all of the serial numbers match on your rifle. If they do -- you are lucky. This is because the guns were dissassembled to convert to carbine length, then reassembled, and parts didn't always stay with the guns. My M38 is a true M38 -- manufactured in 1942 in Husqvarna Sweden. All of my serial numbers match, which is nice. On the other hand, my stock has seen some rough use, and the brass disc shows that it went into the armory for assessment at least two times. As I mentioned earlier, the bore is rated a "2". Sure shoots good though!

I have not seen an M96 close up, but many afficionados believe that the craftsmanship, steel, and wood is better in the M96 than the M38. And many afficionados say that the steel in the Swedish Mausers is the best of all the mausers.

I am pleased with my M38, although I do need to get a taller front sight post, either from SAMCO or Brownell's... It is a real pleasure to shoot with the Federal 140 grain Classic load. I intend to deer hunt with mine this Fall, provided I can develop confidence with the iron sights out to 100 yards.

Make sure you search for and find those Swedish Mauser websites in a previously posted message. They are fun to read and very informative.

Enjoy!

Dogger
 
Yeah, thanks Dogger, I've got all those websites bookmarked now. Hmmmm. Actually, ALL the serial number do match on mine, which is nice, and makes me think it was not an M96 re-configured to M38. Perhaps the receiver was made in '13, then kept around in a stockpile. Then, in '38 or later, the other parts were assembled with it and all were stamped at that time.
 
Futo Inu:
Your rifle is almost certainly what is called a M96/38b.
It probably has a straight bolt, is stamped Carl Gustaf on the reciever above the date and has a threaded barrel end for accepting a blank cartidge adaptor.
The M96 rifles were made at the Swedish Carl Gustaf works (475,000 rifles) from 1899 to 1925 and a Waffen Fabrik Mauser Obendorf (40,000 rifles) in 1899 and 1900.
If your rifle is dated 1913, it probably has a nice walnut stock. They switched over to beech (mostly) between 1914 and 1916 when their stores of walnut ran out during WWI. Apparently, they do not have a lot of walnut in Sweden. I like the old walnut stocks best of all, so this is nice.
In 1925, the world looked very peaceful, so the Swedes stopped making these rifles.
By the late thirties, it was obious that war was again immanent. Since long 29" barrels had gone out of style, some 30,000 M96 rifles were converted to to a new 24" barrel configuration by Carl Gustaf between 1938 and 1940. These are the M96/38b's, of which yours is probably one.
Finally, they decided that they did not have enough rifles, so they made another 20,000 thousand M96 rifles and 60,000 M38 rifles between 1942 and 1944, but all of these were made at the Husqvarna works. The M38's had bent bolts and 24" barrels. If yours was one of these, it whould have Husqvarna stamped on the reciever.
The Swedes were very good at keeping all the proper serial numbered parts together. You will see matching serial numbers all over you rifle, probably even the stock and hand guard if you take the action out of the stock and look in the barrel channel. The reason for this is that all these parts, though machine made, were carefully hand fitted together while in the white before final finishing and heat treatment for a near perfect fit. The parts so fitted then all had to come back together after final finishing to the same rifle. The Swedes were vey proud of their craftsmanship and rarely mismatched any parts unless it was absolutely necessay, even when they converted the M96 to the M96/38.
If your barrel has the full serial # on it, it is the original barrel. If it has only the last three digits, it is a replacement barrel. I would guess if it is 1913 and in top shape, it is a replacement, which is good if you like to shoot.
The Swedish Mausers are realy great rifles. The only thing I would criticize is the straight grip stock, which nearly everyone else abandoned for a pistol grip even bere WWI and that danged threaded barrel end. Whoever thought that one up certainly had no eye for nice looking rifles.
 
Herodotus, thanks. You are exactly right - made at Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfactori, and it's the 96/38b with the threaded 24" bbl. And yes, the last 3 digits are all over this thing, and all matching. The stock may be walnut (not sure), but it's really got a lot of nicks and scratches, unfortunately. Bluing is not so good either. But the craftsmanship is clearly excellent, as you indicated. The only other stamping is really an etching on the underside of the bbl by SamCo global. How you come to know so much about these? Oh yeah, is it OK to dry fire this rifle?

[This message has been edited by Futo Inu (edited June 08, 2000).]
 
I've got 3 Swede rifles, Steve Kehaya and Joe Poyer's book "The Swedish Mauser Rifles" and have looked over most of the Swede sites.
Another neat thing to check out is the number of tiney crowns on the stock grip behind the trigger guard. It should have at least one, when they made the rifle. Then they put another one on each time they worked on the stock. My C.G. 1908 M96 has 2 little crowns, while my Mauser Obendorf 1900 M96 has four!
Dry firing, yikes! There are two opinions on this. I was taught that it was O.K. to dry fire a center fire rifle. Others say that if you dry fire it too often, the firing pen will eventually break at the tip.
Swede firing pins are available from Gun Parts for $12.50 and that is probably cheaper than snap caps (I think NECGS makes them?), so I say that if it ever did break, it would be a cheap repair.
 
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