Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sporterized swedish mauser question...

I am looking at this gun...

Sporterized M38 � receiver ring marked Carl Gustafs 1904. Has a 22 inch barrel with a commercial front sight and a Lyman receiver sight installed.

All numbers match, and the bore good.
The gun should be VG+

Are these a good model to start with when getting into the old guns???

How do the M38 the M96 and the M98 compare for design, strength, and over all quality???

thanks...

the Swedes are as good as it gets for old guns. they are one of the very few guns designed around a particular cartridge.

they are strong, but the gas handling system lacks, so they are not good for testing upper load limits.

they are usually very accurate.

I have loaded for one of these. If memory is correct, that model '38 lacks the 3rd recoil lug under the bolt and has more spring to it than the model 98 Mauser. This makes it less strong than the '98 but still a fine rifle if you load accordingly
JW

Mr. tikka3006:
We started to see quite a few surplus Swedes in the part of Canada I lived in starting in the early �80�s or thereabouts. I�ll note up front that I�m not a trained gunsmith, just a semi-serious student of the gun, rifles in particular.

Since that time I believe that I�ve played with at least 4-6 of the Model 96�s, one for my father which he passed to our daughter and the rest for friends. I�ve looked at quite a few other �96�s and �38�s as well, but at gun shops or gunshows, so it was a brief exam to be sure.

I�ve never been able to see any difference in cosmetic fit, finish or overall workmanship between the two models. As Mr. toad noted and I concur, they do not have the gas handling capability of a �98.

I�ve heard of some �96�s which had soft receivers and subsequently had the bolt lugs set back into them, but to be clear I�ve never seen one myself.

The barrels can be quite hard to take off on some. I have a �96 hanging in my shop that the action was bent and a small chip cracked off of the right (?) feed rail when the fellow tried to remove the barrel. For sale cheap � one 18�� factory Swede barrel turned down to Model 70 Featherweight contour. Must sell with action � can�t remove!

The triggers are to me a bit better than the average military trigger on say a �98, perhaps not much lighter, but a crisper feel to my finger. One can replace the spring and improve the pull somewhat as well, but it will still have the military two stage workings.

The ones I�ve played with all shot quite well with a bit of stock tuning. Not benchrest accuracy, but certainly good enough to hit a deer�s chest at 300yds.

Hopefully that was some use to you. Good luck with your upcoming hunts.

Regards,
Dwayne

Picked up one of the Kimber Of America Swede 96 rifles that they modified about 10 years(?) ago. They did a nice job, all matching numbers, new safety,barrel cut and tapered, drilled and tapped and synthetic stock. This gun flat shoots, 156 Norma Alaskan and 140 Trophy bonded into sub MOA groups. Neet gun!




This is an article that I found about them,

Kimber of America Sporterized Swedish Mauser
Jon Y. Wolfe

I recently stumbled on a Swedish Mauser 6.5x55, sporterized by the original, now defunct, Kimber of America, out of Clackamas, Oregon. Because of the price, condition and a bit of curiosity I decided to bring it home. Kimber of America sporterized many Swedish surplus rifles, purportedly as a way to pay their way out of financial distress. These rifles show up at gun shows, pawnshops and gun stores in my area from time to time. A search on the Internet will yield guns for sale at various locations throughout the country. Kimber of America would import these military rifles and rebarrel them to more traditional American calibers, or if the barrel was in good condition and the rifle had acceptable headspace, the original barrel and 6.5x55 chambering was left intact.
The rifle I have still has most of its original parts including the barrel, receiver, floor plate, trigger, bolt and other small parts. The barrel was turned and shortened to 22 inches to remove the step down and then finished with traditional high gloss bluing. The bolt was also turned down and scalloped-out to provide clearance for the scope. A two-position Buehler type safety was added and material removed from the cocking piece to make room for the Buehler safety Allen screw. The trigger was also fine tuned to about 4 pounds, but I intend to replace it with a Timney to remove the two-stage pull that is standard for military triggers. The original military stock was replaced with a Ram-Line synthetic stock. The total weight of the rifle without the scope is 6.8 pounds.
The rifle was also drilled and tapped for scope mounts, as the iron sights were removed during the sporterizing process. The butt stock terminates in a 1 inch rubber recoil pad, with the stock inletting having an exceptionally tight fit with the receiver. It has detachable sling swivel studs, checkering and is well shaped for use with a scope. The barrel is free floated in the stock with a reasonably even and consistent gap down the barrel channel. The barrel tapers to .68 inches at the muzzle, which is fairly thick for a sporting rifle, but this diameter has proven to be very accurate and the muzzle is crowned at roughly 15 degrees. These modifications would easily cost in excess of $300 if done by a competent gunsmith and Kimber did a satisfactory job on all modifications. Rifles sporterized by Kimber are usually priced between $300 to $400, depending on condition, and in my opinion represent a very good value.
I chose to write this short article describing my experience with this rifle because after mounting a scope, sighting-in and hunting with it this past season I discovered that this rifle was a real gem. Not only is it lightweight, accurate and handy, but it is an ideal hunting rifle for the various game and conditions I encounter while hunting. At the bench, I had little difficulty holding 1.5 to 2 inch groups with Winchester Power Point and Sellier & Bellot hunting ammunition using 140 grain and 131 grain projectiles respectively. I also noticed that barrel heating caused little change in the point of impact. In fact, my last 3-shot string with a warm barrel produced the best group of the day, measuring .75 inches center to center.
This rifle has become my main deer hunting rifle and has proven to be one of the finest hunting rifles I have ever owned. The 6.5x55 Swedish cartridge is one of the most sensible cartridges for hunting North American non-dangerous game and more information on this cartridge can be found on the Rifle Cartridge Page. I have taken two large bodied white tail deer with this rifle this year and I can attest to the fact that penetration is exceptional with bullets ranging from 129 to 140 grains and the exit wound is not excessive.
There is little to say except that this little rifle has turned out to be a very pleasant surprise and will continue to be my first choice for short and long range white tail deer hunting for years to come. My hope is to find an accurate handload using the Hornady 129 spire point, or SST with a velocity of at least 2700 fps. With that load, I should be able to have a maximum point blank range of roughly 260 yards with the bullet striking 2.7 inches high at 100 yards, 1.3 inches high at 200 yards and 1.9 low at 250 yards. That does not leave a lot to be desired, delivering excellent sectional density, plenty of downrange energy, ideal bullet weight, low recoil, limited muzzle blast and reasonable velocity

i had one of the kimbers in 308 that would shoot a ragged hole. i think i paid 350 bucks for it and used a dowel and sand paper to open up the barrel channel.
i sold it to a buddy who still uses it and loves the thing.

I currently have 3 Swedish Mausers in 6.5x55 and think that they are fine rifles, if used with factory ammo or reloaded at less than "max +".

I would strongly advise having your 'smith install a Dayton-Traister cock-on-openning kit,a Timney trigger with a side-safety, and a Wolfe firing pin spring.

The Swedish 1896 family of small-ring pre-1898 Mausers are considered to be the best of the bunch by any number of experts in such things. They don't have the 3rd/safety locking lug and the larger gas shield of the 1898s, but when was the last time that you broke a locking lug or had a case seperation?

Jeff

If you have an original all matching 94, 96 or 38 DO NOT mess with it. They shoot fine out of the box and are gettting to be worth serious $. Wonder why a mint interwar 1903 or 98K are worth so much money? Because all too many were "sporterized", some excellent most terrible.If you want a 6.5/260, buy a CZ, M70 or 700 and leave the originals for future generations to enjoy.
Two examples: a 100% correct 03' military and a very fine R.F Sedgley 03 sporter in 400 Whelen. Guess which one is worth the value of a half dozen 700s?





Answer: both, because the latter belonged to a guy with a boat named "Pilar"

Kimber Swedes show up fairly often GB and AA.

READ THE ORIGINAL POST!

The rifle in question has already been sporterized. It isn't in its original configuration, so its collector's value is nil.

Who is the guy with the boat and why does his ownership increase the value?

Jeff

i think Pilar was Ernest Hemingway's boat.

because he walked on the water and therefore I take it that it means he owns everything............

Pilar was John Waynes' wife, the last one that is.

JW

Yep.

I've been meaning to pick one of these up. The 6.5x55 is an awesome round, and the M96 a classic for sure.

As has been pointed out, they're not as strong as a '98 so you don't have that margin of safety if you like to push the envelope on reloads. If you're a conservative guy who likes loads that'll "just" punch hole in stuff, you're good...

Perhaps you should read the post. He is "looking" he doesn't have it. My caution was not to modify an excellent original.

Who owned "Pilar" (now on display in Havana, Cuba)? Well back in ancient times when I went to school we read "The Old Man and the Sea" in 8th grade and most of his other stuff in High School & College English Lit.

Neat old boat that caught a lot of big Marlin in its day.
Here's a pic of a nice model of it.



Somewhere I have a pic of him with the Whelen (pre Turnbull restoration). After Elk season I'll post it here.

Please save the screaming about restoration as I'm from the British school on that subject. Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun.

In OZ one should remember:
" Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

Since the original post referred to a sporterized rifle, warning him not to sporterize a rifle in original condition was sort of a, uh, useless excercise.

The best shot that EH ever took was probably his last.

I've yet to see a military rifle that I considered particularly attractive.

Jeff

I bought my son one of the Kimber/Swedes when they first became available something like 10 or 12 years ago. The original workmanship as well as the work by Kimber is quite good. The rifle shoots Federal and Norma factory ammo as well as my handloads using 140 grain NPs into groups that average less than 1.5 inches. He still has the rifle and it quickly became his favorite.

Jeff, Ernest did a fair amount of hunting and probably took more species in different places than you and I will ever see.
Because a man suffers severe depression and takes his own life is hardly the subject for an infantile smart ass remark.

As promised, dug out the pic of EH with the 400. We had to change the bolt handle and safe as the Leupold is lower than the old Zeiss and replaced the damaged barrel band as well. Total rerust blue and stock redone as it was whupped. A "restoration" in the British tradition, keep whats good and fix the rest.
That's why you'll find twist steel Holland & Holland 12 bores that are Nitro proofed and look like they were made yesterday.

Besides suffering from mental illness/depression, he was also an alcoholic. The mental illness/depression and alcoholism must have run in the family, as his grand daughter, Margaux, also committed suicide.

That said, I've had my fill of alcoholics and can't find it in my heart to feel sympathy for a wealthy celebrities who escape from the stress of their success via drugs and alcohol.

Jeff