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Thanks for the video. I really enjoyed it. About 30 years ago I purchased a M-96 made in 1917. All matching serial numbers and a mint bore for $130.00. They sure have gone up in price. It's a great shooter and I'm glad I've hung onto it especially after seeing that video.

I did not like the original military sights so I mounted a 2x pistol scope on the rear sight mount. Not exactly traditional but the set up works really well.


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Originally Posted by IMR4350
Thanks for the video. I really enjoyed it. About 30 years ago I purchased a M-96 made in 1917. All matching serial numbers and a mint bore for $130.00. They sure have gone up in price. It's a great shooter and I'm glad I've hung onto it especially after seeing that video.

I did not like the original military sights so I mounted a 2x pistol scope on the rear sight mount. Not exactly traditional but the set up works really well.

They sure have gone up in price. Mine was only $350 about 3 years ago. All matching numbers as well. I was going to buy it 4 years ago for my clubs military rifle shoots, but drug my feet for a year. My buddy gunsmith put my name on the rifle to hold it for me. I went back a year later and bought it. Felt kind of bad too because I figured he would have taken my name off the rifle, but he kept it in the shop for me. I bought the rifle on a Friday and bought 3 boxes of factory ammo, a RCBS die set. Shot up those 3 boxes of ammo that Friday, loaded up some ammo that night and shot the next day in competition. Knowing it shot 11 inches or so high at 100 yards, I had to hold low on the target. Still walked away winning the event with high score overall... Love that rifle, its a good one... When researching what rifle to buy to be competitive, most guys suggested the m96 Swedish mauser as top rifle to get. They weren't lying... No regrets ever for buying that piece of history. They damn sure don't make them like that anymore.... You guys that have shot them, know what they are all about. The video is also a great representation. Thanks for posting that. I just bought 400 more 140gr match burners yesterday. Good deal at Scheels ($29.99/box of 100). I'll be using some of those in the old M96 for sure.


Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
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Originally Posted by flintlocke
They are a tad bit nicer than the Springfields...fit and finish-wise. Either is a prize. The Buffington sight, IMO is the best military sight of the era. I sure don't know how the gun experts/writers get off saying the Krags have one lug...I have owned several Krags, Springfield '96, 98, Norwegian and Danish...I have yet to see one that didn't have a front and rear lug bearing when in battery.


All Krags have one locking lug up front. The rear lug on a US Krag is considered to be a safety lug and was purposely held off about .020" from bearing against the receiver bridge. Norwegian Krags were built with that lug bearing against the steel. Some misguided folks here in the US over the years, when building custom rifles involving new or set-back barrels, have lapped the locking lug to the point where the safety lug bears too - a bad idea because that act removed the carburized (casehardened) bearing surface of the front lug exposing soft steel which promoted rapid wear and/or setback.

Neat thing about a Krag, if the front lug cracks and shears under load the bolt will never exit the gun straight back into the shooter's head. The safety lug throws/twists the bolt out to the side.


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I concede your superior knowledge on this point, I don't have an original Krag, all have been bubba ized...but shouldn't I have a serious case stretching/headspace problem if the front lug had .020 or so removed? My curiosity aroused, I just measured the 1898 Krag carbine (maybe, don't think it's a cut down)...from the rear bearing face of the front lug to the face of the bolt rim, measures .533", the bolt rim is .061" above the actual bolt face. .533 minus .061= .472". Sometime when you can spare a few minutes...would you measure an unaltered '98 and see what you find? I should have experienced some problems by now, this carbine was my father's, just a hunter, never a shooter, but I have shot this thing a lot in the 54 years I have owned it. Mixed loads, mostly cast, but maybe 600 or so rounds of 2150 fps, 180 gr roundnose. Brass life is excellent. Thanks, Flint


Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
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Sure, will do when I get home tonight. If I forget (possible!) PM me.


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I measured a '98 Krag and I get .545 from backside of lug to rim of bolt face. I don't have feeler gauges to measure the gap behind the safety lug (and I'm not running back to the shop to get them!) but it sure looks like between .010 and .020".


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Sorry to drive us into the weeds during a discussion of Swedish Mausers, fellas.

I haven't owned Swedish Mausers of any kind in 20 years. I owned a bunch but was mainly enthralled with the cartridge and the milsurps were a convenient vehicle for it. When I discovered the joys of commercial and custom rifles in that caliber 35 years ago I slowly weaned myself off of the milsurps. Nowadays my primary is a Ruger 1A 6.5x55. But this thread is stirring the old juices again. M38's and M94 carbines were always my favorites, so I'm off to Gunbroker to see what's out there!


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Apologies to all for the topic drift...but thanks Gnoahhh for your trouble, mine has surely been altered. As a matter of fact, I once believed I had an NRA 'sporter' from Benecia arsenal, which with the help of some guys on Milsurps proved to be incorrect. My rifle is what the DCM pre-war called 'school guns'...high schools and colleges back in the day bought Krag rifles for cheap...and then used their own money to convert them to something a little handier for youth shooting than a full dress Krag rifle. They had 1901 rear, 1903 band front sight, and cut down rifle stocks and sling swivels...generally.


Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
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Originally Posted by gnoahhh
Sorry to drive us into the weeds during a discussion of Swedish Mausers, fellas.

I haven't owned Swedish Mausers of any kind in 20 years. I owned a bunch but was mainly enthralled with the cartridge and the milsurps were a convenient vehicle for it. When I discovered the joys of commercial and custom rifles in that caliber 35 years ago I slowly weaned myself off of the milsurps. Nowadays my primary is a Ruger 1A 6.5x55. But this thread is stirring the old juices again. M38's and M94 carbines were always my favorites, so I'm off to Gunbroker to see what's out there!

A friend of mine told me she just bought a Tikka 6.5x55. All I can think is it is going to shoot incredibly well and she's one lucky girl!!! I love my m96, but a modern sporting rifle chambered in this cartridge sure would be slick. I don't want to say it would put a good whooping on a creedmoor, because that may offend some people. My friend also shoots a m96 just like mine in our military rifle shoots and she also has a short barreled Swede. The woman is starting to have a fine collection of 6.5x55's... Good luck with your search gnoahhh. I saw a m96 like mine yesterday, but I didn't even pick it up. Too enthralled with a M1A that was laying right next to it...


Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

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Haha. An M1A is mighty slick too, but I'll betcha the Swede would outshoot it! (Don't want to bet a lot because I may well be wrong if the M1A has been tuned by a magician! grin)

Probably the best Swede I let go of was a M41 sniper, with its scope. Snagged it for $125 as I recall, back around 1984 at a Baltimore gun show. A lot of money for one back then. The M94 carbine I had set me back $60 around the same time. I simply wasn't in a financial position to keep every neat toy, they had to eventually go to provide for newer neater toys. But I sure wish I had hung onto that M41 sniper. It would slop five rounds of late issue Swedish ball ammo into a group you could cover with a half dollar - at 200 yards. I would blush to tell you how small the 200 yard groups were with carefully concocted handloads.

Back then no American company was making 6.5x55 brass, most of my work was done with Norma stuff. I tried forming brass out of .30-06 brass and it worked, but left a major swelling of the case head after firing in a Swede chamber. Still, it kept them running, after a fashion, when dollars were tight now and then. (My other addiction was/is British sports cars. It's a wonder I survived on a diet of Campbell's soup and hot dogs - but I had some mighty neat rifles and MG's and Healeys!! Even with a good job all that stuff kept me in the poor house, and no wonder I went through two wives too!!)


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Originally Posted by gnoahhh
Haha. An M1A is mighty slick too, but I'll betcha the Swede would outshoot it! (Don't want to bet a lot because I may well be wrong if the M1A has been tuned by a magician! grin)

Probably the best Swede I let go of was a M41 sniper, with its scope. Snagged it for $125 as I recall, back around 1984 at a Baltimore gun show. A lot of money for one back then. The M94 carbine I had set me back $60 around the same time. I simply wasn't in a financial position to keep every neat toy, they had to eventually go to provide for newer neater toys. But I sure wish I had hung onto that M41 sniper. It would slop five rounds of late issue Swedish ball ammo into a group you could cover with a half dollar - at 200 yards. I would blush to tell you how small the 200 yard groups were with carefully concocted handloads.

Back then no American company was making 6.5x55 brass, most of my work was done with Norma stuff. I tried forming brass out of .30-06 brass and it worked, but left a major swelling of the case head after firing in a Swede chamber. Still, it kept them running, after a fashion, when dollars were tight now and then. (My other addiction was/is British sports cars. It's a wonder I survived on a diet of Campbell's soup and hot dogs - but I had some mighty neat rifles and MG's and Healeys!! Even with a good job all that stuff kept me in the poor house, and no wonder I went through two wives too!!)

Very nice gnoahhh. It is amazing to see what these rifles can really do with a good shooter behind them. A 200 yard group you can cover with a half dollar is very impressive. One of my favorite stories I like to tell is when a macho guy and his girlfriend showed up at the range. The guy was ex military (Marine), but younger probably 30 or so. The rifle was a nice 338 Lapua magnum all decked out. Fancy Vortex scope on top, bi-pod, end of barrel wrapped with some green material. Pretty rifle, almost as pretty as his girlfriend, who set up a spotter to look downrange at his target. I talked to them a little bit before we began to shoot. He commented on my cool old military rifle and I on his set up. So, we start shooting. I was taking my time, trying to not pay attention to them at the bench to the left of me. I think we were about 3 shots in and I heard the girlfriend say, "honey, you are going to have to shoot better than that, he just outshot you with irons"..... I looked over and she winked at me. I continued to lay down 10 shots on target, as per usual and they were all in the 10 ring, some in the X as well. When I was done, I looked over at the guys target and it looked like about a 4" 3 shot group!!!! I asked if they wanted to go down range to set up a new target , and the guy looks over at me and just says, "I'm done".. You meet all kinds at the range, haven't seen those 2 up there since.


Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

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Great video — thanks for posting! I have two Swedes, both bought in 1998 when they were plentiful. I paid $149.95 for the M96, and $229.95 for the M38. They’re fun and I’m sure glad to have them.

I like that cartridge so much that I’ve had three other rifles so chambered. I have a custom built on a G33/40 action by Roger Biesen (Al’s son) that is a favorite hunting rifle. I’ve used it on Scottish stags and Mississippi Whitetails. Another was a Winchester Model 70 Classic Featherweight now in the hands of one of my sons. I used it on a few Scottish stags. The other was one of the Swede Mausers that Kimber of Oregon sporterized years ago. They used the original barrels on the 6.5x55’s. I picked it up at a gun show. I couldn’t get it to shoot. Found a new surplus barrel at Sarco for a modest amount and had it shortened to 24” and fitted at Ahlman’s when I lived in Minnesota. It became a real shooter. My other son has it now and it’s accounted for a few Whitetails.

Last edited by WoodsyAl; 02/25/22. Reason: Added info on other rifles

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The only 6.5x55 M96 I had that disappointed me was one of the Kimber sporterized versions.

They cut and crowned the barrel, drilled and tapped for a scope base and fitted with a Ramline stock.

The unmolested military rifles shot as well or better with no scope....

It's a great cartridge that only got better with the updated bullet weight and profile.

I had high hopes for the Kimber....



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I bought one of those Kimbers a long while back to gift to a youngster I was sort of mentoring. It shot ok, not anything like I would write home to Mom about but certainly capable of its job as a deer killing tool. I chalked it up to the crappy stock which you could flex just by looking at it crossways. The kid was happy to have it and has since gone on to whack a bunch of deer with it, which at the end of the day is all that matters.

After "shopping" online for a Swedish Mauser I was all set to buy a nice M96, sticker shock be dammed. But then a nifty Stevens 44 single shot in .22WCF caught my eye for about 2/3 the same money and, well....

I guess I'm a fickle SOB!


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Yep, that Ramline stock wasn’t much. I did some work on it. I know I bedded the action, drilling several holes in strategic places so the bedding would adhere. I don’t remember for sure, but I likely opened the barrel channel too. In any event, it became a very accurate rifle. I enjoyed playing with it. It is now mainly used as a “camp gun,” that is deadly on Mississippi Whitetails.

I looked at my receipt from Ahlman’s. In 2000 they charged $40 for cutting and crowning the new surplus barrel, and fitting it with proper headspace. I was fortunate when I lived in Minnesota to be in easy driving distance of Jim Kobe, Redneck, and Ahlman’s!


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Originally Posted by WoodsyAl
Yep, that Ramline stock wasn’t much. I did some work on it. I know I bedded the action, drilling several holes in strategic places so the bedding would adhere. I don’t remember for sure, but I likely opened the barrel channel too. In any event, it became a very accurate rifle. I enjoyed playing with it. It is now mainly used as a “camp gun,” that is deadly on Mississippi Whitetails.

I looked at my receipt from Ahlman’s. In 2000 they charged $40 for cutting and crowning the new surplus barrel, and fitting it with proper headspace. I was fortunate when I lived in Minnesota to be in easy driving distance of Jim Kobe, Redneck, and Ahlman’s!

I know where there is one of those old Kimber rifles, sitting in a gun rack at a small town gunshop hardware store. The guy wants too much money because it says Kimber on it. It has the stainless finish on it and Ramline stock. Looks like a nice rifle that hasn't been shot much. Probably pretty accurate. Has the military barrel on it, or what's left of it anyway. Kimber cut them down and recrowned the original barrels.


Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.

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They were a money maker for Kimber and I hope they made a bunch of it. Given a choice between a new loss leader econo rifle from a big manufacturer and one of those Kimber Swedes I would go with the Swede simply from a historical (hysterical?) standpoint, accuracy be damned.


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Thanks for the vid they are truly amazing one of my favorite milsurps ..I load mine with 140 gr Sierra's the sights are dead nutts on..every 6.5 fan should own one !

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Just looked at my load records and saved targets. The Kimber with the new surplus barrel (and a new Timney trigger) shot well. It’s not a bench rest rifle, and I’m not the best shooter in the world. 140 grain Speers over 48 grains of RL 22 put 7 shots into 1.82” with 6 of those into 1.00”. Velocity was 2678 fps. Another load using 120 grain Ballistic Tips over 49 grains of RL 19 put 7 shots into 1.83” at 2806 fps.


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Originally Posted by FlyboyFlem
Thanks for the vid they are truly amazing one of my favorite milsurps ..I load mine with 140 gr Sierra's the sights are dead nutts on..every 6.5 fan should own one !

[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]


Interesting. I had to install a higher front sight on my M96 and then carefully file it down to zero it at 100’.


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