Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Need some Info. on a "Husqvarna Manlicher" rifle Imported to S&W

Hello
I am a Bit out of my Element here, as I usually only collect S&W Vintage handguns, so I am reaching out to you Husqvarna Experts. I came across a Rather Neat rifle the other day on Gunbroker.com. It is a Husqvarna Manlicher style rifle chambered in 30-06 and has an "E" stamp on the receiver. I have been hunting a while for a S&W Branded "Husky" but have not been able to locate a nice one. I saw a Sporter style S&W Branded "Husky" at a Gun show here three months ago, and it was very nice but in .243 Winchester caliber and I all ready have a rifle in that caliber so Passed on it although the seller was only asking $600.00 for it with a Vintage Redfield wide view 3-9 on it, I felt his price was very fair as the gun still showed new. I found the one shown below on Gunbroker.com in a standard auction while surfing the site.


I contacted the owner of it and asked him some questions about it, and also asked if he would provide me with a phone number, I was inclined to be a serious player on it and he responded with his number, so I gave him a call. He stated it had not been shot much, as the evidence of the bolt face shows, and that it only had some very minor handling marks on it's wood that kept it from being considered still like new. I then asked if he would offer it as a Buy it Now ? He said he would as sales of guns had been soft on guns lately so I was able to land it for $700.00 shipped to my FFL and I felt the price was fair as I have never seen one of these in Manlicher form and branded S&W.


I then surfed the Internet a bit and located a site that showed this model to be a Repeterstudsare Modell 1600H that was Exported to S&W. It has the following features of a Two piece Monte Carlo fullstock in selected walnut. Cheekrest and checkered pistolgrip and forestock, and was available in the following calibers 243 Win / 6,5x55 / 30-06 Spg, and was made from 1958-1967 and according to this guns serial number it was clearly made in the last year of it being 1967.



That was about all I was able to find out about it, and was wondering just How Many of these were Imported to S&W back in the time frame of this gun ? I was also wondering if anyone else here on the forumhas one of these, and what they could tell me about them ? I suspect it will be super accurate like all Husqvarna rifles, but I am willing to bet with it's light weight of 6.5 Pounds being a carbine, and being that it is chambered in 30-06, that it will Kick like a Jersey Mule. Thank's in advance, to anyone that can shed some light on this rifle I am anxious about it's arrival which should be sometime next week. Regards, Thegeneral.

I like it, and I'd say the price you paid was certainly fair. Recoil shouldn't be that bad.

There was quite a lot of them imported directly from Husqvarna to Canada. I can think of at least 3 same model rifles among local acquaintences. There was no S & W involvement in these rifles at the time. Is there any S & W logo on the rifle you are looking at?

I had one that appears to have been identical to yours. It was in 270. It was the HVA import for Smith & Wesson. Great rifle to carry and I have been second guessing my decision to sell it.

Hello
It is Stamped with the S&W Logo on the reciever ring. It shipped into S&W from Sweden..Thegeneral.

Hello Oldrooster
How well does your's Group ? Regards, Thegeneral

I had one of these in .243 for a while and it shot very well with just a little glass bedding (sort of what might be called "skim bedding' today) and a trigger job. I used it some for scientific collecting, but much preferred my .222 Remington Magnum. I planned to use it for my girls when they started deer hunting, but a hunting companion talked me into selling it to him.

I saw a couple of others while I was still living in Texas in the mid 1970s--both on used gun racks in small gun shops in south Texas (which is where I found mine). Never have seen another anywhere else.

Hello
I found another gun forum that has a section On Swedish rifles and asked how many S&W Branded Husqvarna rifles were imported to The United States and got a great response from a member that has collected these and kept track of how many of them were imported. Below is his response to me...Thegeneral.




Hello Member's

I had some time today to crunch the numbers regarding the S&W fullstock guns. First, a little background information for newer members. I have been keeping a database of model, caliber, and serial number of Husqvarna and Carl Gustaf (FFV) commercial rifles that I have run across over the last 20 years. From the database I can statistically derive information that has not been published, such as the rarity of certain model and caliber combinations.

For this thread I will concentrate on the Smith and Wesson fullstock guns. The S&W rifles were produced in 5 models - A, B, C, D, and E. They were made with the 1640 action (about 4,000) and the 1900 action (about 5,000). This is how the fullstock models line up: the model D has a straight comb stock and is the same as the US model 456 and the Swedish model 1600 H. The model E has a Monte Carlo comb stock and is the same as the US model 458 and the Swedish model 1600 H MC. The S&W models D and E were chambered in .243, .270, .308, and .30-06.

Of the 1640 action S&W fullstocks, 9% were model D's and 22% were model E's for a total of 31%. That means there are about 1,240 S&W fullstocks with the 1640 action. I don't have enough data points to give a percentage on caliber, but I can say that .30-06 was by far the most popular at more than twice the number of the .270 in second place with .308 and .243 well behind.

Of the 1900 action S&W fullstocks, 10% were model D's and 10% were model E's for a total of 20%. That means there are about 1,000 S&W fullstocks with the 1900 action. The .30-06 and .270 were basically tied for the most popular caliber with the .243 and .308 at about half the number of the first two

General,

Thank you for posting that information... As I continue to study these rifles, my knowledge of them is expanding expotentially. I have never seen but two S&W fullstock rifles both were on the 1640 action and both were "E"s. I own two mod "C"s and like them very much. I have an '06 and a .270. Perhaps some fine day, I can add a .308 and a .243. At least both were purchased as "C"s.

The .270 on the 1640 action I believe is actually a Mod: B as it has a Monte Carlo stock. The '06 is clearly marked on the action Mod: C and does not have a M/C stock. I had lusted after a Lwt .270 Husqvarna for a long time. So even tho' I have a strong aversion to M/C stocks, I purchased it anyway. But should I ever run across a Mod C w/1900 action, in .270... Well you know where the 1600 is going.

Hello Grasshopper
You are very welcome, I too was eager to learn more about these. As you know, there is very little on these rifles due to their low circulation being not many were imported into the States. Being a Nut for S&W's I felt compelled to add this one due to it's S&W stamp and secondly to the High quality standards of a Husqvarna. I now will have to find one with the sporter style stock in .270 Caliber. I have had Sako's in the past and although they are a Premium rifle, They fall a Little short compared to the Husqvarna's. The closest I have seen in a Sako to this was also a Manlicher stocked early 1960's Version. I had one and like a fool let it go, but the action of that gun was not as smooth as the ones found in Husqvarna's. They are just Phenomenal and I can't wait for this one to show up. I will get some Good pictures of it when it arrives and I get the Glass mounted up on it...Thegeneral.

Hello
This week has been the "Week From Hell" for me. I got a call from my FFL Guy on Monday telling me my Husqvarna Mannlicher had showed up. I sped up there all excited to see my new addition. My FFL told me when I entered the shop, I had better take a seat. I sat down on one of his shop stools and he had this real weird look on his face. I asked him "How's she Look"? He told me I have known you awhile and you are a straight up kind of guy, so I will lay it on you "Your New Rifle was Destroyed in Shipment" I said That aint even funny here. He frowned and said I wish it was not true but this gun is done. I jumped up and opened the box and my stomach felt real sick. It Looked to me as though UPS had run over my new rifle with a Fork Truck. It snapped the stock completely in half and the force was so hard the bolt would not retract in the action. I was filled with Rage when I saw this. We called UPS right then and Opened a damage claim.

I then attempted to call the seller and only got voice mail so I left a message. I also sent an E-mail to him and left a phone message that I needed to speak with him right away as the rifle he had sent was totally destroyed in shipment. I did not hear back from the seller until late Wednesday evening. Apparently he had been on vacation spending my hard earned $700.00. He assured me he would gladly refund my money once this got settled. I informed him I was not willing to wait for him to settle a claim, I wanted my money returned as I was refusing receipt of this rifle.

I went on to tell him the Box he used looked like something out of the 1960's and was NOT crush proof rated only being a single cardboard style, and all he Placed in it with the rifle was two Thin Styrofoam end pieces and peanuts. In my eyes it was no way to pack a rifle correctly for shipment across the Street let alone a 1800 Mile Ride ! He asked if I had started a damage claim and I assured him that I did, but as the Buyer UPS was not going to do much with me as HE was The Shipper and Owner of it.

This dragged on all week, and I was about at the end of my rope with it, when UPS called yesterday and said they were coming up to view the damages and to get a Damage claim started. I met with the guy and could see right off the bat he could care less about my loss here. After he took a Gazillion Pictures of it and finished making out the damage claims form, he had The Ball's to ask me if I was satisfied with the way UPS handled my claim ? I had been real cool through this whole mess, but my emotions were now taking over.


I asked why it took them 4 full business days to get up there to start the damage claim process ? His response was that they had just hired a new person in claims and she was not familiar with their system or did not know how to Properly file this claim so that was why it took this Long. My response was "Fire Her" in today's world there are far too many people out of work to put up with Total Lameness like This ! He then asked what he could do to ease the tension here ? I told him at this point, I feel UPS is "The Worse in The shipping Business" That got him Motivated as I asked that he call the seller of this rifle so the guy would let loose of my $700.00 as I the buyer had nothing to do with the Packing nor shipping of this rifle, and it was their Lame Ass handling that caused all this.


He did call the owner and assured him they would indeed pay for the damages so on Tuesday, the seller has agreed to send back my funds. In the man time, I Located a replacement rifle for this one. It is Not a Mannlicher style, but an Unfired Sporter Husqvarna rifle Branded S&W also in 30-06 and cheaper than this one was. The seller of that has agreed to hold it until I can send him my refund from this one... This has changed my mind forever on shipping anything with UPS, and if the Pictures below don't change your mind about how they handle a package good Luck to ya is all I got to say here..."This was done with Brute Force, and who ever did it, Dang well Knew they did it"... Thegeneral.











[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/hammerdown-7/Grips037.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v258/hammerdown-7/Grips038.jpg[/img]

Hello
As I said in my Previous Post, I have Located an Unfired Husqvarna Sporter rifle in 30-06 Caliber. It too, is S&W Branded. I Bought it without the scope it is shown with below, as I all ready have a Vintage Weaver K-12 to set on this rifle when it shows up. The seller of it is very Compassionate and fully understand's my situation here, so it is set aside, packed and addressed awaiting shipment to me. It was in an Auction and when I contacted him and told him what had happened to my First Husqvarna rifle in shipment, he ended the auction right then. There are still some Good People out there to be found... This one is Packed in a Plastic rifle Hard case and will be coming through the U.S.P.S. as I am done with anything to do with UPS after what they have done... he assured me that this one looks as it did the day it left Sweden without one mark on it, and Unfired since it left the factory. I Guess, there is "a silver Lining in every storm could", and a reason for everything as twisted as all this sounds I will still be getting a nice rifle in the end, But sadly a Gorgeous Rare Husqvarna Mannlicher Rifle was Forced to it's Death by an IDIOT and Poor Handling now not even Good for Parts...Thegeneral.

I'm continually amazed at the lack of effort that many people put into packaging stuff. Not sure why I'm amazed since most people are [bleep] stupid.

Hello Steelhead
I fully agree, but with the Blow & Force this rifle suffered, Nothing would have saved it. I figure it was either driven over by a Fork Truck or placed on an angle on a Loading dock, Then backed into by a Big truck. Like I said, "Who Ever did this, Knew they had done it"... Thegeneral.

Yeah, that packaging was pretty poor.

When you get something form me your gonna think I was sending something with a Fort Knox packaging.

A gun getting destroyed makes me want to vomit.

I did forget to mention that I will NEVER, EVER ship via UPS either. USPS mostly but Fedex has been decent to me of late. I always double box them, with lots of extra stuff to boot.


Below is what a Mannlicher Husqvarna looks like when shipped properly....

Do you suppose its antigun people that know whats in the package and tend to destroy it....just because?

I think it's piss poor packaging, laziness and pure stupidity.


Lots of folks want to give credit to lots of folks when in reality it's pure stupidity 99% of the time. Folks just ain't that smart.

Hello Tom
I agree. I pack all stuff shipped to be Bullet proof. In my eyes, the seller of this had no right to even have such a nice rare gun in his hands. It was apparent he wanted my $700.00 and did not give a Hoot how the package arrived. The Kicker is, he only placed $600.00 Insurance on it, so right off the bat he will be out $100.00 and I don't feel a bit sorry for him as I feel the Insurance bracket break off was at $600.00 that is why he did not place more. It aint as though I did not pay him enough to ship this rifle as I paid $50.00 for it, and I further suspect the Insurance carrier will be in a Pissing match with him over his Dumpster style box of preference used here... Thegeneral.

I like your new one better, but the rest of the story is a train wreck. Glad it worked out.