Hello All,

First post here. I bought a “sporterized” 1943 Husqvarna M/96 a few years ago and am finally getting around to doing some work on it. The barrel has been cut down to 24” and the stock has been shortened as well. My idea was to get a B&C stock and see if I can massage this unit into a decent looking hunting rifle, including re-contouring the barrel. So here is the question:

Does anyone know how this barrel would have been manufactured? Hammer-forged? Button rifled?

I have read differing reports on results after contouring Mauser barrels. It seems only cut rifled barrels are good candidates for contouring but can’t seem to find how these ones were made.

Thanks

If you have a 1943 vintage Husqvarna, you have an M38, not a cut-down 1896.

I'm a fan of the Husqvarna M38s, I think that they are the best of the pre-1898 style Mauser military rifles and have reworked over a dozen of them.

There are 3 things that I ALWAYS change on them:

1. Replace the trigger with a Bold or Timney unit that has an integral safety.
2. Replace the bolt shroud with a commercial style shroud that has a larger gas shield.
3. Install a Dayton-Traister cock-on-opening kit.

John Olson's Book Of The Rifle might have information on how the barrels were rifled.

I have 1943 Husqvarna that I rebarreled to 8x57 and bedded it in a B&C stock, SN 6515xx.

Talk about timely, a friend just texted me pics of his latest 96 that he contoured the barrel on. It drives tacks. I've recontoured many, IMHO, they recontour better than a Shaw barrel does!

Never felt the need for a COO conversion, seen many a fubar conversion. Too bad Ed Lapour isn't making his safeties anymore, they were a three position style shroud with large flange and a COO conversion.

You don't need all that to make one into a nice hunting rifle. But if it floats your boat, have at it.

In 1943, barrels were cut rifled. Button rifling and hammer forging came about much later.

Thanks for the replies! That’s excellent news. I am going to give it a shot and worse case, I have to replace an already cut-down barrel if it does not shoot well. I will not be looking to completely remove the step in the barrel, but if I can save a little weight by getting it closer to a medium sporter profile, this would be great. I’ll pull the barrel and set it up between centres for a run-out check before the final decision to turn it down. Just didn’t want to pull it from the action if it was not a good candidate for this. The bore looks great so hoping it turns on it well.

Definitely won’t do the cock-on-opening. Going to keep the trigger, safety, etc all original for now. If it shoots well after the barrel work, I will look at further improvements.

Thanks again

I'm too stupid to post pic's but you can get a very eye pleasing contour by tapering from the middle step to the foot of the chamber step, and then, instead of the American convex bulge chamber transition, turn a nicely radiused concave transition. I have done 4 or 5 like that and gotten some compliments. Move your steady rest very often keeping it close to the tool (HSS), use plenty of oil, I use a gravity dripper, mind the tension betwixt your centers, as it warms. I turn 'em slow and cool. I've only had one bbl bend a tad, which I easily straightened. It's very good steel.
one man's opinion.

Check headspace before pulling the barrel in case you need to set it back. I have one all-matching-numbers M96 that will allow the bolt to close on a GO gauge (but not NOGO).

Good call. Going to track down some headspace gauges just in case it needs a little adjustment. Will also figure out how to post pics so I can do a before and after. Might be a while before I can do the work but I'll post the results here.

Good luck with your build.

If a person is going to spend some money building on a pre-1898 style military Mauser action, I think that the Husqvarna M38s are the best in terms of materials and workmanship. While they retain the greatest weakness of the pre-1898 style Mausers, the small gas shield, that is only a handicap it you have a case failure or pierced primer that allows gas to escape toward the rear.

260Remguy, you mentioned on another thread that you always install a larger, commercial style gas shield. Can you point me to an option or two?

They haven't been made in years.

Brownell's used to sell them, but no longer lists them.

My Norwegian bachelor farmer friend has a stash of them for me to use whenever he wants me to put a rifle together for him. He sources the parts and I put them together. He returns the favor by allowing me to hunt on his farms in northeastern NE.