https://youtu.be/StQ_AcgCnag

And the 6.5x55

Thanks for posting. I am the butt, however who always has a "but'. The 6.5 x 55 was a joint development of Sweden and (gasp) Norway. If some sources are to be believed, Norway had (the 6.5 Krag) some 250,000 rifles in the hands of it's soldiers before the Swedes even got started in production with the Mauser clone. A tiny insignificant point...but this is how history gets twisted, by repeating little errors To even call it the Swede is unfair, especially considering, at least the Norwegians tried to resist the Nazi's...while Sweden sat on it's collective asses while the world went to war against the monster. Before that the 6.5 Krag caused the Brits some headaches in the Boer War. Perhaps we can compromise and officially name it the 6.5 x 55 Neutrality, If you don't like Norwegians (I see on the 'fire, Norwegians taking a lot of heat for misbehaving at WalMart, Golden Corral and robbing liquor stores)

Thanks for the new video!
It reminded me of all the model 96 and 38 rifles I enjoyed and let get away. Buy one sell to a buddy a year later and repeat...

Flintlocke
Your post reminds me of a tourist who is visiting Norway. The tourist meets Ole Olson and asks him, “Say you look like a Swede.” Ole rigorously denies it. The tourist however is convinced that Ole looks like a Swede and demands to know why he looks like a Swede. Ole replies, “Vel, I’ve been pretty sick lately!”

In one of the worst aviation disasters in Minnesota history, a Cessna 152 crashed in a cemetery near Duluth, Olaf and Sven were tasked with recovering the bodies of the passengers. As of last week they are up to 836 and counting.

A Krag in 6.5x55 would be nice.

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.

Flint, that’s good to know. I don’t recall handling a Krag

Thanks for posting.

Took a quick read + a 'moment' conjring context! Some minutes added & still chuckling.
Thanks & Best! From my now ancient teens... The gal that backed into an aircraft prop. Reportedly... "Disaster!"
JBest!'
John

Thanks for posting this video. I saw it in my list yesterday, but did not watch it until now. Makes me want to go out and shoot mine now...

Usually, its stated that Krags have only one "front lug" as opposed to twins up front. When talking of strength of action, should there be a fracture of that front lug, it will cause more danger under pressure than a 2 lug design, plus a bolt handle of other designs. That being said, I love the Krag, having a carbine, a rifle and 3 sporterized rifles.

My first swede 96 I picked up for $150 all matching numbers and already cleaned up nice by the previous owner. I was 16 years old and really only wanted to spend $100 on one, but forked over the cash. Fast forward 25 years and picked up a 2nd one and was happy to pay $450 for it under current prices from a buddy.

What’s amazing is he took a hundred year old rifle and made hits out at 1000 yards. He walked through that course rather quickly. I have watched a few of videos and he struggles with a lot of rifles and cartridges past 300 yards.

Yeah, take the time and watch some of his other reviews, I enjoy them.

I don’t believe the ammunition he used was what the sighs were calibrated for.

He said the ammo was newer and the sights were not calibrated for it. He's a good shooter. I like how quick he takes the shots.... He's great at explaining things and easy to listen to. Great video. Now I'm going to go shoot mine...

BSA,

I really like that rifle. My one and only is a custom 7x57 Jim Wisner built many years ago. A mint original is really appreciated.

Thanks Ed. I love it. I got lucky buddy. Bought it for some military rifle shoots in my area and it really does well. It's not finicky about what I feed it. I really need to work with it a little more. The last time I shot it, it did well at the matches. Had 2 master class shooters behind me watching through their spotters. After the shoot, they were both offering me money. I told them it was not for sale. That day I shot 4 matches back to back. It was fun. Somehow I managed to keep most of them in the 10 ring.. To say I love the rifle is probably an understatement. I'm just lucky my LGS hung on to it for me as long as they did. They put my name on it and a year later I bought it!!! Good guys they are.. I wish I would have gotten some pics of how the rifle shoots in that match, but this is how it did for preliminary group testing:



I'll start working with it more, now that I have a little more time on my hands. The M96 is a phenomenal rifle, from what I've experienced.. Like I said earlier. Great video. That guy is a shooter and easy to listen to. A good video for sure..

Back in my misguided youth, I had an FFL for a brief time. It was about 93 or 94…. I moved and turned in the license…

Anyway I ordered 2 Swedes in, one like the example in the video and the other was a shorter version, perhaps a 24 inch barrel. That one has a straight bolt handle. If I recall they were around $80 dealer cost.

The Swedes, I believe also had cavalry model also. To have all 3 barrel length ma would be a nice collection.

96 Carl Gustafs Stads 6.5x55mm $100 1/1/2002 I bent the bolt, drilled and tapped, and hunted with this one.
Husqvarna M/1907 380 $123 1/1/2003
Husqvarna 38 Swedish 6.5x55mm $135 1/1/2004 1942
94 Carl Gustafs Stads 6.5x55mm $80 1/1/2008 1903
Husqvarna Sakrat 22LR $75 1/29/2005
Husqvarna 22LR $85 1/29/2005
96 Carl Gustafs Stads 6.5x55mm $150 11/2/2013 1912

My grandparents immigrated from Sweden 1909.
My second cousin immigrated from Sweden 1985. He worked for Norma and can calculate internal ballistics, but is now getting patents in metrology. Other engineers that know us can't believe we are related because he is so smart, and I am just some jerk. Now he has the green card -> citizenship and buys guns. My Swedish Mausers are just as good as his.

Beautiful collection Clark, my one great regret is not being able to purchase a CG63 target rifle back in the day...ugly yes, but after having my ass handed to me in NRA Highpower by a guy shooting one, I am a believer.

Very cool collection. I also agree with flintlocke, that a CG63 would be bad azzed. I would love to have one myself. However, wouldn't expect it to shoot much better than my Carl Gustaff m96.

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.

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.

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

Sure, will do when I get home tonight. If I forget (possible!) PM me.

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".

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!

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.

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...

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! )

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.

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.

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....

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!

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.

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.

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 !

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.

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

Never touched it seems to like 140 gr pills no matter brand..

You should have been nearly 5 inches high at 100 yds at lowest 'battlesight' setting. My ammo duplicates 1973 'prickskytte' (sniping) ballistics. The D bullet is 140 grs at 2650 fps.
Your sight has been modified or you are using an extreme 6 o'clock hold.

Most of us here know that. I know this was not directed towards me, but Like I said in an earlier post, mine was shooting about 11 inches high when I first got it. That was with a 6 o'clock hold. Its funny because I watch videos on youtube and they say to use a center hold. Boy times have changed. There's no reference when you use a center hold. This is the front sight I used to get POI down to where I wanted it with a proper 6 o'clock hold:

I also agree, his front sight has been modified. He should have been more than 5" high at 100 though. The battle sights are regulated to a 300 meter zero.

Fellas thanks for your input, I do use a deep 6 hold but as I said never touched the sights ..Had it for 15 yrs at least and the sights look original without any mod even though original sights are set at 300 mtrs...There seems to be some discoloration on the tip of the blade which could be a clue since it measures about .253

The taller sight blades are usually marked. Like the one I use says +1.5. I think the base of the front sight on my rifle also says +1 or something of that nature. If you look at yours closely, it will probably have a number stamped on it.
Like others have said, your rifle would be shooting noticeably high. Even with a 6 o'clock hold. Trust me, I had to shoot 12" low to maintain the 10 ring on my first shoot. That got old pretty damn quick. I replaced the front sight ASAP. You've owned your rifle for 15 years, the rifle is probably over 100 years old. Do the easy math. Your front sight was changed out.. Dang, all this talk. I need to go and shoot mine:

Video # 2:

Barely legible but the front sight stamp reads +1 and another number i can't read...

The front sight is drifted out and replaced very easy. The sights are numbered for various heights. Carbine and rifles numbers are different from each other but the dovetail is the same. I ordered an assortment of heights and used one that got me set up for my shooting. I would expect most get changed this way. It is no big deal. The Swedish civilan and military were serious shooters, if not changed prior to import, often changed after. No harm to resale or collector value. The sights area all Swedish surplus. This is what we do. I could say more, but; your gun is all set now. You are not lucky or crazy. More par for the course than you maybe led to believe.

Yes, his gun is just fine. All the guys I know that use them and shoot short range (100 yards) have definitely changed out their front sight. Like you say, it does not depreciate the value of the rifle at all. No one is knocking his set up, as it is extremely common to find these with taller front sights. Most will buy and extra tall and then file it down until it is calibrated for a certain zero range. 300 meters, to me, for an iron sight zero is not acceptable. That is for my type of shooting though. Others mileage may vary..

I spent 40 minutes of my day watching that John. Didn't really learn anything. The girl reminds me of the woman I know in my club that has a nice collection of Swedish mausers. She knows how to shoot them too. She's actually one of the ones that talked me into buying mine. She's mad at me though, for breaking the clubs high score, which she set about 10 years ago. Its all in fun though.. The stock in the video is pretty fuggly, however they love it. It takes all kinds, they say.. I looked at my rifle yesterday. I was going to take a pic of the front sight and how its labeled "+1.5" or something to that effect, but I didn't want to take the front hood off. Its easy enough to visualize though....

Just found a Swedish Mauser bayonet and frog I knew I had somewhere. I'll offer it up here before posting it in classified. PM me if anyone is interested.

I paid $150 for a 1900 Gustafs m96 that a dealer/importer hand selected for me in the early 1990s. It is unique in that it doesn’t feature a bore condition disk but instead has a disk indicating it was issued to the Swedish Air Force. It also has the bullet conversion sighting data lacquered over on the stock. It is very accurate. When it was first taken to the range, a neighboring shooter offer to “buy that Swede” when he saw the first dime sized group, bettering his scoped-rifle group. It must have sat in the rack at the armory for most of the first 100 years as there is no significant wear to the bluing. The only defect is a bolt-sized divot on the butt stock, probably from the rifle sitting adjacent to it. I doubt that bayonets we’re issued with matching rifle serial numbers but a 20-year gun show and eBay search resulted in finding one that matched the last three digits. I think it will stay with me a while longer.

Have one I chopped but still carrying the original barrel. Most accurate rifle in the safe and I have some pretty fine ones.

6.5x55mm - alive and well in 2022.






GR

That’s nice

GR

That looks like a Ruger African.

Need any extra kidneys??😉

Agreed re the Ruger African. Good looking rifle.

Does anyone know why they went with the slightly larger base diameter.
That is the only thing that tempered my desire for one as they have always been famous for their performance on the line/in the field.

I tried to stick with things with a 0.473 diameter so I can form brass if need be.

BSA1917hunter
That is one fantastic looking receiver sight.
Substantial

Thanks LouisB. I was very lucky to find that rifle when I did and do love it. As for brass, I wouldn't let the size of the base run you off. You can find cheap brass like Privi Part PPU or even spring for some good stuff (Lapua) and it really doesn't set you back as much as you would think. As for loading the ammo, I just keep the shell holder in my die set and when I have to load some up, just pull the shell holder out and away you go. Its not really that much trouble. It would be nice if it was .473, but keep in mind this cartridge is 130 years old. Its pretty much the grand daddy of most smokeless cartridges and it is a damn fine one. Like I have said many times in different posts regarding the 6.5x55 and Swedish mauser, they were really ahead of their time. They used fast twist rifle barrels, unlike American barrels manufactured way back in the day. Check out this video. Its a good one as well, but more about how to read the stock disc on the Swedish mauser:

That's a beauty!!

In 1891 when it was developed, there was no "standard .473" rim, only the 8 x 57 in 1888 and the 7.65 x 53 in '89. That said, with usual American inattention to precision, you will find American 6.5 x 55 brass will be .473 ish anyway, at least Federal is, and I think Hornady made a few runs as well. In a Mauser action, .473 brass works fine, with a little unsightly bulge ahead of the web after firing.

In addition to some 94, 98, Husqvarna M46B's, and custom 98's, I recently acquired this Husqvarna 1640 in 6,5x55:





I started both my boys off with custom 6.5x55's when they were 8.

Gd, I saw a nice one today!! Dang near bought it, but I already have a nice one. Maybe it would keep my buddy from harassing me all the time about selling mine to him? I was out and about and ran across an all numbers matching rifle. The only downfall was someone had refinished the stock and handguard. A very fine job, but it was not all original. The steel butt plate was also polished to a high luster. Looked like chrome. When I looked down the bore, I damn near whipped out the wallet!!!! However, I had just bought a rifle a mile down the road. ha ha... The stock disc said it had a #2 bore. It looked like new. Pictures of targets with the x-ring blown out came to my mind when I saw it... I should have snapped a couple pictures for you guys. If anyone is interested in such a rifle, pm me. I'll let you know where it is. They sell on gunbroker too, so I'm sure they would ship out of state..