[leadcounsel]

I'm interested in a source for these, and a price.

Anyone have a good source or sources or can offer price ranges?

Also, personal experiences with this rifle vs other Mausers and WWI and WWII bolt action rifles?

Thanks.

[ocabj]

$300 for an all matching is the base line price.

I don't know of any C&R dealers that have them in-stock. If you're not already on Empire Arms' mailing list, sign up for it. They send out emails of the newest stuff they have and they typically have Swedish Mausers on the list that sell fairly quickly.

Also, check Gunbroker and Guns America as well as the For Sale sections on the gun boards.

[rangerruck]

Kimber and , I think howa, do an excellent refurb job on these, for about 350 or so.

[Ad Astra]

http://www.samcoglobal.com/rifles.html

Samco has them, but they seem expensive to me. YMMV.

[ocabj]

Oh, and to respond to the issue of comparison vs other military surplus firearms, the Swedish Mauser is probably the finest military surplus bolt action rifle ever made. The rifles themselves are accurate and the cartridge is inherently accurate due to the design. The only other bolt action military surplus rifles I would put in the same class as the Swede are the K31 and M1903 variants.

[atomchaser]

I believe SAMCO has the only barreled actions and 41b snipers at this point. There is some question about how authentic the 41b's are. Allan's Armory had some, but I think he is closed down temporarily. You can find them on gunbroker, gunboards, etc. 300-350 is probably the range for a good condition all matching 96. The m96/38 carbines go for a little more. They are about as finely made a military rifle as you'll find. The 6.5x55 is a pleasure to shoot, but ammo is more expensive since not much surplus is available.

[PGroenewold]

"Also, personal experiences with this rifle vs other Mausers and WWI and WWII bolt action rifles?"

Out of the dozen or so 20th century surplus military rifles I own, my M96 Swede is easily the most accurate. Granted, this is a limited sample, but with surplus ammo the rifle will routinely shoot sub-MOA three-shot groups from the bench using open sights. My other milsurps (including a number of Mausers) are more like 3 to 4 MOA rifles. Pretty impressive for a rifle that's nearly a century old.

In addition, I find the Swede to have excellent fit and finish. The trigger, while not exactly match-grade, is relatively smooth. The safety lever is nicely checkered, and the metal parts slide nicely. The whole thing feels far more refined than the typical M48, K98, or Turkish Mausers that I've owned and/or handled.

Good luck with your search; I see that the pricing and availability of these fine rifles has changed significantly over the past few years.

Regards,

PG

[iamkris]

+1 on being a fan of the M96.

My very limited view of prices shows that $300 as a baseline might be a hair light for one in really nice condition...at least where I have looked. The very good/excellent ones I've seen seem to go closer to $350-400. (I just bought a 03 Gustav and 00 Oberndorf this year) If you can find a very nice one for less than that, I'd snap it up.

Also, I ordered one of the bent bolt M38 Swedes from SAMCO and it is the first C&R rifle I've ever sent back. Zero finish, stock had been dragged behind a truck for 10 clicks and the "hairline" crack in the stock they refer to was big enough to house a family of small field mice.

[aerod1]

I have four Swede's, a M94, 2 M96's amd a M38. I think the Swede's are the very best military bolt action rifles!!