Swede gals out to the range.

[Float Pilot]

My most accurate m/96 ( Ingvarr, ) does not care for loading 156 or 160 grain round nose bullets from the magazine.
For some reason she will shoot super tight groups with them if chamber loaded, but the round nose bullets hit the side of the chamber area coming up from the magazine, no matter how much I change the C.O.L. I have even changed the bolt and extractor but she still knocks half bullets into the edge of the barrel...

Until now I could not get a spitzer bullet load to shoot tight groups in this m/96, so I loaded up a box full of experimental loads and finally took them to the range yesterday. I took a m/38 and m/94-14 along for comparison.

I was recently given two boxes of 120 grain Sierra HPBTs and some 120 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips. So I figured why not try them.

It was a nice warm 65 degree day. I also took along some loads that I had been shooting at 10 to 20 degrees below zero (F) during last winter. They were almost 100 fps faster with some powders.

And yes RL-22 is somewhat temp sensitive.

So as not to bore you with the bad loads,,,Here are some of the better loads for my m/96.


WARNING These loads worked in my rifles. Always start low and work up.

This particular m/96 rifle has a very tight chamber and bore.(lapped bore as well.) It always seems to obtain more velocity than my other m/96s.

PHOTOS BELOW OF BEST GROUPS. All shot at 100 yards from a bench rest sandbagged, using iron sights

 

[cluttonfred]

Nice shooting, thanks for sharing and boy am I jealous of your Karbin m/94!!!

.

 

[bigalexe]

Nice groups and I have to say your thread title was completely misleading. Although now that i think about it, the topic i was expecting isn't that highroad.

 

[Float Pilot]

I jealous of your Karbin m/94!!!

Even the little m/94-14 carbine will shine with certain loads.
It still shoots very high at 100 yards and I have run out of room inside the front sight protector wings for windage adjustment.

I need to make up a higher front sight like I did for the m/96 and try again.

Here is what she can do for groups if I do my part. Using a 6 o'clock hold on a black circle target at 100 yards from sandbags.

The only problem with this m/94 is that some idiot sanded it at one time in the past. When I got her, she had a thick glossy coat of spar varnish on her.
I removed that with lots of MEK and mineral spirits. Now she has a oil finish that I rub down to keep her waterproof.
Wonder Lube black powder lube (Bore Butter is the same thing) works wonders for keeping the rain and snow out of the wood pores. It makes it look a little shiny in photos...

 

[lionking]

good gawd man this thread has shown me what a Swede with handloads and a capable shooter can do,I fully expected to see rifles with scopes on them but they didn't.

The best I have ever been able to do with Hirtenburger or Prvi Partizan ammo in my two M96 Swedes is around 2 1/2 to 3 inch groups at 100yds rested.I wonder how much handloads would decrease my groups and how much is just my shooting ability but I just haven't gotten into reloading although I should.

I went to the range 2 weeks ago with a Swiss K31 and 1911 Swiss and while I was satisfied with the groups I got which where also around 2-3 inches again they are more accurate rifles than I am.Makes me wonder what the Swiss rifles can do in the hands of a expert shooter and loader just like the Swedes you have proven above can be incredible accurate.

great post man,thanks for sharing.

 

[Float Pilot]

Thanks for the compliment.

The big problem I have now is that my eyesight is not what it once was...

I am so far sighted that I need the 29 inch barrel so I can focus on the front sight. But then the back sight is so fuzzy that I am hardly sure where it might be.
Getting Old sucks...The kids at the store keep asking if I need help with my darn shopping sacks..

 

[lionking]

I'll be 43 the 19th of this month.I always have had bad eye sight but ok with my glasses.Within the last couple years though things up close have become blurry even with my glasses.I need bi-focals but refuse to get them yet but I am more and more thinking about it.Long distance I see fine still.

So I am still able to focus on a front sight but it does take a little more effort.Plus I have floaters in both eyes which can distract me when I am trying to focus on the sight.They look exactly like the photo on this link,they more around as you move your eye like something floating in a glass of water.
http://www.eye-floaters.com/floaters-whatarefloaters.php

I have had them since in my 30's.I went to a doc to check my eyes but he said that nothing was wrong,that they come with age although rare in my case to have gotten them so early.They are a nusiance sometimes but after a while you just learn to live with them and ignore them until like today sometimes you just can't help but dwell on them and they bother.

By the way what kind of groups do you get with commercial ammo?

 

[Float Pilot]

I have kids who are in their 30s and a couple who are in their late teens... I am sure all those mini-strokes from their BS did not help any...

By the way what kind of groups do you get with commercial ammo?

2 to 3 inches depending on whose ammo I shoot. 1 to 1.5 inches with Norma factory ammo.

PMC ammo has a grossly undersized case head and the cases are just about done on the first firing. Their groups are about the size of a small dinner plate.
BUT,,,Their 144 grain bullet is ok though, so I have pulled a few of those and hand loaded them.

The 6.5x55mm Swede case head is supposed to be slightly larger in diameter than a .308 /30-06 case head. At first glance you would think it would be the same as the 7x57 and 7.92x57mm, but the cartridge was developed via commissions in Sweden and Norway and it was not a Mauser designed cartridge.
The m/94 and m/96 Rifle being a Paul Mauser design with various modifications at the request of the Swedish Crown.

 

[TimboKhan]

Man, I love them swedes. I haven't paid a ton of attention to my ammo, as it is almost entirely just regular old surplus, but random samplings have shown that I can shoot into 2 inches at 100 yds all day long with either of my Swedes. I feel like both could probably shoot better, but I am not particularly concerned about it because I feel that two inches is more than good enough for anything that I would legitimately use the rifle for.