Swedish mauser feeding issue

Seating depth would be my first course of action. I have never had a feeding problem with the Hornady 160 grs RN and use it a lot in both an 1894 Sporter and a somewhat homely 1896.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

I recently bought some hornady 160 grain round nose bullets for use in my 6.5x55’s. I have two swedes, one a sporterized 1920 96, the other an all original 96/38 dated 1911. Ive never had feeding issues with spitzer bullets in either, and didn’t expect to have issues loading a bullet the platform was originally designed for. Its seems ,(in both rifles), the edge of the exposed lead catches the sharp edge of the chamber when closing the bolt slowly or medium speed. The issue is greatly reduced if the bolt is cycled quickly, but still happens sometimes. Anyone else had this happen? Any remedies? Im gonna try playing around with seating depth. Can I very lightly chamfer the edge of the chamber or just polish the one edge on the left? Think .001 coned breach, or is that risky business?

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Check your mag spring. It may be tired. Cheap fix too. Second issue may be your follower but if the mag spring is tired, then your follower does not have the cartridge in the right place to feed. One thing though, use dummy rounds or snap caps when adjusting feeding for safety reasons.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

Ok ill try a new spring. Yes I use decapped rounds and always point the rifle at my wall of liberal politician posters, just in case.

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Have you used marking fluid to determine any bullet deformation?

I had a issue like this, but mine was a little more severe with rounds hitting the magwell on the receiver a new magazine spring cleared it right up.

Seat the bullet deeper and see if that helps a timing issue.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

Marking fluid? Deformation? I can see the tip of the bullet catch on the edge of the chamber, not sure what your asking?

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If you are still having issues after a new mag spring, then the next thing is whether or not the follower, a burr on the rails, feed ramp lip, etc. that bears on the cartridge and bullet may be the issue. That is where the marking fluid comes into play by marking up the cartridge. Sharpies do okay as a substitute for this if you do not have marking fluid.

The fact that it feeds when you run the bolt like you hate it may indicate some roughness of action which is uncommon for Swede Mausers but not other makes. Occasionally on old Mausers the feed ramp through wear and tear or ill-advised tinkering has worn off its case hardening which can produce some drag on the bullet. You can notice such things using marking fluid (or Sharpies). Lampblack will work but it is super messy.

One last thing, sorry to be disjointed but having some medical issues right now. Check your extractor at the bolt face for any dings, chips, tension, etc. as sometimes the extractor can affect feeding.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

Well, I’ve played around with seating depth to no avail. Shorter made the problem worse, and I started with the longest possible c.o.l. To fit in the magazine. I guess I’ll try a new spring, is there new production replacements? Doesn’t make sense to replace with another old used spring, but maybe I should buy a spare and try tweaking it? I can probably make one also, was thinking broken porta-band blade and a little torch heating/bending/tempering. Still not opposed to taking a stone (lightly) to the left side of the chamber entrance either, but I would try it on my sporter first before modifying the all original.

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Brownells has a newly made Mauser 98 spring that they say will work in their questions answered portion on the product. https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...prings/98-mauser-magazine-spring-prod727.aspx @30.00
Try Century International first as they had a lot of New Old Stock Swedish Mauser parts. Some have storage wear like this one https://www.centuryarms.com/pam96018.html @10 Numrich has one that they say is new at $5 https://www.gunpartscorp.com/products/13680

BTW, check your extractor for damage and tension. If modified or damaged, it will cause misfeeding as the Mauser is a controlled feed design. If the bullet is sideswiping left of the chamber, then it could be the extractor. Century Int. has new extractors if you need them (think they come in a two pack).

boom boom said:

Brownells has a newly made Mauser 98 spring that they say will work in their questions answered portion on the product.

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This is what I used it may be a tiny bit oversized but it works just likes to toss cartridges a little further now.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

Thanks again guys, I will examine extractors before I buy anything. I have a couple spare extractors I’ll try. Its so weird the problem occurs in both of my swedes.

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On the extractors, if it is super easy to remove, the extractor collar may need careful peening and stretching to hold the extractor solidly in place. The collar is a spring so it sometimes gets overly compressed or the extractor retaining lugs get worn. If the extractor collar is proud of the bolt body's slot, that can cause roughness in the action too.

Does your bolt lock back when you have an empty magazine? The original follower for the Swede Mauser 96 model does so and sometimes people have altered these or switched out one of the other Mauser model followers that allows it. If yours is an original swede follower, it will have a small crown stamp on the top somewhere and an altered one will have the top rib modified usually by grinding a 45 degree bevel so that the bolt will slip past the follower on an empty magazine. Mausers were really designed to feed from the magazine so sometimes folks alter the extractor edge to allow a single fed round to be chambered by snapping the extractor onto the case rim.

Alaskan Ironworker said:

Theyre both swede stamped followers, but my I modified my sporter to close on an empty magazine. Now I must further tinker.....

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A picture of a Mauser 1895 follower might help which is commonly called the Chilean Mauser of 1895. These were designed from the get go for closing on an empty magazine. Here is a picture on one from the defunct Springfield Sporters. Try to make yours look like this. I'd have to check but I believe the m98 followers that allow closing on an empty magazine have a sharper nearly 45 degree angle.