Kor
Member
...and I don't know how I ever got along without her in my life. I refer, of course, to the latest rifle to occupy my safe, a beautimous-looking Swedish M96B(threaded-muzzle) 6.5X55 Mauser rifle made by Carl Gustaf Stads Gevarsfaktori in The Year of Our Lord 1901.
See, this all started back in March, when I went shooting with sumpnz, WhoKnowsWho, Lennyjoe, cdirkona and others. Sumpnz allowed me to shoot his Swede Mauser, "Miss Kaysa," and he had me hooked after 5 rounds. So, I started looking for a Swede of my own, and I finally had one pointed out to me by my friend when we dropped in to Frontier Guns last month.
She certainly looked nice, but I wasn't sure I wanted to get YET ANOTHER CALIBER, especially since 6.5X55 ammo costs even more than the .30-06 M2 ball I have to feed my M1903A3 and M1917 with. So, I started thinking...and reading...and surfing...and reading...and thinking some more...and I went back.
I looked REAL hard at the old gal, and I saw how nice the finish was, how cleanly the bolt had been machined, and how perfect the bore looked. Now knowing how to read the stock disk, I saw that it indicated a barely-worn "1" bore, and a still-tight 6.50mm chamber throat. I scrutinized all the externally-visible parts, and EVERYTHING was number-matched to the receiver except for the barrel bands. The stock had a couple of inconsequential dings and small gouges, but that's life in the army for ya.
What absolutely sealed the deal, however, was the date on the receiver - 1901. How often do you come across a 103-year old piece of history like this, that still looks like it had been made last month? And so, money changed hands, forms were filled out, and now she's shackin' up with me.
So, anyways, last night I decide to spend some serious quality time with the old gal, and take care of her right. I put The Wind and the Lion into the DVD player, and proceeded to strip this beautiful Swede all the way down till she was laid out before me completely bare.
Now, let me interject that I had been slightly afraid that a previous owner might have put the old gal away wet, and left me a nasty, rusty surprise under the stock. What I found instead was cosmoline and perfect bluing! Yep, it looks like this rifle went from a Swedish armory, to Century Arms, to Frontier Guns, to me - YESSSSS!!! To think, she was waiting all these years until I found her...
So, I scrubbed/wiped/rinsed all the greasy kid stuff out, and lovingly oiled 'er up with Break-Free before re-assembling her. Along the way, I could not help but be flat ASTOUNDED at the obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive attention to detail exhibited in the manufacture, assembly and finishing of Swedish Mausers. It was amazing how the Swedes number-matched EVERYTHING on the rifle, not just the bolt and floorplate, but even the firing pin, the cocking-piece, and the rear sight and rear sight elevator, for Pete's sake! (I did note, however, that the barrel bands' and the trigger-guard/magazine assembly's numbers did not match - too bad.) Furthermore, EVERY SINGLE individual part was stamped with the Swedish crown, whether it was numbered or not - after a while, I started trying to play "Where's Waldo?" looking for more crowns on the rifle, and finding them in the darnedest places! I mean, when you start finding crowns on the trigger, the sear, the bolt-stop, the rear sight elevator, the buttplate, the magazine follower, even on the tip of the CLEANING ROD - come on, guys!
And, to think, those old Swedes put all that effort into a rifle that was expected to roll around in the mud with Private Sven...and that still looks this GREAT after over a century! Now, there's two crown-stamps on the stock behind the trigger-guard, which indicates that this rifle has been arsenal re-conditioned twice - but, still, I could care less, and I am still in awe.
Well, now I've got all this out of my system, and I can start functioning normally now...at least until I get to take her to the range! Wonder if I should start calling her "Ingrid"(Bergmann)...
P.S.: You probably want pictures, but a gentleman would never post pictures of his lady on the Internet...and I won't, either, 'cuz I don't have a digital camera!
See, this all started back in March, when I went shooting with sumpnz, WhoKnowsWho, Lennyjoe, cdirkona and others. Sumpnz allowed me to shoot his Swede Mauser, "Miss Kaysa," and he had me hooked after 5 rounds. So, I started looking for a Swede of my own, and I finally had one pointed out to me by my friend when we dropped in to Frontier Guns last month.
She certainly looked nice, but I wasn't sure I wanted to get YET ANOTHER CALIBER, especially since 6.5X55 ammo costs even more than the .30-06 M2 ball I have to feed my M1903A3 and M1917 with. So, I started thinking...and reading...and surfing...and reading...and thinking some more...and I went back.
I looked REAL hard at the old gal, and I saw how nice the finish was, how cleanly the bolt had been machined, and how perfect the bore looked. Now knowing how to read the stock disk, I saw that it indicated a barely-worn "1" bore, and a still-tight 6.50mm chamber throat. I scrutinized all the externally-visible parts, and EVERYTHING was number-matched to the receiver except for the barrel bands. The stock had a couple of inconsequential dings and small gouges, but that's life in the army for ya.
What absolutely sealed the deal, however, was the date on the receiver - 1901. How often do you come across a 103-year old piece of history like this, that still looks like it had been made last month? And so, money changed hands, forms were filled out, and now she's shackin' up with me.
So, anyways, last night I decide to spend some serious quality time with the old gal, and take care of her right. I put The Wind and the Lion into the DVD player, and proceeded to strip this beautiful Swede all the way down till she was laid out before me completely bare.
Now, let me interject that I had been slightly afraid that a previous owner might have put the old gal away wet, and left me a nasty, rusty surprise under the stock. What I found instead was cosmoline and perfect bluing! Yep, it looks like this rifle went from a Swedish armory, to Century Arms, to Frontier Guns, to me - YESSSSS!!! To think, she was waiting all these years until I found her...
So, I scrubbed/wiped/rinsed all the greasy kid stuff out, and lovingly oiled 'er up with Break-Free before re-assembling her. Along the way, I could not help but be flat ASTOUNDED at the obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive attention to detail exhibited in the manufacture, assembly and finishing of Swedish Mausers. It was amazing how the Swedes number-matched EVERYTHING on the rifle, not just the bolt and floorplate, but even the firing pin, the cocking-piece, and the rear sight and rear sight elevator, for Pete's sake! (I did note, however, that the barrel bands' and the trigger-guard/magazine assembly's numbers did not match - too bad.) Furthermore, EVERY SINGLE individual part was stamped with the Swedish crown, whether it was numbered or not - after a while, I started trying to play "Where's Waldo?" looking for more crowns on the rifle, and finding them in the darnedest places! I mean, when you start finding crowns on the trigger, the sear, the bolt-stop, the rear sight elevator, the buttplate, the magazine follower, even on the tip of the CLEANING ROD - come on, guys!
And, to think, those old Swedes put all that effort into a rifle that was expected to roll around in the mud with Private Sven...and that still looks this GREAT after over a century! Now, there's two crown-stamps on the stock behind the trigger-guard, which indicates that this rifle has been arsenal re-conditioned twice - but, still, I could care less, and I am still in awe.
Well, now I've got all this out of my system, and I can start functioning normally now...at least until I get to take her to the range! Wonder if I should start calling her "Ingrid"(Bergmann)...
P.S.: You probably want pictures, but a gentleman would never post pictures of his lady on the Internet...and I won't, either, 'cuz I don't have a digital camera!
