M38 Swedish Mauser report

[Beetle Bailey]

Well, I posted asking about Swedish Mausers so I guess I should provide a report, even if it's a little incomplete. First, let me apologize for the lack of pictures; I don't have a camera (if I had the money for a camera, I'd probably use it to get a rifle ).

Accuracy: This is a big part of the reason for getting the Swede in the first place, so let me start here. The best so far is 5-shot 2" groups @ 100 yards with PMC ammo. I also tried Swedish surplus, and three times got 3 of five shots into 1", but I'm not that good a shooter and blew the group. So far, I'm better with the Scandinivian (sp?) neighbor, my M39 Mosin Nagant.

Looks: uh, looks good to me . Nice proportion to the M38 (call it a short rifle, call it a carbine, whatever you prefer) and the worksmanship is obvious. I guess I should mention the details. 1941 Husqvarna M38 all matching with the bent bolt. Wood is dinged a bit, but no big deal. only other problem (if you can call it that) was a dead ant inside the bore. At first I thought it was pitting .

I'm gonna strip it down tonight and give the stock the BLO treatment for about a week to make it even prettier.

 

[Jim K]

Too bad the ant was dead already, as a shot should really have done a job on it. I wonder if there is any way to get a deer to crawl up into my rifle barrel, as that is probably about the only way I could hit one.

Jim

 

[BamBam-31]

But he had hi-ii-igh hopes, he had hi-ii-igh hopes, he had high apple pie in the sky-ii--y hopes.

That single stage trigger is like jumping off a cliff, boy. Sure fires nice, tho', don't it, Beetle?

Another BLO-addict.

 

[Bill Hook]

PMC ammo is crap and i suggest you avoid it, as some folks had primer bulges, etc. w/ it in 6.5x55.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

BamBam-31, I was gonna get to mentioning that nice clean trigger, but I got hungry and left the keybroad to get some dinner. . . To continue: it's a nice light rifle and since it shoots 6.5x55 Swede, recoil is like nothing! Bolt operation is nice and smooth. Smooth . . .that's the word for this rifle. Clean machining of all metal parts. I already mentioned the trigger and bolt.

There's even neat little details here and there to make collectors giddy, like tiny little tilted crowns engraved into much of the metal. Even the firing pin has it, and you can't even see the firing pin until you take the sucker apart!

As far as historical significance, well, mine isn't "SA" marked, but from what I understand, some of these Swedish Mausers made it into the Winter War between the Finns and the Soviets, either in the hands of Finns or Swedish volunteers. So I guess I could say, "this lethal weapon was so fearsome and formidable that nobody, and I mean nobody, wanted to mess with the Swedes during the Big One "

Jim, I might have just shot the ant carcass (sp?) out of the barrel (that's a home invasion, right? ), but there was a bit of either dirty gun oil or cosmoline inside it still. Still, one patch of CLP took care of the little guy.

Also, thanks to everyone who helped out with info on the Swedish Mausers. I'm really happy with what I got!

 

[Beetle Bailey]

oh, that PMC is no good? I already figured out on my own that it's not very accurate (compared with the Swedish surplus) but if there's other issues with it, I'll definately avoid the stuff. That won't be too hard to do, since it was pretty expensive for having only average accuracy. The only reason I even got it was I went to three different ranges and was denied the opportunity to shot my brand-new-to-me rifle time and again because Swedish surplus ammo has steel in it. It's a bit frustrating to plan a day of shooting and have it screwed up by the wrong kind of ammo. So in frustration I bought that PMC just so I could shoot something. . .

BTW, any recommendations on ammo? I want to start reloading, but in the meantime. . .

 

[JohnKSa]

I've had good results with both the Swedish surplus and Federal ammo in my Swedes.

 

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

Swedes=Schmoooov

Got 3. My favorite (furrin) milsurp.

Regards,
Rabbit.

 

[Bill Hook]

I still have a buncha 6.5x55 surplus, and a half box of PMC.

I'd take a look at Indep for stuff that's just for "plinking." Otherwise, stick with the major brands. Federal even made match ammo in 6.5x55.

A lot of the surplus stuff has been picked over now, but samco may have some left.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

I think I'm gonna go with the Federal, then. I've had good experience with their stuff in 9mm, .223, 7.62x39, and .308. Thanks!

 

[Beetle Bailey]

A correction: I was cleaning the cosmoline out of my rifle last night and found out the stock and handguard do not match the rest of the rifle! Also, they don't match each other, either. I was told the rifle had been thru the Swedish arsenal, so with the amount of cosmoline in there, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this stock and handguard were put together with the rifle at the arsenal. No force-matched numbers, though. BTW, the numbers on the stock and handguard are not visible until you disassemble the rifle. Also, the "crown" marking on the handguard isn't tilted, like on the rest of the rifle. IINM, that means the handguard was originally for a Carl Gustav rifle. Oh, well. I can tell it's gonna be a really nice rifle when I am done oiling it.

 

[Bill Hook]

Not unusual to find stocks that don't match the gun, though my 103 year old M96 still matches stock, receiver and bolt, while the small stuff has been replaced at one time. I'm sorta surprised that the wood doesn't match itself, but cracking may have precipitated this.

I forgot to mention Sellier & Bellot, from the Czech Republic, which is generally pretty good stuff, yet cheap. Not match grade, but certainly "service" grade (swede service ammo is actually pretty close to match grade).



Samco has both Swedish (Norma, most likely) and Hirtenberger for ~$75 per 200 rounds. Both should be very good to excellent.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

Bill Hook Thanks for the tips on ammo. I actually like the Swedish surplus I got from Samco, but since it has steel in the bullet, I can't shoot it at my local range. My third choice range in the area allows steel ammo, but only after fire season is over. I am in Southern California so if you've seen the news you know we are still in fire season. IIMN, fire season ends when we get some serious rain, which might not happen until January or February. So that's why I need some other choices.

Also, for anyone thinking about getting that 6 grain gallery practice ammo from Samco, my suggestion is, don't bother. I bought a bag of 100 rounds and have only fired 5 shots. I think I can get better accuracy with a rubber band. If you want to train a new shooter, go with a .22lr.

 

[MonkeyMan]

Sounds like you have a very close relative to my Swede. Mine is an all matching 1941 Husqy M-38. It's been my experience that the Swedish surplus ammo is the best you can buy, at least in my rifle. I've tried PMC, with no ill effects but no accuracy to speak of, and FNM which is pretty good. S&B shoots real good too. I've never tried any of the major ammo makers offerings as I read somewhere that the brass was not correct. Something about the head diameter being to small, 30-06 size instead of 6.5 Swede. Enjoy your new rifle, they're a whole bunch of fun to shoot.

 

[scotjute]

With M96 short gun in vise and barrell floated, we achieved .78" groups at 117 yds. with S&B soft points.

 

[Beetle Bailey]

Thanks for all the tips! Now it's time for me to just go out there and shoot the thing. That is, next week, when I'm done oiling the stock .