My Latest Find: Oberndorf M96/38 Swedish Mauser - 1899

[cal30_sniper]

Hey all,

I mentioned this rifle the other day, and I thought I would go ahead and post some pictures up. I found it in a pawn shop down in Corpus Christi a few weeks ago. I can't imagine who let this one go, but once I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I ended up paying $425 for it, which I thought was high until I saw what the going rate is on these things nowadays.

The way I've got it figured, it's quite rare for a number of reasons. First off, it's an Oberndorf rifle, which makes it considerably rarer than your average Carl Gustaf M96/38 or Husqvarna M38. Secondly, it is one of the earliest of the Oberndorfs produced. It's serial number 26,330, and they started production at 20,000. I've always wanted one of these with a pre-1900 date on the receiver as well. It also has the desirable micrometer adjustable sight, and one of the most unusual stocks I've ever seen on a Swede. As best as I can tell, it's some kind of Black Walnut. Finally, the entire rifle is numbers matching except for the floorplate. The trigger guard matches, but somewhere along the line it got a mismatched floorplate. Otherwise, it appears to be wearing every piece that it left the factory with, minus of course about 5 inches of barrel and supporting wood.

I haven't shot it yet, but I can't wait to take it out. Something just tells me this one is going to be good. For a military rifle, it's got the best trigger I've ever tried, and I'm really liking the sights as well. Much better than the V-notch inverted V-post that my M96 Carl Gustaf has.

Anyways, on to the pics...

 

[Float Pilot]

QUOTING MYSELF,,,,,,

You did more than OK. 1899 Oberndorfs are fairly rare. The Mauser factory in Oberndorf on the Neckar river only made m/96s during 1899 and 1900 ( about 7% of the total ) And since only 55,000 m/96s were converted to m/38s, the chances of finding a 1899 Obie which was converted are pretty rare. Plus the Vastaras micrometer adjustable rear sight insert is worth $100 by itself...

The first m/38 rifles started out life as m/96 rifles. In the later 1930s the Swede saw that a huge war was coming soon, so they started to modify m/96 long rifles (29 inch barrels) into shorter rifles which would be about the same size as the German K-98s or English Enfield MK4s.

The result was the rifle of 1938, ( m/38 ) which was re-barreled m/96 with a 23.5 inch barrel. The stock was modified accordingly.

When WWII was really burning, the Swedes figured out that the CARL GUSTAF factory would not be able to keep up with modifying m/96s since they were making new machine-guns and other weapons. SO,,, they contracted Husqvarna to make brand new m/38 rifles between 1941 and 1944.

Some Americans call modified m/96 rifles, 96/38s or some such thing... But the Swedes NEVER made any different notations regarding how the m/38 was made.

That is a very nice Metallverken TYPE II sight insert.

You used to see them on all 96 to 38 conversions. That sight really gives you a good adjustment.

METALLVERKEN SIGHT ADAPTERS
There were 3 different versions. Some folks designate them as Types I, II, and III. These were designed by P.O. Faldt, they were manufactured by Metallverken, in Vasteras, Sweden.

Many sellers mistakenly refer to these as "naval" sights, because the Metallverken company logo was a Viking ship, they assume they have something to do with the Navy. These sights were originally designed for the M38 rifles, cut down by CG from M96's. They will only fit in an M96 sight leaf, not an M38.

The initial Type I was designed for M94 ammo in a M38 barrel length, it is calibrated from 300-600 meters. M94 ammo used a 156 grain round nose bullet.

Type II was designed for the M41 ammo in an M38 barrel, it is graduated from 250-600 meters. These are in 25 meter increments, with a dot signifying 25 meters, and a line signifying 50 meters. On the Type II, 3 is the lowest number, but it has a line and a dot below that, going down to 250 meters. The Type I and Type II were both used by the military.
M41 ammo used a 139 grain jacketed boat-tail spritzer bullet.

Type III Metallverken adapter are believe to be strictly civilian. It is graduated from 100-600 meters, and was regulated for Metallverken target ammo (very similar to military M41 ammo) in an M96 length barrel. Some folks disagree.... I have one of these on my m/96 long rifle.


BY THE WAY::: the tape on the top of the stock had the year that it was last inspected and put away in a vault at some armory. Some Swede military rifle collectors have multiple orgasms when they find one totally intact.

Many Swede rifles had Beech wood replacement stocks installed some time during their 70-80 year service life.
Most of the older rifles originally had Walnut.... And there were also a couple of more rare woods used.... Elm, Maple, Mahogany, and American Walnut.. Your grain sure looks like Walnut....

 

[cal30_sniper]

Float, thanks so much for the great info. I didn't know what the white stripe on the buttstock was, but I figured it was something important. The squareness and shape of the outline was too good to just be a random smudge or import inspection mark.

What are the chances of this stock being American Walnut? It's a darker grain walnut than any other swede that I've ever seen. Coincedentally, it is almost exactly the same shade and grain as the American Black Walnut stock on my Enfield No 4 Mk I* Savage built rifle. The stock color was definitely what grabbed my eye when I saw it on the rack of rifles. I figured it was a carbine South American M95 or something until he turned it around and I saw the Metallverken sight. Then I was really intrigued. When I saw Oberndorf and the matching numbers, I knew it was a done deal.

 

[Float Pilot]

What are the chances of this stock being American Walnut?

While quite rare, you may indeed have one....

If I had seen that rifle first, it would have been a race to the front counter.

 

[303tom]

Here is some stuff that be of some help.

http://dutchman.rebooty.com/

http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artiklar/rifles_se/rifles_se.htm

And by the way, that`s a good looking rifle, let us know how she shoots.