Swedish m96 mauser opinions

Robk13

Robk13

Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2019
Messages
162
Location
Odeasa, Texas
Hello gals and gents!

Happy holidays, I hope everyone is doing well! I have the opportunity to purchase a Swedish mauser for a very very reasonable price (400$ cash). It is not sporterized or molested in any way shape or form. Made in 1911 by Carl Gustav, it is the long rifle version. It also has a very strange threaded barrel at the muzzle end. Worth noting that the bolt doesn't match the receiver on this one (not sure how heavily this will affect its value or functionality).

I guess what I'm asking is if anyone can comment to the build quality of these "mausers" and if any one has any experiences to share regarding these rifles.

I've had lots of mausers over the years but never a chance to own a swede.

Any help/history regarding these guns is.greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks I appreciate the comment! I'll be stopping by an atm tomorrow after work and the family friend I'm getting it from should have it in my hands by Sunday evening or Monday at the latest. I'll happily post pics as soon as I have hands on it.

What on earth is the threaded barrel for? Or is that a Bubba addition for a suppressor or flash hider?
 
The barrel threads are for a "blank" firing adapter-

The "blank" training ammo actually used a wooden projectile and the adapter would shred and capture the bullet.

Liberty Tree also has thread caps you can screw on to protect the bore and make it look a little more finished.
SwedishMauserScrewonMuzzleCap.jpeg

Swede Mausers are exceptional rifles. Congrats!
 
NIGHTLORD40K said:
The barrel threads are for a "blank" firing adapter-

The "blank" training ammo actually used a wooden projectile and the adapter would shred and capture the bullet.

Liberty Tree also has thread caps you can screw on to protect the bore and make it look a little more finished.

Swede Mausers are exceptional rifles. Congrats!
Click to expand...
Most excellent! Thank you for the information. I'll definitely be buying one of those covers so it doesn't look so strange.
 
I definitely appreciate having a front sight hood on my late war k98s and vz24s...would definitely be interested in adding one to the swede even if not "correct" to the rifle.
 
troy fairweather said:
Think I'd pass unless it's Pristine, but with mismatched bolt and that you had to ask if they were well built seems it's not in to good of shape.
Click to expand...
Actually the condition is very very nice...I was just wondering how the build construction compared to say a k98 or vz24, the bolt is slick as greased owl ****. Is it not uncommon for the bolts to be mismatched on these like on say the arisaka or k98s?

Pardon my ignorance I've never had any experience with Swedish mausers.
 
Last edited:
Robk13 said:
Actually the condition is very very nice...I was just wondering how the build construction compared to say a k98 or vz24, the bolt is slick as greased owl ****. Is it not uncommon for the bolts to be mismatched on these like on say the arisaka or k98s?

Pardon my ignorance I've never had any experience with Swedish mausers.
Click to expand...
there are built very well just a different design from a 98 and not as strong and less safety features. Matching bolt is always preferred, there's many reasons why but most important are headspace,fit, and the hit on Value. I'd get the headspace checked first and give the bore a good look.
 
The Swedish government was meticulous in sourcing its rifles. Some early ones were made in Germany, but Sweden insisted that Swedish steel be used. You will notice that the crown and often the serial number appears on many parts of the rifle. Swedish M-94s, M-96s and M-38s were crafted to a very high standard and are generally very accurate. The use of the older, cock-on-closing design initially led me to think they must be inferior to the later model 98 design. The later design had added safety features, but the M-96s were very competent with the 6.5x55.

Checking headspace on an issued military surplus rifle is always a good idea. Here are some links that may be of interest:
markings
stock disc notation
a video
 
I have a couple, one I kept original that just for show and the other sporterized for hunting. The hunting rifle has the original barrel that has been cut and recrowned, bolt forged for scope clearance, receiver machined for scope, Winchester style safety, Timney trigger, reblued in a Boyd’s stock. Might be the most accurate rifle in the cabinet. Very nice guns. I think I payed $69 for them around 30 years ago.
 
The M96's are great rifles. Very well made, good crisp triggers, usually very accurate, and the 6.6x55 is a soft shooting cartridge that is frequently praised here on THR, with good reason. It sounds like you are a Mauser fan, and you should own one of these rifles sometime in your life. I think that $400 is a fair price, mismatched bolt, and all.

I have one that I shot frequently in CMP Vintage Military matches for quite a few years back in the day and it served me quite well. At Camp Perry, if I could keep a majority of my standing shots in the black, and the remainder somewhere on the paper I would always get a gold medal. I also shot the high VM score in a state championship match with that rifle and got a nice plaque for that effort. Two downsides for me with the M96 were the open rear sight and the straight stock which I found to be a little tricky to shoot standing. I moved on to a K31 for a few years and then settled on a M1917 which had peep rear sights and a scant type pistol grip.

I don't shoot mine much these days, and am thinking of selling it. Mine is all matching, which is more of a collector thing than a shooter thing. I'd ask probably $600 if I knew that it was going to a good home and would get shot. As for yours not having a matching bolt, it probably affects the value a little which is reflected in what you are paying for it. I think that military rifles are designed with a little bit of interchangeability in mind and a different bolt wouldn't bother me too much. US rifle parts aren't serialized and I doubt many 1903's kept the original bolts after they visited the armory. The safest thing would be to have the headspace checked, but if your family friend shot it without issue, its probably GTG.

The Swedes contracted Mauser Werke A.G. to design the M96 around the 6.5x55 cartridge, which they did with typical German efficiency. That being said, its not as robust as the later M98's and doesn't have the 3rd locking lug on the bolt. They were mostly manufactured in Sweden by Carl Gustavs and Husqvarna in peace time with Swedish steel that was among the worlds finest for that time period. The machining is impeccable. Only a little over 500,000 were ever made and some were later modified to M1938 rifles not to mention those that were sporterized. Many, if not most, have beech stocks.

I lost my muzzle cap, but have a flash hider which screws on the threads. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow.
 
The Swedish didn't adopt the third safety lug (it doesn't lock unless the bolt sets back) because they felt their steel was of a high enough quality to make it unnecessary. The only other big change between the 96 and 98 was the method of bolt cocking - on closing,, or on opening the bolt.
 
If it has a disc, see if you can get a picture taken. It'll show the barrel quality.

I only own three types of milsurp guns. Two Swedish Mausers (one of each type/length), a Swiss K31 and Russian SKS. If that tells you anything.
 
Robk13 said:
Actually the condition is very very nice...I was just wondering how the build construction compared to say a k98 or vz24, the bolt is slick as greased owl ****. Is it not uncommon for the bolts to be mismatched on these like on say the arisaka or k98s?

Pardon my ignorance I've never had any experience with Swedish mausers.
Click to expand...
I've an early M96 from the late 1890s; 1899, I think. It was sporterized some years ago by the guy I bought it from. It's a very good rifle (certainly much better than an Axis, American, etc) with all matching numbers and the barrel cut to 23.5". Like yours, the action is "slick as a greased owl".

Anyways, I don't now about nowdays, but the surplus Swedes I ran across 20ish years ago all had the SN of their bolts matching their receivers. As you're likely aware, as long as headspace isn't massively out of whack, your Swede will be good to go with reasonable loads.
 
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