OT: Anyone out there have a 6.5x55 Swede Mauser?

[Newtmaker]

I have an opportunity to buy one that shoots nice and looks pretty good. It feels very tight and the trigger is excellent. Bone stock, no mods to it at all.

Walt

[2571]

Buy it!

[JB]

I have several. The most commonly found are the M96 and the shorter M38 rifles. For the most part even the military rifles are good shooters and it's a dandy little cartridge for whitetails.

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

What make is it? The Husqvarna and Carl Gustaf were the best, most accurate. I have one of the Carl Gustafs. It has been sporterized with a ADL type snythetic stock, D&T-ed for scope and a Bold trigger. It is a tack driver.

[Newtmaker]

It is the Gustaf. All the numbers match so it seems like a good deal. 300.00. I guess I will start looking for brass and order some dies.

Walt

[Hobie]

That is a good deal. I would prefer the 38, 96/38 and 96 in that order. IMHO, the maker is not so important. These are all quality firearms. $300 is a good deal on one now.

[JB]

If you're talking value the M94 or M41B would be the kings. Your rifle is most likely a M96 or M38 made by an arsenal cutting down a M96 (what some collectors call the M96/38). I agree if the numbers match and everything is in excellent condition, $300 is a fair price. Some folks get tore up about the markings on the stock disk, but that never concerned me too much. Even if the bore was mint the last time some armorer checked it, it may have had thousands of rounds down the tube since then.

[Pete44ru]

Years ago, I had picked up a custom M94 that had been mannlicher-stocked in Maple, but sold it after I found it gave intermittant ignition (IOW, sometimes not firing).

I tried a new FP, and cleaning out the interior of the bolt body, to no avail.

Since I still wanted a 6.5x55, though, when I came across a CRF Winchester Model 70 Featherweight Classic three years ago, I jumped on it.

It's a fine-shooting cartridge, good enough that the Scandanavians use it on Moose (Elg).

.

[Riley/MN]

Yep, it's the Swede's '06.

I have a few of those in my closet..... A 96, a sporterized 38 and a 94.

[Old Time Hunter]

My M96 is the most accurate rifle I own.

[wolfdog]

The sweede rules. I have four, a sporterized m96/38, a sporterized m94, an unmolested m96, adn a combo 12 gauge over 6.5x55. All of them are very accurate and the round is deadly on deer sized game. Buy it.

[awp101]

Here's my m38:


It was already d&t when I found it which made it a natural for my sporter collection.

An original m94 carbine is on my lottery/Holy Grail list...

[JHarold]

picked one up at a Montgomery Wards store in the early 60's for $ 19.95 They had a huge box of them. Hunted deer and elk with it for many years. It was the short carbine.
all matching serial numbers.

[JReed]

Buy it!

+1

[yooper2]

Definitely buy it! Great rifles in an even better cartridge. My best friend and I both got M96s and they shoot great with a variety of jacketed as well as cast bullets. I wouldn't hesitate to use that rifle on any creature in N. America save the big bears in Alaska (with the proper heavy bullet).

Eric

[Charles]

They are great rifles. I have an excellent one and paid $80.00 for it about 1981. I guess prices have gone up.

[model55]

Yep ,I remember one store had them in a wine barrel 50.00 a pop and no paperwork-wish I knew then what I know now

[Nath]

What a gorgeous cartridge that is

Fully approved here

N.

[C. Cash]

Being massed produced military rifles, the bore sizes can vary. Mine is a Carl Gustav Mod. 94, made in 1898, with short barrel and turned down bolt. My Grandfather bought it back in the 50's. It shoots shotgun patterns with factory ammo as it has a .268 and 1/2 bore, which makes finding a good bullet a bit tricky. Have not had the time, money or patience to remedy the problem but hopefully will someday. There are bullets out there intended for the Carcano that will work, if your bore is the larger size. More often than not, I don't think bore size is a major issue and these are excellent rifles. My local gunsmith specializes in customizing them and says the metallurgy on the Swedes was superior to many of the 98's.

[olyinaz]

If it's all matching with a pristine bore that's a good deal! I love the way these things are made and they're a joy to shoot.

Oly

[Hombre]

I use to collect the Swedish model 94, 38, 41 and the 96 but I sold the collection when i realized that I could afford to buy old Winchester and Marlin lever actions.

Anyway, I love the caliber 6,5x55 and use it very often when I am hunting.

Best,
Stefan
Sweden

[Jeff H]

Some people were shocked when I admitted that my 'Roberts and 7x57s might have some competition for my affection, but the Swede has won me over. After playing with the stock military jobs, I put some elbow grease and a small amount of cash into an '09 Argentine action just to see what I could wring out of the old Scandanavian.

It has a definite appetite for Hornady 160 grain round-noses, as seen below. I have not had a chance to play with varmint-weight bullets, but I guess I could use the 160s for that if I had too. The commercial barrel is only 1:9, so I think I should be able to get the lighter stuff to work too.



Second three-shot group ever fired from this rifle:


Third three-shot group ever fired from this rifle:

[Sixgun]

Nope, don't have one but I shot several, the latest one last weekend at the gunclub. It was an original military target version one with a sweet trigger and a strange looking stock-- cartouched.

It took me a few shots, but I did get on the 500 meter ram.-------Sixgun

[Riley/MN]

The commercial barrel is only 1:9, so I think I should be able to get the lighter stuff to work too.

Back in the day when I was doing more playing with such things we were trying to push some light bullets out of the military guns which if I remember correctly were 1 in 7.5. The lightly constructed bullets we used would fly apart from the fast rotation. I always thought a light solid might be the way to go, but my pocketbook never let me find out..... A 1 in 9 should work fine I would think. Let us know if you give 'em a try.

[Jeff H]

.... A 1 in 9 should work fine I would think. Let us know if you give 'em a try.

I will, and thanks for the added info. I shot 87 grain SPs in the M38 and they did quite well, staying under an inch with a Lyman reciever sight. That's right about where the 160s shot, so a scope probably would have weeded out the shooter's errors with the peep. I had a bunch of old Canadian bullets that were older than me that I used up in the first few years I started messing with the Swede but have run out. I am certain someone makes a "light" .284 that will be suiatable, and even the 140 would not be out of the question - especially on the coyotes that plop down on their haunches at 400 to 600 yards and just watch me. One of these days..... How do they know that I have a .22 LR or .357 lever in my hands when they do that????

I know these aren't levers either, but I do find it fascinating that the '94 Swede (among many examples) was a contemporary of few famous American levers, but the fact that the two action types have both endured is a testament to the genius of their respective founders and the fact that "application" is and has been pretty important when trying to determine which one is "better."

My answer to that is "BOTH!" Just depends on the application......... or what I feel like using when I get up that morning.

[Riley/MN]

Ah yes, I did not mean to say the light bullets could not be made to shoot well. We were trying to push them pretty hard for some high velocity loads - that's when they started coming apart on us....

[Jeff H]

Ah yes, I did not mean to say the light bullets could not be made to shoot well..........

Yep, I got that. I was just adding information on to what you reported and did not mean to contradict what you said.

Some folks will never try lighter bullets in a "fast" twist, but I have had reasonably decent luck with it - not always, but frequently enough that it's worth spending the money on a box or two to find out.