How to tell what Swedish Mauser I have?

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Fox

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I have a Swedish Mauser that was adapted for hunting, it has a scope mount and a re-crown on the barrel, no sights and a turned down bolt.

I wanted to know if there is a way to rule out this being a 94 Mauser?

I am going through the process of getting things together to reload but I want to make sure I stick with safe loads. I know the 96 and 38 Mausers are strong actions and I believe I have a 38 but not entirely sure.

I will not be pushing the envelope on pressure but hoping to load close to the published Max for IMR 4831 without having any issues.
 
How long is the barrel? M94s were pretty short.
Who made it? Even with a scope base on, the marks on the receiver ring would partly show.
 
tiriaq said:
How long is the barrel? M94s were pretty short.
Who made it? Even with a scope base on, the marks on the receiver ring would partly show.
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The barrel is 22in but has been cut and re-crowned, the wood seems to be original, 2 rings on it with one having the hole for the cleaning rod still there and sitting about 3in from the muzzle.

I will take some pics tonight, it looks like a 38 to me as the wood handguard is shorter looking than the 96 mauser. I cannot seem to find pictures of the 94 mauser that does not have wood to the muzzle and a carbine length, was there one that looked like the 38/96?

It has a turned down bolt but that looks like it was done after the fact, done well but not original I don't think.

The gun shoots 0.5in groups at 100 yards with factory ammo and my poor shooting, ha ha.

I have some 1931 headstamped soft point and they do not chamber, the bullet hits the lands, I think this is 160gr stuff. The round tip FMJ military ammo fills the magazine and chambers.
 
A M94 barrel was about 17". The 1938 revision brought in the 24" barrel. Many M96s were altered, and new rifles were built. If is a Husqvarna, it is probably a M38, although Husqvarna did assemble some M96s for sale to shooters. HVAs date to the 1940s. If it is a Mauser or Carl Gustav, it started out as a M96.
HVA receivers are made from different steel than the earlier rifles.
 
The 96 and 38 Mauser should both be fine to load to 2650fps with a 140gr bullet then, in the ballpark of the max published loads.

I have read about the 96/38 conversions but they did make 96 rifles at the same time as the 38.

I think as long as it is not a 94 then I am fine, it is not a Krag that is for sure, that one is obvious.
 
A 5 digit serial number is usual for a 94

Does it have a slot cut through the butt for the sling? The 94 did not have a rear conventional sling swivel.
 
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You might be able to "rule out" it being a 94, but not real easy. First off, I do not believe that there is any difference in the action design for 94, 96 or 38. M94's were made at Carl Gustafs from 1898 to 1932 (first run of 12,000 was made by Mauser in Germany with Swedish inspectors) The M96's were made at Carl Gustafs from 1898 to 1929 and M/96's and M/38's by Husqvarna 1941 to 44 - these are the dates of the various Inspector's initials given in the "Crown Jewels" book. The same book lists the serial numbers by year. So, you would need the year (from the scroll mark on top of the receiver), the Inspector initials (right in front of serial number), and the serial number - that would tell you whether it is an M94 or an M96. From a very reliable source, I was told that many, many M94's were surpluses in the 1950's through 70's and made into sporters by companies like "Stiga". I have one in 30-06. Essentially the 94 was the calvary carbine, the m96 was the infantry rifle and the M38 was a short rifle.
 
I thought the 94 was a weaker action and it was due to those and the Krag rifles that the 6.5x55mm factory loads are down loaded so much.
 
I had heard that M94 were "weaker" but have not found anywhere describing why that might be true. Have heard it alleged that the heat treatments might not have been as good as in later years, but, as per the Crown Jewels book and other sources, the M94 and M96 were being made side by side in the same arsenal since 1898... My Stiga has the stamps that it was proofed (crown over S&L) for its 30-06 chambering.
 
Potashminer said:
I had heard that M94 were "weaker" but have not found anywhere describing why that might be true. Have heard it alleged that the heat treatments might not have been as good as in later years, but, as per the Crown Jewels book and other sources, the M94 and M96 were being made side by side in the same arsenal since 1898... My Stiga has the stamps that it was proofed (crown over S&L) for its 30-06 chambering.
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Ya, it is one of those things where someone says "That gun is 100 years old so it cannot be safe", 1916 guns are no different for steel than things made in the 40s and for the most part they were all proofed at the same level as the same round now, smokeless powder and whatnot.

I have a 1915 No 1 Mk III that shoots fine and a Steyr M95 that shoots fine, I just don't want to blow up this beautiful and great shooting gun but I do want to maximize what the 6.5x55mm case can do if possible.
 
tiriaq said:
A M94 barrel was about 17". The 1938 revision brought in the 24" barrel. Many M96s were altered, and new rifles were built. If is a Husqvarna, it is probably a M38, although Husqvarna did assemble some M96s for sale to shooters. HVAs date to the 1940s. If it is a Mauser or Carl Gustav, it started out as a M96.
HVA receivers are made from different steel than the earlier rifles.
Click to expand...

Actually, the steel for all Swedish Mauser's was the same and made from the same formula of steel from the same source of high grade iron ore and carbon, the Swedish iron ore contains a very pure magnetite-apatite mix, that is common to the high grade Swedish iron ore in their extremely rich and large Lapland deposits.

The Swedish Military specifically requested that the steel formula stay the same.

The only difference between the earlier M94 and M96 made carbines and rifles and the later WW2 era produced Husqvarna M38 and M96 rifles was the different heat treatment Husqvarna applied to these Husky rifles that produced a harder steel throughout the full action unlike the earlier pre, during and post WW1 era made rifles and carbines actions which just tend to have a surface hardening leaving a soft core.

This is why pre WW2 Swedish Mauser actions tend to bend and split open like a banana when overloaded because of their soft and more elastic steel receivers compared to the much harder WW2 made Husky receivers which tend to grenade when overloaded. Granted it often takes more pressure to do this with their stronger actions compared to the softer earlier actions.

BTW, most WW2 production German Mauser's and other small arms were made from steel formulated from imported Swedish ore as the Germans had very limited iron ore deposits and it was mainly of a poor grade unsuitable for small arms unlike the imported high grade Swedish ore.

M94 actions are just as strong as M96 actions of the same production time period.
 
I picked IMR 4831 as a powder to start because everyone says it is the dream powder for the 6.5x55.

I am looking at the published loads through IMR online and they are saying a max of 46.5gr to get about 2700fps and 44900 CUP, this is the lowest pressure for that velocity. I have picked up a box of Hornady ELD-X bullets for it and I plan to start at the minimum and go up from there but I hope to be in the ballpark of a safe 2650fps out of the 22in barrel.

Do you think that makes sense? This gun is a sporter, scope mounted and butt plate on it, no going back to original here so looking to make a longer range deer gun out of, longer range for Ontario.
 
IMR4831 works very well for me in two M96s and a M38 Husqvarna. IMR4064 works equally well. The 6.5 Swede is a tad overbore so it does well with slower burning propellants. My next tests will be with IMR4350 and W760. Its worth noting that both the Lyman and Sierra reloading manuals cite IMR4895 as an accuracy powder for 140gr bullets.

I don't see much point in pushing the velocity/pressure limits with these fine old rifles. They aren't magnums after all. I'd start low and work up my charges incrementally watching for pressure signs per SOP. Both the Hornady and Sierra match bullets are a good bet.

I've always found M1903 Springfields to be the most accurate MILSURP rifle assuming a sound bore, good bedding, tight sights and quality handloads, but I'd place the Swede Mausers in the same category, all things being equal.
 
mkrnel said:
Actually, the steel for all Swedish Mauser's was the same and made from the same formula of steel from the same source of high grade iron ore and carbon, the Swedish iron ore contains a very pure magnetite-apatite mix, that is common to the high grade Swedish iron ore in their extremely rich and large Lapland deposits.

The Swedish Military specifically requested that the steel formula stay the same.

The only difference between the earlier M94 and M96 made carbines and rifles and the later WW2 era produced Husqvarna M38 and M96 rifles was the different heat treatment Husqvarna applied to these Husky rifles that produced a harder steel throughout the full action unlike the earlier pre, during and post WW1 era made rifles and carbines actions which just tend to have a surface hardening leaving a soft core.

This is why pre WW2 Swedish Mauser actions tend to bend and split open like a banana when overloaded because of their soft and more elastic steel receivers compared to the much harder WW2 made Husky receivers which tend to grenade when overloaded. Granted it often takes more pressure to do this with their stronger actions compared to the softer earlier actions.

BTW, most WW2 production German Mauser's and other small arms were made from steel formulated from imported Swedish ore as the Germans had very limited iron ore deposits and it was mainly of a poor grade unsuitable for small arms unlike the imported high grade Swedish ore.

M94 actions are just as strong as M96 actions of the same production time period.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. I based my comment on my experience drilling and tapping these receivers. The M96s give every indication of being cased, with a hard skin, and softer core, while the HVA 38s seem to be tough but uniform through and through.
 
tiriaq said:
Thanks for the information. I based my comment on my experience drilling and tapping these receivers. The M96s give every indication of being cased, with a hard skin, and softer core, while the HVA 38s seem to be tough but uniform through and through.
Click to expand...

No problem, I guessed that was the fact, most find the HVA receivers much harder to D&T than the earlier Swedes. Worn Husky M38's also tend to cycle a bit better as the harder metal to metal contact is still better with the two harder metals (Bolt and Action) opposed to the worn surface hardening on the older surface hardening only treated actions which tend to be a bit stickier with wear of the hardened receiver race ways.
 
Other stuff got in the way tonight for photos but I took a look and unless there is another company that starts with "HUSQ" it is a husky, so I assume a model 38.

Anyone see any issues with the published loadings as max? I just want to get a little more than the 2500fps from the factory stuff.

2650 fps with a good bullet and hoping to be able to make a 400 yard deer gun.
 
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