Barrel swap between spanish 93 and swedish M96 Mauser?

[5point9straight6]

Ok, here is yet another thread about small ring Mausers. I need some advice. I have an old spanish 93 Mauser with a cosmetically poor receiver. The gun is chambered in 7.62 Nato and registered as .308 Win. I have shot factory .308 Win ammunition, so far without a problem. Shiny barrel, good rifling, it shoots really quite good. I have also heard a lot of bad news about the spanish action and the high pressures associated with non-CRETME ammunition. I'd like to put my spanish barrel on a new receiver and the swedish M96 action comes to mind for its better durability. Can this be done easily at home, or is more elaborate fitting required?The thread length, diameter, and pitch are the same, so the barrel and action should fit together, to my knowledge. So, other than screwing the barrel into the receiver, what adjustments need to be taken to make this work?

PS: Since I will probably get remarks about this, I am not too concerned about the strength of this M96, since I also reload and always load the minimum powder charge.

 

[tiriaq]

When the M1916 Spanish rifles, converted to 7.62 were imported into the US, the importer had a large independent lab do serious testing. There were no problems.
The Swede action may be superior to the Spanish. Usually they are in better condition.
If you always reload,and always load the minimum pawder charge, strength of the Spaniard vs strength of the Swede is a non-issue.
That leaves the cosmetic issue, which could be dealt with by an action swap.
Now, is the swap something that could be done at home? Well, it depends how well equipped your home is. You will need a barrel vice, a receiver wrench, and gauges.
In theory, the Spanish and Swedish barrel shank dimensions are the same. In practice, it is a crap shoot if the barrel indexing (assuming iron sights are involved) and headspace are going to be correct. If indexing is off, you are going to need a lathe. If headspace is off, a reamer and a lathe.

 

[buffdog]

Swedish M96 strength

.
I would not really be too concerned with the strength of the Swedish Mauser 96 actions. The Swedes specified the same formula for receiver steel and did not change or alter that formula (94 Mausers to 1943 Husqvarnas). The CG-63 target rifle can be found with dates from 1900 to the 1940s, and it was chambered in 7.62 NATO. This action was also used by gunsmiths and gunmakers for the 30-06, 8x57, and 9.3x62 along with other higher pressure calibres.

I would have a good gunsmith do it. He might have to set the barrel back a bit to index it properly, and also for headspace reasons. I would also shoot .308 loads that are in the lower pressure range ( if reloading...absolutely not maximum loads), and work loads up carefully, watching for the usual pressure signs. Changing barrels at home is not really a great idea, you have to have a barrel vise, a wrench that properly fits the receiver, headspace guages, and other equipment. Unless you have a lot of experience in rebarreling a rifle, I would say "dont do it."

Trade Ex Canada has 96 Mauser complete rifles from $175-$300 that would be suitable, and you would have the complete rifle to work with. You might even consider one with a very used bore, as they tend to be a bit cheaper. Here is one more thing to consider. Look at Anthony's descriptions of the rifles......I find that he is very fair and his grading is conservative. If you buy the HUSQVARNA COMMERCIAL SPORTER action, it will be a later one, usually about 1944 to 1948, but best of all, there is a difference between the Husqvarna Sporter, and the Husqvarna COMMERCIAL sporter. The Commercial version DOES NOT HAVE THE THUMB CUT IN THE LEFT WALL OF THE RECEIVER. This may make it a bit stronger, but it sure makes it nicer to look at.

Now for something down to earth. While it is good to salvage the good barrel, the cost of doing so could be high. You are going to pay about $200 for an action alone, then have to stock it, drill and tap for scope if not already done, and PAY the Gunsmith to do the work. Then you will have a sporterized military action. You can put a nice colored ribbon on a cow, but it is still a cow, no matter how you dress it up.

For about $250, you can buy a good, Commercial Husqvarna C96, in 8x57 Mauser, 6.5x55 Mauser, or other calibres. For about $400+ you can get a late model 1600 series, and Trade Ex has Husqvarna 98 FN rifles, Voeres, Brnos, and lots of others. If you buy one of these, the description will tell you if the "extras" such a scope mounts, bent bolts, etc. have been made. These are things you will have to pay for extra for a Gunsmith to do if you convert a military action.

For example...I bought a Husqvarna 9.3x57, with Weaver mounts installed for $250. I bought a 8x57 Husqvarna Commercial, with a side safety, winter bolt knob, bent bolt, and a Tasco 4x, post and cross hair scope, for $225. I bought a Husqvarna C96 in 6.5x55 with a Mannlicher stock for $195, and a C96 with side safety, in a modified CG63 target stock for $185. The last two were complete with Weaver bases (and would have cost me about $50 for a gunsmith to drill and tap, and mount these bases.) All had good barrels, and were in much better condition than I expected. And, I have a brand name, old world craftsmanship, hunting (and target) rifle at a cost of about 1/4 of what a new one would cost me today.

You might consider selling the Spanish, and getting on the Trade Ex website. You might even considering the 8x57. It will do everything the .308 will, and with modern loads, will come close to the 30-06. North American ammunition manufacturers tend to download the 8x57 because of the difference in old (.318 diameter) and newer (.323 diameter) barrels......they are afraid of a liability suit. The Europeans are well versed in the difference, and their ammo is a lot better in performance. Since you already reload, the cost of components is about the same, and all you would have to do is buy a set of 8x57 dies, cases, and bullets.

You asked for advice. Flog the Spanish, get on the Trade Ex website, go to the Hunting and Sporting rifle section, look through it, (it is acceptable to drool a bit when doing so), make a selection, call Anthony, and buy a quality rifle at a very reasonable price. Then, enjoy.
.

 

[Baribal]

Most (real) Mauser experts make a warning about using any pre-98 Mausers (some even specify pre-1905) for intense pressure rounds (50 000 and up).
Ackley and lately Jerry Kuhnhausen tested the material of the Mausers (J.K. used a spectrometer) and it was defined that they were made of low carbon steel ranging from our SAE 1020 to SAE 1035, even for the bolts. This makes them more prone to set back than pre-post WWI contemporary (P-14/M17, Springfileds - using chrome-nickel steel) because made out of "softer" material. Modern (post WWII) actions are now mostly made of much stronger Chrome-Moly alloy steel.
According to many, since these actions (pre-98) were designed before the introduction of the "high pressure rounds" (i.e. 7.9X57 JS), it should not be attempted to use these with the older Mausers.
In P.O. Ackely Volume II, the addenda (called "supplement") shows some very interesting informations about commercial rounds. It is usually widely accepted that the commercial ammos are loaded to about 85% of the MAP pressure of a specific round. You can see it both in Ackley's latest version of the Vol. II and when using programs such as Quickload (the "safe" of Yellow shaded area represents the 85% of the MAP pressure, and it is usually quite close to the reality and from the commercial ammos performances).
So, in the Vol. II, Norma gives the following pressures (not MAP, but actual working pressures) 9.3X62 - 47 100 PSI (85% of the 56 550 PSI MAP) / 8X57 JS - 47 100 PSI (85% of the 56 550 PSI MAP) / 6.5X55 SE - 47 100 PSI / 30-06 Sprg - 47 000 PSI etc, etc. The 7.62 NATO is loaded to quite conservative pressures, too (50 000 PSI Av. Max pressure see - Small Calibers, US Army tm43-0001-27) while some civilian or commercial .308 Win are loaded to very close to the MAP of 60 000 PSI.
Also note that HVA never used any chambering having a MAP of 57 000 PSI (means, a 47 000 PSI working pressure) for ANY commercial rifles made out of M94/38 receivers, not even for the later 640 (solid walls).

The bubba'd P-14/M17, M98 make much better candidates to rebareling and wildcatting. Espeicially in those days of super-duper-short, long extra long magnums.
The M94/96/38 have a magazine issue, too. It is limited to 3.260".
If you realy want to make your own, buy a good condition civilian FN M98, a Cz or Brno ZG 47, even a pre-64 Winchester and let's do it.
But, please don't screw up old valuable military pieces, especially the all matching ones.