Did I do well on this trade?

cote_b

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
232   0   0
Location
Ontario
Hi guys,

I made a trade a while back and I'm just curious if it was a fair one all around. I traded a Thai Arisaka T38 with cleaning rod and dust cover for a Swedish m38 carbine. Both rifles are in g-vg condition. It was a hard call for me, since I liked them both equally.

Was this a reasonable trade?
 
I think the Arisaka worth more than a swedish M38,particulary with cleaning rod and dust cover but its just how i feel it. At the end, if you are happy with the trade,its fine:)
Jocelyn
 
John Sukey is right again (it's become a habit with him): Carbines are REALLY loud.

The Model 38 Swede SHORT RIFLE has a 23-inch barrel: not really a Carbine. They are somewhat easier on the eardrums.

Recipe for deafening muzzle-blast: slow powder + light bullet + short barrel = 2 hearing aids at 30 years of age. Carcano Carbines are just awful.

But you can go the reverse route and use a quicker powder and a heavier bullet. The powder then all burns IN the barrel instead of out in the open. Result is more velocity, less noise and MUCH more comfortable shooting. With this, I have even got a Carcano Carbine to behave and shoot nicely. The 2-foot daylight fireballs are a thing of the past; the rifle likes 4198 in careful doses.

Feed your Swede a quick powder: 4198, 3031, 4064, 4895. You won't regret it.

BTW: pretty good trade!
.
 
Thanks for the info guys! I always double up on hearing protection when using centre fire, usually just muffs with .22's. My polish nagant sounds like a damn howitzer, so I know better than to skimp on hearing protection!

smellie, thanks for the info on reloading. My and my buddy will start doing 6.5x55 soon, since he has an Ag42 aswell.
 
Feed your Swede a quick powder: 4198, 3031, 4064, 4895. You won't regret it.

I'll attest to this. I load 42gr of 4895 or BL-C(2) under 140SSTs for my m96. No fireballs, deadly accurate and consistent, and recoil is like shooting a 38SPL in a 357Mag rifle.
 
With all the huge variety of powders which are available to us today, people lose sight of one point: military ammunition generally used the fastest powder they could get away with. Reason for this was cost, of course, as all powders cost about the same to make. A charge of 40 grains will be cheaper than a charge of 50 grains. As well, there was shipping tonnage to consider when supplying troops in the field. An extra 10 grains of powder in each of 3 million rounds is almost another 4300 pounds to be freighted up to the front..... and, at one time, it all had to be hauled by horses, mules or men. A couple of tons can make rather a difference when you have to carry it several miles.

And so the military loads generally were made up to suit the quicker powders. It is possible to squeeze more power out of them with more-progressive powders NOW, but these were not available a century ago. They were only just beginning to become available HALF a century ago. So rifles designed 117 years ago (such as the Swede M-96 and its family)....... or 123 years ago (the whole .303 clan) were engineered for what they had at that time, which were what we now call the faster powders.

AG-42/42B were engineered for existing ammunition, in this case the Skr. Patr. M.39 with the 139-grain spitzer-type FMJBT bullet..... and it had a relatively-fast powder. Fastest way to get into trouble with this rifle is to start loading with slow powders. Stick to mild loads with something like 3031 or 4895 (at slowest) and bring the loads up until the rifle is ejecting in a sensible fashion: not tossing its empties halfway to Saskatoon.

Hope this helps.

Have fun! That's what it's all about!
.
 
Back
Top Bottom