Husqvarna FN98 Military Action

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Riflechair

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Hello friends
I recently ran across this Husqvarna FN98 in 8X57. For me the interesting part is that its built on a military action with all of the extra machining steps to include a charger bridge and stripper clip thumb reloading groove.
Was there a specific period where FN transitioned from standard military mauser actions to commercial actions?
This does not look like a surplus action - the quality of the milling is superb.
Interested in your thoughts

Note the strange bolt handle and safety delete

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This is a Husqvarna using an FN 98 action with no thumb slot, and an unfinished charger guide. My hypothesis is that rifles like this started out as unfinished military actions that were diverted to commercial use as the world switched over to semi-auto service rifles. It was probably a gradual change over, with no definitive " on this date they started doing this". There was still ( 1950's) a strong market for bolt action sporter rifles, so eventually shortcuts were taken to reduce costs, like switching from a 'C' breech to an 'H'.

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My first reaction to RC's pictures was that the bolt has been changed out and someone really was busy around the bolt handle inletting in the stock. I have several Husqvarna here - not seeing raw wood like that around the bolt handle. Which leads to that safety delete - no body says was a factory thing - gun has been "out in the wild" maybe 70 years?? Who knows where that was done - is not apparent to me how a safety function, of any type, replaced it - not sure even 1950's Husqvarna would sell a rifle without a functioning safety??
 
Interesting, the wood in the bolt inleting is unfinished and look really “fresh”… what you guys think?
 
It’s a bubba… OR. That’s not the original bolt and it was made to fit. The handle doesn’t look “FN”-ish. Check the proof marks.

I’m have a Husqvarna rifle exactly like that with the original M98 action design. Only differences between the military versions is a one stage trigger, no bolt-stop on the follower, and the bottom of the handle is flat and knurled. Otherwise it’s a classic C ring M98 with locking screws and all.
 
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You are absolutely right - someone probably misplaced the original bolt.
I hate the safety delete

Potashminer said:
My first reaction to RC's pictures was that the bolt has been changed out and someone really was busy around the bolt handle inletting in the stock. I have several Husqvarna here - not seeing raw wood like that around the bolt handle. Which leads to that safety delete - no body says was a factory thing - gun has been "out in the wild" maybe 70 years?? Who knows where that was done - is not apparent to me how a safety function, of any type, replaced it - not sure even 1950's Husqvarna would sell a rifle without a functioning safety??
Click to expand...
 
These are fine actions… been thinking about building a Kar98k from the ground-up. The action on my Husky has no “Sweden” roll mark so it’s a perfect candidate… With the prices where they are for K98 shooters it’s almost the same cost to just build one.
 
^ what does that entail? using a new old stock barrel and a repro stock??

I’m collecting parts to do a more modern Mauser build on a husqy 8x57 commercial FN
 
conor_90 said:
^ what does that entail? using a new old stock barrel and a repro stock??

I’m collecting parts to do a more modern Mauser build on a husqy 8x57 commercial FN
Click to expand...

Repo stock, new Lother-Wather or NOS barrel. I’d just go the standard configuration… maybe some Swedish target sight. Looking at the EE these days I may actually do it.
 
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Frank DeHaas's book well describes the FN Supreme actions... I have one of the early military style actioned Husky's. You can tell the quality of the build when cycling the bolt.
 
HVA used "from the shelf" military actions for the 146 / 246 and when they finally got more supply from FN after the war, in late '46, the first ones were from the shelf unfinished war leftover actions. FN started by removing the rear bridge feed ramp tabs cutting operation, then, by 1947, they had the "solid left wall" actions for supply, following HVA's M/38 "commercial" idea and were on the way to manufacture the first "H" ring actions. Then, by 1949, they had a new bottom metal / floorplate design ready with the elongated floorplate release button which stayed until the end of the deal with HVA (about 1951-2).
In the meantime, HVA came with their own modified / hybrid M/38-98 action called the 1640 in 1953, using the idea of the streamlined bolt shroud shape like the Brno commercial rifle - which were now using HVA's idea of a "left solid wall - and a mix of M/38 and M/98 features as they didn't owned the rights to manufacture the M/98 actions but had rights for the M/94/96/38 ones.
At that point (1951-2) FN have started dealing with Sako. Then, by 1956 (announced around mid '55 if my memory serves me right), FN finally offered the "Supreme" action which had the very nice Sako trigger and the a streamlined bolt shroud copied from the Brno and HVA offers. Sako were then the world leader for hammer-forged barrels process invented by the Germans for the MG-42 and were manufacturing and owning rights for a bunch of military sub-machine and machine guns features / parts.
The FN-Sako deal lasted a long time and FN used a lot of Sako triggers and barrels for their commercial rifles which they offered in America under the FN crest. Basically, from what I understood with my conversation with Sako's own historian, Sako were building their Mauser rifles together with and for FN. The first FN Hi-Power (and later, Supreme) were the exact same as the Sako Mauser and from what I understood, they were also assembled at Sako's plant. Over the years, FN used a bunch of Sako produced parts for their military production too.
 
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On a side note, after market 98 vertical flip safeties like the Buehler type have an interesting "issue" I discovered recently.
The ones that have the lever on the right side don't lock the bolt closed, they do provide some resistance, but a solid lift on the handle will lower the safety as the bolt opens.
The ones that install with the lever on the left side will lock the bolt closed firmly and will not disengage from lifting the bolt handle.
 
This is amazing thank you.
So to confirm:
1. This is an "Off the shelf" military M98 action
2. It has been scrubbed of all original markings and the HVA roll stamp applied by FN

I have to say though that I don't see any evidence of post manufacture grinding or milling anywhere on the action (unless these were blank receivers)
The milling quality is superb compared to most of the surplus actions I've seen.

Baribal said:
HVA used "from the shelf" military actions for the 146 / 246 and when they finally got more supply from FN after the war, in late '46, the first ones were from the shelf unfinished war leftover actions. FN started by removing the rear bridge feed ramp tabs cutting operation, then, by 1947, they had the "solid left wall" actions for supply, following HVA's M/38 "commercial" idea and were on the way to manufacture the first "H" ring actions. Then, by 1949, they had a new bottom metal / floorplate design ready with the elongated floorplate release button which stayed until the end of the deal with HVA (about 1951-2).
In the meantime, HVA came with their own modified / hybrid M/38-98 action called the 1640 in 1953, using the idea of the streamlined bolt shroud shape like the Brno commercial rifle - which were now using HVA's idea of a "left solid wall - and a mix of M/38 and M/98 features as they didn't owned the rights to manufacture the M/98 actions but had rights for the M/94/96/38 ones.
At that point (1951-2) FN have started dealing with Sako. Then, by 1956 (announced around mid '55 if my memory serves me right), FN finally offered the "Supreme" action which had the very nice Sako trigger and the a streamlined bolt shroud copied from the Brno and HVA offers. Sako were then the world leader for hammer-forged barrels process invented by the Germans for the MG-42 and were manufacturing and owning rights for a bunch of military sub-machine and machine guns features / parts.
The FN-Sako deal lasted a long time and FN used a lot of Sako triggers and barrels for their commercial rifles which they offered in America under the FN crest. Basically, from what I understood with my conversation with Sako's own historian, Sako were building their Mauser rifles together with and for FN. The first FN Hi-Power (and later, Supreme) were the exact same as the Sako Mauser and from what I understood, they were also assembled at Sako's plant. Over the years, FN used a bunch of Sako produced parts for their military production too.
Click to expand...
 
Some early military actions have fainted FN markings but most were never stamped, as they were shelved unfinished.
 
I've got the same sort of thing on my Husky 9.3x62. It's exactly what I was looking for...Thumb cut, charger guide, flag safety. Essentially what you would have had in the Denys Finch-Hatton days.
 
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