Husqvarna/HVA/Carl Gustaf 1900 information?

O

Omenator

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I've been doing a little looking around for information on the Husqvarna/HVA/Carl Gustaf 1900 and haven't had much luck.
I'm wondering what cartridges they came chambered in, if there were changes when the production switched from Husqvarna to Carl Gustaf, details on the rifles and how they were built (pictures would be appreciated if you have some) and any other details you'd like to share.

From what info I could find, and most of it was on Swedish gun forums (which google translate really messes up) it seems like the 1900 is a two lug action with a Sako style extractor and plunger ejector with aluminum bottom metal similar to the later model Husqvarna 1640s. From looking at some pictures of the bolt it appears the bolt stop is part of the trigger mechanism, so you'd have to pull the trigger to release the bolt. Also seems the trigger is adjustable, I had a Husqvarna 1640 and that was the only thing I didn't like about it, the trigger was pretty bad.
 
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They were chambered in your common short action, standard action and magnum calibers. Husqvarna released them in the late 1960's and then they got out of the rifle business in 1970 I believe. Carl Gustafs got the tooling and started building them. This went on for a few years and then Förenade Fabriksverken (FFV) made them after that. They only produced them for a short time as they weren't making a profit.

Tradewinds imported them, when FFV took over they started their own importation company in the US, FFV sports. Stoeger then got the rights to import them, but FFV ceased production in '75. Zoli bought the tooling and rights and made the Az1900 rifle. Viking arms in Sweden was making some for a while.

They're great rifles and very undervalued I'm my opinion. Very short lock time, smoothest bolt on the planet, 80 degree bolt throw. Just got one in the mail and am in the process of refinishing the stock. The bolt lugs are kind of dovetail shaped and one of the lugs has a protrusion that fits in a milled slot in the receiver. This keeps the bolt from binding, and it works well. Accuracy reports are great. If you can find one snag it. Or you can pay several thousand for a Zoli 1900.

Baribal should be along shortly with all the proper info. I'm sure I missed something or got the history wrong. Oh yeah they were sold as smith and Wesson rifles for a while too.
 
Found some info at this link:
http://www.skydevaaben.com/allhvamodels/info.xml

Looks like they came in 22-250, 243 WIN, 6.5x55, 270 WIN, 7mm REM MAG, 308 WIN, 30-06, 300 WIN MAG and 9.3x62. All are listed as having 5 round magazine capacity. I'm assuming they only made them in long action length and then made modifications to the magazine or bolt stop for the shorter cartridges, but that's just a guess.
 
Yes, they are all one length. They do have an adjustable trigger and to remove and install the bolt you simply pull the trigger. Baribal is a husqvarna encyclopedia and there are a few others on gunboards & 24hourcampfire that are husky gurus as well.

I believe there were some special order options as well. I've heard that 25-06 and 264 Winchester mag were available as special order. Never seen one though.
 
Here's alist of the calibers they were chamberied ;
.264Win,7mm RM, .300 WM, .308 NM, .338 WM, .358 NM, .458 WM
.222 Rem, 22-250, 243 Win, 6mm Rem, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, 25-06, 6.5X55, .270 Win, 7X57, .280 Rem, .308 Win, 30-06, .358 Win, 35 Whelen, 9.3X62 ....
Some chanbering are quite rare, though...

The Eskilstuna plant was dismantled in 1979, FFV Sports Inc closed down their office in Billings, NY, in 1975, but Stoeger took over the imports 'til '80 with the post' 1900 model, the Sauer-made "3000".
The stopped machining receivers about '77. Shortly after, they also started assembling "CG 3000" which was a Sauer rifle.
The very last 1900 were out of the CG plant in 1979 made from leftover parts.
 
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Thanks Baribal, I didn't know they came in such a variety of chamberings.
When did they switch from the hinged floorplate to the detachable magazine?
I took a look at the Antonio Zoli 1900 and there are quite a few differences between them and the earlier HVA 1900. It's hard to find pictures of the actions without the stocks to really be able to tell the differences though.
 
Baribal said:
Here's alist of the calibers they were chamberied ;
.264Win,7mm RM, .300 WM, .308 NM, .338 WM, .358 NM, .458 WM
.222 Rem, 22-250, 243 Win, 6mm Rem, .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, 25-06, 6.5X55, .270 Win, 7X57, .280 Rem, .308 Win, 30-06, .358 Win, 35 Whelen, 9.3X62 ....
Some chanbering are quite rare, though...

The Eskilstuna plant was dismantled in 1979, FFV Sports Inc closed down their office in Billings, NY, in 1975, but Stoeger took over the imports 'til '80 with the post' 1900 model, the Sauer-made "3000".
The stopped machining receivers about '77. Shortly after, they also started assembling "CG 3000" which was a Sauer rifle.
The very last 1900 were out of the CG plant in 1979 made from leftover parts.
Click to expand...

I'd give my left nut (not using it much anyhow) for a 280 Remington - possibly a250 Savage or 257 Roberts (really not using it that much :) ) . Already have the 25/06
 
Omenator said:
Thanks Baribal, I didn't know they came in such a variety of chamberings.
When did they switch from the hinged floorplate to the detachable magazine?
I took a look at the Antonio Zoli 1900 and there are quite a few differences between them and the earlier HVA 1900. It's hard to find pictures of the actions without the stocks to really be able to tell the differences though.
Click to expand...

Well, mechanically, there's only little difference between the AZ1900 and the CG1900 and HVA-FFV-CG never went to use a detachable magazine, but they had an optional removable magazine box which was clipped into the floorplate.
The main difference between the actions is a second safety lever that permits to open the bolt without disengaging the safety.
 
Does the bolt lock down when the safety is on?
I'm guessing the link I referenced earlier stating magazine capacity of 5 rounds for all the listed cartridges was wrong. I'm guessing belted magnum cartridges get 3 rounds and the non-belted get 5?
 
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Yes, the 1900 bolt locks when safety is applied. The 1900 and the 1600 have the same magazine and bottom metal metal, 5 shots Std / 3 shots Magnum, 9.3X62 is 4 in the mag.
 
I can check the capacity when I get home for the magnum omenator. My safety is a 3 position, the furthest position locks the bolt and the sear, second position allows the bolts to be cycled but not fired. Could be that the trigger group is full of gunk as this rifle has a bunch of dried grease in it. Seems like it's been sitting unused for a long time.
 
Throttle_monkey1 said:
I can check the capacity when I get home for the magnum omenator. My safety is a 3 position, the furthest position locks the bolt and the sear, second position allows the bolts to be cycled but not fired. Could be that the trigger group is full of gunk as this rifle has a bunch of dried grease in it. Seems like it's been sitting unused for a long time.
Click to expand...

I could clean it out for you, it'd give me a chance to see how it all works too ;)
I have a later model Husqvarna 1640 30-06 with the aluminum bottom metal, it did look similar to the 1900 so I'm not too surprised they used it on that rifle as well. I had a early model Husqvarna 1640 30-06 with the steel bottom metal (sold now) and made a list of the differences between them, but there is another thread somewhere around here on a similar note and I'm getting off topic now...
 
A 1900 with a three postition safety??
The trigger is a special trigger, adjustable from the tang (see the adjusting screw in the pic below). This trigger have a two position safety, and that's why Zoli came with the second lever. There was one aftermarket trigger made, but it's really seldom seen, actually, over thirty years of HVA collecting, I only saw it in pictures - and I got a lot of rifles to play with. So, if you have a three position safety with the aftermarket trigger, you're a lucky fellow.

Here are the pictures of the release lever and it's bolt notch;

P1010007_zpstd3h6kd3.jpg

Bolt%20Release%20notch_zpssdpgmkp5.jpg
 
It works pretty much like the 1600 trigger... it locks the bolt by engaging a steel tab into the bolt recess.

Here's a HVA-FFV-CG 1900 trigger;

CG1900%20trigger%201_zpsyybb4lob.jpg


And here's the difference between a CG 1900 and a AZ 1900 trigger;

AZ1990%20vs%20CG1900%20Trigger%202_zpsvl8urddn.jpg


Sorry for the bad pics! :D
 
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Throttle_monkey1 said:
Yes, they are all one length. They do have an adjustable trigger and to remove and install the bolt you simply pull the trigger. Baribal is a husqvarna encyclopedia and there are a few others on gunboards & 24hourcampfire that are husky gurus as well.

I believe there were some special order options as well. I've heard that 25-06 and 264 Winchester mag were available as special order. Never seen one though.
Click to expand...

Ha...ha..TM...he's more like the whole frikken DVD collection !.......... amazing I'd say !!
 
Well, I hope not. That's something you look at once and then put aside, picking up dust ;)
Thanks for the kind words, but I am not in it for glory or whatever, really. What I want is to provide as much as I can from what I've learned (and still does) from several years of picking and collecting these rifles.

Anyhow, the two triggers are pretty much the same thing, except for the bolt release lever (which I actuate in the second pic). The top one is the AZ1900 trigger and the bottom one is the CG1900 one. Look at the pic above, where you see the action tang; you can see the lever behind the safety lever (a bit faded, but you can see it).
As for the bolt handle, it's brazed in. The latest Zoli rifles have the bolt handle braze lower, so they need to be repositioned to fit a CG1900 action.
 
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