Is this an M96/M38 or M41?? Need help IDing this Swede by Husqvarna

[kilohertz]

HI Gang,

Long time lurker, learner, first post. I dug out my old Swedish Mouser action my my Uncle gave me years ago...as he is no longer with us, I can't ask him the questions. I don;t know if he did the sporterizing or whether he got it his way, but it has been "demilitarized" and a new black resin stock added to it. I have removed the stock to discover that the old trigger guard/magazine is gone. The new stock has no opening on the bottom so each shell must be ejected manually to unload it (YUCH! ) I would ultimately like to make this into a nice hunting rifle, but not sure if it will be worth the expense. Would like to D/T the receiver for a nice scope and find a nice wood stock.

So what I would like to know is, what the heck is this? I have searched around the web and thru the books my Uncle left me, and I can't seem to find a definitive answer. It's an M96 or derivative, but beyond that, the Husqvarna is throwing me off as well as the 1941 date. Barrel is 23". I would also need to find an original magazine/trigger guard once I figure out what this is.

Any help to ID this would be most grateful. Is this a worthwhile project or should I just leave it as is and find a nice CG63, already D/T and ready to go?

thanks all!

PS I hope the pics are okay. May be a bit large but at least you can see the detail.

 

[mikerock]

It's an m/38 purpose built carbine made in 1941. The m/41 rifles were tapped on the left side of the receiver for the scope mount, and an m/96/38 would have an earlier date of manufacture.

 

[gordonlbyrne]

tradex as the original stock for the m38 30-50 dollars and and maybe the magazine and trigger guard give them a call .And yes its an m38 made by Huskavarna.

 

[buffdog]

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A 1941 Husqvarna made rifle would be a M38. There are M96 rifles that were converted to M38 standards by both Carl Gustafs and Husqvarna, but when WWII broke out, the production of rifles was switched to Husqvarna and Carl Gustafs made other weapons such as machine guns. While some people call the converted M38 rifles "M96/38" it is not correct as the Swedes considered all of these rifles (both purpose made and converted ones,) as M38 and did not differentiate between the two.

It looks like there may be a bit of light rust on it. Take some FINE steel wool and rub it GENTLY. Do this dry with NO oil or other lubricants as the use of a lubricant will form an abrasive compound and cut into the blue.

I realize that this has a "sentimental" attachment, but realistically you can buy a sporter rifle from Trade Ex for about $250, and it is going to take you this amount or more of money to put this barreled action back into a semblance of it's original shape, and even then, it is a "parts gun." as the numbers on any purchased parts will be different.

It is probably best to just drill and tap it for a scope, as your aim is to make a hunting rifle and leave it in the resin stock. A CG-63 rifle was purpose built for target shooting on the range. As such, it does this very well, but for hunting purposes, it is not the best idea as it is longer and heavier, with a stock that is a bit bulkier. As mentioned. go to the Trade-Ex website and look at their Hunting and Sporting rifles. If you are selective in your choice, you will find one that is drilled and tapped already, (saving you about $100) and has the bolt handle already bent for a scope (another $75-100.) I would also choose one that has a SIDE SAFETY as it is much more convenient to use. Although the 6.5x55 rifles are a bit scarce, there are lots of other hunting calibres such as the 8x57. The 8x57 Mauser cartridge is very close to the 30-06 and can slightly better it with European loadings. With the HVA Commercial rifles, there is NO thumb cut out in the left receiver wall and are considered a bit stronger and nicer finished.
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[mkrnel]

Trade-Ex is sold out of 6.5x55mm sporters, they are always the first to sell out among their used Swedish rifles, and they may not be getting anymore any time soon as the dollar exchange and rising prices from Sweden and lower amount left to find there now may make them uneconomical to import.

It is getting hard to find a nice 6.5x55mm sporter now as whoever has one wants to keep them!

They still have plenty of CG-63's and some M96 FSR rifles for now.

 

[kilohertz]

Hi guys,

First, let me thank all of you for the great response and warm reception! Just great! Thank you.

Good info, and I now know what I have. I now need to decide what to do. Yes, sentimental value, but like you say, will take many more $$ to make it into what I want. I have looked at Trade Ex, actually spent about 2 hours on the site, and that is how I found out about the CG63, but now I know this is not a great hunting piece. The sporter option would definitely be the way to go, but as mentioned, sold out. I think I will just wait to see if any more come into stock...and leave my uncle's as it was for now. I did see a few sporting stocks on Trade Ex for this, but they were all sold out. I do have some high "see thru" rings on the Browning BLR .358 I got from him as well, don't know why they were on there as I have low mounts on my same gun in .308. I could move the high rings to the Swede and that would probably be enough clearance to use the gun as is, safety and all. Will have to do some checking on the fit, but certainly worth confirming. I have all the dies for reloading the 6.5X55 and several boxes of ammo and have never shot this caliber so I would like to add it to my repertoire.

Anyway, thanks guys!

 

[kilohertz]

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With the HVA Commercial rifles, there is NO thumb cut out in the left receiver wall and are considered a bit stronger and nicer finished.
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Forgot to comment on this..have one of these in 30-06, just a real beauty and very nicely finished. I was told it was called a "mountain rifle" as it has a short barrel, maybe 20"?? Can't remember off the top of me noggin but it is a great rifle.