My latest Swedish Sweetheart (pics)

Claven2

Claven2

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This one started out as a (I think?) Model 146 in 8mm Mauser bought from Tradex for a pittance compared to, for example, a Remington 700. the buttplate was cracked and the stock recoil lug area was setting back noticeably, but the tang hadn't cracked yet.

Ended up glass bedding the stock with bisonite to stabilize the setback issue. Removed the buttplate and went with a Pachmayr decelerator. Barrel was minty, but I wanted something a little more exotic so I had it reamed to 8x63 Swedish.
(see here: http://www.8x63swedish.pridham.ca/home.html)http://www.8x63swedish.pridham.ca/home.html

D&T for Leupold bases & rings, topped with a bushnell Elite 3200 2-7 scope.

FN-type left low swing safety (yes, I know better types exist, but I'm left handed so it'll so nicely) which was an awful looking cast part, so I filed and emery'd it to a commercial finish and hot-caustic blued the safety. Looks nice now.

Williams rear sight was added since the rifle came to me missing the rear sight.

I will be replacing the plastic grip cap with a steel one shortly.

As an interesting side note, you hve to open the bolt face on these by about 2 thou to accept the 8x63 Swedish base, as it's bigger than an 8mm mauser base by a hair. You need a lathe for this conversion if you use a commercial action, though military mausers seem loose enough that they can be used as-is.

I think it turned out real nice, and though I'm sure it will upset some "collectible hunting rifle purists", I look at this as a kind of "resto-mod" and I definitely stayed true to form by going to a unique Swedish caliber.

Thoughts and opinions are welcomed! Could I have gotten a new Savage 110 much cheaper? Of course - but it would have had no soul!

P9021754.jpg
 
Excellent rifle. And when the day comes that all the 8x63 is used up, the barrel could be set back and rechambered, or a new barrel could be fitted. I was looking at Tony's array of rifles at the Eganville show. He has some of the best buys going.
 
My old Swedish Girl.

It sure looks a lot like my 30-06 I purchased new in 1949.

Sorry, the picture won't come up. Will try again.

IMG]http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q65/H4831/CopyofP1020404.jpg[/IMG
 
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No worries about ammo drying up, I have a few thousand rounds squirelled away and this is the only rifle I have chambered for it - LOL. Also, I'll be getting dies to compliment my Berdan decapper and supply of Berdan primers.

No worries about me - I'm all set!
 
There ya go H4831, you were just missing the square brackets on the front and end of your pic's addy...

Cheers
Jay
P.S. Sweet guns!!!

CopyofP1020404.jpg
 
What a POS!

(Perfect Old Swede) ;)

I imagine you already have a lifetime supply of ammo (or at least a barrel-life supply). As you said, it is reloadable, and brass can be made of 9.3x62 which should be around a while.
 
I ought to mention, I just found out the rifle was originally made in 1950 and is a model 648, not a 146 as I had originally thought. Minor differences between the two though, such as style of bolt handle.
 
Very nice Claven

I happen to like the left side fn style safety, as it just seem natural for me.

Is the 8x63 not the 8mm-06?

Is the longer cartridge an issue in your rifle?

Did it require extra work to ensure perfect feeding?

I have been considering the same thing for my rifle, but just can't seem to do it, that is the 8mm mauser cartridge and the mauser action just being such a perfect fit.:D
 
8mm-06 and 8mm Swedish are not hte same caliber, but do have the same metric measurements. 8x63 is a hotter round and has more case capacity.

No mag tweaking needed as commercial mausers have .30-06 length mag boxes. .30-06 is a 63mm round ;)
 
Pen in the trigger guard!

I think someone else has pointed out the reason, the pen is in the trigger guard. It is simply placed there to set the rifle at an angle, so it is easier to photograph.
 
Two stage trigger? I am interested in buying yet another mauser from Trade Ex but I wonder about the trigger. I have a commercial mauser by Parker Hale from Trade Ex in 6.5X55 I love it. Beautiful mauser action (FN or ?) smooth and dead accurate. It has the PH adjustable trigger.

cheers Darryl
 
All Mauser 98 actions can take commercial triggers. In fact, I had a Dayton Traister steel adjustable trigger in this gun at first, but with the hotter rounds like 8x63, I actually found out I prefer a 2 stage trigger with a short letoff. So I put the 2 stage back in and polised the engagement surfaces for a crisp letoff.

I wouldn't recommend putting in one of the Parker-Hales with the sliding safety, personally. If you put in an aftermarket trigger, stick to Dayton Traister, Bold, or Timney. The bolt-shroud mounted safeties are mechanically better and safer.

This is FAR from my first mauser sporter and I really can't say enough good things about keeping a shroud-mounted safety.
 
Another option for a shroud mounted safety is one of the converted bolt sleeves with low scope safety as offered by Tradex for a very reasonable price.
As far as a PH trigger unit goes, I have seen too many broken ones to be enthusiastic about retrofitting one.
 
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