My new Swede from Tradex (Range Report)

[AdrianM]

This one has been sitting at Tradex for a long time teasing me so I finally caved in and bought it. The bore was listed as good shootable but slightly dark. Looks pretty good to me. A little worn at the muzzle but hopefully still a decent shooter.

These pics are right out of the box. It's just grimey and needs cleaning and hopefully little else. I think it will clean up really nice.

I'm disassembling and cleaning it over the weekend and will post pics when it's shiny.

It appears to be all matching.
I'm extremely happy with the rifle. It's in such good condition for what I paid for it.

 

[bearhunter]

I've only seen one of the stock milsurp Swedes that wouln't shoot well.

The front sight was loose in its dovetail and once it was peened into place it was no longer the exception.

I've seen Swedes that were buggered with by BUBBA that wouldn't shoot but you can't blame that on Swede armorers.

Nice rife. All matching rifles are getting harder to find and the prices on them are steadily rising.

Good for you. You will find the rifle will shoot best with 140+ grain bullets.

Some will shoot lighter bullets but the generous military chamber dimensions don't always lend themselves to good accuracy with the long throats required for longer bullets.

 

[cote_b]

Beauty of a swede you got there!

 

[gmctech]

Very nice rifle.... I like it a lot

 

[AdrianM]

I started to take it apart last night. Took both the nosepiece and the barrel band off and I couldn't figure out how to the get the handguard forward and out of the ring. It won't clear the step up part of the rear sight. How's it come off?

Also, who knows what the proper finish is on these stocks? BLO?

I know I saw a thread about cleaning and refinishing stocks a while ago but I can't find it today.

 

[buffdog]

Remove the cleaning rod. Take the front and center bands off. Lift the rear sight ladder, then lift the front of the top handguard until it clears the front of the rear sight block. Move the handguard forward slightly and out of the rear band, the turn it 90 degrees and lift it off. Go carefully and do not force it as some of them are quite tight. If yours is a really tight one, when you get it off, give it a couple of swipes with a file on each end of the slot in the handguard so there is a TEENSIE BIT more clearance. Not sloppy clearance!

#### the bolt, put the safety in the center upright position. Remove the bolt by pulling out on the bolt release/ejector housing on left side of the action. Unscrew the firing pin/shroud from the bolt. You really do not need to take the firing pin assembly apart, just clean it, oil it lightly and reassemble back into the bolt, making sure it is turned up tight to the bolt.

If you are going to re-do the stock, you should use BLO. Take the two action screws out and the barrel/receiver and floorplate/trigger guard will come off. It looks like your stock has already been sanded once, so I would not sand anything else --the wood is below the metal parts as you can see. A good cleaning and an gentle, light application of BLO should be all that you should be considering.

You should be able to find a stock disk in a parts box at a larger Gun Show, and they are also available on E-Bay for about $20.
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[smellie]

@ OP:

Please listen to BUFFDOG.

As far as Swedes are concerned, he is The Guru in this part of the world.

The old girl has her Century Day coming up in not too terribly long. She shouldn't spend it looking like "45 tarted up to look 17".

EASY does it; there IS such a thing as over-restoration.... and it is VERY easy to do when you're starting with something as nice as this one.

Once it is all done, take her out for lunch. You will find that she will REALLY like 140 flatbases for absolute certain, possibly 139 boat-tails as well. It is entirely likely that she will be good enough that you will need bags to allow her to show her best. Old pair of blue jeans works just fine: cut the legs off, make each into 2 bags, fill them with wheat (lighter than sand but still heavy enough to stay where you put them), put a sling between each pair so you can carry them all with your hands free. Works.

Nice rifle!
.

 

[AdrianM]

Thanks Smellie. Thanks Buffdog.

Buffdog: how should I clean the stock before putting a fresh coat of BLO to it? Will a little paint thinner on a rag be too harsh? I just want to get some of the oil buildup and grime off the wood before I oil it again.

 

[AdrianM]

Here are some pics of it disassembled. More serial numbers and some pics after the metal has been cleaned.

Here is the serialed magwell

the rear sight all matching

barrel action out of stock

matching original barrel

underside of barrel before cleaning

the underside of receiver...that's grease or congealed oil

matching stock serial

matching handguard serial

now for the pretty shots: cleaned magwell and trigger guard assembly

cleaned barrel and receiver

cleaned receiver

Taking my time on this one. Going to tackle the stock and bolt tonight.

 

[buffdog]

NICE--Very NICE! You are doing well and by taking your time, there is less chance of screwing something up.

Also, from what I see is that all your numbers match, even the rear sight.

I would NOT use paint thinner or anything that will take the finish off. Paint thinner will remove the finish, but some minute quantities of the thinner still remain in the pores of the wood. Do not use scrubbing pads, wire wool or sandpaper. I would use a bit of denatured alcohol SPARINGLY on some old rags or cloths and merely clean up the dirt and grime. Really, the idea should be to make it look presentable, not NEW. It is almost 100 years old, and those little dings and things were earned honestly.

When you put it back together, put a VERY LIGHT film of grease on the two bearing points (at center band and front band,) on the forestock where the barrel touches and is bedded. Not a gob of it, but just a small almost invisible film so that the barrel does not grab onto the wood at that point, but rather "slides" a bit when the barrel warms up.

Just go slow and careful as you are doing now, and you will come out with a great rifle.
.

 

[AdrianM]

What is denatured alcohol? Where do I get some?

I've got alcohol solution (50% by volume) that contains ethyl alcohol and some other things. It is from the drugstore. Would that work in small amounts on a rag?

 

[purple]

What is denatured alcohol? Where do I get some?

I've got alcohol solution (50% by volume) that contains ethyl alcohol and some other things. It is from the drugstore. Would that work in small amounts on a rag?

For denatured alcohol just go to CTire or the paint store and buy some methyl hydrate. It is a good metal cleaner/degreaser to have on the bench and works great for things like cleaning up metal prior to applying a touch-up blue..

If you want to take a minimalist approach to cleaning a MILSURP stock w/o risking removal of the existing finish and patina just rub it down with either raw linseed oil or pure tung oil on a rag and wipe of the excess so that it doesn't accumulate on the surface. These will lift a lot of the surface grime and give the wood a re-conditioning in the process. The military used raw linseed oil for an initial stock finish and for re-conditioning stocks. BLO contains a drying agent which will result in a more shiney look.

Make sure that you dispose of tung or linseed soaked rags in a sealed container as the stuff is prone to spontaneous combustion.

 

[AdrianM]

for those with the pic fetish...

I cleaned the stock with rubbing alcohol and a rag. Let it dry good and then put a light coat of BLO on it. Let it sit for an hour or so and then buffed it off with a clean rag.

I guess I got a little carried away with the camera.

I really didn't do much to the metal. I used a little steel wool on the buttplate and rear sight. Other than that just degreased it and then oiled it up.

clean and dry stock

cartouches on the butt

double A's under the bolt release

handguard after BLO

all back together

 

[supernova]

I NEED A SWEDE! That is one beautiful rifle, I cant believe how little they sell for. Great work, now all we need is a range report

 

[Can-down]

Beauty.

 

[zuke]

That is nice!

 

[buffdog]

Nice job, ADRIAN. Most of the time all it takes is a bit of CAREFUL effort to make them look good. Quite a change from your first pictures!

The Crown under the wrist is the Military Acceptance Mark. The Crown S is a visit to the Stockholm Inspection Station. Sweden had a regular inspection system for their Military Equipment. If you are REAL lucky, the number on the cleaning MIGHT match too, but this is acceptable if it does not because a lot of these were not numbered and/or switched around a bit.

I do have to warn you, though. Once you have had one of the Swedish Mausers, you have contracted a serious disease, for which there is no cure. There is some relief, however, by getting more and more of these fine quality rifles.

Now, you are going to have to shoot it and let us know how it does. Do not worry about the sights at this point, as they are zeroed for 300 Meters with MILITARY ammunition, so they will be hitting high at 100 meters. What you want to do is shoot a GROUP and see how small you can put 4 or 5 rounds into. I would put a target above your 100 yard one, so if they are really high, they will still land on paper. If most your shooting is at 100 Meters or 200 Meters on your range, then you can always put a taller front sight on it later. Also be aware that soft point hunting ammo or different brands will usually not hit in the same location, so some sight adjustment might be required LATER when you find out what the rifle really likes as an accuracy load.

This particular rifle has been used for Competition Shooting on several occasions, so it is probably quite accurate as long as the bore and muzzle crown are good .
.
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[AdrianM]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Range report soon!

Buffdog: How do you know it's been used for competition shooting? Markings or you just know the history of these rifles? I don't handload so what factory ammo would you suggest for target and hunting duty?

 

[buffdog]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Range report soon!

Buffdog: How do you know it's been used for competition shooting? Markings or you just know the history of these rifles? I don't handload so what factory ammo would you suggest for target and hunting duty?

Two things. First of all, it does not have a stock disk. This is indicative of a FSR (Swedish Civilian Shooting Association) rifle. Military rifles had stock disks so that an Armourer or Inspection Station could tell the condition of the rifle compared to when it was last inspected. Your rifle has a Crown on it, which indicated military acceptance, so it was originally a Military owned rifle. Many of these rifles were sold to Civilian shooters or sold/loaned to Gun clubs for Competition shooting. When this was done, the stock disk was usually removed. Although a removed stock disk is not a 100% indicator because sometime in it's life someone could have removed it.

However, the big thing that does indicate a Competition rifle is the black rear part of the upper handguard. You will notice that this Black area is between the rear portion of the slot where the back of the rear sight base is, and the rear end of the handguard.

The finish and wood in this area has been heated by an open flame, that is a match, candle, or small burner that produces soot. The reason for this is that Target Shooters burned any fuzz or dirt away from the rear sight, and blackened the rear sight so that they get a sharp, clear sighting picture. While doing so, the flame carries over onto the wood of the handguard in this area. Note that there is no black area in front of the rear sight hole in the handguard.

So now you know!

I would start off with some Prvi Partisan, Igman, or some of the European stuff. The North American Winchester, Remington and other brands seem to be loaded a bit lighter. Your sights were originally made for 156 grain round nosed m/94 Swedish ammo, and the later m/41 139 grain Spitzer will probably shoot to a bit different point of impact. The 139 grain stuff should work well though.

Whatever you use, save your empty brass. You might not reload now, but you never know what will happen in the future. To get the best accuracy out of these rifles, reloading your ammo can really make them shine.
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[collector67]

Nice rifle-I had my eye on that one too, but I opted for the one with the "very good-excellent" bore and the bent bolt handle. It also has been drilled and tapped for a side mount; I don't think it is an ex-sniper, but she sure shoots nice!
Also, a tip on the BLO application, my buddy got excellent results by heating it up on the stove in an old pot, and applying it directly to the stock.

Good job, enjoy her!