Swedish M38 junker... Can it be turned into something good?

rci2950

rci2950

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I acquired this rifle some time ago, thinking that i would try and replace the missing parts and then add a scope to have a scoped 6.5 for hunting. I was not the one to do all this bubba work on it. It was like this when i got it. I was wondering if you think there is enough left of this rifle to warrant making a sporter with an after market stock etc... The barrel has not been cut back yet. If i was able to find the sight blade, hood, rear sight, the spring and pin to hold it in, a military butt plate and the sling swivels in order to return this to looking original other then the scope work on the top of the receiver i would have gone that way but since i have been coming up empty handed on every single part that is missing on this for the last 6 months i have given thought to just completely sporterizing it. Get rid of the end of the barrel, lathe it re crown, lose the stock, possibly get an upgraded trigger etc.

I would like to put this rifle to use because I really want a scoped 6.5x55 and it has a perfect bore and operates flawlessly. Seems a waste to just sideline it indefinitely. It is far to ugly for me to just use the way it is. Any better ideas?


Second question by the pics can anyone tell me what sort of mount this was tapped for?


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I did something similar , I built a stock , left the original untouched and kept the hardware .

tradex normally has barrels , so that would give you options to either cut yours back , or get one in better shape and cut that one back .
 
From what I'm seeing in the pictures, I would convert it to a full sporting rifle. I'd try to source a good synthetic or wood after-market stock, get the 2 pc. scope base (mauser?), and put a nice piece of glass on it. You say it has a slick action and a very good bore, so instead of putting the money into the restoration, I'd put it into the conversion. Good luck to you, which ever route you choose to go.
 
I have a model 96 and had a 38 that sadly had a pooched barrel.

I've always really like the triggers on those rifles as is.

Keep it and convert as mentioned.
 
LawrenceN said:
From what I'm seeing in the pictures, I would convert it to a full sporting rifle. I'd try to source a good synthetic or wood after-market stock, get the 2 pc. scope base (mauser?), and put a nice piece of glass on it. You say it has a slick action and a very good bore, so instead of putting the money into the restoration, I'd put it into the conversion. Good luck to you, which ever route you choose to go.
Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly that. Finding a synthetic stock and plopping it in but I would like to get rid of that front sight and threaded part of the barrel. Getting a fresh crown. That way it won't look so ugly on the end. I just hope there is enough barrel length to do this and be left with a usable rifle. I measured from the forward part of the receiver where the barrel threads end to the back of the front sight and I it we're cut and crowned there it would give me 22 inches. That should be plenty I would hope.
 
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It is already drilled and tapped for scope bases. In addition, the receiver has been ground where the front of the rear scope base goes, so that depreciates the Collector' value of this rifle, so it is better to do a TASTEFUL sporter conversion.

Check Trade-Ex for stocks as they sometimes have sporter stocks for a reasonable price. The threads at the muzzle can be fitted with a smoth threaded metal piece that is available for about a $20 bill and that might be the way to go as cutting and crowning the barrel could cost you $100 or so. For a hunting rifle of the Mauser type, the safety can be a problem. Either you have to mount the scope very high to use the original safety, change the original safety to a low swing one, or buy an aftermarket trigger such as the Timney that has a side safety built into it. Believe me, side safeties are much easier and better to use. The amount of barrel cut off to clean up the threads will not really make a lot of difference if you decide to go that route.

I also believe in having iron sights on a hunting rifle. If you do a lot of hunting, sooner or later you are going to bang up a scope and when you are a couple of hundred miles from the nearest sporting goods store, a set of iron sights will salvage your hunt. A half decent shot should be able to hit a deer at 200 yards with iron sights, and most shots on game animals are less than that distance.

The 6.5x55 is an excellent hunting cartridge for game up to Moose or Elk size using the proper type of bullets and ammunition as long as you do your part in aiming.

Here is a Swedish m/96 sporterized in Sweden. It even uses the original stock, with a piece inletted into the wrist to make a pistol grip. It was reasonable so I bought it. Notice how high the scope must be mounted for the safety to clear.


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IMHO, go onto the Tradex site. They are one of the banner advertisers for CGN. You should be able to purchase a complete rifle, ready to mount a scope on for less than it will cost to turn that rifle into a decent sporter. If the Tradex rifle has a poor bore, the barrel on your existing rifle could be swapped out pretty easily.

Mind you, if you just want to do this as an experience gathering project, by all means go for it.

Bell and Carlson makes a relatively cheap and stable after market extruded composite stock for those rifles as well.

The 6.5x55 is a fine choice as a hunting cartridge.
 
The mounts are likely Weaver #55 and #46. Check the center hole distance and we can confirm it.
 
Looks like Bubba burned the receiver at the holes. Temper is gone at those spots. How horrible that is depends on how deep the burn goes. Won't cause a catastrophic receiver failure, but the steel will be 'soft' at the spots. Most likely won't make a lick of difference to the scope mount bases.
Check the alignment of the 4 holes with a couple screws and a straight edge. Stock is cracked as well. Have a look at Boyd's stocks. They sell nice wooden 1938 Mauser stocks for $69US.
 
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