Swedish M96 mauser sight questions

aric84

aric84

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Hoping there will be a few folks knowledgeable about this. I picked up an M96 sporter from tradex to put together a huntin rig for next year. I am toying with the idea of having both a scope and open sights as a backup. Still deciding on the DT job (bolt and stock are already modded and reciever is tapped for diopters.) For now though, I need to figure out which sight leaf to get. As can be seen below the sight base on the top is different from my other sight. It is not stepped and has wings at the back. I looked around to find replacement sight leafs or diopters and can't really find any available, at least not for under $200! On the other hand I could order a whole new sight and base with a handguard to fit it for about 40 bucks.

Can anyone point me in the direction of somewhere that might have sight available for this base? Would be happy even to just know what modle sight would work so I could dig more.

Your help/advice is appreciated!

sights.jpg


And here are the holes for the diopter, but which model.... are they standardized?

holes.jpg
 
Your rifle

I do believe your m96 may be a Husqvarna rifle produced in the early 1940s. As you have not given the barrel length, it could be a m38 Short Rifle (65,588 made)or the m96 long rifle (18,000 made). Since your rifle has been drilled for a diopter rear sight, it is about 95% certain that it is a M\m96 long rifle. Husqvarna made these between 1942 and 1945. Your rear sight is a Husqvarna rear sight base designed to accept a dial type rear sight.

These 18,000 rifles were made for the FSR, the Swedish Volunteer Shooting Association, but to Government military standards. They were sold privately to FSR Members and other shooters, with the provision that they could be bought back by the Government in case of emergency (WW2 was on at the time.) Also, another provision was that the rifle could be altered SLIGHTLY for target shooting, as long as it did not significantly HARM the rifle. The drilling of two holes in the receiver was considered acceptable, provided the work was done by a FSR approved Gunsmith.

There were several Diopter sights available, but mounting hole spacing differed. You will have to accurately measure the spacing. If you look at the rear of the base of the rear sight, between the ears, it may have the initials SS on it if it is Husqvarna 1943 or 44 production. Common diopter rear sights were the Elit, Soderin, Pramm, Faldt or Helqvist. With that hole spacing it will NOT be the GF, Lyman, Hooka, or Busk.

PM me with the serial number, the name on the receiver, serial number, and any initials in front of the serial number (in case of a converted m96).

Of the 18,000 m/96 long rifles that Husqvarna made, 6,000 had the regular m/96 sight, and 12,000 had the "SM sikte AGJ ram" dial rear sight that adjusted from 100 to 750 meters. The AGJ (A.G. Johannsons Metalfabrik) sight was also mounted on the m38 short rifle. There are other F-ram sights that will fit, but the Vasteras rear sight INSERT was designed to mount on a standard military rear sight. These sights are available on E-Bay, or other places.

Husqvarna also did some work on the m96 rifles, converting them to m38 short rifle standards. The rear sight bases were changed on most of these rifles to the Husqvarna type rear sight mounting base. Rifles also went back to work shops for rebarreling, upgrading, or modifications. There should be stamps in the wood under the wrist of the rifle grip behind the trigger guard if the stock is original.

Also, if the rifle is in original condition, you might think twice before making a Sporter out of it, or modifying it. While not generally recognized in Canada, the FSR rifles are getting a premium in other places. These were the more accurate rifles, and not as many of them were used. If you go to Trade-ex website, and click on the "links" for the information section, go to "the House of Karlina." There is a section on the FSR rifles there.

A picture of the whole rifle would also help.
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006.jpg


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Hi guys, Thanks for all this great information. From what I am seeing on this rifle it was a well shot rifle, probably a club gun or FSR rifle.

I'll add some information and pics to fill in the gaps and raise more questions. The rifle in question is a 1917 Carl Gustaf M96. The bolt, barrel bands, bolt catch and handguard match eachother, but the receiver has been scrubbed and renumbered, not sure if it was the original or not... didn't check the stock. Very odd. Anyhowm the bluing is very nice on the reciever and doe not look like it has ever had a sight on it, I posted the dimensions for the hole locations on the pictures below, all are centre to centre as best as I could measure with my calipers.

The stock has been relieved on the left side for something, like something would fold into place there. Also the stock has been relieved for a bent bolt, but my bolt is swept back and not downward. Bolt has had the firing pin lightened and the trigger is beautiful!

I've decided to keep it just as is, but need to find some sights! Once I nail down a source I will put some on, hard part is finding a front blade, numrich is all sold out and I did not find them elsewhere. For rear I'll probably get both the leaf and the diopter if possibe, then I can still use it in my milsurp matches. I'll have to put up a WTB in the EE.

Without further ado, here are the pics to glean clues from:

The Rifle:
IMG_1372.jpg


The manufacturer and date. Cutout can be seen on the bottom, no clue what it's there for.
IMG_1374.jpg


Hole spacing:
IMG_1378.jpg


Front Sight
IMG_1379.jpg


Serial No, stamped over a scrubbed area, most of the rest of the rifle is matching to the barrel, reciever non matching.
IMG_1382.jpg


S/N on barrel and almost all the other parts match this, probably the original number
IMG_1385.jpg


The custom stock work: bolt handle relief and trimmed forearm
IMG_1386.jpg

IMG_1390.jpg


Cheers, Aric
 
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m96

The 1917 serial number range is 401993 to 445769, so with the 1917 receiver date and the 418227 number on the barrel, this would fall within that series.

For sure, the original receiver number and the inspector marks have been scrubbed. The 2687XX number would place it in 1910.

It looks like the stock has been replaced with a m38 stock, or cut down to m38 specifications. The Swedes cut many m96 rifles down to the short rifle configuration, and then had Husqvarna make new m38 rifles in the early 1940's. I would say that the rear sight base has been replaced with a later m43 type sight base, so that the dial adjustable sight could be mounted. You might take the action out of the stock and see what serial number is stamped on the stock.

Rifles were sent to workshops for repairs, modifications and updates. When a major repair was done, a stamp was put underneath the stock in the wrist area each time. It could also be stamped there if it went through an inspection at a workshop or arms depot. When this rifle was drilled for the diopter sight, it would have been stamped as above.

It is also possible that this rifle was a replacement rifle for the 1910 rifle. During the early 1940's, with WW2 on, a lot of the peacetime practices were modified and exceptions made. Examples of these hand stamped replacement rifles are known to exist and are documented.

Best bet for more information right now is to take it out of the stock, and check the stock serial number.

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Okay, I just checked the stock and it is an entirely different serial number: 337703. I could not find any stamps or cartouches anywhere on the stock, although they may have been there at one point in time; the stock has been sanded and refinished at some point.

As for the overstamped serial on the receiver, odd that it would be a 1910 range on a 1917 marked receiver. I would almost hazard a guess it is the original receiver restamped for some unknown reason.

As far as sights go, I am leaning toward ordering the stepped M96 Sight for now, until I can find myself an M43 sight leaf or something similar. As for the front blade, any ideas? If not I'm probably going to take some time at work and manufacture some new taller blades while we are slow in the shop.

Thanks for the help!
 
Certainly looks like the holes in the receiver may have been for a Söderin or Elit diopter sight. About as rare as rocking horse poo, unfortunately.

Too bad Numrich is out of stock on the other parts. Sarco in the US might have them but I don't know if they will ship to Canada :( I believe they also have higher front sights for the Swede to bring the POI down to a 100 yd. zero. But again, getting one here may be a problem.

You'll probably get all the info you need from someone here, but another source of information is the Swedish and Civilian Sporting Firearms forum on Gunboards.com. "Husky" heaven!

:) Stuart
 
Another view

O.K., lets have a reality check here. What you have is a good rifle for shooting or hunting if you wish. It does not have a lot of Collectors value as it is mismatched, wrong stock, and a few other things.

It does need sights. A front sight will cost about $25 on E-bay, and a rear sight will cost about $100 for the correct one. Diopter sights will cost you another $175-200. If you drill and tap it for a scope, that is another $50-75 plus the rings and mounts. To shorten and crown the barrel is probably another $75. You will still have a mis-matched rifle assembled from available parts.

One possible solution is to buy a long eye relief or "scout" mount that will allow you to put a scope on your rifle, using the existing rear sight base, and a long eye relief scope. This is probably the most economical way for you, and will not damage the rifle further.

If you want a Swedish Mauser WITH diopter sights, then Trade-Ex has some m96 FSR rifles advertised in the $300-$350 range. Get one with a very good to excellent barrel, and ask for one that has matching bolt numbers. Disregarding the price of the diopter sights, you will be getting a good target rifle for only about $150 and all the sights will be properly mounted.
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Thanks for the help Buffdog. This thing really is a mongrel, but it's solid and seems to be at least cleanly done. I'm going to leave the barrel lenght as is for now and will forego the DT job. I've now got a complete rear sight on the way from Numrich and a front sight from a fellow CGN'er.

As it stands the rifle will fill it's intended role nicely: a solid, reliable hunting gun with little collector value and good looks. I thank you for all the help you gave. Maybe at some point I'll get a replacement stock to dress it up for milsurp matches and the like. In the mean time I already have my mostly matching 1900 M96 to use for that.
 
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