Swedish Mauser Carbine

sequoia4100

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Hello,

I just picked this Swede Mauser Carbine up but I'm having a problem with ammo. I thought all Swede Mausers were in 6.5x55 but when I fired this one all rounds key holed. Not just a bit but a lot. The fired cases had a larger diameter neck but the shoulder looked fine. I would have just assumed the bore was worn out but I've never seen a 110 year old rifle with a bore this nice. It looks brand new. My next thought was maybe 7mm Mauser not 6.5 so does anyone know if any Swedish Mausers came in different calibres? Nothing is marked on the rifle as far as calibre and the barrel has the same serial number as the receiver so I'll assume its the original barrel. I will try and slug the bore at some point.
The ammunition is marked 6.5x55 Swedish so it should be fine.

Thanks,
Greg





 
Uhm, you have never seen someone take a single live round and using the empty rifle, gently place it into the muzzle reverse ways, just to check for signs of muzzle wear?

If it's the wrong caliber, it would be glaringly obvious. You must be young?
 
I believe your rifle is on top of page 71 in Olson's "Mauser Bolt Rifles" - Spanish Model 95 - chambered in 7x57. Would be nice to see a picture of the crest on top of the front receiver ring to be sure.
 
Hmm. I may stand corrected - picture on top of page 83 has the bayonet mounts and similar butt stock fixings - that one is a Swede Model 94/14 carbine - that one is definitely original in 6.5x55, but any small ring could have been swapped or a Swede stock could have been put on a Spanish carbine - need to see the crest on the front ring to be sure.
 
Nope - something still not jiving - the rear receiver bridge on your picture appears unusually high and "pointed" - the horizontals appear unusually low, and there is no evidence on any abutment behind the bolt handle. You've now got me really curious to see the front receiver crest!!
 
II have the same rifle. It's a Swedish M94 and in 7X57 - rechambered that way for Costa Rica.

EDIT - I'm away from my notes. It was El Salvador I think. I bought mine about 10 years ago on CGN and was surprised to find it was in 7X57. Original barrel, chamber sleeved and rechambered and barrel re-bored.
 
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Beautiful little carbine there, boss. I'd love to have to add to my collection of two 7mm and a single 6.5 Mausers.

In 7x57 they were made to shoot the old design round-nosed 175gr bullet with a HUGE bearing surface. Shooting any spitzer bullet through them will result in 'groups' that look as though they were dropped randomly from a high-flying aircraft.

Good luck if you can find any of the older Nosler bullets of the correct shape. I lucked into a hundred of them from a good pal in Oregon a couple of years back, and my carbine - an 1897 DWM ZAR contract model Boer War capture - actually shot them into a group that, at four inches @100m, actually looked like a group. It was three feet high, mind, but still, it WAS a group.

tac
#6691
 
Beautiful little carbine there, boss. I'd love to have to add to my collection of two 7mm and a single 6.5 Mausers.

In 7x57 they were made to shoot the old design round-nosed 175gr bullet with a HUGE bearing surface. Shooting any spitzer bullet through them will result in 'groups' that look as though they were dropped randomly from a high-flying aircraft.

Good luck if you can find any of the older Nosler bullets of the correct shape. I lucked into a hundred of them from a good pal in Oregon a couple of years back, and my carbine - an 1897 DWM ZAR contract model Boer War capture - actually shot them into a group that, at four inches @100m, actually looked like a group. It was three feet high, mind, but still, it WAS a group.

tac
#6691

And mysteriously our similar tastes appear once again. No lie, I have a mystery K98 carbine in 8x57 that probably served as a police carbine in Europe Post WWII. Of course it also shoots ridiculous high at normal distances.

I'm saving my other reloads for when I get a higher front blade sight.
 
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Looks like Andy nailed it, once again! I found similar information on several web forums - the below is from Swedish forum at milsurpshooters:

"Sweden did not open up an export market for their military rifles in the early 1900's . They did surplus a large number of M-94 , M-94/14 Carbines in the '50's & '60's . Interarms in Alexandria , VA. purchased at least 40,000 carbines . Interarms sent 2000 to the Danish firearms company " Madsen " & had them bore the barrels & chamber them in 7x57 Mauser . These were meant for Central America , either Honduras or El Salvador ." The name Sam Cummings comes up often - he was the owner of Interarms.
 
Uhm, you have never seen someone take a single live round and using the empty rifle, gently place it into the muzzle reverse ways, just to check for signs of muzzle wear?

If it's the wrong caliber, it would be glaringly obvious. You must be young?

Maybe if you read the whole post grandpa you would have realized the problem was a brand new looking bore acting like a worn out bore. My internet research only pointed to one calibre for all Swede Mausers. Hence my post on this site where intelligent and thoughtful members can offer their expertise.


Saying that, thank you to the ones who did. I appreciate your help and I'll be off to the ammo store for some 7mm Mauser.
 
That is awesome. What a sweet rifle that must make.

I have a few of the 6.5x55mm ones that while very handy to carry and shoot off hand still have a nasty blast, not so much of a problem while out hunting but very noticeable under cover at the range! I have also shot the Spanish 7x57mm version which is an almost exact copy, same length and look, only the bayonet fitting and sling attachment is different and that one was much worse in regards to muzzle blast and recoil!

My guess is the standard 175 gr. bullet in 7x57mm packs a lot more than the 140 gr. 6.5x55mm ammo at both ends!
 
Maybe if you read the whole post grandpa you would have realized the problem was a brand new looking bore acting like a worn out bore. My internet research only pointed to one calibre for all Swede Mausers. Hence my post on this site where intelligent and thoughtful members can offer their expertise.


Saying that, thank you to the ones who did. I appreciate your help and I'll be off to the ammo store for some 7mm Mauser.

right on ---------

we are not the person feeding the wrong X ammo into Y mystery rifle like a cartoon character

have a nice day while you still own your own face
 
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II have the same rifle. It's a Swedish M94 and in 7X57 - rechambered that way for Costa Rica.

EDIT - I'm away from my notes. It was El Salvador I think. I bought mine about 10 years ago on CGN and was surprised to find it was in 7X57. Original barrel, chamber sleeved and rechambered and barrel re-bored.

Okay, let's build on this. Andy and OP apparently have two of only 2,000 Swede 94 or 94/14 ever converted to 7x57. I've gone through "Mauser Bolt Rifles" 3rd Ed. 15th printing by Ludwig Olson; "Mauser Military Rifles of the World" Fifth Ed. by Robert Ball and "Crown Jewels: The Mauser in Sweden" by Dana Jones and have found no reference to these rifles. And maybe there should not be, if they were actually a non-military, commercial venture by Interarms in the 1950's and 1960's. So, Andy/OP, can you help us identify another of the 2,000? On the Milsurpshooters site there is comments that the barrel could be rebored and re-rifled, but a 7x57 reamer will not clean up a 6.5x55 chamber since the head diameter of the 6.5x55 is larger - they are speculating that Interterms simply ran them through with irregular 7x57 chambers, yet Andy comments that his chamber is sleeved. To the OP - can you see any evidence on the face of the barrel breech that your chamber has been sleeved?
 
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Maybe if you read the whole post grandpa you would have realized the problem was a brand new looking bore acting like a worn out bore. My internet research only pointed to one calibre for all Swede Mausers. Hence my post on this site where intelligent and thoughtful members can offer their expertise.


Saying that, thank you to the ones who did. I appreciate your help and I'll be off to the ammo store for some 7mm Mauser.



takes a degree to do this......
 
Arms of the World, 1911: The fabulous ALFA catalogue had 1888 Commission carbines listed in 7x57mm and with double triggers as expedition weapons.
 
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