Swedish Mauser Failure to Feed

M

manitoba

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Hi,

I just picked up a model 38 Husquvarna Swedish Mauser. I like the look and feel of it, and hope it will be a good shooter.

Here is the problem, though. When I load the magazine with three or five cartridges, the first and third jam. The second and fourth cartridges (on the left side) feed fine, and the last cartridge chambers as well. It is any cartridge on the right side, when another cartridge is beneath it that jams. The bolt face pushes the cartridge forward and the bullet runs into the back of the barrel at about the 7:30 (lower left) position.

The magazine spring seems springy enough, though the magazine pushing plate does wobble fore and aft I expect this is normal.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks!
 
You have to check the feed lips - and the internal receiver feed ramp. BUT some rounds don't feed well because of their bullets shape - so, for a start, tell us what is the make and type of your cartridges and / or try another make / type. Then, a picture of the top of the action worth 1,000 words.
 
More info

The cartridges I tried were a 140 gr Federal Fusion and a 140 gr Federal Power-Shok (classic/blue box).

I'll try to upload a few pictures.

Thanks again.

This might work: http://img440.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=actionfromtop.jpg
gal.php

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6659/ftf1.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/3117/ftf2.jpg
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/2121/ftfthree.jpg
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/1672/actionfromrearandabove.jpg
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/8417/actionfromt
 
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Your Magazine follower seems to be sitting at a wonky angle for some reason, and it seems pretty scratched up as well, which tells me this problem might have been going on for some time.

http://img440.imageshack.us/i/actionfromtop.jpg/

I'd drop the folder and spring out the bottom and see if the magazine spring is bent for some reason.

Also you might want to drop by this place and see if these Swedish rifle folks have seen it before...

http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49
 
Everything looks OK - i think

The magazine spring looks fine, straight and installed the only way it will go. I haven't had this type of rifle before, so I have nothing to compare it with.

One thing that seems odd is that the magazine follower goes all the way up and gets in the way of the bolt if it is empty. Is this normal? I'm used to detachable magazine rifles.

Thanks again for any suggestions. I'd love to work this out without giving more $ to a gunsmith.

PS - I took your advice and posted this on GunBoards as well. Thanks.
 
If the back of the follower is squared and stops the bolt when empty, then it was milled like that to prevent a panicked soldier from loading an empty chamber thinking he had a rd.
 
Try turning the spring around. It looks like the follower plate is sitting too far forward in the magazine well and reversing the spring may correct the problem!!
 
If you're a handloader, try seating the bullet a bit farther out. That fixed any feeding trouble that I've ever had with the military Swede rifles. I think you'll find that the military rounds are a fair bit longer than most hunting rounds.
 
certain ammo, like the psp, can ,make it hard to chamber. I've had mausers(Swedish, and Czech). The round nose cartridges seem to work the best. I've even modified the feed to accept bullets more smoothly, but still doesn't work well with psp's. Oddly enough, Federal cartridges in any bullet weight seem to work the best.
 
Either?

I suppose I would say that I was cycling the action somewhat slowly, but I am sure it would put the bullet into the side of the barrel either way.

Sorry about the poor lighting. I tried to take a bunch to paint a more complete picture.

If I took this to a gunsmith, what might he do? Will it cost me a fortune?
 
Try pushing inward on the guide rib while trying to chamber the round. This should increase the clearance under the extractor, such that the shell rim can slip under it.
This is fairly common - its caused by people trying to chamber a round "push feed " style. It causes the extractor to bend slightly, causing the interference you describe. It should be possible to correct this - at worst you replace the complete guide rib.
 
Will do!

I'll give that a try. What part is the guide rib?

I'm meeting with a gunsmith tomorrow who is going to give it a look and see what he can do. I'll let you all know when it comes back what the result is.

Thanks again.
 
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cosmic said:
This is fairly common - its caused by people trying to chamber a round "push feed " style. It causes the extractor to bend slightly, causing the interference you describe. It should be possible to correct this - at worst you replace the complete guide rib.
Click to expand...

Good call, I have also seen this in a few swedes before and it's the reason I poop on people that say they can push feed these rifles. At least it looks like his extractor isn't chipped up like some I have seen.
 
Not quite

I tried various prodding and working that guide rail, but to no avail.

It seems that the extractor is riding above the lip of the magazine, and the shell below it, so that even if the extractor wanted to grab the rim, the rim would be below its level.

In any case, I'll let you all know what the smith sees.

Thanks.
 
Fixed?

Much to my embarrassment, the gun seems to be working OK. I took it to a relative who cycled the bolt with no problems. I then tried it and it worked for me too. After a few successful tries, it did stick, but a bit of grease and a few more tries and it seems to be OK. To whoever mentioned that the action needs to be cycled briskly, you get top marks. To me, who said I tried, well I guess I fail, but have learned something at least.

I'm going to get some 160gr round nose bullets and see if that makes it even easier.

Thanks for everyone's help.
 
If that's the only issue, you're now good to go. Now, be careful in greasing so there is none being contacting the loaded cases. It does nothing good having a lubed case in the chamber. To me, the follwower was sticking somewhere. When you have a chance at dismantling the hole thing, look at the follwower for shiny spots and clean all the dirt and grease in the magazine area. To make sure the follower works OK, just check that the when the bolt face is backed the round jumps in front of it.
 
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