Want to know more about my M96

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huntingfish

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Hi!
I just received my swedish m96 from tradeex and it looks awesome. I placed the order in on monday morning and got it today (wednesday), although I live pretty close by. I wanted to know more about my m96: as many details as humanly possible! I know that the stock isn't the original (I actually love the stock is has, which is one of the reason why I purchased it) and I also know that the caliber of the rifle is 30-06. It's written "Carl Gustaf's Stads Gevarsfaktori" on the barrel (it was beneath weaver bases). On the receiver, it's written "HK 66021" and on the bolt it's written "538".

I don't know what you guys could tell me, but I'd be grateful to learn anything about my rifle.

Fish
 
Well - Its a converted military rifle made by Carl Gustaf, originally in 6.5X55. A lot of companies in Sweden did the conversions. Husqvarna, who also made military rifles, developed a commercial version of the military receiver, and built factory sporters bearing their name. This is identified by the lack of thumb cutout on the left receiver wall.
The 30-06 is a relatively hot calibre for that action. Some would argue too much. If you reload, and want peace of mind, you might consider loading to minimum loads.
FWIW - Of the several Tradex sporters I've seen, they generally had minor faults (probably the reason they're being sold in Sweden.) Most common fault is poor bedding. Another is poorly mounted scope bases.
 
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cosmic said:
Well - Its a converted military rifle made by Carl Gustaf, originally in 6.5X55. A lot of companies in Sweden did the conversions. Husqvarna, who also made military rifles, developed a commercial version of the military receiver, and built factory sporters bearing their name. This is identified by the lack of thumb cutout on the left receiver wall.
The 30-06 is a relatively hot calibre for that action. Some would argue too much. If you reload, and want peace of mind, you might consider loading to minimum loads.
FWIW - Of the several Tradex sporters I've seen, they generally had minor faults (probably the reason they're being sold in Sweden.) Most common fault is poor bedding. Another is poorly mounted scope bases.
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Hi Cosmic,
I posted a thread before purchasing the rifle on CGN and all agreed that if I stick to factory ammo, I should be fine.

I didn't see anything wrong with the rifle, although I'm pretty new at all of this. What should I look for exactly? Do you have some pictures or links that would be of interest?

I was hoping to be able to find out stuff like, the year of manufacture, which platoon or whatever it was assigned in, etc. Is it realistically possible to hope to know these things? Should I perhaps contact my nearest swedish embassy for that kind of information? How likely am-I to receive such information?

Thanks!

Fish
 
Take a look at gunboards.com. They have a forum dedicated to sporting rifles of Sweden, and have all sorts of details about M96 sporter variants, oddball calibres, scope mounting options etc.

I really like the Swedish rifles and got a couple, along with reloading supplies for 9.3x62 and 9.3x57. Unfortunately, their one common weakness tends to be stocks that crack easily which can be fixed by bedding them. I'll have to get some of mine done over the next couple of months so that I can sight them in and use them for this Autumn's hunting season. Otherwise, they are really interesting rifles.

Frank
 
Beadwindow said:
Take a look at gunboards.com. They have a forum dedicated to sporting rifles of Sweden, and have all sorts of details about M96 sporter variants, oddball calibres, scope mounting options etc.

I really like the Swedish rifles and got a couple, along with reloading supplies for 9.3x62 and 9.3x57. Unfortunately, their one common weakness tends to be stocks that crack easily which can be fixed by bedding them. I'll have to get some of mine done over the next couple of months so that I can sight them in and use them for this Autumn's hunting season. Otherwise, they are really interesting rifles.

Frank
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Hmm, so if mine doesn't have the original stock (it's been replaced by a sporter version), I wouldn't need to have it "re-bedded", right?

Fish
 
huntingfish said:
Hi!
I just received my swedish m96 from tradeex and it looks awesome. I placed the order in on monday morning and got it today (wednesday), although I live pretty close by. I wanted to know more about my m96: as many details as humanly possible! I know that the stock isn't the original (I actually love the stock is has, which is one of the reason why I purchased it) and I also know that the caliber of the rifle is 30-06. It's written "Carl Gustaf's Stads Gevarsfaktori" on the barrel (it was beneath weaver bases). On the receiver, it's written "HK 66021" and on the bolt it's written "538".

I don't know what you guys could tell me, but I'd be grateful to learn anything about my rifle.

Fish
Click to expand...



You should be able to find a date on the receiver ring below where you see "Carl Gustaf etc, etc" stamped. The serial number on the receiver indicates a likely manufacture in 1900 (#60136 to 82806) for M96 rifles by the CG factory. The "HK" preceding the number on the receiver are the initials of the inspection officer at the factory during that period ("HK" being Helge Gustaf Ludvig Kothoff). I say "likely" only because the serial number falls within the identified production range for 1900 but "HK" didn't become an inspection officer at CG until 1912. That mystery is yours to figure out.

"538" on the bolt indicates that it is not an original match to the receiver (otherwise it would be stamped "021").

After I bought my Swedish Mauser I followed the advice from a CGN member and got myself a copy of "Crown Jewels - the Mauser in Sweden" by Dana Jones. It is a very informative book that gives a fantastic overview on the history of these rifles. It'll keep you reading for quite some time.
 
You'll know if the bedding is off when you shoot it.... any rifle is vulnerable to poor bedding, moreso if its a cobbed-up sporter. Do the scope mounts look to be in line and level, front and rear? You're relying way too much on the internet, some things just have to be learned from experience... grasshopper!
BTW - I would not shoot a military-based 96 action using commercial 30-06 ammo - I want to expire chewing my gums in an old folks home.
 
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huntingfish said:
Hmm, so if mine doesn't have the original stock (it's been replaced by a sporter version), I wouldn't need to have it "re-bedded", right?

Fish
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The problem with stock bedding for Model 96 Mausers wasn't with the military rifles (and as issued stocks), but rather a problem common to those M96s produced for the commercial market by Husqvarna. Depending on the year and make, they often did use newly produced military actions for these commercial rifles. They were really well made, but the stocks do tend to have bedding issues leading to initially small cracks after much use. Do remember though that most of these rifles are 60-70 years old, so it probably took some time before these rifle stocks began to crack.

There were also other companies that took surplus M96 actions, adding new barrels and sporter stocks, which may or may not have those problems. One company named Stiga, which still produces hockey and other sporting equipment, made M96 sporters in various calibres including 30.06. There's at least one other Swedish company that I know of that made sporters out of the M96, and many military rifles were converted by their owners. About fifteen to twenty years ago, Century imported a whole bunch of military rifles that they put into sporter stocks and mounted with see-through scope mounts.

So it depends upon what you've got whether or not it's susceptible to stock cracking. It's a pity that the nicer Huskies are most prone to this problem.

The Gunboards site has lots of people who could identify your rifle if you provide a decent pic and info. To date, nobody has indicated any signs of problems with 30.06 chambered M96s, which have also been successfully chambered in 9.3x62, a real whopper of a cartridge.

Regards,

Frank
 
And one more thing......The reason there's so many of these rifles being imported is because of a law in Sweden that limits people to five guns per person, unless they acquire a collectors license. Many Swedes are selling off their older rifles and shotguns whenever they want to make room for a newer firearm. The dealers are also limited by the number of guns they can hold, which forces them to sell off their surplus to exporters.
 
Seeing as your receiver has not been sanitized,I do believe you have a CG built sporter from the 1960s. If it is a CG sporter then the action came from a M94 more than likely,and the bolt should be blued. Is there any other markings after the serial number? What about a lightening bolt looking stamp on the barrel ahead of the receiver? Check and see if the stock is already bedded. The CG sporters were bedded from the factory.
 
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