Incredibly Stupid Question (Swede Mauser)
This will, I suspect, be an incredibly stupid question, but being an incredibly stupid person under some circumstances, I'm going to ask it anyhow.
I've just purchased a Carl Gustafson (? spelling) Swede Mauser that has CARL GUSTAFSON 1910 stamped on the reciever. Now, is that really when the rifle was made, or is that simply a model designation like "98K" or "03 Springfield" or "48 Yugo"? The reason I ask is that it seems kinda unlikely one would see SO MANY 1910 Swede Mausers in such excellent shape floating around, iff'n the rifle really WAS from 1910. The blueing and rifling seem too good for a rifle darned near 100 years old, and a military rifle at that! And, as I said: I've seen several of these in gunshops, in comparable shape.
Or could it be that the silly thing's been rebarreled and refurbished?
I've just purchased a Carl Gustafson (? spelling) Swede Mauser that has CARL GUSTAFSON 1910 stamped on the reciever. Now, is that really when the rifle was made, or is that simply a model designation like "98K" or "03 Springfield" or "48 Yugo"? The reason I ask is that it seems kinda unlikely one would see SO MANY 1910 Swede Mausers in such excellent shape floating around, iff'n the rifle really WAS from 1910. The blueing and rifling seem too good for a rifle darned near 100 years old, and a military rifle at that! And, as I said: I've seen several of these in gunshops, in comparable shape.
Or could it be that the silly thing's been rebarreled and refurbished?
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The Swede Mauser is designated as the '96 model. The dates on the receiver are the dates of manufacture. I have owned a few (1925, 1912, and 1908) and my 1908 was in good but not great shape. My 1925 was MINT. Two were purchased from Woolworths (of all places) and packed in cosmoline which was a pain to remove, but was the reason they had zero corrosion.
All three were great shooters. Do a search on the internet as I'm sure there are some Swede Mauser sights.
I assume yours is the long bbl version with no exposed threads on the muzzle and a straight bolt?
Fourdees0 -
Here are a couple of useful items:
www.mausercollector.com/dutchman
https://lockbox.dwave.net/northcapepubs/#anchor123456
My heros have always killed cowboys.
PS, your question is not stupid, what is stupid is not asking! Welcome to the board.0 -
Congrats on your purchase. I have four swedes, and I lovem'. Great roud for hunting or targets either one. I have never seen a swede that wasn't in fairly good shape. The swedes never used corrisive ammo that I know of, so bores are almost always good. Enjoy! 0 -
Fourdees: it's a bit longer than my 98k Mauser, with a straight bolt. The bluing is very good, and the rifling appears to be very good also. The wood has a few minor scratches and no real (significant) dings in it, and I'm in the process of refinishing the stock and hand-guard. I intend to have the bolt-handle replaced, and have it drilled and tapped for a scope. 0 -
Trstone;
The reason I asked is there is a shorter version that came with a curved bolt. However, my 1925 was a long bbl with a curved bolt, but all SN's matched so it must have been original. I really liked the curved bolt over the straight one. It also had the bbl treaded at the end for a grenade launcher, but I found a blued muzzle cap to cover the threads. Mine shot dead-on at 300 meters with original sights, but I replaced the front sight (bought a '98 mauser front sight kit) to allow me to shoot 100 yards with iron sights. I really enjoyed shooting them, but for one reason or another, I sold all three:(
Enjoy!
Fourdees0 -
Threading on the end of the barrel is for a cutter used in shredding the wooden bullets used in training.
My heros have always killed cowboys.0 -
any extremely good site would be www.milsurpshooter.net
Go down and look for the swede mauser section[^]
Go Army Beat Navy
IF you wanna have fun join the cavalry0 -
THERE ARE THREE LENGHTS OF THE SWEDISH MAUSERS, CARBINE (16" BARREL), SHORT RIFLE m-38 & 96/38, 23.5"), AND THE RIFLE (29.25"). THE SWEDE'S USED CORROSIVE AMMO UP TO WWll, BUT THEY ALWAYS CLEANED THEM PROPERLY. OVER THE YEARS I'VE HAD SWEDES MGF FROM 1898 UP TO 1942. 0 -
trstone, that is not a dumb question. You buy a rifle that is so beautiful and is in such good shape and you can't believe that it is 93 years old.
I have one that looks like yours, and it is 105 years old.
The reason the Swedes look so good is,first, they are of top quality manufacture. When the Germans geared up at the Mauser factory to make some Swede Mausers in Germany, the Swedes told them that German steel was not quite up to par, and they exported Swedish steel for the Germans to use.
I doubt the Germans heard that complaint from Mexico, or Peru, or anyone else.
Second, the Swedes sat out both World Wars. The only combat that a Swede Mauser may have been involved in was the fighting between the Finns and Russians in WW2. Thousands of Swede Mausers were shipped for use in this conflict, there is some debate as to whether any were actually used. If one was in posession of the Finnish army, it will have the stamp "SA" in a little rectangular box.
The third reason these rifles look so good, as was mentioned above, was that the Swede army was fanatical about cleaning the weapons. All ammo before WW2 was corrosive, but if proper cleaning techniques were used, no problem.
Now, you will find, the rifle shoots as good as it looks. They are regarded as the most accurate Mauser of all. When you consider that about 103 million Mausers have been made, and only about 850,000 Swede Mausers were made, that is quite a statement.
Those triggers are stiff, you might try a Timney. You can get one with a safety built into it.0 -
I guess what amazes me about all the Swede Mausers I've seen is that the WORST specimen I've seen dating back to 1906 looks five times nicer than the average German/Russian/Finnish/British military rifle dating from the Second World War---pitted barrels, crappy wood, actions that lock up with a suspicious degree of play when you tug the bolt back-and-forth...a general appearance like the rifle was used first as a crowbar, then a cricket bat. "How can this be?" I ask myself. Now I know: The Swedes not only made a first-class rifle out of first-class materials, they took meticulous CARE of it, too. And it's an impressive sign of good design to hear that the Swedes used the 96 (and its variants) all the way from 1895 to 1978! 0
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