The Swedish 1896 Long Rifle in my Collection

 

The Swedish 1896 Long Rifle in my Collection

The specimen shown above is one of the ca. 750,000 Swedish Mausers built under contract with Paul Mauser starting in 1896. It is the long infantry rifle commonly known as the M96 (officially, the 6.5 mm Gevär m/1896) in the standard Swedish caliber of that era: 6.5x55 mm. The action is an improved version of the 1893 pattern (small ring, bolt cocked on closing) with minor modifications requested by the Swedish government. Printed and online literature abound for military Swedish Mausers so this article will concentrate instead on the details of the present specimen. There is consensus that the Swedish Mausers are among the best, if not the best of the military Mausers, in terms workmanship, quality of metal, and esthetics. Pundits may argue about the stopping power of the 6.5x55 mm cartridge, but that is a subject for another day.

Straightforward looking small ring Mauser receiver: The high quality of the receiver and bolt is just stunning. Despite being around for 120 years, the bluing on the receiver and handguard retaining ring remains intact. The straight-handle bolt stands out from other small ring Mauser bolts by having knurled safety and cocking piece.

Receiver marking: Swedish Crown and manufacturing arsenal identification, Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori, followed by 1905, the year of manufacturing. Since manufacturing of M96 only started in 1898, two years after the contract agreement, 1905 would be the eighth year of manufacturing.

The Carl Gustafs arsenal stamped the serial number on the left side of receiver (KB xxx590, but electronically erased from picture). KB is the initial of the inspector at the time of manufacturing. The bolt sleeve and bolt handle knob were also stamped (or etched, not sure!) with the last three digits of the rifle serial number. In fact, the arsenal stamped all rifle parts with the symbol of the Swedish Crown, sometimes twice.

Bolt retracted: The open receiver shows an intact magazine follower, which acts as bolt stop upon ejection of the last round. Bolt and receiver fit was exquisite and cycling of the bolt was super smooth with no wobbling as noticed in lesser quality military Mauser models. The wood to metal fit of this specimen, as in all Swedish Mausers I have handled, was near perfect and tight.

Closed-up of bolt: the bright and polished bolt is a piece of metallurgical art. Note the round face distinguishing itself from the 1893 square bottom type, and the powerful extractor claw.

Trigger group: It is slightly domed and looks very much like the 1893 Mauser pattern. Note the stamped last three digit of rifle serial number and Swedish Crown

Rear sight: The elevation leaf was graduated from 300 to a realistic 600 meters. It is fitted here with an authentic 1930’s era adapter allowing for finer range adjustments between the regular 3,4,5,600-meter steps. Most likely, it was used for sniping and should not be confused with the completely rebuilt elevation leaf of the later M41 sniper variant of this rifle. Sweden only introduced the M41 in the early 1940’s just before World War II.

The buttstock has a brass disk fixed by a single screw. The markings and numberings on the disk indicate the condition of the rifle bore at the time of inspection. In this specimen:

The small triangle mark on top of the number 2 in the outer ring (ca. 7 o’clock) indicates a bore dimension at the chamber throat of 6.52 mm (out of a functional range of 6.49 to 6.55 mm). The small triangle on top of the number 1 in the inner ring (ca. 11 o’clock) indicates an overall bore condition of 1 out of a range of 0 (no marking) to 3. No marking would indicate a new barrel and perfect bore, 1 would be next best.

The metal butt plate is typical of 1893 Mausers but like all other parts it clearly features the Swedish Crown and the last three digits of the rifle serial number.

Rear handguard retaining band: as for the receiver the original bluing on the retaining band remains near perfect (likewise for part of the barrel shown in the picture). It is a typical 1893 band type with locking spring at the bottom of the stock (not shown). The sling shown here is authentic and correct for Swedish Mauser’s.

Front band and cleaning rod: the front band configuration is unique to 1896 Mausers with the bottom lug for attaching bayonet as shown, and through hole for fitting a monopod rest. The cleaning rod shown is authentic for the M96 and so is the front sight protector. Although not visible in the picture, the front band was clearly stamped with the symbol of the Swedish Crown and the last three digit of the rifle serial number.

Front muzzle view of the 6.5 mm bore, front sight post fitted with the correct front sight protector.

Muzzle end with cleaning rod removed and bayonet affixed: the bayonet and scabbard shown were authentic and correct for the M96 although none of the numberings on the blade and quillon matched the rifle. I acquired the rifle and bayonet separately from different surplus importing houses. Installation of the bayonet was quick and efficient by fixing the round opening on the quillon onto the barrel muzzle then snapping the opening at the bottom onto the front band lug. Removal is efficient as well, by pulling on the cylindrical lock protruding at 45-degree angle from the bottom of the handle.

 

In summary, the Swedish M96 is an exquisitely made and accurate rifle. The specimen shown here, despite being 120-year-old, attested to its reputation among all other Mausers. I had the pleasure of putting through 2 to 300 hundreds rounds of commercial and reloads of 6.5x55 mm over ten seasons at the local shooting range at 100 and 300 yards. Accuracy was easily a minute of angle or less when shooting from a bench rest. The only unanswered question remaining for this specimen is the type of wood used to make the stock and handguard. I can see nice striations, especially on the handguard, but they are insufficient bases for deciding. May be one day!

 

References

1.      Wikipedia: Swedish Mauser

2.      Mauser Bolt Rifles by Ludwig Olson, 3^rd Edition, Updated 7^th Printing, 1976, F Brownell & Sons Publishers, Montezuma, Iowa, 50171. Pages 81-87.

3.      Mauser Military Rifles of the World by Robert W.D. Ball, 3^rd Edition, 2003, Krause Publications, Iola, WI 54990. Page 307-312.

Turkish Mauser 1893/38 in my collection

 

Turkish Mauser 1893/38 in my collection

The specimen shown above is a variant of the 1893 model made by the Mauser Company for Turkiye, a major customer during that era. The Turkish Mauser 93 contract consisted of 201,100 rifles entirely manufactured by Mauser’s factories and not subcontracted to others. In 1938 these rifles were standardized to be more consistent with the specifications of the later Mauser 1903 pattern (itself a later version of the Gewehr 98). The following modifications were introduced to accommodate the change in cartridge caliber from the original 7.65x53 to 8x57 mm:

1.      Grinding of the back end, front end, and left rear of the loading port on the 1893 receiver to accommodate the longer 8x57 mm cartridge, and to model it after the 1903 pattern.

2.      Grinding off the old seal of Caliph Abdülhamid 2 and remarking as TC ASFA ANKARA. The abbreviation TC stands for Turkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkiye) whereas ASFA is Askari Fabrika (military factory). The marking straddles the crescent moon and star emblem of Turkiye. The year of conversion was also stamped beneath the marking.

3.      On most conversions the magazine cut-off of the 1893 receiver was also removed. Please consult reference 1-3 to review the original configuration of the Turkish Mauser 1893.

4.      Obviously, re-barreling was necessary but I could not find any documentation about the process. It was either a fresh new 8x57 mm barrel or reboring the old one.

5.      Both rear and front sights were modified to accommodate the new ballistics.

6.      And finally, restocking to the 1903 pattern with a more pronounced hand grip, recoil lug supporting the receiver, and metal discs on both sides of the butt for firing pin disassembly.

Close-up of receiver with bolt removed: view of enlarged loading port, new arsenal markings with year of modification (1938) stamped beneath, original magazine cut-off eliminated, handguard retaining ring also eliminated. The specimen shown also features a magazine follower that had been ground down at the back to allow for free bolt movement without inserted cartridge (no bolt stop). I am not sure if it was part of the original arsenal modification. The serial number on the rear of the receiver was electronically masked.

Left side view of receiver with bolt inserted: the back of the left side was ground down to model after the 1903 pattern. The Arabic markings on the left read: 1313H (or 1895 in the Gregorian calendar, the year of manufacture) followed by Arabic markings for Arms Manufacture Mauser. The marking for Oberndorf was obliterated by metals being ground off. The recoil lug on the left side of the stock is also clearly visible.

Bolt retracted from action: note that unlike the regular bolt stop on Spanish Mauser 1893, the Turkish variant curls up and wraps around the rear receiver bridge as in some older Mauser’s.

Bolt taken out: Note the classic square bottom of the model 1893 Mauser bolt. This rifle has its bolt handle bent down and with the first three digits of the receiver serial number stamped on it.

The trigger group and lightly domed magazine floor plate typical of 1893 Mauser’s survived the modifications. Note the crescent moon stamp and Arabic numbering (tentatively read as 296).

Buttstock view: As for the Gewehr 98 and 1903 patterns the modified stock features the pronounced hand grip and metal disks on both sides to facilitate firing pin disassembly.

Buttstock plate modified to 1903 pattern with no discernible markings.

The 1893 type rear sight was replaced with the 1903 type. The range markings on the elevation leaf were in Western numerals extending from one hundred meters to 2000 meters. The bottom of the elevation leaf near the V notch was marked with the receiver serial number but erased electronically in this picture. The slider left side was also stamped with the last three digits of the receiver serial number but likewise erased in this picture.

Handguard retaining band is typical of 1903 pattern with side retaining pin in sharp contrast with the original 1893 pattern where the pin is located underneath. The sling shown here is not proper Turkish Mauser, it was a loaner from an 1896 Swedish Mauser.

Muzzle end: the front retaining band is again 1903 pattern, shown here with the correct cleaning rod. The front sight protector is not proper Turkish, but a loaner made for Swedish Mauser’s 1896.

Muzzle end with bayonet attached: the bayonet and corresponding scabbard are of the correct short Turkish M38 type.

The bayonet hilt was clearly stamped with arsenal marking (AS. FA for Askari Fabrika) and serial number (partially masked electronically).

Muzzle front view: the bore is dark, but the lands are still strong.

In summary, this specimen is still in great shape (easily NRA VG). I have shot more than eighty rounds of modern 8x57 through it achieving reasonable accuracy at both 100 and 300 yds range, considering the age of the bore.

Additional reading at: Ottoman Turk Mauser: Model 1893/38

References

1.      Ottoman Turk Mauser: 1893

2.      Mauser Bolt Rifles by Ludwig Olson, 3^rd Edition, Updated 7^th Printing, 1976, F Brownell & Sons Publishers, Montezuma, Iowa, 50171. Pages 75-77.

3.      Mauser Military Rifles of the World by Robert W.D. Ball, 3^rd Edition, 2003, Krause Publications, Iola, WI 54990. Page 320.

My M1916

The M1916 in my collection

This is the first post in a series capturing details of the military Mauser rifles in my collection including the actions salvaged and rebuilt into sporters for the fun of learning gunsmith skills and target shooting at the club range. If you are not familiar with the work of Mauser, the M1916 is a derivative of the Spanish 1893 Mauser rifle made famous in this country as a result of the Spanish war of 1898, where US troops first learned about the superiority of smokeless powder used in the 7 mm Mauser cartridge, and the rapid fire afforded by the charger loaded action.

A copy of the Spanish 1893 kept in the Springfield Armory Museum is shown below:

Note the beautiful line of the straight classic wooden stock. My stand-by reference for old Mauser rifles is the beautiful book by Ludwig Olson: Mauser bolt rifles, 3rd edition, 7th printing 1986, by Brownell & Son. A later printing (2000) of an updated and expanded version is still listed in Amazon.

Luckily for the Springfield Armory Museum, the copy it has on records was made in Germany by Ludwig Loewe & Co., Berlin. Later versions were made under license in Oviedo, Spain  by Fabrica de Armas Oviedo. By 1916 when shorter barrels of 21 to 26 inches were found to be as effective than the common 29 inches, Spain started to convert some of the original 1893 to a shorter version with barrels 21.75 inches but still firing the 7 mm.

The manufacturing origin of my M1916 specimen is unknown since there is no trace of arsenal identification on the receiver . Most likely the markings were ground down after many cycles of rebuilding over the years. 

Here's a picture of the receiver left side:

Smack in the middle of the receiver left side is a 1918 marking, probably the exact year of the rifle conversion to short format.  The letter stamped on the left of 1918 is mangled, it could either be an M or an H. Further left past the escape gas port and by the hand guard holding clip, and very faintly but visible enough with the naked eye, is the marking 7.62.

Following WWII in an effort to standardize with NATO armaments and ammunition, the M1916 was reworked, re-barreled to shoot 7.62 x 51 mm NATO. So, the specimen I have in hand handles 7.62 NATO and by extension the civilian 308 WIN, but with some caveats. Century Arms Inc., the original importer of these surpluses, has gone through the trouble of proofing the rifles with different ammo loads. The results were published in Guns & Ammo magazine some times ago, see article below:

  

Now you know what ammo to use in old M1916. Personally, when reloading I try hard to stay very close to chamber pressure of no more than 50,000 cup. After all it's an old rifle, probably close to a 100 years or more. The right side of the receiver is not shown, there is no other markings except for the rifle serial number.

You will notice that the receiver (and all other metal parts) remains nicely blued. Unfortunately, this is not the original finish. When I purchased the rifle from the surplus market in 1987 for the princely sum of $100.70 including all dealer fees and taxes, the rifle was barely in NRA Good condition. It was not exactly a decent piece for collecting, but still solid for hunting and fun shooting at the range.

It didn't take long to realize that the rifle had rust pitting under the wood line and the stock dirty and grimy. The only nice clean part was the bolt, which remains in bright highly polished white metal.

See picture below with bolt fully retracted:

It was taken apart for a clean up, for preservation's sake, and thereby losing any residual collectible value. All metal parts were sanded down to white metal with fine sand papers then steel wool, then re-blued by a local gunsmith. Since my early shooting skills with the crude military sight was nil, I had the gunsmith drilled the top receiver for scope mounting to ease my pains at the target range.

One of the nasty thing with the M1916 front sight post is the pair of protective ears that come with it. Windage correction requires removing the ears, and that in turn calls for punching out the pin rod retaining it to the front sight base. See picture below:

Front sight viewed from behind, and showing sign of minor rusting:

One of these days the front sight group will have to be dismantled for cleaning, rust removal and greasing. Since we are hovering by the front sight we might as well discuss the barrel marking nearby. See picture of the bottom part of the barrel near the muzzle below:

From left to right the marking was as follows: CAI ST A VT then space and followed by M16 308WIN SPAIN. Evidently, it was the original importer marks: Century Arms Inc. Saint Albans, Vermont. followed by the shorthand for the M1916 model designation and civilian caliber 308 WIN. Apparently, all surplus imports go through Century first then distributed, heard that on the grapevine or in gun articles of the Shotgun News. The original cleaning rod you can see protruding underneath the barrel is quite primitive compared to German or Swedish made cleaning rods, but it's functional and fits well in the stock.

Before leaving the muzzle or front end of the gun, let's talk about bayonet. I'm not sure which one is correct for the M1916, but the long 16 inches bayonet for 1893 Spanish Mauser fits fine on the stud integral to the front band shown in the picture below:

Here is how it is dressed on the M1916:

And a closer look at the fit:

A full view of the 16 inches (ca. 40 cm) bayonet:

Clear sign of rust on the blade and some on the hand guard, but the wood of the handle was exquisitely preserved, checkering 100% intact:

Arsenal markings on the blade were sharp and clear:  ARTILLERIA set on top of corp insignia (two crossed cannons topped with a crown and with 3 cannon balls underneath), followed by Fca (FABRICA) NACIONAL TOLEDO. Most likely the bayonet was manufactured by the Toledo arsenal for an 1893 carbine of an artillery unit. My biggest wish is to find the correct period bayonet holder for this specimen, but haven't found it yet in a gun show or surplus house, at an affordable price that is.

The rear sight resembles the Lange Visier (curved-tangent) type one would encounter in a German Gewehr 98. Elevation runs from 300 to an optimistic 2000 meters:

(Side view)

Another close-up of the Lange Visier rear sight

A top view of the slide with the scope partly in the way

Moving back toward the action, you will notice that 1893 Mauser bolt are cocked upon closing. Here's a picture of the action with the bolt closed, cocked and ready to fire:

Then after trigger release

The trigger weight on this particular specimen of M1916 is a delight in contrast to most expectations for military Mausers, i.e. two stages and heavy. In the first few years owning the rifle I was often taken aback, even frightened by a couple of cases of unintentional premature firing because of the light pull. Luckily, the gun was always pointed down range after loading and I have the range and NRA safety rules to thank for. What at first appeared to be a liability turned later into an advantage when I got into higher accuracy target shooting at long range (over 200 yds). Using an RCBS pull gauge the trigger breaks between 56 to 64 ounces over 3 trials, thus averaging at less than 4 lbs.

The original curved down bolt handle had to be bent to accommodate the variable 3-9X Bushnell scope. The local gunsmith did a great job aesthetically, and his finished product looked much better than what you are seeing in the picture. In the open position the handle would hug the scope line very nicely. There was only one problem, the handle hugged the scope so close making it difficult to retract and close efficiently for a second shot. After a couple of years of frustration, I decided to take the torch to it, bending the knob a bit away from the scope to make life more bearable at the range.

Obviously, bending a Mauser bolt for scope also requires inletting the stock as shown below. Note the dark smudge in the inletted wood where the bolt handle comes to rest in close position.

Inletting the stock to accommodate the bent bolt handle was not such a bad idea. 1893-1896 small ring Mauser bolts only have 2 locking lugs (instead of 3 like in the 98 Mauser) making many people nervous shooting these old rifles. Resting the bolt handle securely in the inletted stock could be thought of as a poor-man 3rd lug in case of bolt failure caused by inadvertently high chamber pressure. Before the bolt goes flying into your face it would have to overcome the jam in the stock. In fact using the bolt handle of small ring Mausers as a third lug is not a new idea, 1895 Chilean Mauser action features a cut in the right rear of the action where the bolt handle would come to rest in the close position. I will share a picture of this feature in a future post on my 1895 Chilean Mauser sporter.

Here's a picture of the bolt face. Note the square bottom , a distinguishing feature of all 1893 and 1894 Mauser bolts.

An unusual feature of the bolt on my M1916 is the finish. You should have noticed it in previous pictures if you have read this far. The finish is shiny white metal almost like stainless steel, and not necessarily a good feature in military applications. Most of the M1916 bolts I have seen in gun shows or in web pictures are either dirty white metal or blued. Was it previously polished at one time for parade or fancy guard duties? I don't have a clue, that's how it originally came from the surplus house. The only marking I could find on the bolt is the number 075 and a letter T and possibly another letter, but it was partially ground off due to wear and tear or just poorly engraved. The markings were both on the back of the safety (see below) and on one side of the sleeve.

The picture below shows the trigger guard and magazine box group. The number 1918 was again stamped onto both the trigger guard and the the floor plate of the magazine.

Otherwise, the entire stock, hand guard, the rear and front bands, and the recoil  lug group have no stamping or marking whatsoever, at least on the specimen that I have. The butt plate was also clean of any markings.

One of the 2 screws holding the butt plate to the stock is not authentic as you obviously see from the picture. The original was so rusted and decaying that I had to extract it and replace with a modern version.

Many things has been said about the M1916, and Spanish Mausers in particular, by critics in books and on the web. Yes, if you hold up a Spanish and Swedish Mauser side by side, there is no comparison in terms of workmanship. Nevertheless, it is a pretty rifle with graceful line, shoots accurately if you know what you are doing, very compact and handy, and could take a lot of abuse. It would be perfectly fine for hunting in thick wood or for a day of fun target shooting at the range as shown below.

I was testing a new load using commercial Winchester 308 WIN brass and 123 grains Winchester FMJ bullet, actually made for 7.62 x 39 cartridges. The choice of IMR 4320 is a practical one.  At the time it was the only powder I have left in sufficient amount for about 50 rounds, to make the pain of reloading worth the effort. The overall recipe was based on a recommendation for medium velocity load by the Nosler Reloading Guide for its 125 gr. Solid Base Ballistic Tip (green) bullet in 308 WIN and with IMR 4320. To summarize:

1. Winchester 308 WIN brass and Winchester Large Rifle primer
2. 123 grs Winchester FMJ bullet made for 7.62 x 39 (based on available information the diameter of Russian 7.62 x 39 bullets should actually be 0.311 and not 0.308 inches, on my caliper the Winchester 123 gr. bullet is exactly 0.310)
3. 46 grs of IMR 4320
4. Bullet seating at cannelure but uncrimped.

Pressure and velocity data for this load were not measured and remain accordingly unknown. The velocity is not expected to be too far off from that of the Nosler load of the same powder and weight and using Nosler 125 gr. SBBT bullet, i.e. 2883 fps. Nosler Reloading Guide number 4 provides no pressure data. Pressure data was estimated from relevant Dupont Reloader Guide data for IMR 4320 powder used in 308 WIN cartridges:

Bullet                                     Charge (grs)           Velocity (fps)      Chamber pressure (cup)
Hornady 110 gr. SP               49 (compressed)     3010                   47600
REM 150 gr.PTD SPLC        45                           2710                   52000

It's fair to question the actual chamber pressure for 46 gr. IMR 4320 in Winchester 308 WIN case and 123 gr. bullet of actual diameter of 0.310 in., but my educated guess says it couldn't be too far off from 50000 cup. The real wild card is the difference between the .308 and .310 diameter bullet.

Shooting this load (50 rounds altogether) in the M1916 was pretty uneventful, very mild and pleasant recoil, the spent cases got readily extracted and showed no sign of cracks, compression or abnormal powder burns. The results shown in the picture above represent a session at 100 yds against an MR-52C target (The National Target Company) and using scope setting of 4 and 9X. Most shots were from bench rest and a few with sling in prone without shooting jacket. The scope elevation was perfectly aligned, but windage was off by about 3 clicks and it took some walking back and forth before punching the X and 10 rings with consistency (see the wonderful 5 hits in the X ring). Some of the stray shots in the 7 ring were most likely due to trigger pull flinching while shooting prone with sling.

The correct brass clips loaded with spent 308 WIN cases were shown in the picture for show-and-tell. The scope mounted on top of the action will completely hinder en bloc clip loading. Single hand loading is the only choice.

Warning to readers: The author makes no representations about the safety of the load described above and do not recommend anybody trying to reproduce it.

By and large the M1916 is not in the same league as the 98 Mauser, or the 03 Springfield, or the Swedish M38, but it is a good looking compact and handy rifle in available in 2 popular caliber (7mm or 7.62 NATO), fun to shoot and own. It's a must have for military Mauser fans even at current price (last listed at $169.95 at SAMCO but now sold out). I only wish I had a copy in great collectible condition including bayonet and corresponding holder. You should get yours before price further increases because of the gun control folks running amok.

November 1st, 2012 update:
Please take a look at Robert Cappa's famous photograph of the Spanish Civil war of the 30's featuring a loyalist soldier struck by a bullet:

Death of a loyalist soldier

Robert Cappa

1936

I haven't seen any documentation about the rifle flying off his hand, but it sure looks like an M1916 in 7 mm. What else could it be? The older 1893 long version?