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.