M96 Swedish Mauser - A Jewel among Rifles

Am Shooting Journal ^ | 2/18/20 | J Dickson

[w1n1]

Why to consider adding a military surplus M96 Swedish Mauser to your Collection. - Always considered a jewel among the many fine Mauser rifles made, the Swedish M96 is a real treasure. This gun has the same action as the M94 carbine that preceded it. I was delighted when Hunter's Lodge sent me a M1896 Swedish Mauser made by Carl Gustafs for review. These super accurate rifles still see much target competition in Europe today. The M94 and M96 guns feature some significant advances over the M93 and M95 Mausers.

The internal guide rib, which runs along the left locking lug raceway on the M93 series, was replaced with a 2½-inch long guide rib that is part of the bolt body and moves through a slot in the top of the bolt bridge. When the bolt is moved forward and locked, the rib rotates to its spot beneath the rear of the extractor. The M96 also has two holes on either side of the extractor collar to vent gas from a pierced primer or ruptured cartridge case and a thumb cutout to further direct the gas away from the shooter’s eyes. This thumb cutout is often mistakenly assumed to be there just to facilitate stripper clip loading. It is a vital safety feature and personally I don’t want a modern Mauser action that doesn’t have it. Modern commercial versions of the M98 action typically omit this critical feature, putting their customers at increased risk.

The M96 Swedish Mauser's safety withdraws the firing pin away from the primer when it is put in the vertical midway position so that a blow to the back of the cocking piece cannot fire a chambered cartridge, yet the safety can now be removed much faster. Centuries of dealing with wolves and bears in the thick Swedish forests had taught the Swedes the importance of getting a weapon in action fast. Really fast.

IN RECENT YEARS, many were converted to 7.62 NATO by Carl Gustafs and Norma for target shooting. These guns were known as CG63 Competition/Target Rifles and they remain very popular for that today. Those acquired by the Swedish Army were called Gevar 7 and later models were the CG73, CG74 and CG80.

Husqvarna made sporting rifles on the M94 carbine action in 6.5×55, 8mm Mauser, 9.3×57 (286-grain bullet at 2,070 feet per second), and the powerful 9.3×62 Mauser. The 9.3×62 shoots a .365-inch-diameter 286-grain bullet at 2,360 fps. Compare this to the .375 H&H Magnum, which shoots a .375-inch-diameter bullet of 300 grains at 2,500 fps, and you see that the vaunted .375 H&H Magnum is only .01 inch greater diameter, 14 grains heavier, and 140 fps faster than the 9.3×62.
Only a ballistics lab can tell the difference. The game sure can’t. So much for armchair experts who claim any pre-M98 Mauser action rifles are unsafe for 7.62 NATO. Many African professional hunters preferred the 9.3×62 to the .375 H&H because it would work in a standard length action and had consistent bullet performance, unlike the .375 H&H Magnum, which has had many bullet jacket failures even in recent years, no thanks to poor bullets at various times.
The 9.3×62 is considered the best caliber possible for Swedish moose hunting and Husqvarna's M94 action guns in this caliber have always been very popular for moose hunting in Sweden. Read the rest of Swedish mauser M96.

[Seruzawa]

A moose bit his sister.

[real saxophonist]

Well, his sister had some Västerbottensost. Of course the moose bit her.

[glasseye]

Love this rifle/caliber(6.5), Have 3 in the safe.
Found a carbine that is in almost unused condition, just beautiful.
Always get a few looks at the CMP shoots, more fun than an AR.

[Mariner]

8x57 is still the gold standard Mauser.

Just as our 30.06 is the gold standard .30 cal.

The best of both worlds?

Winchester Model 70 (nearly exact replica of Mauser) in 30.06.

It can be loaded with more bullet types than any other round.

From 110gr ballistic tip to 220gr partition.

[Mariner]

The author speaks of shooting 1inch groups at 100yds OFFHAND.

I call BS. Loudly.

Nobody can do that with a full sized military rifle with iron sights.

[DesertRhino]

Yes, it can be done by some very good people, and by some Swedish Mausers. Two inches it becomes a bit more common.

[DesertRhino]

“8x57 is still the gold standard Mauser.”

Not nearly as accurate as a 6.5x55. And it’s standard 154gr round will not have the same penetration as the standard 156gr military 6.5x55 load. And less recoil is a happy side benefit.

[Manly Warrior]

“Winchester Model 70 (nearly exact replica of Mauser)”

??
Perhaps you meant the US M1903?

[TMN78247]

Fyi, I’d guess that “my brother of the heart” CAN (with the right rifle/ammo, like my “near mint” SAAD rebuilt & NM-grade US Rifle, Model of 1917, using match ammo.) but then he’s a “World-class target shooter” & High-power match shooter “of note”.
(Imo, 99.9% of shooters CANNOT.)

He shoots better offhand, kneeling or sitting out to 600M than I do prone OR “off the bags”.

Yours, TMN78247

[Manly Warrior]

A gentleman named Carl Bernosky holds the current US high power rifle standing record of 200-15x, fired with a 6mm Hagar AR15 match rifle .

The course of fire is 20 rounds single loaded at 200 yards. The X ring is 1 moa in diameter, the 10 ring is 2 moa in diameter.

My personal opinion is that no one can shoot a moa group off their hind legs, unless it is lucky and not more than 3 shots....

[TMN78247]

Fwiw, MY personal favorite in a Mauser is a “Spanish Scorpion”, i.e., the Model 1893 LONG RIFLE of S-A War fame.
(The Model 1893 RM is the rifle that BG Leonard Wood killed a Spanish sniper with at over 300M in a treetop, when he actually could NOT see the sniper. = When asked by onlookers how he could kill a sniper that he could not see, BD Wood said, “I just aimed where I would, in his place, have been sitting.” - Fwiw, BG Wood was an Army surgeon, a holder of the MOH & well-known by friends to be “a man of few words”.)

yours, satx

[real saxophonist]

I call BS. Loudly.

In other words, about average for 'Am Shooting Journal'.

[Mariner]

1 inch at a hundred yds, iron sights, off hand.

I would take that bet all day long. And win all day.

99.9% of people can’t even see one inch at 100yds.

Still calling BS.

[Mariner]

“it can be done by some very good people”

No, it can’t.

[Sawdring]

My dad had a 1918 6.5X55 Swedish Mauser. I used to take it out of the gun cabinet when they left me at home alone and play with it when I was a kid. I messed up the bolt mechanism and it took my dad a few hours to figure out how to put it back together again. It was a great guy for driving deer in the woods.

[Mariner]

“the US M1903”

No.

I meant the Winchester Model 70.

I have both a 1938 Czech Mauser and a Winchester Model 70.

Identical actions and controls. Identical.

Only the Winchester is more precisely cut and finished.

[Osage Orange]

Husqvarna made sporting rifles on the M94 carbine action in 6.5×55, 8mm Mauser,

Never knew that....Husqvarna made rifles... but didn't know Iver Johnson made rifles either...I have one of those..a...22 Carbine...

[CommerceComet]

Never knew that....Husqvarna made rifles...

Husqvarna was formed in 1689 to manufacture muskets. Continued to make firearms until the 1960s. When I was a kid, my father had a Husqvarna M40 pistol which my brother still has. I'm half-heartily looking for a Husqvarna 1600 bolt action rifle in a .358 Norma Magnum just cause I want one, not that I need it.

[TMN78247]

You are WELCOME to hold ANY opinion, as it’s called FREEDOM of THOUGHT & FREEDOM of SPEECH. BOTH are SUPREMELY IMPORTANT in a FREE society.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean that your opinion is fact NOR that other marksmen cannot exceed your/anyone else’s ability/scores. = Shoot against Ed out to 600M & I would bet that you & 90+% of other marksmen will LOSE & (at least in my case, in 2020) BADLY.
(Btw, I was once a pretty decent marksman but I am NOT anymore. I cannot see OPEN/PEEP SIGHTS anymore, even with my “cheaters”.- These days, I have to use a scope on all my rifles, to be able to hunt competently.)

Yours, TMN78247