Production continued in 1899, following the 1898 serial numbers over 20,xxx. According to ' Mauser Bolt Rifles ' by Ludwig Olson, the Swedish ' Mauser ' contract was for 45,000 M-96 rifles. He found the contract info in Mauser's archives. The starting & ending serial numbers for the Mauser contract is unknown ( 1899/1900 ). Dec 06, 2013 I have a m/96 Swedish Mauser and want to get an idea of its value. It is marked 'Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori. 1900' All its serial numbers seem to match (#464) except for the cleaning rod which is #462 (guess he got it mixed up with his buddy's). The original leather sling is also attached and is pretty good condition. 1891 Argentine Mauser Serial Numbers I really like these old rifles, and I already have a hunting rifle chambered in the 6.5x55mm cal. Does anyone have an M96 or an M38 military Mauser? Husqvarna is a very old Swedish firm, dating from the early 1600s. Olson writes that the company made some of the finest Mauser sporter rifles and carbines, and after examining mine, I have to concur. Early sporter rifles were built on the Model 96 Swedish Mauser action. Markings on Swedish mauser rifles. Text Mats Persson. How to read the markings on the Swedish m/94 Carbine and on the m/96 and m/38 Rifles. Manufacturing The name of the manufacturer and the year of manufacture are on the top of the receiver. The serial number is on the left side of the receiver.
- M96 Swedish Mauser Serial Numbers List
- M96 Swedish Mauser Serial Numbers
- Swedish Mauser Serial Number Guide
- M96 Swedish Mauser Serial Numbers 222
- M96 Swedish Mauser Serial Numbers 22
The 1896 Swedish Mauser
By Chuck Hawks
The Swedish m/96 rifle, which civilians generally call the Swedish Mauser Model 1896 or just the 'Swedish Mauser,' was introduced two years after the famous 6.5x55 cartridge and became its most enduring home. Both rifle and cartridge were tremendously successful.
The Model 1896 rifle remained the primary Swedish service rifle until 1938, when the Model 38 was adopted, and the Model 38 was basically an 1896 with a 24' barrel and an aperture rear sight. The basic 1896 action soldiered into the 1950's, when it was finally replaced by a self-loader.
The 6.5x55 cartridge has been well covered in the pages of Guns and Shooting Online, including a dedicated article and comparison articles on the Rifle Cartridge Page, so I will not go into it in depth here. Suffice to say that it combines the virtues of moderate recoil, reasonable trajectory, and good killing power. It is a medium capacity cartridge that has been proven all over the world. RCBS reports that 6.5x55 reloading dies have consistently been on their top 30 best seller list for many years.
Thousands of surplus Model 1896 Swedish Mausers were imported into the U.S. during the 1950's and 1960's, introducing large numbers of American hunters to the Swedish Mauser service rifle. The m/96 became one of the most desirable surplus rifles. Valued by shooters because it simply shot better, on average, than anything else and by collectors because of its exquisite quality and workmanship. The m/96 is probably the finest of all the early Mausers.
Sweden remained neutral in both the First and Second World Wars ('Neutrality through strength' was one Swedish motto). This means that there were no 'wartime production' short cuts taken with Swedish Mausers, unlike the military rifles of almost all major combatants in the great world conflicts. There are no inferior Swedish m/96 rifles.
Indeed, the fit and finish of the m/96 is superior to that of new military rifles costing far more. My example was made by Carl Gustafs in 1906, and it shames all of the military rifles being made today. This can be taken as a commentary on both the quality and workmanship of the m/96 and the lack of it in most modern military rifles.
The 1896 action is typical of early Mauser designs, with two front locking lugs, a 90 degree bolt lift, a full length extractor for controlled feed (this requires that cartridges be fed into the chamber from the magazine), and a fixed ejector. Unlike the Mauser 98 action, the Model 96 cocks on closing and the bolt handle does not serve as an auxiliary locking lug. Otherwise the two actions are similar.
The bolt handle protrudes straight out from the right side of the action. It is apparently brazed to the bolt body, and carries a serial number that matches the bolt and the rifle. The bolt knob is smooth and round and easy to grasp. The one-piece striker (firing pin) protrudes from the rear of the bolt when cocked, and can be lowered by hand if the user has a strong thumb or fingers.
The three-position safety is located at the rear of the bolt, concentric with the striker, and rotates through approximately 180 degrees. Fully counter-clockwise (as seen from the shooter's position) is 'fire,' fully clockwise is 'safe' and locks the bolt closed, and the intermediate straight-up position is 'safe' but the bolt can be opened. This allows the magazine to be emptied by operating the bolt with the rifle still on 'safe.' This intermediate position also allows the bolt to be disassembled when it is removed from the rifle. The bolt release is a machined steel lever located at the left rear of the receiver that is pulled outward to release the bolt.
Everything about the m/96 action radiates quality. All major and most minor parts are carefully machined from steel; few stampings were used. All key parts bear matching serial numbers. There is even a steel cleaning rod supplied with the rifle. This protrudes from the front of the front receiver ring, which also incorporates the bayonet lug, and it can be removed for use by unscrewing.
The magazine follower is machined steel. After the last round fired and ejected, the follower locks the bolt open for rapid reloading (this was accomplished by means of stripper clips in military service). The magazine box is made of steel, as is the floorplate. The floorplate itself is not hinged, but is quick detachable for unloading by means of a recessed button at its rear. Use a ballpoint pen or the tip of a bullet to release the magazine floorplate. The roomy trigger guard is also machined from steel.
The trigger is a typical two-stage military type. After the initial slack is taken-up (the first stage), the sear is cleanly released with about 4.75 pounds of pressure (the second stage). This is a heavy rifle (approximately 9 pounds on my bathroom scale), so the 4.75 pound trigger pull is proportionately lighter than it sounds.
Unlike many classic military rifles, and almost all modern military rifles, the m/96 stock was clearly designed with an eye for line as well as function. Its overall appearance is slender and well formed, accentuated by its 29' barrel. It wears a straight-hand wood stock with a tapered 3/4 length forearm, oval in cross section, that is secured by a barrel band at the front. There is also a thin 14' handguard that runs from the front receiver ring about half way to the muzzle, also secured by a barrel band. Steel sling swivels are standard. Various woods were used, but the stock on my m/96 is straight grain walnut. The classy looking buttplate is steel.
The Swedish Mauser stock was built for strength. The comb is high and straight, like most modern stocks. This was done to accommodate the tall ladder-type open rear sight. The length of pull measures 14'. Although designed in 1896, this stock is quite modern in shape and feel and will seem familiar to anyone who shoots a rifle with one of today's 'modern classic' style stocks.
One last point about the m/96 stock. There is a brass disc about 30mm in diameter inletted into the right side of the buttstock. There are actually three disc variations, an early 2-screw disc, a later 2-screw disc, and a 1-screw disc. My rifle has the one screw type disc, and the information that follows pertains only to the one screw disc. For information about the two screw discs, or additional details about the one screw disc and lots of other information about Swedish weapons, see Mats' Weapons Page online. That is where I learned how to decipher the disc on my rifle.
The one screw disc is divided into 3 sections, each of which is marked in such a way as to reveal some information about that particular rifle. The smallest 'slice' of the brass disc bears the numbers 1, 2, and 3 with a triangular punch mark over one of the numbers. This indicates the condition of the bore. No punch mark is perfect. 1 means a very few dark areas in the corners of the lands and grooves. 2 indicates rust in the corners of the lands and grooves and possible light rust in the grooves. 3 indicates spots of light rust throughout the grooves, but no sharp edges; this is still acceptable. A rifle scoring lower than 3 was rebarreled. My rifle is a 3, but any rifle passed by the Swedish armorers will shoot very well, as the inspectors were quite picky. The bore of my rifle looks good to the naked eye.
The next slice of the little brass disc indicates the elevation aiming error when shooting the standard m/41 Swedish service load, which used a 140 grain boat-tail spitzer bullet at a MV of around 800 m/s. There are three Swedish words in this sector of the disc. 'Torped' indicates the 140 grain BT spitzer bullet (there was an earlier 156 grain RN bullet), 'Overslag' means over, followed by a space and then 'Str.' Str is the abbreviation for streck, a unit of angle, and there are 6300 streck to a circle. Streck were used in a manner similar to the way North American shooters use minutes of angle. If there is a number in the blank space between Overslag and Str. it indicates the amount the rifle shoots over in terms of streck. 1 streck equals approximately 1/10 meter at 100 meters. So a 1 in the space on the disc indicates that rifle would shoot 10 cm (or a little less than 4') above the point of aim at 100 meters. The space is blank on my rifle's disc, indicating that it shoots to point of aim.
The largest slice of the disc has an outer and an inner arc of numbers. The outer arc bears numbers '6.51' followed by the numbers 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 (my rifle has a punch mark over the '2'). The inner arc bears the numbers '6.46' followed by 7,8,9,0 (no punch mark over a number in the inner arc on my rifle). It is my understanding that these numbers reveal the nominal bore (6.46mm) and groove (6.51mm) diameters of a new barrel. The punch mark(s) reveals the actual diameter of the particular barrel (and thus, presumably, any wear). Thus, my barrel has a groove diameter of 6.52mm. Apparently the bore diameter of my barrel measured right at 6.46mm.
If the groove diameter measures between 6.51mm and 6.53mm all was well. If the groove diameter measured 6.54mm-6.55mm the rifle was used only for training. If the groove diameter exceeded 6.56mm the rifle was rebarreled. The Swedes are very meticulous people!
The long barrel and relatively heavy (but not excessive) weight make the m/96 an easy rifle to shoot from offhand or other unsupported positions. It hangs steady when aligned with the target.
The m/96 was supplied with a clever, ladder-type open rear sight, mounted on the barrel in front of the action, where open rear sights are usually found. But this example is unusual that there are three stepped positions for ranges of 300, 400, and 500 meters with the ladder folded down (what the Swedish Army probably thought of as the 'battle sight' position), and elevation stops for 600 to 2000 meters (!) when the ladder is raised. Windage adjustments were accomplished by sliding the front sight in its dovetail. This was done by Swedish armorers, not regular soldiers. Whoever did mine knew his business; I found the windage to be right on the first time that I test fired my rifle.
The m/96 is a very accurate service rifle. This was proven during the early years of the 20th Century, when the various powers held international service rifle matches. The host country provided the rifles and ammunition used in these matches to all of the teams so that all competitors used the host nations service rifle. In the entire history of this series of matches, the best scores across the board were not shot with the U.S. M-1903 Springfield, the British Lee-Enfield, or the vaunted German Model 98 Mauser, but with the Swedish m/96 and the Swiss Schmidt-Rubin rifles. These are the most accurate of the classic bolt action military rifles. No collection of military Mausers should be without a Swedish Model 1896.
1899 M38B (M96/38) Swedish Mauser Short Rifle(Mfg by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori)
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
Rifling & Twist: ............. 4 Grooves, Right Hand Twist, 1 in 7.5'
Barrel Length: .............. 23.1 in (587mm)
Overall Length: ............ 44 in. (1118mm) without bayonet
Weight: ....................... 8.5 lb (4.1Kg)
Magazine Capacity: ...... 5 round integral box
Qty Mfg: ...................... 55,080 m38's converted from M96 Long Rifles between 1937 and 1940
Source: ....................... Crown Jewels - The Mauser in Sweden by Dana Jones - ISBN: 0-88935-283-6
Canadian Collector Market Value Estimate: $
1899 M38B (M96/38) Swedish Mauser Short Rifle
(43 picture virtual tour)
Note: Pics of rifle provided courtesy of Milsurps.com moderator Claven2.
In 1938, the Swedish M96 long rifle had been in service for 42 years and the M94 cavalry carbine for 44 years. Despite the fact most of Sweden's European neighbors continued to deploy similar rifles, largely based on the similar Mauser 98 action, Sweden's artillery officers who controlled armaments development could not help but notice that the trend was towards a shorter, intermediate length rifle such as the German Karabiner 98k. The issue M96 long rifle, on the other hand, had more in common with the Gewehr 98 of the First World War than the sleeker and handier Karabiner. Additionally, the 1930's brought the concept of mechanized infantry to the forefront of military thinking. Troops operating from vehicles found the M96 too long and awkward to be practical, and the M94 was not available in great enough numbers given the number of weapons still required by the cavalry.
Swedish ordnance engineers came up with a cost effective alternative and in 1937 they adopted the M38 Swedish Mauser. The M38 was constructed by reconfiguring existing M96 long rifles. The barrel was shortened and the front sight base moved back to suit. The stock was also shortened and the front band spring and barrel band were accordingly moved back. The straight bolt handle was retained. Between 1938 and 1940, 55,080 M96 rifles were converted at the Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori, and under contract at Husqvarna Vapensfabriks AB.
By the end of 1940, the Second World War was raging across Europe. The Swedish government needed all available arms in the field in order to maintain her neutrality, by force of arms if necessary. The Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori in Eskilstuna was busy manufacturing machine guns and other weapons and so, in 1941, Husqvarna Vapensfabriks AB was given the contract to construct newly made M38 rifles instead of converting further M96 long rifles. The very first Husqvarna made M38 rifles had straight bolts, but the factory was already tooled up to make bent bolt bodies for their sporting rifles. Husqvarna asked for, and was given permission, to alter the specification and produce the vast bulk of their M38 rifles with bent bolt handles. By the end of production in 1944, Husqvarna had manufactured 65,588 new M38 rifles.
Modern collectors often refer to the early pattern converted M96 rifles as the M96/38. The Swedish military, however, made no such distinction. All M38 patterns were referred to simply as M38, regardless of manufacture or type of bolt body.
In 1941, the Swedish military adopted a new bullet for the 6.5x55 caliber rifle to replace the older round nosed M94 bullet. The new cartridge was called the M41 Torped (spitzer) round. The M38's made by Husqvarna were equipped with a new rear sight calibrated specifically for the M41 ammunition. Initially it was planned to convert the entire inventory of M38 rifles to the new pattern sight, but this initiative proved too expensive for the Swedish government. Instead, they chose to affix conversion plates to the rifles' buttstocks. The range plates came in two basic types for each pattern or issue rifle. An enameled metal plate and a water transfer decal painted over with protective shellac. Rifles sighted for M94 ammunition received a conversion plate for use with M41 ammunition, and rifles sighted for M41 ammunition were fitted with a conversion plate for use with M94 ammunition. Nevertheless, some converted M96 rifles were retrofitted with the M41 pattern rear sights but these are uncommon and most of these rifles retained their original M96 rear sights. Some M38 rifles can be found with a micrometer sight insert made of nickeled brass and manufactured by a company called Vasteras. These inserts are all calibrated for the M94 bullet and serve only to provide more accurate sight adjustment.
After World War 2, in the interest of improving sight picture, virtually all Swedish mausers had their rear sights altered from the original 'V' blade to a 'U' notch. Additionally, many rifles were retrofitted with a squared blade, replacing the older 'inverted V' blade. Rifles designated for use during training exercises were later modified by threading the muzzle to accept a blank firing adaptor designed to shred the wooden bullet training rounds then in use. Rifles threaded for the adaptor are often referred to as 'B models' (e.g. M96B, M38B, etc.). When the blank firing adaptors were not in use, the rifles were issued as normal, but with a yellow or clear nylon thread protector threaded onto the end of the barrel.
Collector's Comments and Feedback:
M96 Swedish Mauser Serial Numbers List
1.Swedish M38 rifles are often found in excellent condition. Additionally, the rifles can generally be located with matching numbers, though fairly often the rear sight leaf may be mismatched. Premiums may be payed for rifles with intact range plates or range decals. Decals and plates were installed upside down to make reference by the shooter easier during firing. If these items are not properly installed in the inverted position, it is a clear sign they have been tampered with. Some collectors prefer rifles which do not have threaded muzzles, but whether a premium should be paid for rifles without the B modification is a personal preference issue. While most M38's are found stocked in beech, converted M96's can often be found stocked in any of the woods used on original M96 rifles. Some rifles received parts matched with electro-pencil during late refurbishment efforts. Most collectors prefer the rifles with stamped matching serial numbers.
Most Swedish mauser parts will be stamped with a crown acceptance stamp. Level crowns indicate manufacture by Carl Gustafs, while crowns tilted at a 45 degree angle indicate manufacture by Husqvarna. Additionally, Husqvarna produced rifles will generally have fewer serialized parts than the converted M96 rifles made into M38's, where virtually all metal parts will bear the last three digits of the rifle's serial number.
Finally, while the earliest M96 long rifles had unit marking disks installed in the stocks, M38's would all have been made with the later bore condition type stock disks. The disks give the bore diameter in millimeters and the bore condition on a scale from 0 to 4. A '0' bore would be indicated by no markings on the bore condition portion of the disk. A '0' bore meant it was like new with absolutely no wear or damage. Bore remained in service after the condition deteriorated to conditions 1 through 3. At condition 4, the bore was significantly corroded or worn and the disk would be removed and the hole filled with red wax to indicate the barrel needed replacement.
Bore conditions:
0 - like new.
1 - one or a few dark areas in the corners between grooves and lands.
2 - Rust in the corners between lands and grooves, odd spots of rust in the grooves.
3 - spots of rust throughout the length of the bore, but no sharp edges on the rust patches.
4 - sharp edges between corroded and non-corroded areas. Such a barrel would be discarded and replaced. ........... (Feedback by 'Claven2')
2.
M96 Swedish Mauser Serial Numbers
Here is another 'all correct' example of an 1899 M96/38 Swedish Short Rifle Serial # 23669, also converted by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori between 1938-1940.This particular rifle is unique in that it was originally mfg in Germany uncer license as an M96 rifle by Waffenfabrik Mauser, Oberndorf a/N in 1899. Note: It is mounted with the 'T' (Torped) rear sight, which differs from the other example in this MKL entry.
1899 M96/38 Swedish Short Rifle Serial # 23669
(Converted by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori 1938-1940)
'Originally mfg as M96 rifle by Waffenfabrik Mauser, Oberndorf a/N in 1899'
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
1899 M96/38 Swedish Short Rifle Serial # 23669