9 Hole Reviews - M96 Swede

[bladeracer]

https://youtu.be/StQ_AcgCnag

Henry Chan tries the M96 at longer ranges, unscoped.

[Tubs]

https://youtu.be/StQ_AcgCnag

Henry Chan tries the M96 at longer ranges, unscoped.

how good is this! Thanks Blade

[northdude]

Not long range but ive used my m38 out to 400m on gongs succesfully

[bladeracer]

Not long range but ive used my m38 out to 400m on gongs succesfully

Not surprising, they are astonishingly accurate.

[No1Mk3]

I like the shooting but this blokes really needs to improve his historical knowledge, Sweden no more pioneered the 6.5 than I invented the Irish Mono, France (1895), Romania and the Netherlands (1893) all had 6.5 cartridges before Sweden and Italy before them (1891).

[in2anity]

I have a full length one for “as-issued” category, which I am still yet to shoot:

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I know a few M-grade shooters who swear by them. For SR give me sight radius any day of the week.

[bladeracer]

I like the shooting but this blokes really needs to improve his historical knowledge, Sweden no more pioneered the 6.5 than I invented the Irish Mono, France (1895), Romania and the Netherlands (1893) all had 6.5 cartridges before Sweden and Italy before them (1891).

Isn't 1891 earlier than 1893 and 1895?

[northdude]

Not long range but ive used my m38 out to 400m on gongs succesfully

Not surprising, they are astonishingly accurate.

Yep i love it when I turn up for a service rifle shoot and everyone else has an enfield. Can usually get away with using half the ammo required for the comp

[bladeracer]

My M96 is original except it has Mojo ring sights, front and rear, I can't recall if I ever managed to find originals but I don't think I have yet.
My M38 is original except it's been drilled and tapped for a Lynx one-piece mount.
My M94/14 is all original.

What is M-Grade?

I have a full length one for “as-issued” category, which I am still yet to shoot:

7B21E9F0-A62D-4565-8682-468F259DCA2A.jpeg

91C03DA9-6FC4-4EB8-B9DC-7D8E224B1462.jpeg

ECEB710C-71E0-49AE-8828-53550D59B2E4.jpeg

FEE8A30F-722D-45F6-A1B4-2BCA3375A67C.jpeg

EDE53E59-D296-4EF3-91C9-C2CF5950439D.jpeg

I know a few M-grade shooters who swear by them. For SR give me sight radius any day of the week.

[in2anity]

M grade is master grade blade. Basically just “top grade”.

[No1Mk3]

I like the shooting but this blokes really needs to improve his historical knowledge, Sweden no more pioneered the 6.5 than I invented the Irish Mono, France (1895), Romania and the Netherlands (1893) all had 6.5 cartridges before Sweden and Italy before them (1891).

Isn't 1891 earlier than 1893 and 1895?

Yes bladeracer, Italy before all 1891, Romania and Netherlands 1893, but I do allow I made an error regarding the French Navy 1895 as Norway and Sweden adopted the cartridge in 1894 and Sweden issued the Carbine a few monthe before the Daudetau, Sweden & Norway developed the 6.5x55 from the Romanian 6.5x53R with Sweden opting for a rimmed case and Norway convincing them to adopt a rimless.

I do love the Swede though, having 13 of them from 94/14 Carbine through m/96's, some with diopter sights (Pramm, CG, Soderin, Elit), m/38's and an m/41 Sniper as well as a CG63 being rebuilt. Cheers

[bladeracer]

I like the shooting but this blokes really needs to improve his historical knowledge, Sweden no more pioneered the 6.5 than I invented the Irish Mono, France (1895), Romania and the Netherlands (1893) all had 6.5 cartridges before Sweden and Italy before them (1891).

Isn't 1891 earlier than 1893 and 1895?

Yes bladeracer, Italy before all 1891, Romania and Netherlands 1893, but I do allow I made an error regarding the French Navy 1895 as Norway and Sweden adopted the cartridge in 1894 and Sweden issued the Carbine a few monthe before the Daudetau, Sweden & Norway developed the 6.5x55 from the Romanian 6.5x53R with Sweden opting for a rimmed case and Norway convincing them to adopt a rimless.

I do love the Swede though, having 13 of them from 94/14 Carbine through m/96's, some with diopter sights (Pramm, CG, Soderin, Elit), m/38's and an m/41 Sniper as well as a CG63 being rebuilt. Cheers

But the 6.5x55mm cartridge dates to 1891, same as the Carcano. Maybe one was invented on the Monday and the other on the Friday, but there's not much in it

[Vince24]

I know a few M-grade shooters who swear by them. For SR give me sight radius any day of the week.[/quote]

I am a little bit surprised by the picture showing reloads with AR2206h ?
That’s a fast powder for that calibre that is said to like the slow ones. 2209 and 2213 SC. Let us know once you shoot it!

[No1Mk3]

I like the shooting but this blokes really needs to improve his historical knowledge, Sweden no more pioneered the 6.5 than I invented the Irish Mono, France (1895), Romania and the Netherlands (1893) all had 6.5 cartridges before Sweden and Italy before them (1891).

Isn't 1891 earlier than 1893 and 1895?

Yes bladeracer, Italy before all 1891, Romania and Netherlands 1893, but I do allow I made an error regarding the French Navy 1895 as Norway and Sweden adopted the cartridge in 1894 and Sweden issued the Carbine a few monthe before the Daudetau, Sweden & Norway developed the 6.5x55 from the Romanian 6.5x53R with Sweden opting for a rimmed case and Norway convincing them to adopt a rimless.

I do love the Swede though, having 13 of them from 94/14 Carbine through m/96's, some with diopter sights (Pramm, CG, Soderin, Elit), m/38's and an m/41 Sniper as well as a CG63 being rebuilt. Cheers

But the 6.5x55mm cartridge dates to 1891, same as the Carcano. Maybe one was invented on the Monday and the other on the Friday, but there's not much in it

No bladeracer,
King Oscar II did not issue his order to establish the Joint Commission until the 3rd of November 1893. The Commission met on the 15th and straight away agreed that the ballistic tests that had been carried looking for a replacement for the Jarmann indicated a cartridge of 6.5 caliber like the Romanian would be adopted. At this time the projectile parameters were set at 6.45mm Minimum to 6.7mm Maximum, the Groove diameter was set to allow a gauge of 6.75mm to pass through, Norway and Sweden were allowed to set bullet deviation between 6.65mm and 6.67mm, also at this time the weight was set at 156g. Later meetings set the case dimensions and in 1893 the Norwegian Committee, set up in 1891 (the possible source of your confusion regarding development), was informed that Sweden was considering a rimmed case for the new joint cartridge.and Norway proposed a semi-rimmed which they had trialled back in May 1893 using Roth cases. In June 1893 the Swedes backflipped on the semi-rim due to pressure concerns, which the Norwegians with their Krag were not concerned with, Trials continued until November when the Joint Commission finished it's work on 24th November 1893 establishing the new cartridge as 6.5x55 rimless which recieved Royal Assent from King Oscar II on January 18 1894. The 1st use in modified test rifles occurred April 1894 and the Carbine was adopted in August 7th 1894, Cheers

[No1Mk3]

I know a few M-grade shooters who swear by them. For SR give me sight radius any day of the week.

I am a little bit surprised by the picture showing reloads with AR2206h ?
That’s a fast powder for that calibre that is said to like the slow ones. 2209 and 2213 SC. Let us know once you shoot it![/quote]

G'day Vince24,
I have loaded AR2206H in the past, 37.6g with a Hornady 100g FB/SP which shot oK, and 34.5g with Highland 139g FMJ which shot very well out to 500m, in fact my Mrs took 3rd place at Lang Lang back when they could still shoot to 500 using that load. The cartridge does seem to prefer slower powders for better consistency and I have loaded 44.2g of AR2213SC with 139g FMJ but my current load uses AR2209 which I have found good across all my Swedes, Cheers.

[northdude]

Ive got 3x x55s one full wood mil one mil sporter and a t3. Ive used 2206 in the mil ones they dont seem that fussy as far as powder goes for shooting paper

[in2anity]

I am a little bit surprised by the picture showing reloads with AR2206h ?
That’s a fast powder for that calibre that is said to like the slow ones. 2209 and 2213 SC. Let us know once you shoot it!

Very astute of you to notice such a detail No1! The reason I'm trying 06H (at least initially) in the Swede is because 06H is my "bread-and-butter" range powder. These days, the big 4kg bottles is what I consume. My fullbore rifles all love 06H out to 800m, and my premier service rifles all seem to shoot "as good as I can from the SR sling" with 06H. Keeping in mind our service range is mostly limited to 300m, occasionally 400m. I even run my 303+174gr over a mild charge of AR2206H, and it can still shoot a possible at 300m (if you're doing your bit). I tried AR2209, and while it grouped well, I didn't like the recoil, so switched back to 06H. 06H is also great because I am comfortable backing off the charge if I want to reduce the recoil - something I feel is important for snaps shooting - the faster you can settle your sights, the more time you have to break the next shot. For this reason I think the 5.56mm is hard to beat at short range.

If these service rifles were being shot over bags, out to long range, perhaps even with a scope, indeed it could be a different story. But that's just not something I do!

We will see about this Swede load - if it sprays the target from the 300m prone mound, I'll have to consider trying a different recipe. But I'm not experienced with the Swede yet. My No4 and m17 are my two gems that get me the high grade scores.

[Bill]

https://youtu.be/StQ_AcgCnag

Henry Chan tries the M96 at longer ranges, unscoped.

Thanks Bladeracer, was a good way to start the day with the morning coffee.

[bladeracer]

No bladeracer,
King Oscar II did not issue his order to establish the Joint Commission until the 3rd of November 1893. The Commission met on the 15th and straight away agreed that the ballistic tests that had been carried looking for a replacement for the Jarmann indicated a cartridge of 6.5 caliber like the Romanian would be adopted. At this time the projectile parameters were set at 6.45mm Minimum to 6.7mm Maximum, the Groove diameter was set to allow a gauge of 6.75mm to pass through, Norway and Sweden were allowed to set bullet deviation between 6.65mm and 6.67mm, also at this time the weight was set at 156g. Later meetings set the case dimensions and in 1893 the Norwegian Committee, set up in 1891 (the possible source of your confusion regarding development), was informed that Sweden was considering a rimmed case for the new joint cartridge.and Norway proposed a semi-rimmed which they had trialled back in May 1893 using Roth cases. In June 1893 the Swedes backflipped on the semi-rim due to pressure concerns, which the Norwegians with their Krag were not concerned with, Trials continued until November when the Joint Commission finished it's work on 24th November 1893 establishing the new cartridge as 6.5x55 rimless which recieved Royal Assent from King Oscar II on January 18 1894. The 1st use in modified test rifles occurred April 1894 and the Carbine was adopted in August 7th 1894, Cheers

Thanks No1Mk3, I think I have it clear now

[gunnnie]

Have had a long standing love of this cartridge/rifle, secondly only to anything .257.
First affair was with one of the Fuller's Firearms Mod96 Hunters, basically a Mod96 that has the bbl shortened to 24" and the timber cut off an inch forward of the barrel band. It had a Lynx steel bridge mount & 3-9x scope. Shot a lot of ferals with that rifle & 120gn Sierra's!
Then I bought an AG42B Ljungman semi auto. Long, unbelievably accurate semi auto. Two negatives though - don't expect to find your fired cases as it pelted them 6m, and keep your fingers out of the action when loading! You'll only do it once!
Wish I still had those two rifles.
Now, the collection is an all matching & complete 1899 CG Mod96 in 80-90% condition & a 9-10 bore, an 1906 CG Mod96 in about 75-80% nick with a 6-10 bore & a 1942 Husqvarna Mod38 in 805 nick with a 8-9 out of 10 bore. All are great shooters.
To capitalise on the cartridge the last addition was a Tikka T3X Varmint stainless with a 26" bbl in virtually new condition.
Great cartridge.

[bladeracer]

Have had a lot standing love of this cartridge/rifle, secondly only to anything .257.
First affair was with one of the Fuller's Firearms Mod96 Hunters, basically a Mod96 that has the bbl shortened to 24" and the timber cut off an inch forward of the barrel band. It had a Lynx steel bridge mount & 3-9x scope. Shot a lot of ferals with that rifle & 120gn Sierra's!
Then I bought an AG42B Ljungman semi auto. Long, unbelievably accurate semi auto. Two negatives though - don't expect to find your fired cases as it pelted them 6m, and keep your fingers out of the action when loading! You'll only do it once!
Wish I still had those two rifles.
Now, the collection is an all matching & complete 1899 CG Mod96 in 80-90% condition & a 9-10 bore, an 1906 CG Mod96 in about 75-80% nick with a 6-10 bore & a 1942 Husqvarna Mod38 in 805 nick with a 8-9 out of 10 bore. All are great shooters.
To capitalise on the cartridge the last addition was a Tikka T3X Varmint stainless with a 26" bbl in virtually new condition.
Great cartridge.

My first was one of those Fuller's sporterised $159 M96's. I didn't like it though and soon traded it on an all original $99 Huskie M38, so much more enjoyable

[northdude]

I had one as well mine came with a nikko stirling 4x32. Take the mount off and its an obendorf 1896. Still got it and taking it to the range tomorrow its got a timney and ramline stock now

[bladeracer]

I had one as well mine came with a nikko stirling 4x32. Take the mount off and its an obendorf 1896. Still got it and taking it to the range tomorrow its got a timney and ramline stock now

I wish I still had that M38, I sold it when I was 19 to go back to Perth.
I don't have any paperwork from back then though, the one I have now may well be the same rifle, who knows

[northdude]

mines on its second barrel as well. I remember I used to buy the surplus mil ammo and pull the pils and seat some type of norma pill in them with a lee type loader I think it was a mrc or something Still got it here somewhere be cool to see the old sporting shooter ad they did a 303 from memory as well. even an unsportered one was really cheap

[gunnnie]

Not surprised that a lot of buyers of the M96 Hunters weren't happy with them as the expectation was that it was a sporting rifle. If you knew/accepted that it was a shortened military rifle then the disappointment may not have occurred.
I polished the trigger contact points, relieved/floated/bedded the action/barrel and it improved. Not that it wasn't a good shooter to start with!

[bladeracer]

Not surprised that a lot of buyers of the M96 Hunters weren't happy with them as the expectation was that it was a sporting rifle. If you knew/accepted that it was a shortened military rifle then the disappointment may not have occurred.
I polished the trigger contact points, relieved/floated/bedded the action/barrel and it improved. Not that it wasn't a good shooter to start with!

The rifle was amazingly accurate, it just had no history left in it, that made it lack enjoyment for me. My first centrefire being .222Rem, I was spoiled rotten with it being so easy to shoot tiny groups, the scoped M96 did almost as well. I had no complaints about its accuracy. If it had had iron sights on it I might have enjoyed it more perhaps, but only shooting with a scope sucked.

I replaced it with an original military rifle and absolutely loved taking it out after foxes, unscoped.

They were the only centrefires I ever used factory ammo in, only because the Norma 139gn was reasonably cheap, incredibly accurate, and Berdan primed. All I did was modify the bullets, although the FMJ killed everything I shot with it most adamantly - only foxes and rabbits though.

I have a sportetisd M1903 Turk Mauser 8x57mm that is nicer than the Fuller's M96 was. Shortened muzzle and forend, but no scope. 3.7kg. I was looking at it last week and I think I can see the hacksaw marks in the face of the muzzle.

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I saw photos last week of a modern sporterised M96 that looks very, very nicely done. New front sight, aftermarket aperture on the rear receiver, and a scout scope mounted on the original sight base.

[bladeracer]

mines on its second barrel as well. I remember I used to buy the surplus mil ammo and pull the pils and seat some type of norma pill in them with a lee type loader I think it was a mrc or something Still got it here somewhere be cool to see the old sporting shooter ad they did a 303 from memory as well. even an unsportered one was really cheap

I didn't reload the cartridge (the only one), so I played with the OEM steel-jacketed bullet, filing the point off, drilling holes in the front, cutting most of the ogive off with a hacksaw to make a sort of boat-tail wadcutter. But the simplest was to pull the bullet and re-seat it reversed to make a huge hollow-point.

Nothing bigger than foxes where I was so my only test medium was head-size lumps of clay from the creek.

[Tubs]

mines on its second barrel as well. I remember I used to buy the surplus mil ammo and pull the pils and seat some type of norma pill in them with a lee type loader I think it was a mrc or something Still got it here somewhere be cool to see the old sporting shooter ad they did a 303 from memory as well. even an unsportered one was really cheap

I didn't reload the cartridge (the only one), so I played with the OEM steel-jacketed bullet, filing the point off, drilling holes in the front, cutting most of the ogive off with a hacksaw to make a sort of boat-tail wadcutter. But the simplest was to pull the bullet and re-seat it reversed to make a huge hollow-point.

Nothing bigger than foxes where I was so my only test medium was head-size lumps of clay from the creek.

Hey mate,

Here are the close ups of the after-market rear peep on my 1896 M38 Mauser. I just took the optic off, havent yet worked out which screw is for windage and elevation. There are no marks indicating the brand of sight and I havent yet worked out how it is attached to the receiver.

The peep itself is quite small so Im going to paint the rear of the front sight post to make it easier to see.

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sight2.jpg (60.58 KiB) Viewed 3167 times

[bladeracer]

Thanks Tubs
I can see from those pics that is drilled and tapped into the receiver bridge, which isn't viable for most original milsurps unfortunately. But it looks like a really nice low-mount compact rear aperture for sporterised milsurps and modern rifles without sights.
If you can find out what it is I'd like to get some myself.

I can't tell from the picture if there's enough meat in the aperture to drill and tap it for replaceable apertures, like William's sights. I bought taps and dies so I can make my own.

It looks like a very nice sporterisation. How do you find the scout scope? I find them great for bench shooting for load development, but in the field I find them obtrusive, I have to concentrate to try not to look around the damned thing

Hey mate,

Here are the close ups of the after-market rear peep on my 1896 M38 Mauser. I just took the optic off, havent yet worked out which screw is for windage and elevation. There are no marks indicating the brand of sight and I havent yet worked out how it is attached to the receiver.

The peep itself is quite small so Im going to paint the rear of the front sight post to make it easier to see.

sight1.jpg

sight2.jpg

[Tubs]

Thanks Tubs
I can see from those pics that is drilled and tapped into the receiver bridge, which isn't viable for most original milsurps unfortunately. But it looks like a really nice low-mount compact rear aperture for sporterised milsurps and modern rifles without sights.
If you can find out what it is I'd like to get some myself.

I can't tell from the picture if there's enough meat in the aperture to drill and tap it for replaceable apertures, like William's sights. I bought taps and dies so I can make my own.

It looks like a very nice sporterisation. How do you find the scout scope? I find them great for bench shooting for load development, but in the field I find them obtrusive, I have to concentrate to try not to look around the damned thing

Hey mate,

Here are the close ups of the after-market rear peep on my 1896 M38 Mauser. I just took the optic off, havent yet worked out which screw is for windage and elevation. There are no marks indicating the brand of sight and I havent yet worked out how it is attached to the receiver.

The peep itself is quite small so Im going to paint the rear of the front sight post to make it easier to see.

sight1.jpg

sight2.jpg

The rifle feels much handier without the scope to be honest. Aside from saving what 450g in scope and rings overall it just feels better balanced. I am yet to shoot it properly due to a lack of ammo, but Im looking forward to getting some away next time. I called up the gunsmith for some advice regarding removal of the brake but he couldnt remember. Im going to try a red dot and magnifier next time, my yum cha version will arrive in a few days. so will see how accurate it is in comparison.