My M96 Swede

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My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 14 Sep 2017, 12:41 pm

Found this beauty in a little country shop last week,shes well used and non matching but for $295 there was no way I could say no!This is my first centrefire.
Put a few round through her yesterday and although i was not able to make paper @ 200m (factory is 300m and s**t spotter...) the group in berm was indeed confidence inspiring,cant wait to get her on paper at the range! First time ive shot more than 2 rounds of anything above .22 and I love the balance of the 6.5 rounds, it kicks, enough to know you're firing something decent but not enough to hurt.I am very much in love and see myself putting many rounds through this one! Press is on the cards but i need to stop buying rifles first!
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I really have no place visiting gun stores without supervision,dropped a hold on a matching numbers 1940 Lithgow Mark3 today!
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Daddybang » 14 Sep 2017, 1:45 pm

That's nice!!! :drinks:
This hard living ain't as easy as it used to be!!!
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Supaduke » 14 Sep 2017, 3:12 pm

Very nice. Get some gun oil and 0000 steel wool onto that bolt to gently remove that surface rust. Swedish Mausers are famous for their accuracy. I love mine.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by BRNO_Bigot » 14 Sep 2017, 5:12 pm

Very nice. You're lucky you saw it before I did, or it'd be following me home. ;)

What's the barrel like?
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Gun-nut » 14 Sep 2017, 6:19 pm

You certainly gave a great taste in firearms, congrats on your new purchases! Post some pics of that Lithgow when you get the chance. :)
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by No1Mk3 » 15 Sep 2017, 5:56 am

Nice Swede Dunxy, great price too! Would have bought it myself for that money. What bore condition does the stock disc say? Cheers.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by juststarting » 15 Sep 2017, 11:01 am

1. Nice!
2. I reckon whenever someone posts stuff like this, most of us go out and buy a new gun... It's a vicious cycle.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 15 Sep 2017, 1:19 pm

Supaduke wrote:Very nice. Get some gun oil and 0000 steel wool onto that bolt to gently remove that surface rust. Swedish Mausers are famous for their accuracy. I love mine.

I gave here a good clean yesterday but still need to tend to the small amount of surface rust on bolt and barrel.She does seem accurate.

BRNO_Bigot wrote:Very nice. You're lucky you saw it before I did, or it'd be following me home. ;)

What's the barrel like?

Yeah i literally picked it up, felt the action and had a look down bore and said ill take it!
The bore is a bit dark but all the rifling is sharp and only minimal signs of wear.No pitting or anything.I ran a crapload of patches through it yesterday and its come up a bit better.According to the stock disk (yup, may not even be this rifle and how long ago was it marked is anybody guess!) it is a 3 condition bore which is worst for the Swede's but apparently better than a lot of other manufacturers are new! Chamber is marked as a 1 and is mint.

After tearing her apart and going over, she is matched apart from bolt,band and nose cap, so not awful.

Gun-nut wrote:You certainly gave a great taste in firearms, congrats on your new purchases! Post some pics of that Lithgow when you get the chance. :)

Im glad you think so, one mate is referring to my millsurps as "tomato stakes" and said he was planting a garden if i had any spare, i just told him to use his Brno's! Another almost cried when i told him how much the Lithgow was, started trying to sell me his ruined POS for $150! He has come around now though and I kind of hope the other will when i get him behind the Swede! I think his only exposure to milsurps is flogged 303's and he has very high standards for all his rifles and shotguns, 2grand scopes on all his .22 Brnos and Anshutz for example.I do like modern firearms as well, I was going to buy a Howa in 6.5 Creedmore in a couple of weeks, but i figured I can buy a Howa anytime, better grab this lithgow while its there!

The Lithgow is at least 2 weeks away, its an amnesty gun and has to clear, wasn't for sale, i just happened to be right place right time kind of thing! In all honesty i didn't look super close, i actually only assume its mark3, I was sold after "Lithgow"and "matching" :oops: Its 1940 manufacture and has a mag cutoff.Naturally i will give it a better look over before i take possession, the model was not super relevant, I just wanted matching Lithgow anything!
I will off course make a thread about the Lithgow when the time comes.

No1Mk3 wrote:Nice Swede Dunxy, great price too! Would have bought it myself for that money. What bore condition does the stock disc say? Cheers.
Yeah, a bargain in my un experienced opinion! I posted about disk above.

juststarting wrote:1. Nice!
2. I reckon whenever someone posts stuff like this, most of us go out and buy a new gun... It's a vicious cycle.

I have a serious problem :crazy:
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by juststarting » 15 Sep 2017, 2:18 pm

Dunxy, not at all a problem :)
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by marksman » 15 Sep 2017, 6:38 pm

you have to love the swede, they are far from being a tomato stake
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by No1Mk3 » 16 Sep 2017, 6:21 am

G'day Dunxy,
Sorry, don't quite understand your stock disc reading. There is no chamber info on the Swedish disc, only bore condition, bore size, and point of impact at 200m vs point of aim for m/41 ammo. Is your disc early, with "Torpedam", or later with "Torped"? Is there a stamp between Overslag and Streck? Perhaps if you put a pic of the disc? Cheers.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 16 Sep 2017, 7:45 am

No1Mk3 wrote:G'day Dunxy,
Sorry, don't quite understand your stock disc reading. There is no chamber info on the Swedish disc, only bore condition, bore size, and point of impact at 200m vs point of aim for m/41 ammo. Is your disc early, with "Torpedam", or later with "Torped"? Is there a stamp between Overslag and Streck? Perhaps if you put a pic of the disc? Cheers.

Im far from an expert on this but from what i can gather theres a few different stock disks, i went of the way somebody else explained it on a video . Bore condition, bore size,chamber condition and holdover are whats on my disk as far as i could gather.Will pop a pic up after.The number im referring to about chamber condition is another 1 2 or 3 option, just like barrel .Im sure (not looking at rifle now, posting from bed!) my disk has 2 "1,2,3" options , one being bore condition and one chamber.Put a pic up soon. Im trying to find what i used to for reference as well.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by No1Mk3 » 16 Sep 2017, 10:12 am

I think I know where you're coming from now. The early, pre-1941 discs, were all unit information discs with 2 screw holes, the post-1941 discs, of which there are only 2 types an early and a late, are single screw hole and contain firearm information. Both types of disc have 3 segments, 1 contains the holdover, marked in Strecks, ( a Swedish mil = 1:1000) with the early disc marked "Torpedam" and the later "Torped". The next segment is a small one and has only 3 digits, a 1, 2, and 3 which are bore condition indicators, and the last segment containing the actual bore diameter, measured forward of the throat and also checked at the muzzle. A discrepancy of 0.06mm between the 2 readings would see the barrel rejected. The segment in the early has the digits 9, 0 and 1 near the screw, and over that the digits 2, 3, 4, and 5 to indicate the bore as 6.49 up to 6.55. The later disc has on the inner line 6.46, the the digits 7, 8, 9, 0 and the outer line 6.51, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. So from this we can see that the later Armourers would accept barrels from 6.46 to 6.59 diameter as "in service". Of course, decades since the last check these disc markings really mean nothing at all as to how the rifle will still shoot! Look forward to a pic of your disk.
PS: I find the PPU ammo shoots well in all my Swedes except the Carbine, it really needs the 160g bullet to perform up to standard. Other than that I reload for the Swede using AR2209 which it likes, Cheers.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 16 Sep 2017, 11:53 am

No1Mk3 wrote:I think I know where you're coming from now. .

Nah, Im just confused, i think i must have seen a disk on something that had chamber condition. :oops: I watch hours of gun related content on youtube every day.
Whats the PPU ammo? Ive gotten a few flavours allready, 100 rounds of the FMJ S&B,20 rounds of S&B Soft point and 20 rounds of Hornady something or other with a red plastic tip? Ive only shot the middle stuff so far.I am %100 going into reloading, very excited about it! I am going to buy a press, dies etc when i stop buying rifles! Ive got a mate whos experienced and all set up so i will spend a fair amount of time there under supervision first! As well as getting help on here. Can you please help translate/understand the holdunder/over chart for me as im a bit confused about it? I don't understand how 50 and 300 can have same hold under on same site setting?
Thought while i had her out of the safe I may as well snap a few pics.
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As you can see some nice chunks out of the comb :( Anybody tell what type of timber it is? I understand they used a few types over the years and im crap at telling!As well as not much blueing left at all and some surface rust about. Im a bit torn on this to be honest, I always said to myself (ive been planning/researching on buying milsurps for many months) that if i ever got anything non matching and rough id just re-finish it.My thought is if you are going to use it and enjoy it more if it is neat, do it! That being said I absolutely love the character of this rifle, I didn't buy it to make money or anything, so devaluing it really doesn't affect me it just im attached to the petina so to speak! The damage on the comb doesn't bother when shooting, it does snag on clothing and such though during handling, bit annoying. Wonder if i could just build and tidy the comb are up without it being noticeable. As for re-blueing, im thinking would it in the long term preserve the rifle? Im after anybodies thoughts on this because as i said, im struggling.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Supaduke » 16 Sep 2017, 3:02 pm

Get a wet rag , place it over the dents , then apply a hot iron with steam. Should bring the dent out a little bit. You can do this on the whole stock. Sometimes.needs a few applications. It's obviously been quite neglected since the rifle left service. You have to ask yourself, do I wish to preserve that neglect?. The fact the blueing is completely gone on the barrel tells me its probably been forcibly removed by someone in years gone by.

Mismatched bolt and a bit beaten up, will never be worth much. If it was me, I would go for a respectful restoration. Reblue the barrel
, steam some dents out, wash and re-oil the stock. Don't sand the stock, but after steaming the dents, a little well matched putty to take the rough edges off the big jagged dents wouldn't hurt. A tiny bit of sympathetic sanding of the worst dents only. Don't try and make it look brand new . But a respectful and subtle restoration can do wonders for a beater.

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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Sep 2017, 8:49 am

I know nothing about military firearms but looks a good buy to me. Should go OK on pigs, goats & fallow too should you have a need.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by No1Mk3 » 17 Sep 2017, 9:16 am

G'day Dunxy,
Bullets fly in an arc from the muzzle, at 50m the bullet is low in the arc from point of aim to point of impact. You will note 350 to 400m sight setting is 300m, no holdunder, so POA = POI. 200m the bullet is at the top of the arc so holdunder is 3 Streck, and at 300m it is again low in the arc so holdunder is again 2 Streck. Your stock looks Beech, a pic of the left side of the butt including wrist would confirm that. I agree with Supaduke, full collectability has been lost over the years, so a nice basic restoration would enhance this rifle. PPU ammo is the Serbian made Prvi Partizan, good brass for reloading and good ammo to shoot. I like the S&B for performance, as good as the Prvi but I am not too keen on the brass for reloading. RWS make great hunting ammo, as does Norma, but $70 a packet? Cheers.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 17 Sep 2017, 1:34 pm

No1Mk3 wrote:G'day Dunxy,
Bullets fly in an arc from the muzzle, at 50m the bullet is low in the arc from point of aim to point of impact. .

So if im understanding correct, at 200m the bullet is top of arc so it requires more hold under than at 300 which is closer to the end of the ark (as is 50) so this is why they have the same hold under?

Great info guys thanks very much, yeah I know collector value is non existent, was never a question.I think i like the idea of doing a clean up (whats best way to attack cleaning the wood?) and try to pull dings a bit and re-oil stock.Not sure exactly what ill do on the metalwork yet, a mate game me some bluing solution yesterday, may try on something indiscreet and see if i like it.Other option is that "blacking" process ive done a wee bit of research on, that they do with steam, anybody have thoughts on this process? Cerakote,powdercoat or paint have also crossed my mind.

Why would somebody remove the blueing? Too far gone from rust? I agree it does look forcibly removed, i just trying to understand why.

I looked up the PPU stuff and it does look nice, cost is pretty much same per 100 as the S&B.As i said reloading is a given so best i get the better brass!

Ive got some RWS match .22 and it is great ammo, but yeah not cheap!
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Oldbloke » 17 Sep 2017, 2:45 pm

"Get a wet rag , place it over the dents , then apply a hot iron with steam. Should bring the dent out a little bit." That's what I would do. Doesn't always work but does no harm

For the bore try some "sweets 7.62" You will probably need to use it 3 or 4 times. Just follow the directions. And use a nylon brush. Sweets eats bronze brushes.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 17 Sep 2017, 2:52 pm

Is there something i can use to strip oils etc out of timber?
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Supaduke » 17 Sep 2017, 5:31 pm

If you want to go full strip, some will wince, but I have used , and recommend
BAM foaming oven Cleaner.

Sounds harsh but Its actually quite gentle on the wood. For best results, get the wood warm in the sun or use a heat gun. Spray it on, wait 5 mins , wipe off with a paper towel, rinse with water , dry, repeat till the can is used up. Usually get about 3 applications. You will be amazed how much crap will come out. I have done it several times over the years. Rifles look , good as new. No ill effect to the timber , short or long term. Once dry , very light scuff with fine paper just to take down the puffed up fibres. Nice walnut stain, oil , beautiful.
Last edited by Supaduke on 18 Sep 2017, 12:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 18 Sep 2017, 11:49 am

All great info, thanks heaps guys. Ive made my mind up, i will re-blue barrel, floor plate and butt cap and tidy up wood a strip, bit with steam, very light sand in rough areas and re-oil. Haven't decided on exactly what method of bluing im going to do, still researching that part!

Just going to get it out to the range (hopefully weather plays nice and it will be this week!) once or twice before i start the process.I will make a thread on rejuvenation process when I start in case anybody is interested in following along and seeing the end result.
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Wm.Traynor » 18 Sep 2017, 1:40 pm

Dunxy wrote: in case anybody is interested .


You bet we are :D
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Dunxy » 23 Sep 2017, 4:16 pm

Well, bit of a spanner in the proceedings now, all be it a good one!

Took Swede to range yesterday put 30-40 rounds through her, got her on paper @ 100m but nothing worth taking a picture of! Lacking a spotter i didnt try for anything else. I need to either get it sited closer with modified front sight or fit a scope,only using no drill tap mounts naturally.Anyway, thats not what this is about!

Started cleaning her today and thought id attack the rust on the bolt as it was irritating me! So i started working on it and it came up pretty good, but underneath the rust on the bolt handle end I uncovered a number, a number that just happens to match the gun! In my haste i had asumed the bolt wasnt matched, the safety,cocking piece/indicator (sorry i dont know terms)'and the piece thatthey all sir in and firing pin screws into are from another rifle but the bolt proper itself is the same as the rifle :thumbsup: So other than those parts,barrel band and nose cap I have a nicely matched rifle, at least all the important parts!

So now Im looking at it a little differently and am not going to go as far as I was, im just going to clean the stock and try pull dings but not going to go nuts and wont try filling anything. Ive got to do something with barrel so i will have to lightly re-blue it because it needs some protection/preservation.

The floorplate i haven't touched and not sure what to do there. Suggestions?

The buttplate, does anybody know if these were blued factory or just polished?

Heres the results from today.
Started like this
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Finished like this:
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Im pretty happy with the result, stoked the bolt matches :clap:
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Oldbloke » 23 Sep 2017, 6:23 pm

Definitely look a lot better
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by marksman » 23 Sep 2017, 6:52 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Definitely look a lot better


thats what I was going to say :thumbsup:
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Re: My M96 Swede

Post by Supaduke » 23 Sep 2017, 8:27 pm

Swede buttplates are left 'in the white' . As in not blued , just polished
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