This Swedish Model 1896 Mauser was built by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori in 1919 and is chambered in 6.5x55mm Swedish, serial 4669xx. It is matching apart from the barrel bands, and is complete with its cleaning rod and sling. The bore is bright with very strong rifling and the rifle is mechanically excellent. The brass stock disc reads 6.51 in its bore diameter sector with the condition sector marked 3, and both figures are worth reading properly. The 6.51 is a groove diameter, and it is the dimension a new Swedish barrel measured, not a sign of a worn one. The condition grade of 3 was the lowest of the three the Swedes used, but it was awarded against a standard no other army applied: Swedish arsenals graded bores conservatively and pulled barrels from service long before most countries would have, and a rifle whose bore exceeded 6.56mm had its disc removed altogether, the hole filled with red sealing wax, and was sold off or sent away to be rebarrelled. This one kept its disc. The rifle is offered as it is shown.
Sweden adopted the m/96 in 1896, a Mauser action chambered for the 6.5x55mm cartridge, and it has a reputation as one of the finest military bolt-action rifles ever issued, owed to Swedish steel, Swedish machining and a mild, accurate cartridge. The first 40,000 rifles were built by Mauser in Germany between 1896 and 1899, after which production moved to Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori, which turned them out from 1899 into the 1930s, with Husqvarna adding some 20,000 more during the Second World War. The brass disc inletted into the right side of the butt is a Swedish idea and a useful one: rather than making a buyer guess at a century-old barrel, the armourers recorded what they measured. Its largest sector carries the bore and groove dimensions, a second records the sight correction needed for the flatter shooting m/41 ammunition, and the smallest carries the bore condition grade. A 1919 date places this rifle in the years after the First World War, built by a neutral country that kept its arsenals working and its standards high.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori, Sweden
Model: m/96, Model 1896 Mauser
Caliber: 6.5x55mm Swedish
Year: 1919
Serial: 4669xx
Capacity: 5 rounds, stripper clip loaded
Stock disc: Bore sector 6.51, condition sector 3
Matching: All matching other than the barrel bands
Bore: Bright with very strong rifling
Mechanical condition: Excellent
Included: Cleaning rod, sling
