Carl Gustafs 6.5x55....enlighten me.

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tynimiller

New member
Okay....I'll be honest I'm a bow hunter at heart, rarely touch long guns outside of shotguns and 22's for squirrels. However, working part time at a shooting range/gun store I've fallen in love with a few of the older guns that have just been sitting on the rack...just clueless on them.

The one that caught my eye the most is one chambered in 6.5x55 and is stamped Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfakori with a 1909 stamp right below that, or I assume it is 1909 but the "0" has a stamped or drill hole of some kind. The serial #111453 is stamped on side of barrel and 453 stamps matching on other portions of the rifle.

Rough tape measure of the barrel to the bolt is around 19inches...overall rifle length is right around 36 inches. Any information those whom know more can give will be appreciated!

Now the bolt is smooth as butter, the images make it look rougher than it truly is but does need some TLC cleaning done.

Some pictures:


 
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ihctractor

New member
I'm a bit jealous;) That is a Swedish Mauser. Probably one of the highest quality Mausers ever built and the 6.5 X 55 round is powerful, extremely accurate and light kicking. Very desirable rifle in its original form and will often bring hundreds of dollars more than common German Mausers. The one you have has been heavily sporterized. The rear sights, stock and bolt handle are not original and it looks like it was drilled for a scope. The barrel was probably shortened sometime in it's life also. These modifications will hurt the collector value, however they make the gun more user friendly and fun to shoot. Assuming the bore is in good shape you have a very nice target and small to medium game rifle that you could enjoy for decades to come!
 
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tynimiller

New member
^^That's awesome to hear....I am probably gonna pull the trigger on it. What would you guys say is a fair price for it? I'll take some better pics and such.
 
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ihctractor

New member
Original unmolested military rifles in great shape can bring anywhere from $500 -$700.00+. Ones like this one have no collector value and are worth whatever the buyer is willing to pay. If the gunsmithing work looks quality, has good sights and the bore and crown are in good shape I wouldn't be afraid to go 400 + or - for an excellent example (but I have a thing for 6.5 Swedish Mausers). What are they asking?
BTW, double check the scope mount hole on the front of the receiver. I once found a beautiful sporterized Mauser that had the front hole drilled all the way into the chamber, rendering it a wall hanger:(
 
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Gray Ghost

New member
You found a customized m96 (Model 1896) Swedish Mauser, as previously mentioned they are considered among the best Mausers made. Should be a great shooter!
 
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tynimiller

New member
$199 is what he wants....and as long as the drill hole didn't go all the way through i am without a doubt gonna grab it asap.
 
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stagpanther

New member
Hopefully the action needs just a bit of cleaning--and you can always put a new barrel on. That's a beauty and worth restoring.
 
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6.5swedeforelk

New member
tmiller, great rifle, some of these Swedes give impressive accuracy.

My do-everything load of 48gr 4831 behind 140 gr bullets will chrony somewhat under 2600 in a 19" bbl.
CoreLokt, Hornady, Sierra all work great.

I smile at the recommendation of it being for "small and medium game".
 

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tobnpr

New member
I've been watching the auctions for just the "right" one...but an "un-bubba'd" one for collection, and a shooter.

There were two types, the original M/1896 long rifle, originally produced by Mauser and then by Carl Gustafs. Later, the M/1938 was introduced which had a barrel length 5" shorter (24"). Some of the original M96's were cut down and reconfigured, and a larger number were produced by Husqvarna with a distinction being the new production M/38's had turned down bolts.

There are other configurations that were produced as the rifles transitioned from military to civilian target and hunting rifles after WWII. Norma and Gustafs produced the CG63 competition rifle (which evolved further).

$200 is a fair price. "Original condition", in good condition go for $350 or so, more with all matching numbers.

It's one of the few vintage chamberings that still enjoys a solid following- and is still offered in many factory rifles- because of it's outstanding ballistics, that are right there with the .260 Remington.

The M96 and the M38 represent great values today in the milsurp market (along with the Swiss K-31 and K-11) IMO.
 
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tynimiller

New member
Yeah it's definitely been "bubba'd" and I the bolt doesn't match serial number wise when I went back through the other photos I took. I think I'll probably still take so long the tapped hole didn't go too far and the barrel insides looks decent to good.
 
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tahunua001

New member
ok let me take a crack at this. first and foremost, swedish mausers do not normally command a higher price than german mausers. German mausers are now one of the rarest of the mauser variants due to sporterizations, and disarmament/destruction following WWII(not to mention organizations like Mitchells which "refurbish" their rifles). the last time I saw a 100% original german mauser was going for well over $1000. Swedish mausers in unmolested condition generally sell for between $350 and $500, though the rarer variants like the M41 snipers (minus the scopes) tend to sell for $700. in sporterized condition I would offer nowhere near the $400 another member quoted. the $200 the fellow is asking is still quite reasonable, but nowhere near a steal.

as for restoring it, it would be financially beneficial to just buy a separate model 1896 and have both side by side to act as a before and after pair as it were. the price of a replacement barrel, stock, rear sight(possibly front sight, without pics there's no way to telling if the one on it is original or aftermarket), and all of the little metal hardware that fastens it would cost more than another rifle to begin with and then there's the fact that it will be all mixed parts and serial numbers unless you spend years upon years on Ebay waiting for parts with the same last 3 digits matching to crop up, and that's still ignoring that the receiver has been drilled and tapped multiple times. if you do get it, I would keep it as is and enjoy. somebody went through a lot of trouble to customize this rifle for a reason and given the checkering on the stock and what was usually a very expensive rear aperture sight, this was likely a well crafted rifle and should be a good shooter.
 
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bumnote

New member
If you want a shooter in 6.5x55 and the rifle's in good shape, jump on it. If I saw that one and it was in good shape, I'd buy it in a heartbeat...I love the caliber.
I own 3 Swedes, a M96, M38 and the target variant the CG-63. All great rifles that I'd never part with...but I can't do one thing I'd like to do with one of my 6.5's. Scope one.
The CG63 doesn't need one, the M96 is a bit lengthy for hunting, but I'd love to hunt with my M38. There aren't many of them and I can't bring myself to mount a scope on an uncommon milsurp that's in execellent condition.
It it were me, I'd buy it. Assuming it's in good shape, for me a $200 6.5x55 already tapped for a scope is a bargain compared to buying a new or even used newer make rifle in that caliber.
 
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Husqvarna

New member
I'm a bit jealous That is a Swedish Mauser. Probably one of the highest quality Mausers ever built
Click to expand...

Swedish mausers in unmolested condition generally sell for between $350 and $500
Click to expand...

as previously mentioned they are considered among the best Mausers made.
Click to expand...

the grass is always greener on the other side:D

you can seriously find them here for 50bucks in alright condition

every gunstore has got a couple. mostly the ones who were sporterized in the 40-50s and original ones are still around a plenty.

the old military actions doesn't have the best reputation, I wouldn't shoot the hottest loads out there, a certainly not anything heftier then 6,5x55. the joke is that you are supposed to wear a helmet shooting one of them:D otherwise the bolt will end up in your brain (it has happened)

I grew up shooting one and hunting with one, plenty of deer, fox and a couple of moose, dad has hunted bear. I did alright in field shooting (up to 300meters with diopter) and game shooting comps, varying distances and 4 shots in a set time limit at each target,

still think the cock on closing is bollocks, and the 6,5x55 is acurate but I want a little more for boar,beer and moose.

Mine is still in the family but it tastes mostly fox nowadays.

Husqvarna the company not me, later built civilian hunting rifles on mauser 98 actions and they are far superior, the 1900mechanism is still built by zoli and are great midlevel priced rifles

there is a reason no action today is built on the m96 mechanism
 
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FITASC

New member
I bought one like that in the early 80s at a gun show for $55 and that included 2 200 round battle packs of ammo. Mine had a Williams peep sight like your on it as well.. Someone had "sporterized" the stock, but it shot well. I had a smith tap and added a US-made Burris 4X. Excellent accuracy (mine was dated 1907). To accommodate the scope, the smith also did a job on the bolt. Light, accurate, easy to load (mine really liked 120 SMK followed closely by 140 SMK loaded in the mid range).

You'll like it!
 
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Nonsuch

New member
65X55 Mauser

For the serious collector Brother Karl did buy about 12,185 mausers in 6.5x55 from mauser they were manufactured in Oberndrof these were the Model 94 carbines, these short barrel carbines are great shooters. I have two others in my collection these two were made in the Swedish Factory of Karl Gustaf, and the prize of the lot is of course the German, Oberndrof manufacturing of the German Model was between 1894 to 1896. These of course are the small ring Mauser's, and are considerably weaker than the three lug 98 type (Large Ring). My pet load for all three of these is $@>& grains of IMR 4350 with the Sierra 140 grain Spitzer. I have never gotten the 94 to perform using a heaver bullet (160 gr). Likewise the 120 grain bullets have never gained my enthusiasm either.
 
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