1899 M96 Obendorf Swede - OMG

majspud

majspud

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My Swedish Mauser came today. I held out for nearly a year looking for a '99 Obendorf that could go on the antique rack. We're totally matching except the cleaning rod (037). Very nice tiger striped stock with a period splice on the right side of the forearm. Bore was the only downside in the description, 'dark with light pitting,' which turned out to only be crud. After bore foam and a dozen patches with my 6.5 Italian Vetterli Jag, the bore actually came out very good. Got an original sling from LTC. Total cost was well under $400. I think I did pretty good, especially for an Obendorf Swede. Can't wait to find some 6.5 and try it out. Action is very slick.

Can someone translate the bore gauge marks on the stock disc?

Thanks,

T

The target is from the IBM carbine on Monday.
 
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Thanks Ray,

The disc says we have a 6.50mm bore, and a high bore condition rating of 1 meaning minimal dark areas in the bore. The over/under hold portion of the disc is unmarked, which is evidently common. Looks like a very tight and sharp bore.

T
 
I always liked the idea of the Swedish stock discs.

Be careful with 6.5 rifles. If you enjoy shooting it they can become addictive. ;)

Btw, a Ljungman would be a fine addition to your collection.
 
Had to look that up. Wonder how much with only 30,000 made. The tooling was eventually sold to Egypt and became the Hakim.

T

There's two on GB; one starting at $850, and another (1945) for a penny with no reserve. Well, that's less than a G43!
 
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Passed on one many years ago for $600. Found out later it came with sling, ammo, and accessories.

I hear they're easy recoil wise and very accurate.
 
Same here...never saw the need for a semi-auto (ag 42b), but it was under $400 at the time.
Oh well.
There's a Obendorf m96 at Ron's Guns in East Lyme, CT; several months ago, at least.
I have a few boxes of factory 6.5x55mm and reload for it as well, but SE CT doesn't help you, unless you want to come down and shoot.
Even softer shooting with some light cast bullet loads...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGFPbXqBPOA
 
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Range report. 1 box of PPU soft point, 100 yards, seated on the concrete, hasty sling. Brilliant sunshine, 48 degrees, and very windy. First shot was one of the two 12:00s. Target was swinging wildly (we clip cardboard mounts on a rope), so several off the mark. The ones that hit were grouped well, but high, as I was aiming at the default 6:00 low. Next time I'll aim lower, and this one will be a great shooter. Rifle was very smooth and easy to shoot with a very mild recoil. Bore has cleaned up to nearly perfect.

T
 
Navalofficer, do you cast your own bullets? If so, what diameter do you size them to? I cast a lot but can't get decent results with the 6.5mm Mauser.
 
Wadcutter said:
Navalofficer, do you cast your own bullets? If so, what diameter do you size them to? I cast a lot but can't get decent results with the 6.5mm Mauser.
Click to expand...

Yes, I do cast the Lyman 266469 and size them through a .266" sizer die. If loading a 6.5 Carcano, I would use them as dropped from the mold. Mind you I rarely push them at maximum, but rather load them lighter with 6 to 7 grains of Unique or any other suitable powder that I have on hand. Oftentimes I don't even waste the gas checks on these powderpuff loads. They all clear the barrel and ring the steel just fine. Seem to hit where I aim, too, albeit I aim a few inches higher than normal.

Come on down and we can brew up some. I used the last batch for a shooter with an Arisaka Type 38 Cavalry carbine, but we can make some more.
 
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OMG. Back to the range, benched, 100 yards, 54 degrees and breezy. I got an original sight protector for the rifle. 20 rounds PPU soft points. Every shot in the black; this rifle is disgustingly accurate and by far the most accurate rifle I have ever shot. I held a finger-width low on the black to compensate. The only one that comes close is my '03 Springfield when I put 20 rounds in a 6 inch circle, but that was before I got bifocals. I would have no problem shooting it at 200 or even 300 yards - even though I'm not sure I could see much at 300 yards.

T
 
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Swedes are definitely addicting. I've probably had a dozen or so 96's and 38's. The only one i have left is a CG63.
They all shoot great.
 
Nice rifle and great group. That would be a awesome rifle to shoot in the up coming CMP vintage match at Old Colony Sportsmen on May 17th. You would be a contender with that target.
Tim if you ever get to shoot 300 yards a 19" black bull is the same proportionally as the 100 yr SR-1 target. You should be able to see it well enough to hit it? My vission is lacking up close. Can't see the front post well. I need to use a corrective lens to shoot well.
 
My range is supposed to open a 200 yard range this year. You have to qualify to shoot at the distance; no problemo with this one. I'll get some more Swede ammo at the Plymouth Show tomorrow.

T
 
majspud said:
My range is supposed to open a 200 yard range this year. You have to qualify to shoot at the distance; no problemo with this one. I'll get some more Swede ammo at the Plymouth Show tomorrow.

T
Click to expand...

Well the CMP vintage match at Old Colony would be good practice for 200 yards.
 
I shot a 238 there at a Schutzenmeister event with factory S/B 8mm in my 1890 Gew88 Loewe Turk MM in '99. I was a member there from '98-'01.

T
 
Ahh yes the schuetzen's....... they shoot some crazy guns and love the cast bullets. There's still a few old timers that breach seat each round as the shoot. Few guys have some really nice accurate guns.[video]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L_-xGH02JIE[/video]

I can't get videos to in bed any more?
 
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The 6.5x55mm is an ideal candidate for reloading. Factory ammo availability may be spotty at best, but it's out there. Unlikely that you'll ever find any cast bullet loads offered by the factory. I find these loads to be plenty accurate and at 1000 rounds per pound of powder, they go a long, long way.

Shoot the #266469 with or without the gas check.





Once you set yourself up to reload, you have plenty of bullet weights and styles available.

A few observations...
***Many of the US manufacturers tend to offer brass that takes the Lee #2 shell holder. The Swedish surplus, PMC, NNY and some others require a Lee #3 shell holder. This doesn't seem to be an issue. The bolt/extractor seems to handle all cases w/o issue.
***Igman brass (IK, packaged as Hotshot) seems to have incredibly small flash holes. They will likely pull your decap pin out on the first sizing, so you may want to tweak the hole a tad on your first reloading.
***The m/94 ammo is berdan-primed, but it is .217" diameter, so you can still reload it easily with the Tula (Murom) KV-762N primers.

Any of you Swede (even Swiss) shooters are welcome to come down and sample some different loads. 100 meters out my back door.
FWIW, I have a stock 1908 Carl Gustafs m/96b that I really don't shoot much; come down, look it over, shoot it and make offer...
 
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ok I keep seeing sabot bullets reloaded in old milsurp ammo, what's the point anyway? Is it to maybe preserve the rifling/bore?
 

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