Swedish 96 Mauser Question

[DonT]

Hi,

Wasn't sure where to post this so figured I would try here first!

I am looking at aquiring my first Swedish Mauser. It is a 96 and has been sporterized.

It is 6.5X55.

This gun has had a bolt handle replaced with one that is turned down but like the Remington model, not just bent.
Bore it mint.
gun has been bead blasted and hot blued so it is a satin finish.
Comes drilled and tapped with a 2 piece low mount scopemount and 4.5X14X44 Variable simons scope.
Restocked with an aftermark Semi fancy walnut sporter stock. Bedded and barrel floated.
Stock barrel cut to 24" and recrowned, rated excellent.
Rear sight removed
Safety changed to the two position low safety for scope clearance.
gun in excellent condition except for a few minor gunsafe dings.
Guaranteed to shoot 1.5MOA with factory ammo.

All work done professionally.

I realize it has lost any collector value... It is available for $315.00 shipped to my FFL. Is this a "fair" price for a sporterized 96? I just shoot paper and like the caliber but know absolutely nothing about the Swedish Mauser.

Thanks for you help....
DonT

[parallax]

..I'd say it would be a very fair price.
BTW, what year was it built...just curious.

[savageT]

DonT,
The sporterized m96 sounds like a fair price.  I always recommend that a buyer check the gun auctions to see what the going prices are like.....and this sounds pretty much on-the-mark.

As far as Swedish Mausers go, the 6.5x55mm caliber is just about the best deer hunting caliber you could find, and for punching paper, you can spend the day at the range with no after-effects.  Acuuracy shound be in the <1 moa or better range at 100yds.  The Swedes were always known for being particular about quality of their steel and didn't even trust the German makers with their design, so I'd say you can't go wrong as long as you keep in mind these m96's are well over a century old in most cases.  If you are reloading, follow the limits set forth by the major manuals published and you will stay safe.  One last thing, if you are buying this over the internet, make certain that you both understand that you must have a conventional 3-day inspection period with right of refusal. Good Luck!!


Jim

[1911crazy]

You can't beat swedish steel for sure I never broke a Husqvarna dirtbike frame but i have welded many other brands.  And they were noted way back then for chrome moly frames(60's thru 80's)  they did make/use the best steels in anything swedish made for sure.  Even when the swedish rifles were manufactured in Oberndorf, Germany they were made with steel from Sweden so the swede's were very fussy about their quality.
                                                                      BigBill

Years back I switched from the swedish husqvarna bikes to the cagiva husqvarna(italian) which my cousins made and I switched back to the older more reliable swedish bikes again because of poor quality italian made husqvarna's sad but true. The older 80's bikes out lasted the 98 newer bikes.  You just can't beat the swedish quality.