Hold on a minute...

I've always been under the impression that 94 and 96 actions were slightly different, but 96 and 38 actions were the same.

The 38's were nothing more than a shortened 96 or a carbine model. There were alot of M38s made from 96s by means of cutting down the stocks/ restocking and replacing the barrels when the barrels on the 96s were worn out.

Nope. Oberndorf M96/M38 rifles were made from Swedish steel- some of the best and strongest steel available at the time. Rifles made at Oberndorf are every bit as strong and well made as those made in Sweden, if they weren't Sweden would have never used them. To say that Swedish mausers used a better steel than in the typical German made M98's would probably be correct however.

For a longer bullet, you need a faster twist rate to stabilize a bullet. All of the rifles will stabilize a 160 gr rn bullet, and therefore have a fast enough twist rate to stabilize smaller bullets such as 140s, 129s, etc, though going too light will give accuracy problems.

Imported rifles and import marks- by law, any firearm imported into the united states has to have an import marking stamped on either the barrel or receiver.

You are right about the barrels, but I don't wan't to be cocky but....


M38 were never made in Germany, and their actions are different from m96 actions. They're different because they're beefier, they have a steeper feedway, the have a more effective gas vent, and the bolts are stronger because of the special high chrome steel used for them. Whats more, the entire story about why and how the M38 came into being is an answer in itself. The Swedish couldn't purchace rifles from Germany at the time, the late 1930's.

Sweden, like so many "neutral" nations saw war clouds gathering during the latter half of the 30ties and in contradiction to some other countries, did modernize and re-equip their military.
This was done primarily by nationalizing the arms industry, founding new factories and shipyards. The SAAB company is the result of the Swedish effort to build its own fighter planes for example.

About the rifles. The Swedish army wanted a self loader as early as 1934, but even though engineers like Kjellman and Ljungmann did attempt to build it, only the Ljungmann came into production stage before 1940, by which time the North was already at war. The M38 was thought of as a stopgap measure and it was phased out of frontline service during the end of the war. The Ljungmann rifles, both the semi and full auto battle rifles were never exported except for a few "demilitarized" specimens. Indeed, great numbers of older rifles were refitted and made available to the volunteers to be used against the soviets, and more than a few pre 1905 rifles somehow ended up in the hands of the Norwegian resistance (now, how on earth could that have happened...) Btw, the rifle the Swedish settled upon after the war actually used a Ljungmann gas system using a Kjellman bolt (the firing pin assembly drives the locking lugs home just prior to firing), and even modern CG rifles use this system. Some people say they are unreliable, Personally, I've seen these weapons drowned in mud and dirt, and still work flawlessly. Like the Sako/Valmet these are designed for use in OUR terrain. The same goes for the M38, all in all a much thougher gun than any German rifle.

The only weapons Sweden did import from 1937 on, were a small number of Walther P-38 pistols, but after a few hundred specimens, the Nazi's halted the deliveries. Sweden then imported a number of Finnish Lathi pistols, before starting their own manufacture of these in 1940, eventually even exporting (read, giving them) to Finland until 1944 when my country sought peace and stepped out of the war.

The lessons learned during that war are still being used as a school book example today, during my military service I was trained in the old fashioned guerilla style warfare used by my country during 1939-40 and 40-44. One of the things we learned was to use every possible firearm one could come across on the battlefield, including the very old ones. The M94/96 and M38 are still very widely used rifles in Scandinavia today, as are Krags, Moisin nagants, Simonovs, Madsen and all types of German rifles, carbines and pistols.

The best way I could possibly describe the differences between the mausers and M38's is probably that the M38 is a "Scandinavianized" Mauser. For a stopgap model, its a very nice piece of firearm, one of the best. As a hunting rifle, it serves a better purpose anyway.

Kind regards,

Vesi

So Briman,
You are saying that the Oberndorf 38's should be as strong as any Swedish arsenal produced 38 or 96...right? And if this is so, do you have any recomendations re; calibers suited for this action? In other words, are there some stopping points? Some calibers considered too powerful for the Oberndrf 38 action? I guess, if the Oberndrf action is equal to the others, I'm asking if there is a general stopping point for for Swedish actions other than 94's
Vesi,
Same question to you sir, although I realize you may not share the same sentiment re: the 2 actions similarities.......but what kind of pressure is too much for the reliable safety of the weapon? (38' and 96's)

I'd say any caliber of equal pressure or under, but >if i'm correct< I think the 6.5 x 55 was designed on the same base as the 7 mm mauser, so probably that one could be used as well along with simular cartriges. For safety reasons I'd stick to the lower pressure calibers, and if for no other reason: I think you want a rifle that shoots pleasantly, so for that the 6.5 x 55 is a very good choice. The 6.5 x 55 is considered a medium power round by modern standards, so I'd stick to that category. Nevertheless, I've seen special wildcats -- very much like the 6 mm ppc -- being used in M38 actions, but these were well, very heavily modified to say the least (different bolt, magazine, trigger, etc.. these hardly reassemble a M38 anymore and did cost a ton of cash too) Surely, a M38 can take way more than the pressure a 6.5 x 55 produces, but is it wise? I don't think so. Having a lot of safety margin makes sence.


Kind regards,

Vesi

(uhh, oh and please leave out the sir.. I'm not that old yet hehe... me <----<<<< still a student..)

Thanks,
The "sir" thing is just a habit. I'm 51 yrs old but I use the "sir" moniker for anyone...especially when I'm requesting information. Never hurts.
You pretty much confirmed my reasoning. I checked out the pressure ratings for the 6.5 x 55 and poured through my loading books looking for cartridges in the same range or lower
I came up with....
.25-35 Winchester (or 6.5 X 52 mmR in your neck of the woods)
250 Savage
.257 Roberts
7 X 57
300 Savage
there's many more, but those are the ones that interest me.
And of course...even though I don't have another barrel in this, I would consider getting another 6.5 X 55 modern barrel with a sporter taper...
Hard to argue with the 6.5 Swede's accuracy, comfort and performance..
Thanks again
John

Yup, absoloutely.

Nope, M96 and m38 receivers are identical.

They all should work just fine.
Some of the earlier m94's were chambered in 7x57 to be sold to Argentina, so there is no reason why it shouldn't work in what you have.

The case rim diameter on the 6.5x55 is slightly wider than that of the other cartridges, but there shouldn't be any problems with that. You might have to tweak the feedramp and receiver rails a little to get other cartridges to feed well.

Good point about the feeding issue. I can do the tweeking required for this project...but it helps toknow going into it what to watch for.