Tell me about this gun

[Coach]

Hey guys,

I was gifted this gun, and know very little about it. I'm looking to make a good deer/elk/javi gun out of it for one of my boys. Here's what I do know - It's a Carl Gustav 6.5 x 55 Swedish with a Mauser action. The scope appears to have come off an air soft sniper gun. That's all . Looking around online this looks like an aftermarket stock so I'm guessing this is a sporterized version. 

Are these good guns? Any info or experience you've had with them would be appreciated. 

Thanks!

 

[lancetkenyon]

Go shoot it.  If it shoots good….it is a good gun!  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Mauser

[Tropicalmulch]

Should be a good shooter. Looks like an original barrel. There should be a date under your front scope ring.  Mine is a 1905 with original barrel and shoots factory ammo sub moa.  Aftermarket triggers are available if it doesnt already have one. Also safety conversions hard to tell from the pics but looks like your safety is original. The swedish mausers had serial numbers on almost every part it seems

[10Turkeys]

Could be a Model 96, which originally had about a 29 inch barrel, or a Model 38, which had a shorter barrel, if memory serves right. Yours was defiantly drilled and tapped for a scope. When the rifle was made, scopes were not common. You will find if that is and original barrel that it has a really long throat in the chamber, they were chambered for about a 160gr bullet. Another point that I was told and it made sense to me that the model 96 with the long barrel was issued by the infantry to attach a bayonet to, to go against Calvary troops, at that time many country's still had Calvary units.

[Hoss50]

6.5x55 is a good round. A decent scope and a timney trigger and that will be a good old hunting rig. 

My dad has a sporterized model 96 in 6.5x55 and it was his favorite deer rifle. I am working on that rifle for my sons right now. My deer rifle is a CZ in 6.5x55. It is a great round that is highly underrated. 

[biglakejake]

CG and DWM small ring swedes are excellent sporters proven from tha african plains to alaska.  after a sporter stock the next requiremenent is a "cock on open" kit.

barrel should be brilliant w good steel just load for the lands.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/786938/dayton-traister-speed-lock-kit-mauser-93-94-95-96-converts-to-cock-on-opening-blue

lee

ps can't find a commercial "cock on opening kit" at this time.  good luck.  smart looker-i would be a buyer

 

[audsley]

I became a 6.5x55 enthusiast 20-25 years ago and still own three from that era.  My attraction stemmed from the relatively light recoil that makes it ideal for wives and boys in their early teens.  It packs a lot more punch than a .243 but, at comparable velocities, has only about 5% more recoil than the 6.5 Creedemore that's been all the rage in recent years.

Your barrel looks a little short.  The 6.5x55 favors slow-burning powders and does better with longer barrels.   The 96s were made with a 2-inch step-down near the muzzle based on a short-lived theory that it would dampen vibration.  I sporterized one with a surplus Mauser Obendorf barrel I bought for $20 in the mid-90s.  It came 23 inches long, but I had the stepped-down end cut off leaving 21 inches and re-crowned it.  I cold-blued it, put in a Timney trigger, oil-finished and glass-bedded a Harry Lawson thumbhole stock and mounted a 3x9 Bushnell 3000 Elite scope.  After all that, it shot 1 1/4 inch groups on a good day.  It kept up that level of accuracy out to 200 yards, but the groups spread quite a bit at 300.   It seems to de-stabilize as it slows down.   I've wondered if the shortened barrel could be part of the problem. 

I suggest keeping velocities around 2400-2500 for 140-grain bullets.  The Swedish steel was excellent for its time, but you'll want to be careful about receiver setback.  Have the headspace checked.  As for the longer throat, I've read that the Scandanavians don't bother trying to load close to the lands.  Unless the rifle shows signs of being a real tack-driver (unlikely), I wouldn't bother either.

Cock-on-closing never bothered me.

If your initial range trial is encouraging, there's plenty of stuff out there on the internet about the 6.5x55.  

 

 

  

[Hoss50]

My sporterized Swede likes 140gr bullets, but it used to shoot the 120gr really well too.