i'm having trouble in deciding what to do. i have recently purchased two CG swedish mausers and i originaly set out to make a custom swede. the first one i bought was a 1917 CG with all matching numbers except for the rear sight. this example is in beautiful shape. stock, bluing, and bore are almost unfired to give you an idea of the condition. it so happens that i was browsing the gun shop again yesterday and low and behold they had two more, one with matching numbers with some minor bluing wear and handling marks on the stock. while not as sharp as my other swede it's still in good condition compared to some others i have seen for sale. the problem is i don't know which one to customize or hold out some more to find one in worse shape. what do you guys think? here is a pic of the 1917 with mismatched rear sight.
steve

Too nice to chop any of them. With a little patience you will eventually find an already bubbafied one.
Where I live rifles in that condition now have a $300 price tag.

i talked the guy down to 260 for the pictured one because the rear sight didn't match. i thought it was a steal.
i chose the all matching one over an 1899 oberndorph (excuse spelling) that had a non matching buttplate. i still want to go back and get it though.

steve

Check out Karlinas Swede Mauser site.
Oberndorf only made 7% of all the Swedes.
And I still don't have one.

so you think i should bite the bullet and go get the other one?

steve

Stump,
I don't know what your interests are or what you can afford (both economically and with the significant other). The Oberndorfs are much harder to find. Being from the earlier years production, they are often more likely to be well used.
The last one I found had been drilled by bubba.

that's the problem. it looks to be in good shape. i was the last one in the shop on the last day they were open so it should still be there. my instrest started with a custom barreled t/c encore in 6.5 swede and after seeing a couple of cg mausers in good shape it was like a match made in heaven. i'm not a military style gun nut but these rifles are works of art. i did alot of research in picking the caliber for my t/c and ran across alot of people that wish they had never gotten rid of thier swedes and now i see why. i guess i'm just starting to find them very apealing.

i guess i'm just full of problems lately.
steve

There was a guy on another site that was working on a collection of one from every year of production from each arsenal. Last I knew he had more than 50.
I suppose after that he would get one of every inspectors stamp.

I have a 1911 with the SA stamp. It once was used by Finland. Cost me $78. I should have gone back for a truck load.

I've never seen a trashy Swede!!

Stumpjumper,
Your a lucky man indeed!!! A fine Carl Gustav M-96 as you picture and describe is a "dream come true" for most military collectors. Finding another like yours could one day be an impossibility. Keep it as is and think of it as an investment. You'll be glad you did.
I have a pristine 1904 that I would suffer extreame hardship before parting with it. As far as "sporterizeing" it.......nail your feet to the floor first.

Not sure why you need to sporterize one. Have taken many deer wiht one that looks just like the one pictured.

sj400,

I'm with Walker on this one. I've been looking for a CG Swede to sporterize for the last 5 years and still don't have one.

I want one to build a carry-around deer rifle, but WILL NOT cut a collector! I just haven't found a poorly bubbaized Swede!

Last month at a local gun show I suprisingly ran across a #1 stamped barrel that had a stock repair and a mis-matched bolt. The action was real smooth and the trigger pull was great! Wasn't expecting to find such at this small gun show and had spent most of my money. The seller came down to $240 but I only had $223 and we could not get an agreement - I even tried trading him some knives I had picked-up.

I'll recognize this one if I run across it again. Anyway, good luck on finding yours.

I'd have nightmares if I knew a rifle that beautiful was getting chopped up somewhere!

That rifle looks AWESOME.. a trendy word I don't personally use often, unless it applies.. and here it does...

Why not just put a Swede barrel on some other action you like???