I bought a Swede sight unseen, to make a 6.5 sporter. Only trouble is, seems I bought a Mauser!! Says Waffenfabrik Mauser, Oberndorf A/N, 1900, on the front receiver ring.....My local 'smith won't touch it. Says it is not a Carl Gustaf, and I should leave it alone. Well, that's alright for plinking, and informal target shooting. But for hunting, it's really long, and has hard to see open sights, and shoots a foot high at 100 yards, and has a straight bolt, and I can't have a scope, and it cocks on closing, and has a two stage trigger, (albeit a real nice one), and like that. It's a nice rifle, in excellent condition, has the last three digits of the serial number on every part that I can see. But my gunsmith won't make me a sporter from it....Should I get a different 'smith? Put the rifle on the wall? Umm, use it the way it is, and aim a foot under them big bucks? What? Also would entertain the notion of making a lightweight, little, .260 Remington sporter out of it... I only got 80 bucks stuck in it.........Grant.

I will give you $85 for it. .

That rifle was made for 400 hunert yard away type deers.

I take it your just funnin us.

I have a husqvarna swede ill swap for it

Heres one someone already wacked for

it sounds like it is a swede,made by mauser I think the first ones were made by mauser,the swedes paid mauser royalty for manufacturing rights, those are the ones marked Carl Gustaf. In 1899 they gave mauser an order for 45,000 model 96 rifles ,I've heard the german rifles were better finished. try a different smith. Or trade it, I think these go for a premium over the swedish one

Sounds like you have a 96 Swede to me. Do a search on Model 96 Mausers and see what you can find. I certainly would not give up, while checking, maybe look for another smith also. I have a Carl Gustaf 1902 barreled action (Model 38) that I would gladly trade for yours. Would save me the trouble of trying to find some M38 wood.
Good luck,
BJB

Keep it orginal, conversions on a pre-98 aren't worth the trouble.

Oldmodel70

Waffenfabrik Mauser, Oberndorf A/N in original shape is attractive by collectors and will fetch more than you paid. Leave it alone and get a 98 for your custom project

Cheers
/JOHAN

That it shoots high is quite normal. Brownell's sells a higher front sight that allows you to get it to hit POA at 100 yards.

A clean and original 96 with a 1900 action date, plus being a Mauser made version will easily fetch double what you paid for it. If it's matching numbered throughout more than that to some collectors.

Like everybody has said, keep that one as-is, sell it for a profit, and get a 98 actioned rifle.

That Is a swede. The Oberndorf's are more rare and are worth some coin . Dont alter it. Its worth more as it is than what it will be worth after you spend $1000 cutting it up.

Hell I'd be quite interested in that Mauser if you're of a mind to offload it. Yes, it's a Swede.


Eric

For a mere $80, I'd just keep it and go out and buy a new M98 to tinker with. What you have is a collector's item that I bet you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of as is.

I wouldn't touch it...

what others have said. the 1st swedes were made in germany before the swedes themselves got tooled up. are xlnt and this is all covered in olsen's book. your gunsmith is an idiot and needs to learn his subject better. to not even recognize the inherent quality of a mauser marked mauser oberndorf etc. find one higher up in the food chain.

got curious and looked it up in de haas. per him, in 1899 mauser oberndorf (the REAL mauser btw at that time) got a contract from the swedes to make 45k model 96's. if it's still completely original, then it'd be worth leaving alone but i gather you got just the action.

here's what de haas says of the small rings made at oberndorf including yours: "..highest quality of workmanship...extremely well made and finished...careful machining and polishing... without question made of the finest and most suitable steels..properly heat treated and tempered for maximum strength, etc..." i reitereate: find a gunsmith who knows his business.

i was going to ask if this is a "smith" (and i'm being kind ) in the H-E-B area of the dallas-fw metroplex but i doubt that's likely. we got one here who thinks CZ in czechoslovakia made the interarms mark x's. he originally thought one i sold a coworker who hangs in his every word was on the santa barbara actions (like that's bad?) then decided it was czech.

I have two Obendorf Swedes, both from 1900, beautiful guns. If all the numbers are matching and it's in good condition it might fetch up to $300 from the right buyer. Put that towards a .260.

I think your gunsmith is only trying to give you the same advise others have given here. Its worth more like it is than if you chop it up.
Samco has Carl Gustafs barreled actions if you want to sporterize one
http://samcoglobal.com/rifles.html#m96

Thanks for all the good advise.....Apparently my 'smith was correct, in advising me to keep it original. And that's what I will do. Grant.

quote:

Originally posted by Oldmodel70:
Thanks for all the good advise.....Apparently my 'smith was correct, in advising me to keep it original. And that's what I will do. Grant.

Ahh, that should be advice....

Sounds like you have a first production run Swedish Model 96 made in Germany. Those Mausers usually go for a premium price over the usual Swedish M96. Sure, I'll give $90.00 for it too. Really, that's a premium rifle. Have tried to buy one off and on and never connected. Enjoy!!

LLS
Mannlicher Collector

I have the same rifle, given to me by my son and made in 1900. It also is marked Oberndorf, and Waffenfabrik. It's basically the same as my other Swedish M96s, made in 1907 and 1917. The rifle shoots well enough, and I don't get the idea it's any different from my other two in strength of action. You can mount a scope on it, but will probably require a side mount mounted on the left side of the receiver. I'm not sure who makes them. I don't have the mount, only the holes where one was formerly placed. I'm surprised how accurate the rifle is for such an old one. You can also check the barrel condition by reading the circular brass piece on the stock (if your rifle has one). You could do a lot worse than this old sweetie. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal