Gents,
Picked up another Mauser yesterday...as in the title of the thread it is a 1918 Carl Gustaf in 6.5x55 . A couple points I would like to make here first off,,,,
One, the cocking action is very stiff,much more so than my other mausers,,,a 7x57 '95 and a 250 Savage also a '95,and a 1891 Argentine in 7.65 and my first Mauser...a '98 in 308 that was the first "custom" rifle I commisioned. What would make this rifle so much stiffer ?
Two, the trigger basically sucks and I intend to replace it with a Timney in short order.
Three, it was d&t'd and I had a set of weaver mounts that fit,almost....the rear mount came right off my '95 and nearly fit,except the rear is a little cocked due the profile doesn't quite match the "ramp" up front that rises up on the bolt shroud. This same mount fit perfectly on my '95 and I could see no difference between them..Is there a difference that might have decieved me ?
Finally...how good is the 6.5 ? I had a Weaver T-6 here and it looks good on top,but will this round be worthy of that scope as a varmint <'yote & 'chuck> rig ? TIA 45nut

In good condition, you have as good a practical hunting rifle as you can buy. My eyes are old, so I bought Mojo aperture sights for mine... they're still iron sights, and the ol' Mauser will routinely do 2" groups at 100 with them. With a scope, I would expect slightly better.

The action "cocks on close", which makes the bolt seem stiff to operate.

Mine gives me 2800 fps with a 140 grain bullet. I've never shot big game with mine, but those who have claim that it "kills like lightning" because of the very high sectional density of the bullet. With a 160 grain bullet, many claim that it is adequate for elk, but I have no data on that, other than reading what others have said.

The d&t sometimes means that the rifle was outfitted with Swedish aperture sights for long distance accuracy. Before you put a scope on it, you do have to bend the bolt.

With just a little polishing, the trigger on mine was pretty decent. But, like you, I ended up putting a Timney on it.

So the bottom line is, you have a real prize. With several nice rifles to choose from, I took mine deer hunting last year. Didn't see any deer, but that kept me from doing a lot of cutting up and hauling away, and didn't interfere in the slightest with a wonderful outing.

I had my 6.5x55s out last weekend for their annual trip to the range. They are from 1900, 1907 and 1917 and all three are fairly good shooters, especially the 1907 which has a bent bolt and holes in the left side of the receiver where a scope had been mounted. I restored all three as winter projects. In fact I was so impressed with them that when Remington made their 700 Classic in 6.5x55 a few years ago I purchased one of them also. I use it as my moose rifle. With the Sierra 160gr SPSP it's really a hard hitter. The bullet rarely exits, just stays in there and tears hell out of everything. For target work I use Lapua Scenar bullets in 108,123 and 139grs. along with VihtaVouri 550 and 560 powders. After over 100 years this caliber is finally catching on in N.America. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Swede fans, check this out:
www.armscenter.com/dutchman/links.hmtl