just bought a Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55

need some input.

it shoots nice, low recoil and verry accurate. seems to have plenty of stoping power and with an after market sporty stock i managed to shed a few lbs. rounds are not to easy to find and somewhat pricy though. all and all i feel for 200 usd i made a good purchase.

i own several other rifles shotguns and pistols aswell the mauser is a nice complement to the collection.

[edit on 15amu102007 by DaleGribble]

Sounds nice, do you have any pix?

What sort of money is the ammo?

no pics. for some reason i cant get my blackberry to let me take the pics off of it and put them on my pc if i figure out how ill do it.

ammo in bulk nato 139fmj are 200 usd for 800rnds. or 30 dollars a box of 20 the cheapest ive found are 22.50 usd a box.

if anyone can find cheaper ones please let me know..

by the way red your signature is off the chain

[edit on 15amu102007 by DaleGribble]

reply to post by DaleGribble


Looka forward to seeing some pix when you can get them up, sounds like you got a bargin there.

Glad you like my sig....Kinda appropriate sometimes in here I think.....!

How common is that caliber? I would have thought it rare in the States?

reply to post by Mainer


yeah its pretty rare in the states. i know a few that have the 8mm mauser and maybe one other 6.5, but being a lover of all weapons i could not turn down the deal. i have a 6.5x20x50 scope mounted on it.

if anyone knows more on the weapon please inlighten me, or preferably your experinces with relyability and preformance. i have mixed feelings about the safty mech and the spring loaded bolt. it is a bolt action weapon by the way.

im not sure of the date it was made the person that owned it before me taped the scope mounts right through it. all i can read is 19X7. it has a step barrel, not sure if all of them do?
edit: if the swiss make a gun like they make knives i know i have nothing to fear.

[edit on 15amu112007 by DaleGribble]

I've had one of these for awhile.
$59.95 at a Big Five sale about 12 years back.

I was lucky and got a very good one according to the brass plate affixed to the stock.
There are several sites on the Internet that translate the markings for you.
Every category on mine is at the top.
Do a Google on "Swedish Mauser."

The gun looked good when I bought it, but figuring out what the plate meant made me feel even better.

Shoots good.
Stock design makes it recoil a little harder off the bench than it does when shooting offhand.
Either way, it's not bad.

Kinda lost me on the spring loaded bolt/safety comment.
Cocks on closing, but you know that.
And you probably do what I do and carry it with magazine loaded and nothing in the chamber with the bolt closed.

For those who've never owned or shot a rifle with the cocks on closing bit, it's no big deal and you'll get used to it pretty fast.


J&G Sales: www.jgsales.com... in Prescott, Arizona is selling ammo mail order for $19.95 per 20 round box of commercial.
$9.59 per 20 round box of military surplus FMJ.
The price goes down to $8.49 per for ten boxes or more.

The surplus stuff is non-corrosive, but Berdan primed.


Midway sells:
Brass = $18.49 per 50.
Bullets = $22.75 per 100

Loaded Federal ammo = $24.99 per 20

6.5 x 55mm loading dies seem to be fairly easy to find.
Funny part, swap meets and the like want the same money that Midway and other places want for brand new dies.
RCBS dies in both cases.

Local gun shop sold me RCBS used, in good condition 6.5 x 55mm dies for $10. a couple years back.


Fwiw, quite a few knowledgeable shooters feel that the 6.5mm caliber is an excellent one for accuracy at the target range and also for hunting game.
Some gun writers are surprised that the 6.5 caliber isn't more popular.

I have a military sling on my rifle.
Carries easy enough, weighs about the same as a Ruger heavy barrel Model 77 varmint with scope.
Around 10# for each if I remember right.

Just need to have the right bullet.

$200. is probably an ok price nowadays.

I note that J&G is selling the Yugoslovian SKS for $249. for the like-new grade.
Two years ago, they sold for $150. in the same grade.



(Edited to add some more info.)

[edit on 4-2-2008 by Desert Dawg]

I meant to add this:

www.surplusrifle.com...

A surplus rifle site with very good information on a multitude of rifles.
Both as-issued, modified and how to do the modifications.

Disassembly/assembly instructions are there for most rifles.

Lots of other interesting stuff.

Click the above to go to the site and scroll down until you see what you want on the left.

Lots of interesting and important information on the SKS if you're looking at one of those.

Swedish Mausers are awesome rifles. They were very popular in 300m matches until very recently. And many have been converted into sniper rifles and used succesfully out to 800m in sniper competitons.

Lapua Scenars are probably best bullets you will find for that caliber. As for factory loads, Norma and Lapua load very good sniper rounds for the 6.5 Swedish.

I was in the army for a year in Sweden (mandatory) and we use that rifle a lot. The rifle I was using dated back to 1906 NO KIDING. Very solid accurate weapon.

Steff,
I can beat that, the TAK-85 sniper i used had a reciever manufactured in 1899 at Tula plant... Worked tough and finely

Is that the sort of rifle you got?

Were very restricted on what guns we can own over here... I get a little bit green sometimes Not like I can't own a rifle or shotgun if I really wanted to, but I would have to be nominated to join a rifle club (can't just sign up my self - have to be invited) have to have certs, have to have a police inspected strong box ~ well that's what I've been told, I'll look into it seriously one day. I know for sure it's 5 years inside instantly for just holding a handgun!!

Nice buy for $200, that's bout £100 - wonder what they cost over here? Looks a lot like the .303's we used use at cadets years ago.

Edit: actually prices arn't as bad as I thought over here (I assumed all the regulations would push prices up) Mauser 7.62 is close enough for quick comparison (£160 /$312)

[edit on 4/2/2008 by Now_Then]

reply to post by Desert Dawg


thanks for the info

i will check it out

reply to post by Now_Then


same rifle but i added a sportier stock to cut down on weight and give it a more "modern" look and feel. i enjoy it greatly but its loud, although it now weights the same as my ruger m77 .270win. with much less recoil and better range.

[edit on 15pmu22007 by DaleGribble]

Originally posted by Desert Dawg

Kinda lost me on the spring loaded bolt/safety comment.
Cocks on closing, but you know that.
And you probably do what I do and carry it with magazine loaded and nothing in the chamber with the bolt closed.

yes i carry my weapon in the same manner.

as for the safty. safe is the up position which seems to be easy to knock out of place. its located on top of the bolt so the scope gaurds it some what.

as for the bolt. the design is almost exactly the same as my ruger m77 it disasimbles the same and seems to have the same basic shape.

no to the spring loaded part. when chambering a new round, all i have to do is lift the bolt and it ejects the spent carteridge on its own an then you have to rechamber. im guessing it has to do with the fireing mech as the hammer is located at the rear of the bolt which seems to be the only diffrence in my mauser and my ruger.

all the number match on it as well which has me excited.

I recently inherited an 8mm mauser rifle with a really nice high comb sport stock and a graduated after market peep sight. Its a German stamped 1940 model. Highly accurate. very nice for larger game. Before that my only rifle was (still is) An old Russian bolt action made for them by Remington in 1902. 30.06 cal Its pretty beat up but its good.

Its too bad none of the companies made good after market sporter kits for easy conversions. Most require the gunsmith. One day 100 years from now some distant relative may stop by the hardware store for a tag and shells for them if they keep getting handed down though. They are both rock solid.

[edit on 4-2-2008 by Illahee]

reply to post by Steff


cool.

i wish the *snip* hole that had it before me hadnt drilled through the date. all i can read is 19X7

reply to post by DaleGribble


Most likely 1907....as almost all of the mausers we used were from around that time.........Good era for mausers I assume:-)

reply to post by DaleGribble


just signed up and saw you were looking for rounds for your 6.5x55. I just got one myself at a local armory gun show, have not fired, friend is doing a little custom work to the stock! But I was looking on line and found 2 web sites with the ammo for cheaper than what you found but some more expensive. Midway USA and Ammunition To Go those both carried the caliber.

I've owned Carl Gustaf '96 Swede for about 8 years. It was made in Obendorf in 1916. I bought reloading dies and 200 brass Lapua cases when I bought the gun. These guns are an absolute delight to shoot cast lead bullets(155-160 grain) at about 1600 fps. Think .22 LR on steroids. This load will take wild boar at 100 yards and deer at 200 yards no problem. Extremely accurate and almost no recoil. The bullet I shot the boar with went completely through boar skull and exited out the belly. It's an excellent all-around cartridge. 85-120grain bullets are great for varmints, 120-140 grains for deer,elk and hog and 160 grain bullets will take any animal on 4 legs with good shot placement. The 160 grain bullets have outstanding penetration under 100 yards. I'd compare their penetration to 220 grain .308 caliber bullets from .30-'06.