1899 Obendorf M96 Swedish Mauser

My Swedish Mauser came Wednesday. I held out for nearly a year looking for a '99 Obendorf that could go on the antique rack in my office. We're totally matching except the cleaning rod (037). Very nice tiger striped stock with a period splice on the right side of the forearm. Bore was the only downside in the description, 'dark with light pitting,' which turned out to only be crud. After bore foam and a dozen patches with my 6.5 Italian Vetterli Jag, the bore actually came out very good. Came out nearly perfect after I used a new 2.70 bore snake; it took those black bits off the lands in the bore pic. Got an original sling from LTC. Total cost was well under $400. I think I did pretty good, especially for an Obendorf Swede. Action is very slick; I'm going to put a box of PPU out of it tomorrow.

The disc translates to barrel diameter: 6.50mm, and a high bore condition rating of 1 meaning minimal dark areas in the bore. The over/under hold portion of the disc is unmarked, which is evidently common. Looks like a very tight and sharp bore.

Thanks,

T

If you can find some Norma ammo instead of PPU, you should try that. Norma makes excellent 6,5x55 ammo...

Range Report:

1 box of PPU soft point, 100 yards, seated on the concrete, hasty sling. Brilliant sunshine, 48 degrees, and very windy. First shot was one of the two 12:00s. Target was swinging wildly (we clip cardboard mounts on a rope), so several off the mark. The ones that hit were grouped well, but high, as I was aiming at the default 6:00 low. Next time I'll aim lower, and this one will be a great shooter. Rifle was very smooth and easy to shoot with a very mild recoil. Bore has cleaned up to nearly perfect.

T

OMG. Back to the range, benched, 100 yards, 54 degrees and breezy. I got an original sight protector for the rifle. 20 rounds PPU soft points. Every shot in the black; this rifle is disgustingly accurate and by far the most accurate rifle I have ever shot. I held a finger-width low on the black to compensate. The only one that comes close is my '03 Springfield when I put 20 rounds in a 6 inch circle, but that was before I got bifocals. I would have no problem shooting it at 200 or even 300 yards - even though I'm not sure I could see much at 300 yards.

T

PPU at $16 a box vs Norma at $35 a box, I can easily tell you which I'd be shooting. Nice looking rifle. I've had mine for 25 years and still haven't taken it to the range.