CAI Import 1909 Swedish Mauser M96

Hi I several questions about my M96 Swedish Mauser 1909 . My questions are for the experts on import marks and what was done to the rifle while in the importers care. As you know Century Arms has a questionable reputation but I will not get into that now. My question is my rifle has the CAI import markings on the barrel toward the sights along with the model make and cartridge size. The rifle itself is in great shape almost all matching numbers including the stock and handguard. The question problem is when I took the rifle apart and Lord old Carl Gustav would role over in his grave . The CAI people I believe placed a new barrel on the rifle, and the job is sloppy looking , also they soldered on the rear sight assembly I can see trickles of solder . Any input as to if CAI used OEM Swedish barrels or American made replacements ? Any info would be helpful.

Actually, I think the good folks at Century do a very good job of importing odd and fun old guns into the USA. They do not re-barrel anything as they will have 40,000 rifles in a lot. No time for gunsmithing. Someone else has played with your rifle.

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Originally Posted by Calif-Steve

No time for gunsmithing

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Have to dis-agree with you there Steve. Can't remember for sure and certain anymore but wasn't it Century Arms the whipped up the batch of fake LE No.4 T's 5 or 6 years ago? I Know for a fact they did up Mosin Nagant 91/30 PU snipers in the early 2000's because I have one, and they did a good job on it too. They also sell gun that they've assembled from parts kits on new made receivers. M1 Garands come to mind.

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Originally Posted by vintage hunter

Have to dis-agree with you there Steve.

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I agree with vintage hunter. Century did a similar disservice to batches of Egyptian FN-49s, cobbling together complete rifles from parts, installing new buttstocks with bogus buttplates, pretty cosmetics, and more.
When I was shopping for an FN-49 a couple years ago, the advice from the experienced collectors was very definite: Avoid Century rebuilds of Egyptian rifles. Not that there weren't a few nice ones out there, but the odds are not favorable.
Happy ending: I found a complete, original Egyptian FN-49 on gunbroker that I am very pleased with, and glad that I did some research.
Thank you, fellow collectors.

Another bit of Century Arms wizardry that comes to mind is the small batch of crusty Lugers they imported sometime in the mid to late 90's that was supposedly found in a bunker in Germany so the story goes. They were in pretty sorry shape so Century stripped them all down, parts were sorted, refinished then re-assembled into working pistols with mis-matched numbers and new made barrels and sold for what they were....refinished parts gun shooters.
Some of Century's parts kit creations are pretty good and others leave a lot to be desired. I'm quite happy with the Fake 91/30 sniper and the Garand I had never missed a beat while I owned it but the receiver failure stories finally got the best of me so I sold it off to a fellow looking for parts to assemble on a bare receiver he had.

I am just guessing they replaced the barrel because I thought imports had to have American components. The barrel is marked CAI St Albens VT on the right forward side of the barrel 3.5 inches in near the end of the barrel . Also on the same area about .5 inches above is M96 6.5 x 55 SWEDEN. The rifle is almost all matching and in excellent condition the only non matching parts are you guessed it the cleaning rod, and also the trigger housing. Is the barrel a replacement. I will call Century tomorrow and post their answer.

Other noteworthy points on the stock which is near mint is the marking which have the correct matching numbers but also have in the handguard the letters F.G., and in the stock by the magazine wellare the bold letters ED. the front sights are marked -05 on the blade and housing. Which I have no idea if anyone knows please post.

I will fire the rifle this week and post my results. My main curiosity is the barrel , was it just import marked , or replaced, and if replaced by what. Or as another poster stated maybe by another party all together.

---------- Post added at 11:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 PM ----------

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Originally Posted by Calif-Steve

Actually, I think the good folks at Century do a very good job of importing odd and fun old guns into the USA. They do not re-barrel anything as they will have 40,000 rifles in a lot. No time for gunsmithing. Someone else has played with your rifle.

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I am not putting Century down I have purchased many of their black assault rifles and have never had one problem, yet there is a never ending internet chatter about century and its quality of work on the net. My barrel on the M96 where attached has an uneven although minor uneven unblued area around the area of attachment I did reblue the area , and a few very minor pitting spots under the stock . Again Century has never done me wrong , maybe I am lucky or maybe all the negative stuff is internet babel.

Sorry to say Century has been involved in many projects over the years. The Garand project really stands out. They had cast receivers made up and put together a small number of Garands. A train wreck, for sure. Century then sold off parts and I bought piles of Garand parts at fire sale prices and still have a bag of PB and BMB parts. But, the Mausers, Yugo and Swede come and go as is. They then sell off the broken guns cheap. Not many spare barrels in these deals as the spares seem to say in-country. My good buddy worked in a large gun shop years ago and they had 50 M96's come in. My buddy grabbed 3-4 new rifles and put them aside. When all rifles were gone my buddy grabbed the 3-4 and picked out a keeper. Mint, unissued M96. He took it home and it sat for a month. He finally took it apart one evening and discovered under the grease it had a rotten bore. Proof tested and never cleaned! Just greased up and stored away. He took it back to the store, but they could not find a new barrel and they just sold off the rifle for nothing. True story. Just never know about arsenals.

Called Century this AM and the lifer at Century who might know the history will not be back until Monday 06/08/15. Cal-Steve I am very pleased with the condition of the rifle just a stickler for the history and authenticity.

Can the Swedish Mauser pro's answer what the initials in the handguard mean? They are the letters " F.G." and in the stock by the magazine welfare the letters "ED" both parts of the stock have the full serial number . Also the front sights are marked -05 on the blade and housing. Anyone know what a sight like this will place a round at 100 Yds ?

The quality of the work in the workshop at C.A.I. is up and down like a yo-yo. I've repaired many rifles from them to include FAL, AK, Sterling Mk.4 and others. I had one of the M1 Rifles too several years ago. They had new manufacture cast receivers from Lithgow in Australia if memory serves!

If you follow YouTube gun channels you'll find their still having issues with quality control. I.E cast parts braking and receivers improperly heat treated. Both where AKs

Finally got hold of the old timer at Century Arms and he claimed to the best of his memory that the only alterations done to the Swedish Mausers was the import marks they applied to what he claims were the original barrels. He was fuzzy on what year the rifles were imported he believes the early 90's maybe 1995.

Can anyone here tell me what year that imported Milsurp rifles were required to have some American made parts? Something was done to the area near the receiver barrel area on my rifle. I guess I will never know who or how . Will tell you my results of the rifles accuracy at the range when I find the time.

Can anyone tell me what the front sight post and blade elevation marking of -05 is ?

"Can anyone tell me what the front sight post and blade elevation marking of -05 is ? "

Sounds like it might be an m/38 front blade. To be sure, you will have to measure the thickness of the blade. An m/96 (original long rifle) has a blade that is 2.2mm wide at the top. The m/38 (short rifle) blade is 1.7mm wide, probably with the idea of providing the same apparent width on the shorter barrel. AND these blades were made in 12 different heights, from -2 to +0.75mm in 0.25mm steps.

The marking -05 thus indicates a blade that is 0.5mm shorter than the standard height.

So why would someone make this change?

- Because the m/96 backsight leaf starts at 300 meters! To get on target for 100 meter shooting you have to fit a taller blade. And the m/38 blade is 1.5mm taller than the m/96 blade. An m/38 blade stamped -05 is therefore 1.5-0.5 = 1mm taller than an original m/96 blade!

So it seems that the blade was swapped out by a target shooter, who is therefore the prime suspect for having soldered the backsight. I cannot imagine that an importer or dealer would do that to an complete m/96 in usable condition, as it would not increase the value of the rifle, rather the reverse. Unless, of course, the whole rifle is a "bitsa".

If my hypothesis is correct, then it would be a good idea if you could post a photo of the backsight, as that is very possibly also non-original.

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Originally Posted by Patrick Chadwick

"Can anyone tell me what the front sight post and blade elevation marking of -05 is ? "

Sounds like it might be an m/38 front blade. To be sure, you will have to measure the thickness of the blade. An m/96 (original long rifle) has a blade that is 2.2mm wide at the top. The m/38 (short rifle) blade is 1.7mm wide, probably with the idea of providing the same apparent width on the shorter barrel. AND these blades were made in 12 different heights, from -2 to +0.75mm in 0.25mm steps.


The marking -05 thus indicates a blade that is 0.5mm shorter than the standard height.

So why would someone make this change?

- Because the m/96 backsight leaf starts at 300 meters! To get on target for 100 meter shooting you have to fit a taller blade. And the m/38 blade is 1.5mm taller than the m/96 blade. An m/38 blade stamped -05 is therefore 1.5-0.5 = 1mm taller than an original m/96 blade!

So it seems that the blade was swapped out by a target shooter, who is therefore the prime suspect for having soldered the backsight. I cannot imagine that an importer or dealer would do that to an complete m/96 in usable condition, as it would not increase the value of the rifle, rather the reverse. Unless, of course, the whole rifle is a "bitsa".

If my hypothesis is correct, then it would be a good idea if you could post a photo of the backsight, as that is very possibly also non-original.

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Thanks for the sight elevation info I will tell you how high or low my groupings are at 100 YRDS and how tight the groups are. The rear sight is the correct one it had been soldered back on or some other procedure because of the silver solder on the rear sight housing under the bottom of the barrel . Just hearing some of the internet babble about how Century Arms can make some giant mistakes. My fears are if its Century or some other owner who altered the rifle barrel and sights, and is the rifle still accurate. I would hate for the groupings to be off by a foot or two ! Thankyou again for the sight elevation information. I will try to post some pictures also but I am slow on technology and somewhat lazy.Will try posting pictures with range report when I get back from the range.