M38 Swedish Mauser

[buffdog]

This is an early version of the stock disk. Yours indicates that the rifle was originally made with a 6.50 mm bore, and a condition 1 (new) bore condition.

It has been inspected later, and the bore is measured at 6.53 mm and condition 3 condition. The Swedes were quite strict on bore conditions, and tend to overstate the condition of the bore as to what we might consider here in North America.

Condition 3 (the smaller pie shaped sector) is indicative of small spots of rust in the bore, with no sharp edges to catch anything on, but the rifle is still in very shootable condition. In other words, the barrel may be dark, but the lands and grooves are distinct. This does not indicate that the rifle is in poor condition, only that the bore shows some wear and or rust/corrosion, but is very acceptable for use and shooting with no problems. There were 5 grades of barrels, and the Swedish Military never used weapons in poor condition.

The "Torpedam" on this disk identifies it as an older disk. Newer disks have "Torped". This refers to the pointed boat tailed m/41 bullet. "Overslag" means over. "Str" means Streck, a unit of measurement roughly equal to 3.6 inches at 100 Meters. There is no number in the space between the Overslag and the Torpedam, so no compensation is indicated for point of impact for the two different Military type of bullets the Swedes used, the 156 grain m/94 round nose, and the 139 grain m/41 Spitzer bullets. If, for example, there was a "1" stamped in this space, you would aim .1 meter high (3.6 inches) at 100 meters when using the older, round nosed, m/94 rounds.

There are two things you might want to take notice of. First is that the rifle is a Husqvarna 1941 date, and the bent bolt handle. This is correct for this rifle. A little over 28,600 rifles were made during this year.

The second thing is what puzzles me a bit. The stock disk may have been changed. As I stated, this is an early stock disk, and the Husqvarna produced rifles were the last ones made in any mass production of the m/38 or m/96 rifles. As such, you would expect to see a later type stock disk on these rifles. Maybe a more advanced collector of the Swedes might comment on this in another post.
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