CAI Import 1909 Swedish Mauser M96

[Bearcat132]

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 ?

[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.

[Bearcat132]

"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.

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.