The Wizard's Rifle.

[buffdog]

Production of Military rifles runs into the hundreds of thousands, or even millions, and to attribute a particular rifle to one specific person is almost an impossible task. Sometimes, though, the Gods of Gun Collecting do smile at you.

With the Swedish m/94, m/96 and m/38 rifles, there is one class of rifles that can be attached to one person, and that is the Weapons Officers Rifles, with an actual name in place of a serial number.

However, there is another area where a certain rifle can be connected to a person, that area being rifles used by private shooters, but due to laws and regulations these rifles had to be maintained in military configuration, (and not sporterized, etc.) This was the Volunteer Shooters Association, (later to become the FSR), and a whole article could be written about this. I am not going to delve deeply into this subject, but if anyone is interested, they can consult pages 129 to 135 of "Crown Jewels" for more information.

Although technically not correct, I would hope that people let me get away with referring to these rifles as FSR rifles, to keep things simple. Some of these rifles were loaned and sold to shooting clubs and individuals by the Government with some restrictions. (An example is the m/96 Husqvarna produced rifles of 1944.) They usually did not have the stock disk attached, and this hole was filled in with wax, or a round disk with the owner's name on it. Sometimes, there was a metal shield attached to cover the hole.

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Which brings us to the main subject. I have always been interested in accurate rifles, and when I saw a m/96 with a stock plate and upgraded sights offered for sale by a Dealer, I sent an order for it. What attracted my attention was the black charred wood near the rear sight of the top handguard. A tell tale sign that the rifle had been used for target work, as serious shooters used an alcohol lamp to blacken sights before competition. I did not pay too much attention to the nameplate at the time.



A few days later, a package arrived at the Post Office, and inside was a 1909 Carl Gustafs m/96 Mauser rifle, with a base for a Pramm dopter rear sight mounted on the receiver, (but no sight itself), a hooded front sight, and a Vasteras open rear sight. All matching serial numbers, and it had certainly received some attention. In addition to the two Crowns on the bottom of the wrist, there was a Crown C, another Crown C, a Crown S and a Crown O. During one of these visits, the Vasteras rear sight had been added, as it was stamped with the last three digits of the serial number.

The tarnished silver plate on the buttstock had a Name and a Town on it. "Erik Lundgren - Ockelbo." Somehow, way back between my ears, the name sounded familiar. Having one of my rare brilliant flashes, I cranked up the computer and "Googled" the name. The answer came back within 30 seconds or so, and no wonder the name was familiar. Like other youths in my teen age years, I explored the fast car and race car hobbies. And here was a Legend.


Erik Lundgren racing at Helsinki, 1957.

The Wizard of Ockelbo! Erik Lundgren, one of the best known race car drivers in Europe during the 1950s. A man who built his own race cars, sports cars, and was ahead of his time in the use of fibreglass for boats, plastics for fuel lines, and other innovations. Could it be?



The first thing to check was the name plate. Because it was Silver, there were markings on it known as Hall Marks, that give a lot of information about the particular plate. There are codes for the maker and place of manufacture (a Jeweller in Stockholm,), the purity, (+94%) and the DATE it was made (1943).

ARILAR was kind enough to do some research and consult his big FSR book. Erik Lundgren of Ockelbo, Sweden, was born in 1919 and died in 1967. He joined the FSR in 1932, and there was a picture of him taken in 1943 in the book.



ANDERS supplied an early Pramm rear diopter sight, in keeping with the period of time. (before 1950s).



I have not shot this rifle yet, as I received it last Fall and the Winter is just ending here in Canada. The informal range I use, (400 yards of the neighbour's cow pasture) is partly under water right now, but there is lots of ammo loaded and ready to go. It should be interesting.

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[GUTS]

Very interesting post, good find!

[Calif-Steve]

Unique and very nice. How did this get away from his family?

[rich v]

What a great find and better yet a great story behind your find, I am going to use your story as a new bedtime yarn for my grandson next time he sleeps over. CONGRATS on your piece of history!