Swiss M 96 Question/Advice

[masterdiver330]

Tomorrow I have a chance to possible pick up a M 96. what would be the things I should look for . Ex matching bolt /receiver to make sure it is not a put together rifle, In the picture he showes me stocks looks to be in good condition. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks

Information

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[diopter]

Swiss 1896/11
5065- Swiss Schmidt-Rubin 1896/11 long rifle | tradeexcanada




or Swedish M96?
13354- Swedish 1896 Mauser in 6.5x55. | tradeexcanada

[masterdiver330]

It is the 1896 Mauser from what I was told. What do I check to see if it is a pars gun or completely legit.

Thanks

[diopter]

Moved from Swiss Rifles to Mauser Rifles.
You should get better answers to your questions over here.

[Patrick Chadwick]

There are minor differences in numbering usage between Mauser, Carl Gustaf and Husqvarna. The following gives the essence:

Full rifle number on left side of system and barrel (below the "waterline", unfortunately)
Only last 3 figures on barrel indicate that it is a replacement.

Last 3 figures on:
Nosecap
Barrel band
Backsight leaf (underneath)
Backsight slider (underneath)
Bolt catch
Magazine cover
Buttplate
Bolt knob
Cocking piece
Safety lever
Cleaning rod (not always)

These require at least partial dismantling of the rifle:
Stock (in barrel channel)
Handguard (in barrel channel)
A seller will normally not be keen on you taking his rifle to pieces! But if all the other parts are correctly numbered, you can be reasonably sure that you have a pretty original M96.

All numbered parts (and most of the others) bear the Swedish crown stamp.

Do not place any value on the stock disk. These have so often been swapped or faked in the past, that you almost need to be a forensic scientist to tell if the disk is original. If everything else is properly numbered, then the disk is probably OK, but no-one will give you a guarantee.

But do take a long, slow, look down the barrel. No Swede should show the slightest scratch or rust spot anywhere inside the barrel or chamber. The whole point of those stock disks was that the rifles were inspected, and the disk (if original to that rifle) shows the barrel condition the last time it was inspected (which may, of course, be many decades ago). Rusted/scratched barrels were taken out of service. So if you can see anything bad with the naked eye, then a later owner has not cared for the rifle. In that case, forget it - there are enough good examples around.

However, after all that caution, your chances of getting an all-matching example with an excellent bore are better than for most other types of rifle (apart from Swiss rifles, which are also usually in excellent operational condition).

Patrick