The Swedish Mauser,The success of the Spanish Mauser (Model 1893) design encouraged many other natio

The Swedish Mauser,The success of the Spanish Mauser (Model 1893) design encouraged many other nations to get on the Mauser bandwagon.  One nation was Sweden, who would adopt the Model 1893 Mauser and turn it into one of the best Mauser designs in the world.  Whereas the the Model 1893 was chambered in 7x57, the Swedes chose to chamber their rifles in 6.5x55 Swede.  While a much lighter round than the 7x57 Mauser and the 8x57 Mauser, the 6.5 Swede had a lighter recoil, achieved very high velocities, and was extremely accurate.  Because of its accuracy it was no uncommon for Swedish military Mausers to be converted into high quality competition target rifles and hunting rifles.  Swedish Mausers are also considered some of the finest quality of all Mauser produced.At first the Swedish Mauser was produced by Deutsche Waffenfabrik in Germany.  However in a short time the Carl Gustav factory and Husqvarna produced their own licensed copies.  The first Swedish Mauser was the Model 94, which was a short carbine.  Then came the Model 96.  The Model 96 was a full rifle, and also the most common Swedish Mauser produced.  Later, in 1938, a short rifle was produced comparable to the German K98k, as the growing trend in military arms was in the production of shorter and lighter rifles.  Finally in 1941 the M/1941 and M/1941B was introduced, which were Model 96 rifles specially selected for their accuracy, which were outfitted with scopes and issued as sniper rifles.Although Sweden never officially participated in any conflicts during the 20th century, the Swedish Mauser did see some action during World War II.  Many were sold to Finland during the Winter War and Continuation War against the Soviet Union.  In addition many Swedes volunteered to fight for Finland and brought their Mausers with them.  The Swedes manufactured their Mausers between 1894 and 1944, producing around 750,000.  After World War II the Swedish military transitioned to semi-automatic designs, but continued to used the Mauser as a sniper rifles until 1995.Source: Mauser Bolt Rifles by Ludwig Olsen. -- source link

More pics about