[smzeigler]

All,

It has been a while since I have come across a Swedish Mauser I could not live without. Well, my luck changed today. I've been wanting to add a Husqvarna to my small Swede collection, and now I think I've found one worth keeping.

From what I can determine it is all matching 1941, sn# 620013. The wood and metal are very nice and the grain caught my eye. I was surprised to find the handguard and stock stamped with a set of stamped non-matching numbers, and a second set of matching penciled numbers. How common is this practice? I also noted many of the parts are not numbered, but have the canted crown. Is that a sign of the rifle be rebuilt or is this factory as built? I welcome your comments.

P.S. NOTE: The rifle is Samco dot matrix import marked on the underside of the barrel.

Thanks, Shannon

 

[smzeigler]

Photo set #2

 

[smzeigler]

photo set #3

 

[stevan1]

That is a very nice Husqvarna M38 rifle. The stocks seldom ever match the receiver. Many parts are not numbered. They just have the tilted crown. Yours is a typical M38 made at Husqvarna and it is marked correctly from what I see.
Yes, all done at the factory. Congratulations on a fine one!

 

[swede]

Nice looking rifle . Usually the HVA M38 stocks do not match . Many are beech M96 stocks converted to the M38 length . So , the serial numbers run in the CG or Mauser range or just 3 digits . The original HVA M38 had only the buttplate , bolt ball , firing pin & safety matching the receiver . It appears the bolt sleeve & cocking piece were ep'ed later , in trips to the arsenal .

 

[Leon]

The rear sight looks like it is calibrated for the M94 bullet. How rare is that? I would expect the rear sight would have been replaced with a "T" calibrated version during an inspection, which occured at least once since the rifle has a marked stock disc.

 

[smzeigler]

Leon,

I wondered the same thing, but I am pretty sure the 1 in the Torpad section of the stock disk addresses the holdover necessary for the M41 bullet.

All, thanks for the feedback on the rifle. Good to know about the method of matching and use of M96 stocks.

Regards, Shannon

 

[Leon]

Leon, I wondered the same thing, but I am pretty sure the 1 in the Torpad section of the stock disk addresses the holdover necessary for the M41 bullet. All, thanks for the feedback on the rifle. Good to know about the method of matching and use of M96 stocks. Regards, Shannon

My 42 HVA M38 has the "T" sight and the stock disc is stamped for 1 mil "overslag" too, so I suspect it was fitted with the "T" sight as a replacement for the original M94 sight. In any event, you have a very fine example, and I think the original M94 sight on it adds to its rarity and interest.

 

[swede]

My 1941 HVA M38 has the M94 rear sight as well . So , probably not back in the arsenal for the "T" update . I have not kept track of these sights , but my line of thought is the early M38's have the M94 sight originally & the "T" sight came later along with the M41 ammo . The 1941 date of adoption for ammo does not necessarily mean the M41 ammo began production in 1941 . Could have been 1942 or later & newer built M38's got the "T" sights . Older models that were back in the arsenal got a "T" sight . Many were missed .

 

[smzeigler]

Swede,

Ah, duh. Thanks for pointing that out. Makes sense, weapons production and ammunition development don't necessarily have to move sequentially but concurrently and therefore the Torpad holdover is included on the disk. Very cool, to think I might have an unaltered M38.

Best Regards, Shannon

 

[Leon]

From what I've gathered, the M94 cartridge with M41 spitzer bullet was adopted for general use only after the end of WWII. (Changing ammunition in the middle of a war is generally frowned upon.) So was the use of the stock disc. So, I would expect that the "T" sight modification was done gradually as M94 ammunition stocks were used up and the M94/41 issued to replace it. Not to mention that the post-war military budget more than likely limited the number of conversions each year. So, the rifles first got the stock disc with the "overslag" value, and probably the stock decal or brass plate with sight corrections.