Customer Reviews

The Swedish Mauser Rifles (For Collectors Only)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is mainly a technical reference for Swedish Mauser rifles. The bulk of the book is contained in the chapter on parts, in which every part of the rifle is described in great detail for every model of Swedish Mauser. If you have a Swedish Mauser, these descriptions are very useful.

The other chapters are less substantial, providing an overview of the whole range of Swedish Mauser models, the life history of that rifle in the Swedish military and its final disposition out of that military, the marking system used on that rifle (serial numbers, status disk, inspections, etc.), a short excursion into sniper rifle models, some accessories available for the Swedish Mauser, and various (too short) appendixes on Swedish military history, Mauser production records, steels used, ammunition used, and so on.

If you own (as I do) or are thinking of purchasing a Swedish Mauser, this book is very useful and informative. If you don't own one of these rifles, the book won't be as useful although it will help you round out your knowledge of historical weapons.

If you don't own any guns and aren't interested in them, you'll probably wonder why anyone in their right mind would write a book like this.

I purchased a pair of Swedish Mausers (thanks to Boston T. Party's high praise in "Boston's Gun Bible") and needed a no-nonsense reference which would tell me precisely what I needed to know to identify, disassemble, clean and make preparations for restoration, if need be. I like pithy little books--some photos, accurate line drawings, descriptive text, tables. My only disappointment was the lack of loading information--bullets, primers, powders which I might use to duplicate the military loadings. I would buy other volumes in this series.

This book (and the others in the series) does a great job of providing a lot of specific information related to the Swedish Mauser rifles. There's a ton of info and illustrations detailing the different stocks, hand guards, front/rear sights, barrels, sling swivels, barrel bands, triggers, bolts, etc. The book also sheds some light on the different types of ammunition, accesories (bayonets, slings, etc.), and production methods used to craft these fine rifles.

There's not a lot of history explained, but the book does include lots of production figures and explanations/illustrations for many of the stock cartouches and receiver/barrel markings you're likely to encounter while hunting for Swedes at the local gunshow.

The book is also written with a certain degree of redundancy -- the author may, for example, mention why a particular sight was used on a particular rifle in more than one spot so that the reader doesn't need to thumb through the book trying to remember where he/she first saw that information. That's definitely helpful since it lessens the need to read the book cover to cover on the first pass.

All in all this is a great book and truly deserves to be in every Swede collector's library.

If you are really interested in the Swedish Mausers, then this is the book for you. There is not one thing about the Mauser that this book will not tell you. If you are thinking about becoming a collector you had better have this book in your pocket before buying or going to any auctions or shows. That way you will be in charge, instead of having a salesmen try to tell you something that is just not true to sell a gun.

Auto enthusiasts have "Shop Manuals" they refer to find out everything they need or want to know about their beautiful new or antique auto. In the case of Swedish Mauser owners, they have "The Swedish Mauser Rifles" by Steve Kehaya and Joe Poyer. The book gives the reader a trip through time back to the mid 1800's when rifles were going through a time of "design revolution". Perhaps the arguable victor of that revolution was the design, acceptance and then manufacture of the Swedish Mauser in 1896. The book documents variations in the Swedish Mauser and gives the years which these changes took place such as the shortened barrel length from 29.1 inches to 24.5 inches in 1938 producing the M96/38 model rifle. The book describes the wood used to make the stocks for each year was manufactured: walnut during the early years, then oak, ash, elm or beech for the later years. The book gives many interesting details of this beautiful rifle. Some books a person needs to read and some books a person will just want to read. This book uniquely falls into each catagory. The reader will find things that he "needs" to know about the Swedish Mauser but the reader will also find himslf reading the book because he "want's" to learn more and more about this beautiful rifle and it's history.

I've got a Swede M38 that I am going to use as a hunting and competition rifle in Vintage Military matches. This book is a valuable asset to shooting that rifle. Packed with information, photos, history. I think it's the best reference there is.

If you are interested in Swedish Mausers, this is the book. I'm looking for a carbine now with a lot more knowledge than I would have possessed.

My M38 shoots X-ring. It's as good as the Swiss K31 and the sights (front sight blade instead of pyramids), are easier to align. The M38 is up next in shooting doetags. Ought to have an animal down by the end of this month when the season closes.

Steve Kehaya and Joe Poyer have produced a superb reference book on the Swedish Mausers. I own and shoot a number of these rifles and have found my enjoyment of them enhanced by this exhaustive reference.

This book is a great companion to an earlier book by Doug Bowser entitled NEUTRALITY THROUGH MARKSMANSHIP: A COLLECTOR'S AND SHOOTER'S GUIDE TO SWEDISH ARMY RIFLES 1867-1942 which was published in 1996 and is now difficult to find.

This is a five star book if you're interested in Swedish Mausers.

This book is the answer to all your questions on Swedish Mausers. This book has detailed information on every single part of these rifles; dimensions, manufacture, and quality. It's amazing at the quality of information presented in this book. Would highly recommend for information on your rifle or future rifle.

Very informative and interesting ,tells more than I thought it would have. VERY GOOD BOOK! And has everything from the screw size to .the dimensions of the individual rifle stock models.I would recommend this book to anyone even thinking of starting to collect tne SWEDES!

Excellent book. Good historical info, serial # ranges and manufacturing dates, very good details of construction, and good info on accessories. It is worth a lot more than it costs.

Tom