Swede Mauser...long throat...jump or not much in the neck ?

Daleboy

New member
I have a Swede 96 and would like to ask a question . I am working on loads w/ Sierra Matchking 140s . To the lands I have 3.100 " .To get the bullet out within .010 -.015" off the lands I have about .200" in the neck . In your opinion which is more important,getting close to the lands or having enough in the neck. Is having .264"(full caliber) of neck retention paramount ? Thanks for any insight.
 
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The 140's are a pretty long bullet. If you are touching the lands, how much of the shank is in the neck?

The reality is, if your Rifle still has the original barrel, it might not make much difference.finding the right Seating Depth is a fine tuning technique usually reserved for barrels that are accurate enough to take advantage of it.

What's the max you can seat that 140 out and still have them go in the magazine?
 
The 140's are a pretty long bullet. If you are touching the lands, how much of the shank is in the neck?

The reality is, if your Rifle still has the original barrel, it might not make much difference.finding the right Seating Depth is a fine tuning technique usually reserved for barrels that are accurate enough to take advantage of it.

What's the max you can seat that 140 out and still have them go in the magazine?

At the lands I have .150" of surface touching in the neck .It is the original barrel,over 100 years old .Scoped and not too bad from the bench,not benchrest quality but it's fun trying to dial it in .Maybe I am expecting too much ? Been years since I have reloaded,but it seemed to do better 20 years ago when I did . Maybe I better admit I am getting old .

I had it .015" off the lands and then tried .010, it opened up at that. Maybe it was me . This is my best so far at 100yds,5th shot was me .4 shots were a .560" group.
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I don't know how these projects are with you but I some times loose all sense of reality. My first thought was to set the barrel back till you could get the bullet in the neck and touch the lands. I am not a gunsmith but I don't think you would even need a reamer. Would not just a cut on the breach end of the barrel and the same depth cut on the shoulder let the barrel move back to the right spot?
 
I have a model 1936 and before that a model 1896 Swede. In both cases I found that the most accurate loads were with jumped bullets, and not the long high BC ones. Having many other rifles with scopes, I have preferred to keep my Swedes as issued, except for a little minor trigger and very minor bedding work. Because of the limitations of the issue sights, I have not contemplated much long range precision shooting, and for that reason have little concern with BCs. The two most accurate bullets that I have tried have been the Sierra 100 grain hollow point, over a load of IMR 4350, and the Hornady 140 grain RN seated to the middle of the cannelure shooting surplus H4831. I have shot five shots under 3/4 with the Sierra, and the same with the Hornady. Once when doing tests while adjusting the front sight on my 38 I shot a couple of honest half inch thee shot groups with the Sierras. That was some years ago. In my experience, a lot of shooting well with open sights is believing that it can be done. If you really do not believe that it is possible, then you will not put the effort into perfecting your sight picture, and trigger pull.
 
"Is having .264"(full caliber) of neck retention paramount ?"

If you're just bench shooting, it doesn't matter. As long as there is enough bullet in the case to ensure that it stays there until you fire.
 
swede mauser long throat jump or not much in the neck?

The old 6.5/ 55 swede mauser used around nose bullet/ II t was very accurate for it time.
Thats a pretty good group considering 4moa was the norm back then.
 
Try some Barnes TSX.

They are very accurate "IF" seated .050 to .100 off the lands. They are very long for their weight.

I shoot the Barnes TSX's in several rifles from 6mm to .338. Once I learned to follow the instructions and seat them way off I was amazed! Don't try and seat the Barnes close you will just be wasting bullets.

I use the same powder as I would with the cup and core of the same weight and caliber.

They are just different then the cup and core bullets; such as the Sierras I shoot in my target rifles.................................
 
Thanks everyone,I appreciate the info . I am still working on loads,120 and 140 Sierra matchkings . I am fairly happy but know I can do better ,maybe my old Swede does not like them ? I get 3 shot groups at .75", but can't seem to get five that tight .Always one or two that open it up to 1.5" . 3 -5 shot groups aggregate at 200 yds is 2.5-2.75" .Time to try something besides the Sierras,will surely try those Barnes mentioned...the Swede may like that bullet being jumped that far?
 
My experience was that high bc bullets were not as accurate in my Swedes, and given the distance that you intend to shoot, perhaps you might want to consider that at 200 yards and under, based on short range benchrest experience, accuracy trumps everything. If you review my post, and try those combinations I think that you will be pleased with your results. We tend to be preoccupied with BCs and for shooting at long range that is appropriate, but for short range shooting it can blind us to what are sometimes better options.
 
Thanks Boyd,you have my attention . I had a feeling I was over thinking the bullet for 200 yards max .I like the two options you mentioned,I have never gone down to 100s .The 140 rn may be all I need .I had some old Norma 156 rn that shot better at 200 yds than any load I have come up with using the Sierra Matchkings. I also think I need to seat deeper,my quest to get out near the lands does not leave much in the neck. I guess I need to accept the fact I am going to have jump no matter what I do.
 
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