Carl Gustav m/41

     Notes: This weapon had its genesis in the 1894 Mauser rifle, which was used as a battle rifle by several countries.  After trials with several countries’ weapons, the Swedes rejected several rifles in favor of the Mauser, which they chose as a battle rifle. Key to this sale was the willingness of Mauser to rechamber the Swedish rifle in 6.5mm Swedish Mauser, standard in most longarms and machineguns in Swedish service at the time.

     The Swedes saw a need for a precision sniping weapon, and since it was neutral throughout the war, could buy arms from Germany.  It was topped with German-built AJACK 4x90mm scope, a bit large, especially at the time; this had to be offset to fit the loading clip for the action.  Later, as excess production by Germany fell, they topped the receiver with the AGA-41 domestically-produced scope, and two years later, the AGA-44. The action was a bolt-action design using the 1893 Spanish Mauser action, suitably modified to meet the caliber and degree of precision required.  Originally manufactured in Germany, they were soon being manufactured by Carl Gustav. m/41s were not built from scratch, but selected from well-performing m/96s and rebuilt and hand-fitted from there. (Essentially, they became new rifles.

     Stocks were varnished walnut; early models used a straight grip, but the majority, manufactured by Carl Gustav, had stocks of varnished elm of beech, and this was more easily available in Sweden.  The barrel has two bands, one 2/3rds to the front and one as the front of the handguard.  This front barrel band is modified to accept a Swedish bayonet.  Scopes, even the later Swedish models, had adjustable windage and elevation, done by the knobs on the rear of the scope.  Without sights, the shooter relied on a micrometer-adjustable dial-type rear leaf sight, and a simple post sight.  The barrel is 20.1 inches, which would be conserved short these days.

     The m/41B was introduced in 1955, and had a number of improvements and alterations over the m/41B; these were both functional and cosmetic.  The front sight was a simple blade protected by slide-on tunnel type guard.  The barrel was given a target crown, and the m/41B had a rubberized sling that can stretch somewhat, for use to aid in shooting. The rifles had light recoil, mainly due to weight.  The scope, which never was offset enough to use clips, generally had to be reloaded though the top one at a time.