Husqvarna Rifle

Ambrose

I am looking at a Husqvarna hunting rifle in .308. It looks in great shape all original. I would like some info on these rifles. They are asking 400. The stock is monte carlo type with a cheek piece.The serial number is 168XXX range. The condition over all is a strong 95% with a mint bore.

Ambrose

I seem to collect a lot of stuff I used to drool over when I was a teenager. Recently, I picked up a Husqvarna sporting rifle in .30/06 of the model called "Hi Power" made, supposedly, post-war to 1950-51. It has the beech wood stock and the FN action (the one with that odd left-side thumb safety) and came with an old Redfield mount with the solid "thick & thin" (anybody remember those?) rings holding a period Weaver K2.5. The rig is in beautiful shape and shoots great. A strange thing is the serial number is on the barrel, left side, over the chamber in the area where we often see the caliber marking and the number has two 3's in it and the 3's are upside down! I have another Husqvarna in my collection, a later one, model 3100, and it too has the serial number on the barrel.

Comments?

EDIT to add: Many years ago, I sent a Persian Mauser to Flaig's to be re-barreled. Those Persian Mausers had the markings and numbers in Farsi or some such (the old 98 Mauser guys will remember those). Apparently, Flaig's had a policy about a recognizable serial number since the barreled action came back to me with the number 6006 stamped very neatly above the Farsi number on the receiver ring.

rufe-snow

Your rifle might be older than you realize? "Rifles of the World", by John Walter, notes the very early post war Husqvarna's, (circa 1947). Used FN actions in birch stocks. It wasn't until the early 50's, they used Walnut specifically for rifles exported to the U.S.

Sounds from your description, that your rifle might be a G.I. bring back. That was purchased in a PX, or Rod & Gun Club.

richarda

A few years back, a bunch of used Husqvarna sporting rifles w/birch stocks from the early 1950s were imported to the usa. They were in various calibers (6.5x55, .30/06, 8x57, 9.3x57, 9.3x62), and some used early post-WWII commercial FN '98 Mauser actions while others used '96 Swedish Mauser actions. I have one of the FN '98s in 9.3x57, and a friend has one of those in 9.3x62.

MIKE WISKEY

in some countrys the barrel is serialed, not the action. I have several Swede's like this. I shortened a Sako like this also, I had to re-stamp the serial # on the action as I had to cut the chamber end of the barrel (bad rechamber from .300 win. mag. to .300 weatherby).

jptatum

That sounds like the 9.3X57 that I have. I never run across a Husqvarna rifle that wasn't a good shooter.

rufe-snow

quote:Originally posted by richarda
A few years back, a bunch of used Husqvarna sporting rifles w/birch stocks from the early 1950s were imported to the usa. They were in various calibers (6.5x55, .30/06, 8x57, 9.3x57, 9.3x62), and some used early post-WWII commercial FN '98 Mauser actions while others used '96 Swedish Mauser actions. I have one of the FN '98s in 9.3x57, and a friend has one of those in 9.3x62.


Recent imports such as yours would have to have been marked with the importers name, along with other info now required by the BATF. The OP never mentioned any other markings on his Husqvarna.

sandwarrior

quote:Originally posted by jptatum
That sounds like the 9.3X57 that I have. I never run across a Husqvarna rifle that wasn't a good shooter.

...and an * kickin' mule!

My 1947 is serialized on the barrel too. However, mine is a Swede small ring action. So, it predates yours by a couple years. I've read different lists that put it made in '41 or '45-'47.

I haven't read and digested the full political scheme on things of the time, but the Swede's were suspended for a while and then discontinued. During the suspension/discontinuation they started importing FN's and building on those. JC Higgins is a name you often saw from JC Penneys and Sears. It was a U.S. economic thing to start re-boosting the European economy after WWII. Interesting that rather than limit/outlaw all the milsurp actions, they simply started using what was made, and then dipped into the new source completely. Sears also used Ted Williams an inexpensive American version of Winchester models. I digress though as that is not pertinent to this topic.

Anyhow, my 9.3x62 is a 947E. "E" for early, "L" for late or FN large ring. All the "E's" were small ring Swede made actions.

Also of note, the big exodus of firearms in Sweden/Norway was a tax imposed on existing firearms in '06 or '07. It was too expensive to keep them. So, an exporter, seeing an opportunity, made the effort to get them rounded up and exported to the U.S. Inexpensive was an understatement. We will never again see firearms of those calibers/cartridges for those prices again. I could have bought three 9mmx57 rifles for under $500. Same with 9.3x57 and 9.3x62's.