Thread: My mate has bought a Service Rifle, bugger!

Originally Posted by omark

It should be ok as some of the criterion barrels had no lugs. No big deal unless you plan to fit a pig sticker to it

Yes, got the good oil from the CNI Club. No advantage, no foul.

Update. So thks again for all the input. In the end I decided not to go down the Lee-Enfield ( there ya go @JohnDuxbury ) path despite getting a very good offer of a Mark IV No1 from a forum member. I expect my shoulder is at its best now as it will ever be so the milder recoil of a 6.5x55 Swede will take me further down thru the years. The sights may be less than the Mark IV but I suspect the inherent accuracy of the Swede will compensate for that to some degree.

That being said, a beautiful Husqvarna M38 is on its way to me. All I need now are some stripper clips. And lots of target projectiles...

I’ll have a look John. May be able to help with stripper clips. Interested in seeing the m38!

@Jhon I just got a M38 for the exact same reason, got some nosler RDF pills to try through it, just doin a load development now.

I was about to say, you can do a lot worse than going for 6.5x55 if you are already in that caliber. I'd avoid 7mm and 8mm and the pomgolian 3-0 while a lovely thing is just getting a bit hard to feed now. I would have loved a honestly issued 5.56mm bolt actioned service rifle, that would be the ducks nuts. Cheap, inoffensive to ears and shoulders and shoot all damn day. Why oh why didn't the yanks convert a bolt gun haha...

Originally Posted by Hbwanderer

@Jhon I just got a M38 for the exact same reason, got some nosler RDF pills to try through it, just doin a load development now.

Pity you're in Southland! But with @Ingrid and a few others we could share a few notes

Originally Posted by Jhon

Pity you're in Southland! But with @Ingrid and a few others we could share a few notes

also have some 140grn sst i want to try ,idealy id like to get some round nose but cant find none. will post my results as soon as i have some

Originally Posted by Hbwanderer

also have some 140grn sst i want to try ,idealy id like to get some round nose but cant find none. will post my results as soon as i have some

I'm keen to try some cast as well, yes I know, not the greatest calibre, or rifle considering the twist rate. Yes I've been doing my homework. Unfortunately Delta Mike is out of HRBC 6.5MM 140GN SPEER POINT, a gas checked (I believe) Powder Coated hardcast target projectile which were last offered at $99 per 500. Cast up to around 1400fps is giving good results to those who persist, it appears, which is usefully in the ballpark for Saturday plinking at the range. ot great. Fiddling may get it nearer 2000fps but not likely with any great accuracy. Well, there are some contrary claims out there but my expectations are n I probably won't take the M38 out in the field, not what I bought it for and I have better rifles in more suitable calibres /twists for serious cast hunting experiences.