6.5X55 Sweden - Cock on open conversion

[Terry_M]

I recently asked my gunsmith to look into converting my Swede from a cock on close to a cock on open. Has anyone else had this done, and did it improve the primer strike time? I have a mile long trigger pull, but a very crisp break to my trigger now and hope it improves the time between break and firing of the round.

If anyone has had this done can you give me an idea what to expect?

Thanks in advance,
Terry

 

[oldblinddog]

Mausers have a two stage trigger pull (on purpose). The cock on open conversion does nothing to change this or the lock time. I have owned numerous Swedes. They are accurate as is. I would not waste my money on this conversion.

 

[2506]

You can speed up the lock time a bit by changing the firing pin spring to a stronger one. You can use an after market trigger to get a lighter crisper trigger. Bold triggers are pretty good and don't cost a great deal. I put one on a sported 96 Mauser 6.5 Swede. I used the one with a slide safety but you can get one that does not have the safety. The Swede Mausers are probably the most accurate Mausers I have ever shot.

 

[Terry_M]

Thanks for the advice gentlemen.

I'll look up the Bold trigger and see what I can find out.

 

[oldblinddog]

The Timney Mauser trigger will work also.

 

[Terry_M]

The Timney triggers seem to be 3X the price, are they 3X better that the Bold triggers? I don't mind paying for performance, as long as there is a real increase in what I'm getting. I firmly believe in the buy once cry once way of doing things. If anyone has used both I'd really appreciate some first hand knowledge.

 

[oldblinddog]

I'm not familiar with the Bold trigger but either is available from Midway. The Timney is $58 and the Bold is $44.

 

[Terry_M]

I was comparing the the Timney Featherweight Deluxe with the right hand safety for $103 From Midway to the Bold Optima 94/96 from Boyds for $38. Both right hand safety models with a large price difference. No worries if there's no one who has experience with both, I have experience with neither. So if anyone has experience with either I would love to hear your impressions of how they worked for you.

 

[RW]

I have used the Boyd trigger with side safety on a 6.5 sweede carbine 96 with the cock on closing. I thought the trigger worked great and for a good price!! Thought about doing the cock on opening but was told it would not increase the lock time so when you shoot it with the slow lock time you have to practice staying behind the gun and following thru!! RW

 

[oldblinddog]

I have used both the Timney Sportsman (without safety) and the NECG double set trigger on custom 96 Swedes and both were outstanding. I don't think the Boyd trigger was available then.

 

[Terry_M]

From what I'm reading so far on here and elsewhere on the interwebs both triggers perform very well and will be an improvement. I'm leaning toward the Bold trigger if everything else is equal.

I am going with the cock on open to conserve energy when shooting off hand. I don't like the idea of pushing the rifle away from me 60-80 times over the course of a match. It may not make a difference, but it helps me in my mind. I plan to shoot this swede in competition.

 

[Barlow]

I recently took a Timney trigger off my 96 Swede. I could never get it to work right, especially in cold weather. I put the original military trigger back on and it works fine. I have a 94 Swede with a Timney that works fine. Barlow

 

[p-man]

Just take your time with the camming surfaces - I did mine 30 years ago and it's just as smooth as a 98 - works fine with the Timney trigger and I went with the commercial-type no safety bolt sleeve

 

[tomswede]

Having shot a lot of matches with my CG63 I don't understand why you would like to change to cock on opening. Cock on close works really well for rapid fire and you don't notice much for slow. Shortening the striker fall makes sense as was done for the CG63's (and later models) in Sweden. Shoot it for a while and see if it really makes a difference to have cock on close, my bet is it does not.

 

[KAIFS]

I have bastardsporterized several swedes now (most accurate is a Kimber of Oregon conversion). Few things I have learned - BOLD trigger works hell of a lot better compared to other triggers I have tried - key is: get one WITHOUT the side safety. If you have contacts in Sweden - you will greatly benefit from the CG80 style cocking piece (which carries sear on it) in combination with a Bold trigger. Bedding a stock - Boyd laminates are my choice now, is a must. I also installed a custom fitted aluminum pillars into mine.
When its all said and done - my CG-80 (as is, done by one of a handful certified master armorers in Sweden) with a diopter sight, KV Norwegian trigger (came with it), heavy barrelled will outshoot scoped Kimber 'project' with all the bells and whistles I have on it. Kimber project outshoots stock R700 Classic at 100m bench. all are sub-MOA rifles. Either I am really bad at working on yhese (which I think I am not) or my CG-80 is the only true target rifle out of these 3. Yes, I have to have a perfect black circle target to get my best results out of diopters (and I have quite a number of FSR Swedish rifles) - but damn...
if you want 6.5x55 speed shooting, you are looking at ether Merkel Helix (recently available in US) or Sig STR200 Match (this one I could NOT have imported into US in a single quantity, due to crazy costs).
As stated, even all stock M/96 rifle with iron sights is an amazing shooter without any modifications via a 140-142gr SMK, RL22 and decent brass.

 

[tomswede]

The Sauer STR is really smooth, a great action! They are also very accurate. Had mine imported a few years ago. Not sure why Sauer is not offering it here, it is in production anyway. The closest thing offered is the Sauer 308 SSG rifle that is a pretty good deal with the new pricing. The action is sized for the 6.5 so the STR is a perfect fit.
My recommendation is still, start shooting what you got, then decide where to go from there.

 

[epoletna]

I have cock-on-open and the Bold trigger on mine. I love them both. And I have to agree with other posters above who sing the praises of this rifle and caliber. Mine is a cloverleaf shooter, easy to shoot, light to carry, and even older than I am! If only I had space in my safe to keep it!

 

[Terry_M]

Well I should know how it works come April. The parts are in and I'll be dropping the rifle off tomorrow.

Going with the Bold trigger and cock on open.

Thanks to all who have posted their experience with both. I'll give an update as soon as I get the chance.

Terry