cg 63

[edwin41]

hello
since my uberti rolling block . 357 mag always seems to be in the repairshop , i decided to buy me a real rifle .
today i bought me a cg 63 swedisch mauser rifle in 6.5x55 mm.
i did some homework before purchase , and it seems to be that it orginally had been a m96 rifle , that was rebuild in the sixties to become the target rifle 63.
the one i bought is stamped "np 69", my thinking is that this rifle was rebuild by norma , but im not sure , maby anyone here has some info about that?
at least this rifle has the heavier bull barrel , with the 1 / 22 twist i believe.
the globe frontsight and the rear diopter sight seems to be original also.
i can pick it up when the paperwork is done , and then i will post some pictures.
for now i would like some info about these guns , they seem to be a little rare.
as i am planning to do my own reloading , and my own casting , i really want to know wich mould i should order , the 140 gr or the 150 gr .[ lyman] ?
ive been reading about "extreme long throats " on these rifles , but i don t really know what this means , maby someone with experience with this?
the shop where i bought this rifle didnt know anything about these rifles , they believed they were standard carl gustavs , and the prices they asked for them was kind of a joke i think as i payed less then 200 dollar for it.

any info on these rifles is much appreciated !

 

[Float Pilot]

Congratulations on your now owning the finest iron-sighted target rifle on the planet.

The CG-63 was introduced on May 1, 1963 by the Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori. (CG)
During the production period CG made up around 60,000 target rifles. Almost all used existing m/96 rifle or m/94 carbine actions which were inspected to make sure they were super straight. Although some Husqvarna actions have also been used.

Norma Company also made some CG-63 rifles as did certain approved regimental armorers and a few specially approved FSR civilian Armorers.

The standard CG-63 barrel was a free-floated heavy barrel which stars at 19.0mm at the action and tapers to 17.5 mm at the muzzle. The rifling twist rate for most CG-63s is 1 in 220mm. (the m/96 m/38 and m/94 all had a 1 in 200mm twist rate)

NOTE* I have one CG-63 that has a Schultz and Larson barrel with a 1 in 9 inch twist rate, on 1 in 228.5mm...

The CG-63s were also made in military versions called the m/ and m/7.
The standard target ammunition for the CG-63s was originally a 9.1 gram (140 grain) Boat_tail bullet with a muzzle velocity of 800 meters per second. Or about 2,600 fps.

Some CG-63s have glass bedded actions and some have steel stock inserts.
The first CG-63 sights were Carl Gustafs GF micrometer receiver sights with a 2mm aperture.

HOWEVER: I have seen all sorts of other sights on CG-63s, such as Elite, Soderin, Busk, Faldt, GF , Hauges, Hellqvist (rare and I sold one like an idiot), Pramm, Hooka and even the Lyman 48M.
The most common seem to be the Elite, Soderin and GF.


If there is a lightning bolt type rune on the left side of the action it means the rifle action was re-proofed.

Is there a Crown over the 69 date or just the NP over the 69 build date stamp?

Here is a GF type rear sight and an Elite front sight with interchangeable inserts.

 

[Float Pilot]

As for loading ammunition:

The Swedish 6.5x55mm cartridge was developed back in the early 1890s by a committee made up of military people from Norway and Sweden. Back then the propellants needed lots of room inside the case. Thus the bullets on cartridges from that era tend to extend a long ways from the case neck.

The CG-63s also have a long throat, ( the distance from the case mouth until to rifling starts. )

I find that the seating depth of the bullets for the 6.5x55mm cartridge makes a HUGE difference with the accuracy.

Generally with the 6.5x55mm I like to use LAUPA brass. Norma is the second choice. If possible I load the bullets so that at least 6.5mm of the bullet's side it supported by the cartridge case neck. SEE PHOTO

My 1 in 220mm CG-63 likes 140 grain bullets, but my CG_63 with the 1 in 9 inch Schultz and Larson barrel likes the 120 grain boat-tail bullets. SEE PHOTO

 

[edwin41]

thanks for the info..
you mentioned a crown above the np stampings , in my case theres not.
i googled "norma"and found a compagnie in sweden called "norma precision"that exists from 1912 , my thinking would be that the stamping "np"stands for this compagnie so this rifle was rebuild bij the norma precision compagnie ?
also , the diopter on my rifle is very much simpeler than on yours.
the frontsight looks about the same altough mine has a horizontal bar , where yours has a vertical to hold the inner ring.
as i see your bullets and where you marked them i think i would best buy the 150 gr mould from lyman , this bullet is longer them the 140 gr it seems.
nice to learn some more on the history of these rifles !

 

[Float Pilot]

Yes NP means it was one of those built by Norma Precision.

The slower rifling twist of the CG-63s were designed for the 140 grain boat-tail bullets.
The actual weight of the bullet is not as important as is the LENGTH of the bullet. Some of the boat-tail bullets are longer than the 160 grain round nose bullets (see photo)

You will have to play with it to see what she wants to shoot.

Also here is a photo of what my front sight inserts look like. I have 8 different front sight inserts that fit into the forward mount.

 

[Float Pilot]

Look here to see if you see the sight you think you have on your new rifle.
http://dutchman.rebooty.com/targetsights.html

Here is a photo of a CG-63 with an Elit rear sight.

 

[edwin41]

great link !
looked at the sights and mine must be the soderin type and its said that these are the common types.

 

[edwin41]

another plus for me is that i found out by wikipedia that the cg 63 rifle was also used by the swedisch army as the "gevar 6" for the 6.5x55 mm and as "gevar 7"
for the 7.92 mm cartridge.
the only difference between the civillian and the military according to this info was that the latter had a short cleaning rod in the stock.

my thinking would be that this rifle could be used for "veteran rifle"competition
over here in holland , and im sure to look into this.

 

[Float Pilot]

Yes I mentioned the m/6 and m/7 in my first response. They were in 6.5x55mm and 7.62mm NATO. The 7.62mm NATO version had a 1 in 305mm twist rate.

Besides the short cleaning rod (which did not work for anything and was purely cosmetic), some m/6 and m/7 had the military inspection disc inletted into their stocks. They are very rare and I have only seen one in person.

There were also CG-62 and CG-63S Biathlon rifles with folding stocks and a weird hooked buttplate on the 63S, a CG-67 which was an improved CG-63S, and a CG-63E which was made for England and the rules of their target matches. I have only seen two CG-63Es.
Then there was a CG-63 Junior Rifle which was made in 22LR caliber. It looks like a full size CG-63.

 

[lonniemike]

Float or ? I don't want hijack this thread but I've a question or two for anyone knowledgable about Husq in 270Win. Much eariler a poster here at this forum said his Husq in 270 was in a 96 action. More recently, I regurgitated this description of 96 actions and calibers that they were made in. I was told that the Husq never made anything other than 6.5X55, 8X57, and 9.3X?? in 96 actions. And further that a 270Win or anyother than the mentioned calibers would have been in a 1640 or 640 action and that these were small ring 98 actions not 96s. I've seen pics of reworked gas vents on some 96s. But not any 3rd lugs. So is a Husq 640 or 1640 a rework of a 96 action or a redesigned small ring 98? Any details are welcomed. TIA

 

[Float Pilot]

Lonniemike, Go to the Swedish Sporting Arms forum:
http://forums.gunboards.com/forumdisplay.php?50-Swedish-Civilian-amp-Sporting-Firearms

The 1640 action has nothing to do with the 640 action. The 640 was a M-98 FN action which was finished by Husqvarna. Not to be confused with the old small ring model 46.
The 1640 ( for the 1600 series rifles) is a neat hybrid sporting action with some M98 features, some FN sporter features and some Remington features.
See Photos of a 1640 action... Note my double set triggers are fairly rare and do not work worth a darn:

 

[lonniemike]

Float Pilot, Thanks for the heads up about going to find more info at the Swedish Sporting Arms forum and that for mentioning that the 63(g-6?) was produced in 7.62X51 and 6.5X55 in basically a 96 action.Best

 

[edwin41]

and here she is

this is the rifle i picked up today , and boy i am glad i did !
as mentioned , its a cg 63 that started out as a carl gustav in 1902.
it was rebuild by norma precision in 1967 , at least the stamping says so.
if you take a close look at the barrel youll notice its also stamped NP , mabey not seen in the pictures but on top of the barrel its stamped with an O, not sure what this means , but i guess this is the original barrel.
al the parts are matching numbers , overall impression is very good , fit and finish is exellent , no high parts that might indicate the stock was refinished.
its equipped with a soderin type of diopter , funny thing is that its stamped
with /7 at the end , wich may indicate that it was used on a "gevar 7"?

oh yes.... im a happy camper !

 

[edwin41]

some more pics...

 

[edwin41]

still more...

 

[edwin41]

these are pictures i took when i got home , so this is the condition i found
this rifle in.
i really think i stole this rifle , insteed of buying it ,at it was priced at less then 200 dollar. i think you would understand that i didn t try to get it at a even lower price , and didn t have to think for one second !
the funny thing is , there where some more of these rifles at the gunstore where i bought this one , all the same price !
this seller had never heard of these rifles and he sells them as M 63.

 

[edwin41]

today i took the rifle apart for cleaning and to see what ive really bought.
so now i know that this rifle is in VERY good condition , even the barrel looks stunning. the rifle wasnt really dirty , i think the previous owner took real good care of it , and so will i.
its matching numbers all around , perfect fit and finish , i think these where really quality build in the days , and they might still hold their ground against
the modern types of rifles.
im gonna take it to the range next week , got some factory ammo prvi partizan.
later on im gonna give it a go with paperpatching a cast bullet , im gathering
info on the castboolits forum.