Curious Relics #015: M96 Swedish Mauser Part V – Blank Fire Device
Sam.S 06.16.21
Welcome back to everyone who has been following along so far and also welcome if you are new to our Curious Relics bi-weekly segment here at AllOutdoor! The last time around I covered Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV of the M96 Swedish Mauser string of articles. So far we have covered the History, Variations, Specifications, Range Time, Aftermarket Parts and Accessories, Stock Discs, Range Charts, Wooden Bullets/Blanks, and Brass Catcher.
This time around I am excited to present to you the second half of the finale! This time we are going over the blank fire device to close out the M96 Swedish Mauser. Let’s dive right in!
Welcome to our recurring series of “Curious Relics.” Here, we want to share all of our experiences, knowledge, misadventures, and passion for older firearms that one might categorize as a Curio & Relic – any firearm that is at least 50 years old according to the ATF. Hopefully along the way you can garner a greater appreciation for older firearms like we do, and simultaneously you can teach us things as well through sharing your own expertise and thoughts in the Comments. Understanding the firearms of old, their importance, and their development which lead to many of the arms we now cherish today is incredibly fascinating and we hope you enjoy what we have to share, too!
Blank Fire Device: M96 Swedish Mauser
Now for the finale that I have been excited about talking over for the last three parts. The Swedish Lösskjutningsanordning is a blank fire device used in tandem with Swedish Mauser rifles that have the suffix “b” which indicates that they are threaded. The threads for Swedish Mausers are 14×1mm Right-Hand (Need a thread adapter? find one here). The blank fire device is attached by threading it onto the muzzle of the rifle until it stops. Then, you back it off until you can flip down the sight protector/anti-rotation clamp.
The Lösskjutningsanordning exists as a result of the use of wooden blanks (these were mentioned in Part IV. Check it out!). The idea is that you can have reliable feeding, noise, and unaltered brass while not harming anyone with wood bullets or wood fragments. This is achieved by attaching the blank fire device that effectively disintegrates the wooden bullets to dust. The doctrine of the Swedish military did mention, however, that users next to each other should be at least five feet away from each other just to be safe.
The way the blank fire device works internally is essentially this: the bullet exits the bore, enters the blank fire device, makes contact with a concave wall, turns to dust, and gets thrown back and out the side holes in the device. Disassembled it is basically a tube within a tube. The bullet enters the first tube and hits a wall that is curved 360 degrees for the debris to have a place to go into the second tube (which shrouds the first one) and the dust may exit the holes in the side.
Range time with the blank fire device was so much more fun than you would guess. I realize there is not any actual target shooting, but it was still fun to make noise with no recoil. I thought it was especially neat to see how the device reacted during firing. Every once in and while you would see flames exit the holes of the device along with a pleasant wood-burning smell coming from my bore. I did shoot five shots at a paper target about 10 feet away and the results were interesting, but as you would expect. All entered the paper sideways and in a group that was around 1.5 feet wide.
Final Thoughts: M96 Swedish Mauser
We have finally reached the end of the articles on the M96 Swedish Mauser. It is an understatement to say this gun is a piece of art and blast to work with, but that’s what I will leave it at and I encourage you to go out and find one for yourself. A lot of time and effort was spent on this because it is always a pleasure to share history with the reader out there.
This rifle is not just limited to what I went over in my five articles on it and I highly recommend looking for other sources out there like C&Rsenal and their YouTube Channel as well as Steve Kehaya and Joe Poyer’s book The Swedish Mauser Rifles for more information. Thank you for sticking with me in this especially deep rabbit hole!
In closing, I hope our Curious Relics segment informed as well as entertained. This all was written in hopes of continued firearm appreciation and preservation. We did not just realize how guns were supposed to look and function. It was a long and tedious process that has shaped the world we live in. So, I put it to you! Is there a firearm out there that you feel does not get much notoriety? What should our next Curious Relics topic cover? As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.
