M1881 SWEDISH JARMANN

This scarce rifle was chambered for an advanced design black powder cartridge utilizing a tubular magazine and a smaller diameter, lighter weight bullet than was common for most contemporary military rifles. The bolt design is unusual, too -- the bolt handle is part of a sleeve that rotates around the stationary bolt. The handle serves to cock the action when raised upward, and provides the only bolt lock when turned down into its recess in the right receiver wall; the bolt itself does not turn -- it just moves forward and back. The workmanship on this 1883-Carl Gustav's manufactured rifle is very high quality. The checkered striker extension is almost like a piece of jewelry. (The safety consists of placing the striker at half-cock.)

Only 1,500 of these Swedish Jarmann rifles were made between 1882 and 1884 at the Carl Gustavs works -- all as trial pieces for the Swedish military. The first 500 were made with only two barrel bands, while the remaining 1,000 had three. The three-band version was also equipped with a small brass plate on the bottom of the forend below the magazine cut-off which allowed access to the lifter mechanism.

Nearly 30,000 Jarmann rifles were also manufactured for the Norwegian military at the Norwegian armament works at Kongsberg, but most of these were destroyed by the Germans after they overran and occupied Norway early in the Second World War. As a result, the Swedish version is more commonly available today than the Norwegian.

Oddly, the rear sight leaf on my particular rifle (a three-band version) has no markings on it.

Note the extension on the rear sight leaf for long range volley fire. The sighting groove on the right of the extension is lined up with a sighting projection on the right side of the middle barrel band.

My rifle has been altered by having the forward inch or so of the barrel removed and recrowned -- just enough to remove the bayonet lug, or perhaps the muzzle was damaged?

(Case on right has been fire-formed -- note difference in shoulder area.)

My reloading efforts to date for the 10.15x61R Jarmann cartridge have utilized Buffalo Arms brass made up from .348 Winchester cases, along with bullets cast from a Lyman 412263 mould. At 286 grains, this bullet is somewhat lighter than the original Jarmann design (337 grains), and was originally designed for use in .405 Winchester cartridges. My initial case-forming loads consisted of a duplex charge of 5.0 grains of IMR 4227 under 30 grains of GOEX FFg black powder topped off by Cream of Rice cereal filler. These loads completely formed the brass to the chamber of my rifle, and produced nice round 20-shot, 5-1/2" groups off the bench at 100 yards.

The groove diameter of the bore in my rifle is .413", but I am able to chamber .414" bullets without resizing the necks of fired cases.

Smokeless loads using 25.0 grains of IMR SR-4759 were disappointing. Four 5-shot groups at 100 yards ran from 2.271 inches to 5.036 inches, averaging 4.279 inches.

My particular rifle will not consistently detonate rifle primers, so I have switched to pistol primers. I am now getting 100% ignition, but am concerned about using these soft primers in the tubular magazine. I am going to have to see if I can find a source for a stronger mainspring.

Updated March 15, 2007