Fudd Friday: Watch Out For Husqvarna’s Bargain Rifles On The Used Rack

I was at my “local” gun store a few days back (my local gun store is actually 1.5 hours’ drive away, more if you take the logging roads, which I generally do this time of year) and took a good long look around their racks of used firearms. Lo and behold, amidst the usual lineup of free-floated synthetic stocks and detachable mags, I noted some old-school iron in a corner, with classy, slim wood stock and a blind mag. I looked closer. They had not one, not two, not three, but four Husqvarna 1640 rifles stashed there, all in .30-06 and all priced under $500. It was a great deal that most buyers would miss, not even knowing that Husqvarna was a gun brand to watch out for. So, here’s a very quick look at these Huskies that you might be able to pick up at your LGS, guns that other buyers will miss due to a lack of awareness.

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Why buy a 1640? Because this Mauser-pattern bolt action, built from the early 1950s until the late 1960s, was built to a quality standard that few other commercial rifles for the mass market could match (we’re talking the equivalent of a pre-’64 Winchester Model 70 here, the cream of the crop for the working man). And the 1640 was a bit of an odd design, too; not a large-ring Mauser 98 action, but a small-ring full-length controlled-feed version of the Mauser 98.

This was a natural evolution of Sweden’s long-standing production of small-ring Mausers. While some might question the small-ring action’s capability to handle full-power loads, let alone belted magnums, the 1640 series was made of fine, modern steel and these guns can handle the heat.

And even though they’re basically laid out like a Mauser 98, Husqvarna baked some improvements into the design, particularly the slide-safety on the side of the action, instead of the back-of-the-bolt design the original Mauser 98 used, which doesn't work well with a low-mounted scope—the safety bumps into the rear eyepiece when it’s rotated. Not so on the Husqvarna 1640.

Other upgrades included a better trigger, an improved gas venting system in case of a cartridge casing failure, and, of course, the fact that the small-ring design cut down weight from a large-ring Mauser.

Despite these advantages, the 1640 series, like other Husqvarna rifles, never made a huge dent in the North American market, probably partly because snooty gun writers turned up their noses at these sensible Euro rifles because they tended not to use fine walnut stocks. To shooters who didn’t care about that, the Huskies were a great choice, as were their predecessors.

Buying a 1640 today

The Model 1640 is still readily available on the used market, not just because of the old imports, but also because of new imports. For some time, shooters in Sweden, where the Husqvarnas were made, were restricted to a specific number of firearms allowed by their gun license. When something shiny caught their eye, it was often out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new, and that meant these old Huskies were bought up by import/export businesses and sent across the pond to North America, where they went on to new owners. They’re readily available in the U.S. because of this, and even more so in Canada, where companies like Trade-Ex (before the owners retired) had a business practically built around importing Fudd-friendly guns like this from Scandinavia.

As a decades-old gun at this point, all the usual rules apply when looking at a used Husqvarna 1640, with one added caveat: Don’t automatically assume that you can upgrade the rifle with Mauser 98 parts. Some stuff will fit OK, but because the action is modified, other parts obviously won’t. A stock, one of the most common upgrades, will require some fettling.

But they’re readily available if you search auction sites, and many times in very good shape. Maybe that’s too big a risk for you, but if you keep an eye on the racks of your local gun store, you’ll see them come through from time to time, if you want to handle one for yourself; work the action, shoulder the stock, all the stuff you want to do to see if it will fit you in the field. Prices seem to be climbing in the US, but they’re still a lot cheaper than a pre-’64 Model 70… even if the Husqvarna’s stock is nowhere near as nice.

If this post has you ready to hit the range, head over to gunranges.com - a free directory to help you find shooting ranges near you, wherever you are in the United States.