Schultz & Larsen M54J Review

Schultz & Larsen M54J Review

With money tight for everyone I’m always on the lookout for a good deal on a firearm. During a recent visit to Joe Luhn of Crazy Joe’s, he showed me a Shultz & Larsen M54J that was made in the late '50s.

Shultz and Larsen is a Danish rifle manufacturer established in 1889 by Hans Shultz. Also known as the Otterup Rifle Company, S&L is known for competition target rifles. They also produced some of the finest hunting rifles ever made.

The M54J was made from 1954 to 1956. The J is for Jager (Hunter in Danish.) These rifles were chambered in 7 x 61 S&H (the S&H is for Sharpe and Hart.) The 7x61mm S&H is a Magnum cartridge and was developed by Philip B. Sharpe and Richard (Dick) Hart in the 1950s. After Sharpe traveled to Denmark in the early 50s Shultz & Larsen decided to chamber the M54J in Philip Sharpe’s new cartridge.

The M54J was imported into the U.S. by Sharpe and Hart and sold for $150, according to a book by Philip Sharpe. The M54J was only made in the 7 x 61 S&H, but according to the factory they were produced in several other calibers.

The 7 x 61 S&H is an outstanding cartridge but even in the '50s it was expensive and hard to find. The introduction of the 7mm Remington Magnum in 1962 pretty much doomed the 7 X 61. Today they are almost impossible to find, but cases and bullets are available, and custom loaders like Ron Reed of Reed's Ammunition & Research offer the 7 X 61. Ron kindly provided me with an inert round for testing and later and box for a very reasonable cost.

Many M4Js were rebarreled with the most common being 30.06. This particular M54J was rebarreled in 7mm Remington Magnum and is marked as such on the barrel, more on this in a minute.

The M54J uses a unique bolt and cocking mechanism. The lugs on the bolt are at the rear instead of the front, as in modern rifles. This makes it a very strong short action rifle. The other unique feature is that it is cock on lock, meaning that when the bolt is pushed forward and locked the firing pin is cocked. The bolt is spring loaded and it takes some effort to seat the round and lock the bolt.

One of the problems with purchasing a nearly 60 year old rifle is the condition of the barrel, action and in some cases not knowing what it is chambered in. Before firing an older weapon, ensure you inspect it closely for any problems. If you are not confident in your gunsmith skills take it to a professional. I elected to take it to a professional, so on a recent trip, I took it to Accuracy Gun Shop, where “Doc” inspected the M54J for the proper head spacing, chamber size and even test fired it and confirmed that it is indeed chambered in 7mm Remington Magnum.

The first thing that you notice when you handle the M54J is that it’s heavy, weighing in at almost 11 pounds. It’s no lightweight AR, and the fit and finish of the receiver and bolt is outstanding especially when you take in to account that this is a 60-year-old rifle.

I mounted the only scope I had that would fit the rings that were on the rifle and off to the range we went. Shooting the M54J is a joy; the trigger is smooth and crisp with a very clean break. After some adjustment rounds we were shooting 3 round groups of less than 1 inch at 100 yards which is pretty good for the age of the rifle and using factory  ammunition.

The M54J would make an excellent deer or big game rifle. It’s well made and has already put in years of service and looks to ready for many more years of hunting a shooting.