[atek3]

so many choices, czech mauser, turk mauser, yugo mauser, mosin m44, mosin m38, mosin m91/30.
My friend wants a rifle that is cheap, reliable, hard hitting, cheap to shoot, and reasonably (< 4 MOA) accurate.
Which suck the least?

atek3

[MonkeyMan]

M-39 Finnish Mosin-Nagant, the best of the Mosins.

[Bainx]

For the price you can buy:
A fine Turk
A very good Yugo Mauser
Either would be a great choice.

1940s ammo is $6 or $7 per 70 round bandolier.

[cratz2]

Enfield No 4 Mk 1. There were probably 15 at the last small gunshow for $150. Some were kinda rough but some weren't bad at all. The K31 Schmidt Rubins are probably the most accurate without tweaking and have great trigger pulls. Ammo prices come and go but all things considered, they are certainly better than any Mosin or $150 Mauser I've ever seen. For me anyway.

I don't really care much for the full length rifles so the cheapest would be probably be an M44. There's a shop in southern Indiana that was selling them for $88 for an unissued rifle and 440 rounds of corrosive ammo. I bought three of them and put them away still in the cosmoline. Should have bought 10 but was down there to get something else and didn't have enough cash.

Nothing against the Mosins and cheaper Mausers, I just think the Enfields and the K31s are vastly superior to the others, for the price.

[P95Carry]

You could well find a reasonable Enfield MkIV for that price or less ... I like them a lot ....... and with new woodwork can become great rifles if barrel and action good.

Otherwise .... going by my Turk Mauser ..... I'd say that was a pretty good bet too .. I intend to rebuild this one as I hate the std woodwork ... but barrel and action are great and ..... 8mmm is soooooooo cheap!:)

[Gordon]

The K-31 is by far the most gun for $150 or less. To get one NEW today would probably cost $2000-$3000 for that kind of Swiss watch machining. Just look at prices for Sig 210's and compare them with Webleys or Tok's and you get the idea!

[atek3]

I'd love a lee-enfield, but I haven't found them at a good price.

Anyone know where I could snag a couple either No. 4 Mk I or II or any .308 enfield?

atek3

[yesterdaysyouth]

there's a 308 enfield at a local pawn shop just south of here, but i have no idea where you are... i can give you their number...

[Handy]

Another vote for the Rolls Royce of the pawn shop: the Swiss K-31.

[atek3]

how much is ammo for the k.31
atek3

[mephisto]

Go with a Enfield. No1 MKIII are nice and cheap, at least they are in AZ.

Mephisto:evil:

[El Rojo]

K-31 is the most accurate. I think that is a pretty solid statement. The ammo is most expensive too. I would go with a Mosin Nagant secondly. The guns are cheap and the ammo is cheap. You can get a 91/30 and 880 rounds for just about $150. Probably the same thing with an 8mm too if you find one cheap enough, except you would get about 1440 rounds, but it would be corrosive.

Your options are numerous. Get what you think looks good. Save up, buy your second choice in a month or two. Then look at your third choice after that, but hope that something else doesn't come along and catch your fancy first. Buy a C&R license now and save some money.

[foghornl]

I bought my Mosin-Nagant M-44 last September for $50 at my local Dunham's Sporting Goods. Same rifle now goes for $60, and they usually have the Albanian 1988/89 manufacture ammo for $5 per 20, frequently have the Barnaul 200-Gr soft-point for $9 per 20.

I like the shorter carbine (M-44) with the fold-out bayonet. Figure if I get into a SHTF situation, I can use the extened bayo to fend off 1 or 2 while I stuff in another stripper clips worth of ammo :evil:

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

If you're not dead-set on a carbine, consider a Swedish Mauser in 6.5 x 55. $150 will get a nice one, they have mild recoil, excellent accuracy, superb workmanship, and ammo is readily available both in milsurp and factory trim. I'm surprised no-one mentioned one before, as these are well-known prizes whose craftsmanship far exceeds their cost.

I'll second the Lee-Enfield, too. The #4's, and the #1 Mk. III-pattern Ishapore .308's are a very good buy.

Try looking at the upcoming Cow Palace gun show. There should be lots of choices, and you can shop around. Mausers and Mosins are also usually available at your local Big 5 sporting goods store, although sometimes they get the most "lived-in" rifles, and unless on sale, their prices for the quality level offered can usually be beat at a gun show. Sometimes they have sweeties, though, so you need to check what any giiven store has on hand.