Those military surplus days. Top 3?

valnar

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2003
Messages
1,842
Location
Ohio
I think most here would agree that there was certain time period where military surplus rifles were all the rage and imported into the USA in droves. I believe that time has passed.

So now with 20/20 hindsight, what are your top 3 milsurp guns?

Me:
Swedish m/38
Swiss K31
Vz.58 (if it counts). If not, then my 1897 antique Finnish M39 :)
 
That I have owned 1) A 98 Mauser made by FN in 1951 factory chambered in 30-06 2) A Springfield 03A3 also 30-06 3) My current mil-surp a Lee Enfield SMLE Mark111 made in 1916 IN 303 British
 
Last edited:
The cheap milsurp imports may have ended, but the gene pool has plenty of swimmers that will continue to come around for resale.

For me the most fun are the M1 Garand, 1903 Springfield and Swiss K31, in no particular order.

Just got back from the range with my Yugo 98/48 about an hour ago, so that should get an honorable mention too:

Yugoslav M98-48 zf41.jpg
 
The cheap milsurp imports may have ended, but the gene pool has plenty of swimmers that will continue to come around for resale.

For me the most fun are the M1 Garand, 1903 Springfield and Swiss K31, in no particular order.

Just got back from the range with my Yugo 98/48 about an hour ago, so that should get an honorable mention too:

View attachment 1035431
With ZF41.......niiiiiice!
 
US GI WWII surplus firearms or still in high demand and short supply. Prices are up there as well. I have done very well thinning my herd and they go fast at a nice price.
M1 Garand and 1903 Springfields are my cup of tea.
GI 1911s follow closely...
 
Im not up on imports enough to pick one but there are some id like. A ZB 26 is one that comes to mind. I would love a Garand, Thompson, M1 Carbine, etc too.

I own a few, a 1956 Romy SKS, a 1943 '03A3 Remington, and a Colt 1917 Army. Also a very finely 50s sporter made from a 1916 Gew 98 and a Yugo M48 from Mitchell's Mausers. I was gonna buy a No 4 Enfield with the 03A3 but someone beat me to it.
 
Last edited:
As Ian has pointed out on Forgotten Weapons often enough, after around 1970-1980 most militaries adopted rifles with a "fun switch" which will limit (or prevent) their import.

We've seen some surges here and there. Like when Nepal cleaned out their warehouses of more thna a century of stockpiling every weapon they ever used. Which pumped a bunch of UK firearms out in the market, More recently, and to a much smaller extent, Ethiopia cleaned its warehouse out, too. Which put a bunch of unique arms on the market--if often in "unique" condition.

Not many places left with big warehouses of semi-auto or bolt action rifles to liquidate on the cheap.

Brazil is said to have some WWII stock warehoused, but in what condition is unknown. Canada, too has some warehouses of goodies, but is probably unlikely to sell them en masse for political reasons. Some of the Central American nations have interesting surplus--but there is a strong possibility that those are "on book" bu not "on site." Such is life.

The Russians are rumored to have some huge stockpiles of surplus arms--but, we are unlikely to see any of those anytime soon.
 
Probably after the fall of the Soviet Union when they started unloading all their lend-lease stockpiles.

A mint M1928 Thompson for the equivalent of $500 and I passed on a M1919 and M2 Ma Deuce (both with tripods and accessory kits) for $1k and $2k respectively. Then again, I picked up a LNIB pair of 8mm MG42:s for $420 each. The anti-aircraft Zwillingslafette for them would've set me back another $300 and I didn't have room for that at the time...
 
So my interest in milsurps is mostly technical. I like seeing all the different designs that have been tried throughout time... all the funky stuff that worked or ended up as a dead end. I also like them as blasters/plinkers, cause nothing like blowing the snot out of a milk jug with a 196gr 8mm bullet. That's my criteria. Others may rate milsurps higher on historical significance, or accuracy for target shooting, or collectibility, etc.

My #1. M1 Carbine - A wood-and-steel 5lb automatic that's still one of a kind today.

#2. SKS. It's one of the first military rifles to use a sub caliber/intermediate round, and the last to do it while being a total overbuilt brick outhouse. The first half of 20th century military rifles was ruled by Mausers, the second half was flooded by AKs, and the SKS is kind of the crossover point between the two.

#3. M96 Swede Mauser. I have a soft spot for any Mauser action rifle. The Swede chambers it in a nice, soft-shooting, ballistically efficient caliber, and built it to one of the highest standards of worksmanship.

Honorable mention to the Enfield family, whose springy cock on close action hasn't been seen before or since.
 
Last edited:
Repro, but at least it's finally zeroed!

Just posted a short YT vid from today:


I didn't notice the adapter until the second shot. Was wondering for a second......"I didn't see a silencer...." :rofl:

Turns it into a nice plinker :cool:- but isn't your scope on backwards? :p :rofl:

Just kidding, Dave. That's a nice rig. :)

It'll be top 2 for me: Mosins, I only have three left. and a Turk Mauser.
 
I assume we are talking top-3 surplus rifles that I actually own and aren’t parts kits guns (like my VZ-58 or some of my AKs).

For me, that would be:

M1 Garand
K31
Lee Enfield No.4 Mk1

I got into surplus guns a bit too late score great deals on many rifles, but up until recently, there were many good deals to be found on surplus pistols. Some of my favorites include: West German P226 & P228, FN Hi-Powers (Mk II & III), CZ-82, CZ-75B, Bulgarian Makarov PM, Beretta 71, and others.
 
Last edited:
I assume we are talking top-3 surplus rifles that I actually own and aren’t parts kits guns
If that were allowed, I'd put my DSA-58 from Steyr parts FAL above the three I mentioned above. But then it's not a bolt-action or technically what I'd call a "milsurp" either, anyhoo, so, forget I mentioned it.
 
Back
Top