Best Mil-Surp Rifle?

[doubleg]

I'm looking for some advice from everyone. I need a good old cheap mil surp rifle that will have quick follow up shots (hunting), great quick to aim sights, and if possible on the more compact lighter side. No need to break your back carrying a heavy rifle when a lighter one will do the same job. So what will it be a mauser, krag, enfield ect..

 

[hrgrisso]

Milsurp?

I bought an Enfield Jungle Carbine (No. 5) I believe. About 250$ so it's on the expensive side for a WW2 Bolt action Milsurp but it's a great handy gun.

Outside of that I also have a Enfield No 4 in .303 that I put into an Advanced Technologies and it's a very nice rifle indeed.

I also have a Mosin Nagant full length that is a real tackdriver. I don't shoot it much because I handpicked it and its one of the few PREWAR Mosins you see in great shape.

I have tried the carbine Nagants as well as the chopped 1903's. All of them make great guns and I've enjoyed my time shooting them.

 

[Cosmoline]

Hunting what?

 

[JShirley]

Mausers make great hunters. You may need to either mount a scope, or add a peep sight, and you should be good to go.

 

[doubleg]

Deer. I realized on one of my last hunts that a scoped rifle is dam near useless on running deer about 15 feet away from you. Go ahead laugh it up. XD

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

I really like Mausers.

 

[.45Guy]

Light, handy, good sights for quick aquisistion. Sounds like you're in need of a carcano.

 

[Cosmoline]

For a sweet, fast-in-the-hand deer rifle among the surplus ranks, the very best would probably be a Swedish Mauser or a Greek Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Both are light in the hand, extremely accurate and have sweet 6.5mm bullets that do a number on deer in SP configuration. The down side is theyr'e rather $$ and the Greeks are very hard to find these days.

Mosins, Mausers and Enfields are much easier to get but are going to be on the heavy side. I'd go with a 91/30 Mosin if you want an inexpensive one, and load with 180 grain Winchester/S&B SP's. That should work fine.

.45 Guy's suggestion of a Carcano is also interesting. Those are quite cheap, but better than their reputation would suggest. Norma makes quality SP ammo for them.

 

[hkenvy91]

while not light nor cheap. i picked the good ole american workhorse, the m1 garand!!

 

[Babarsac]

A Mosin is about as reliable as you can get (cheap too) but they don't have the quality finish of some other rifles. You might want to look at the Swedish Mausers in 6.5mm. I've never shot one but I've heard that it was very popular for hunting due to it's effective penetration.

Here are some articles on hunting with Mil-Surps...hope they help.

Article_1

Article_2

 

[kfranz]

If you really want light, a Steyr M95/34 carbine is very light. Pretty much the same sights as most other surplus rifles, straight pull bolt action, plenty of thump with the 8x56R....

 

[pipboy]

1903 - expensive 30 06....highly regarded for accuracy
garand - tad expensive but one of if not the most highly respected rifle ever made 30 06
mosin nagant - many models many makers best bang for your buck end of story...the fin's are supposed to be great..ammo is also cheap and everywhere 7.62-54
k-31 is supposed to be the most accurate of the bunch (at least the cheaper bunch) ammo isnt quite as availible...straight bolt is interesting
mausers tons of models...avoid mitchells they are pricey and they like to sell yugo's as k-98...i bought a yugo on its own pretense and love it ammo is everywhere and cheap....8mm
enfield...supposed to be the smoothest of the bolt mil surp .303 ammo isnt quite as cheap anymore
thats a bunch basically there are more...the sks is great in 7.62 39 if that more your alley for 150 bucks good semi

 

[Cosmoline]

Pretty much the same sights as most other surplus rifles, straight pull bolt action, plenty of thump with the 8x56R....

I think Graf & Sons has SP ammo for it.

 

[kungfuhippie]

steyr m95 is very light (on par with an m38 mosin) and if you roll your own you can get real good deer loads from it SIBT. The original load is the most powerfull rifle load of WWII so it will get deer just fine. Infact it will get moose just fine. I haven't shot mine past 100 yards much but out to 100 yards on 1938 surplus I was able to slowly whittle a 2x4 in half. I've been kicking around the idea of getting a steyr rebarreled in 7.62x54r with a .308 bore due to it being a more widespread caliber than .311.

But for what you want and the price I'd get an m38 or m44.

Or course I'd get a savage for what you want $200 and some peep sights means your gun will shoot accurate and you'll have a very light gun. That and a savage will come chambered in a half dozen popular calibers if not more.

 

[cracked butt]

how about a swedish mauser 94 carbine? They are very hard to find, but most of them are bubba'd and don't cost too much. Of course a correct comple carbine will set you back the better part of a $1000. Here's bubba'd carbineI found last week next to a M38:



Its about 2" shorter than the M38 and a good pound lighter.

 

[.45Guy]

Where'd you dig that little gem up Cracked?

 

[cracked butt]

Cabelas last week, they had it on the used rifle rack for $199- a tad high, but I couldn't leave the store without it, it was too cute.

 

[.45Guy]

Dang I need to go there more often

 

[kungfuhippie]

thanks alot Cracked! Now my list of guns I want has gotten longer!

 

[nwilliams]

If cheap and reliable is your main concern you have lots of choices
Mausers, Yugo 24/47, M48 - Czech VZ24
Enfields, (just not the India garbage)
Swiss K31
Mosin-Nagants....eh, lots of people like em but they never did anything for me.

 

[Red Tornado]

If follow up shots are a factor, the K31 straight pull is lightning fast, and you don't have to change your position. It will also shoot as good as anything else you're likely to find. Ammo may be difficult, but Wolf Gold (Prvi Partisan) makes a SP if you can find anyone with them in stock.

If I was choosing from my milsurps, I'd go K31, Swedish Mauser, 1903A3, M38, or a Garand if I really needed fast follow up shots.

From 15 feet, I think anything used in any world war will work, including a 1911, Luger, or Webley. Have you considered a spear?
RT

 

[doubleg]

A spear could have worked. But they were running full sprint by the time I knew they were there and got a shot off they were gone. I'm not a very experieced hunter either might I add. But the way I figure it I can hit the range with one of the rifles and get some time in.

 

[yodar]

The grenade launcher can be removed and a 5-R mag is available

Yugos are down to $99 at centerfire systems.
Their bullet ballistics is comparable to 30-30 at or before 100 yards.


I prefer the K-31 as our fellow lister suggested.

The 94 Swede carbine shown broke my heart. Un-bubbaed they START at $450.00 and go UP when you FIND them.

yodar

 

[kungfuhippie]

The grenade launcher can be removed

Why? Those nato grenades will work on deer And those "15yards and running" shots won't seem so hard anymore

If a game warden asks it's just a commie muzzle loader

 

[zedheadmc]

The Swiss K-31 is a really good rifle. The rifle is fairly inexpensive. The ammo is a bit much though. I use Hornady factory ammo. Will reload someday.
But I think for running shots then a #4 Mk1 Enfield would be better due to the rear apature sight (or at least for me it works better). The #4 Mk1 can still be had for around the $100 range and ammo is not to bad.
Never shot a Mosin or a Yugo. Both are inexpensive and so is the ammo.