Looking for my first surplus rifle.

Status
Not open for further replies.
The Mosin-Nagant is the logical starting point for a surplus rifle collection.

Plentiful on the market with readily available surplus ammo.

They are fine rifles and actually quite fun to shoot. I really enjoy my 91/30 rifles.

Don
 
I am not too hot on MN. Very pedestrian.

I started on German Mausers, then got a yugo and a Czech.

The Czech, a VZ-24, is a shooting machine. Very nice barrel, and probably the best shooting mauser you can find. You are not gonna get there for $200, though.

I recommend spending a bit more time and saving a bit more money. On the negative side for the 8mm is that the ammo is getting a bit difficult (sometimes impossible to find). However it is a real good reason to start reloading.

On the MN side, the Finnish M-39s are available and you can get a decent one, today for, well i just checked and the $279 recently sold.

OBTH, my Finn is now 4TIMES what I paid for it, four years ago. MN have gone up by 33%.

So, I would save money, go VZ-24 and then Finn M-39. Good Luck. Oh, I have a M44 and M91 or whatever regular MN, too!
 
inkinskin:
Do you check ammo prices on sites such as "Gunbot" and "Ammoseek"? Gunbot only tracks about twenty types, but 7.62x54R has been .20/rd. for about two months or longer.
Many people prefer Russian over Bulgarian x54R.
 
Last edited:
I am NOT a fan of Mosin rifles. They are cheap Russian surplus. That's why they are so popular. Dumped here cheaply...

However, if cash is the main consideration and you want a boomstick now? Sadly .303 surplus is all but gone and has been for some time, 8mm Mauser is slim pickin', and US arms and ammo are not inexpensive. 7.62R is cheap and plentiful, NOW. But it will dry up eventually too. Tommorow if someone we know just feels like signing another Executive Order.

If you are willing to invest in what I'd consider a disposeable system overall then the long Mosin is probably your inexpensive ticket. But make sure you INVEST in ammo. Put half you buy away for a rainy day with the thought that it is never to be touched except by your grandkids when they need it...
 
The best buy for a milsurp ,may be a "bubba" . there are tons of them in pawnshops for under $ 200. -Mausers , Springfields , Enfields, Krags ..ect that have been "personalized" by previous owners. or modified by commecial jobbers such as Parker Hale, Golden state armes. or Bannermans. No collecters value but good shooters. As long as you have no desire to dress up like a storm trooper they will do just fine , plus if you want to do your own bubba work , you will not hurt a thing.
 
MattShlock said:
I am NOT a fan of Mosin rifles. They are cheap Russian surplus. That's why they are so popular. Dumped here cheaply...

However, if cash is the main consideration and you want a boomstick now? Sadly .303 surplus is all but gone and has been for some time, 8mm Mauser is slim pickin', and US arms and ammo are not inexpensive. 7.62R is cheap and plentiful, NOW. But it will dry up eventually too. Tommorow if someone we know just feels like signing another Executive Order.

If you are willing to invest in what I'd consider a disposeable system overall then the long Mosin is probably your inexpensive ticket. But make sure you INVEST in ammo. Put half you buy away for a rainy day with the thought that it is never to be touched except by your grandkids when they need it...
Click to expand...
Every military rifle you can own is surplus...big deal. They are also not cheap, they are inexpensive....there is a very big difference.

The reason they are so popular is that they are a very good rifle at a very good price....your own prejudice is pretty transparent.

All of the WWII bolt rifles are on par with each other...given rifles from every nation if they are in like condition they will all shoot about the same....there is a great deal of snobbery at the 91/30 style of rifles, no matter what actual model it is....The key to owning these old guns is the shape they are in....just how well they are taken care of in the 50-60-70 years before you laid your greasy little hands on them. I have one American SMLE that looks like a sewer pipe....another that looks like it was made yesterday. To only shoot the one with no rifling and say that all are garbage is not a valid test....but so many seem to do just that.
 
Every military rifle you can own is surplus...big deal. They are also not cheap, they are inexpensive....there is a very big difference.

The reason they are so popular is that they are a very good rifle at a very good price....your own prejudice is pretty transparent.
Click to expand...

+1 Mosin-Nagants give you a lot of bang for your buck. While longer than my Mauser, my 91/30 balances very well and I really enjoy it. There's a lot of people making suggestions here that I think have lost touch with current prices on many of these surplus rifles. M-Ns are pretty much the only think except for M95 Steyrs that are sub $200 and the ammo is available widely and cheaply (finding 8x56r for the M95s is neither easy or cheap). The Yugo/Czech Mausers are probably the next cheapest bunch (in the $250 range) but 8mm Mauser will run you more than 7.62x54r. Both Enfields and .303 British have become more expensive then many in this thread seem to think.

I think the OP's best bet is a 91/30. They're a great starter rifle (one was my first rifle) and you can fill your collection out over time. They're only going to get more expensive, so it's best to buy now while they're still cheap.
 
Shlock's Proof

Shlock's Law:
The level of defensiveness by cheap milsurp buyers is directly proportionate and inverse to their price.

Shlock's Corollary:
The more honest the opinion of cheap milsurp, and the narrower the experience of its supporter, the less factual the defense as well as more personal the ad hominem attacks by their owner.
 
Last edited:
For the guy looking to buy one last thing before I check out....This hobby is chuck full of snobs, the internet is full of internet experts that only claim to fame is they have a youtube account. The longer you are in this hobby the faster you will spot these people. All of these guns are really toys, sure we may take them out and take a feral hog here and there...but they are really for just the joy of having something with a rich history....and that can be found in a great many "cheap milsurp" options, Japanese, Italian, French, Communist...perhaps if you are lucky Czarist military weapons....some you may never shoot and are quite expensive G41, Johnson, some you may enjoy shooting a great deal SVT, G43....but you will have the same amount of fun showing them off to your friends no matter if they are that $10k Mauser G41 or that $100 Tula 91/30 they are all fun to share, learn about and just knowing where they have been and what they have seen. There is a true difference between a collector and an enthusiast there is a great different mind set on the two people...one is not better over the other, just different.

Also just because it costs more does not mean it is a better "GUN"....G41 will cost you about $4k, a Garand you can get into for under $1k.....that does not mean the Garand is of worse quality...but some may think it is a "cheap" rifle.

FP's law....Listen to everyone then draw you own thoughts on that person.
 
You couldn't have missed the point more thoroughly, more completely, than you just totally did fpgt72. Rewrite what you did but remove ALL references around price.

When I say cheap, I mean cheap. If it is high quality but inexpensive that may make it a better value arm. That's not what we have in the Soviet surplus -- never did, not from the stolen Makarov design to the current Mosin.

I hope you get that new gun, if it's worth bothering with, and that you don't "check out" for many years to come.
 
If it is high quality but inexpensive that may make it a better value arm. That's not what we have in the Soviet surplus
Click to expand...

That's exactly what we have in the Soviet surplus. You get a lot of bang for your buck.
 
MattShlock:
Let's not forget that many of the Russian 91/30s (little crown wear/counter-bored) are reportedly good shooters, and the Polish MN 44s and Finnish M39s etc are very popular with owners, and not just due to their looks.

After I decide to buy a second Garand, a 1917 would be fun, but the price of surplus x54R ammo could make it worthwhile to pursue a really good Finnish MN.
 
Gun show. Seriously. Go to a gun show, find a gun you like, put it on the counter and step back slowly. If you have a smart phone, you may not need to do that. Find the same model firearm on gunbroker for half the price. Order, ship to your FFL. Mission accomplished.

If you have a smartphone, check prices on that gun. You may find a really, REALLY good deal. Not likely, but it is possible. If you did find a good price, A. Tell Murphy that he is a liar, and B. draw wallet smoothly and quickly.

I am not a fan of the Mosin. However, it is a solidly built piece of machinery that has been documented to be quite accurate with certain specimens. Something to keep in mind, they are not the only inexpensive mil surp out there. You can get Turkish or Spanish or Mexican or Chilean or Argentine Mausers for a decent price, just make sure it is 7mm Mauser or 8mm Mauser, and you will be golden. Not as cheap as x54R, but you can get good quality hunting ammo for it. Bubba's mistake is your gain, if you look at it that way and don't mind a disgusting rifle. Sometimes a Bubba'd rifle is passed over by mil-surp snobs, but that very rifle might have an interesting story to tell, and it might even shoot nicer. (plus you can get it cheaper if you point out the flaws:evil:)
 
I own 3 k31, one carl gustav, one mauser, one polish m44 an SAFN (fn49) and a british Fal.
Of those, the Carl Gustav gets about as much range time as the others together.
The polish is the one least used.
But that is just me, i'm a target shooter, who just loves accuracy and I don't mind about blast or fire or sound.

Go shoot some friends rifles, try different types and then chose what U like best, even if it takes a little saving to get there. The best economy is to buy as a first what you are going to end up with.

greetings

Peter
 
Mauser lover said:
Gun show. Seriously. Go to a gun show, find a gun you like, put it on the counter and step back slowly. If you have a smart phone, you may not need to do that. Find the same model firearm on gunbroker for half the price. Order, ship to your FFL. Mission accomplished.

If you have a smartphone, check prices on that gun. You may find a really, REALLY good deal. Not likely, but it is possible. If you did find a good price, A. Tell Murphy that he is a liar, and B. draw wallet smoothly and quickly.

I am not a fan of the Mosin. However, it is a solidly built piece of machinery that has been documented to be quite accurate with certain specimens. Something to keep in mind, they are not the only inexpensive mil surp out there. You can get Turkish or Spanish or Mexican or Chilean or Argentine Mausers for a decent price, just make sure it is 7mm Mauser or 8mm Mauser, and you will be golden. Not as cheap as x54R, but you can get good quality hunting ammo for it. Bubba's mistake is your gain, if you look at it that way and don't mind a disgusting rifle. Sometimes a Bubba'd rifle is passed over by mil-surp snobs, but that very rifle might have an interesting story to tell, and it might even shoot nicer. (plus you can get it cheaper if you point out the flaws:evil:)
Click to expand...
The key with buying any of this stuff is to know what you are looking at...you have to read up on the different flavors of the different guns. Many would not give a RC 98k a second look. It might be what you are after....the trick is in spotting one and knowing its value. My last 91/30 was an American Westinghouse...got it for the going rate of $200....not bad for the American version. Not all are worth equal amounts, those little SA stamps mean something.....so no matter what you are looking for know what you are looking at, or take someone with you that does know....you never know you just might find that great shooter that is also a real deal.
 
My vote goes to the Mosin Nagant. I had (I could kick myself for selling it) a M44. It was fun reasonably accurate and didn't cost a lot to feed!
 
My vote goes to the Mosin Nagant. I had (I could kick myself for selling it) a M44. It was fun reasonably accurate and didn't cost a lot to feed!
Click to expand...

You sold your M44? I feel your pain.

I will probably never sell my M44 Mosin unless I'm in dire straights and about to become homeless (or something along those lines). When I bought mine, it cost me $170 last year. This year they are $230 online + shipping + transfer fee, and you are looking at close to $300. Locally at Gunshows they are around $300 anyway.

I really don't know what other milsurp rifles cost. If someone has the average value of Mausers etc, pls post them up for the OP. He specifically stated a $200 budget so that is the deciding factor.

I know for a fact that Mosin 91/30's sell for $179 at Gander Mountain, so with tax you are under $200. They sold for around $119-129 online at AIM but have been out of stock. Gun shows tend to overprice them at around $200 but you can always haggle down when you pay cash.
 
It trying to stay under 200 you might find France, Italy, Soviet....you are not going to touch a 98k for under 200 even an RC (Russian capture) You might be able to get you hands on a turk mauser for under 200...I have seen them but never looked at them, not what I am interested in, so they don't get a second look. I know they are popular with re-enactors as they have little value, look like the german version. At one time quite a few countries used the "mauser" design so finding non german versions are out there, but is seems that most starting collectors want the German with all the nifty little stamps and such on them.

Average value of a mauser depends on so much....year it was made, where it was made, that bnz is different from the dot is different from the byf....who had it...if it has that little skull on it. But for a normal nothing special 98k in good shooter shape you are north of $500 anymore....I have seen some stickered at $800 don't know if they sell for that, but that is a ball park.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
Surplus Rifles
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Mercaptan
M
M
  • Locked
What is the best 8mm surplus mauser?
Replies
12
Views
1K
M.E.Eldridge
M
S
  • Locked
First hunting rifle
2
Replies
34
Views
1K
Kachok
K
O
  • Locked
Military Surplus Rifles?
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
Ohio Rifleman
O
C
  • Locked
30.06 Surplus
Replies
17
Views
3K
charles webb
C
Back
Top