Old Military Rifles

Status
Not open for further replies.
P

Partyguy816

Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2004
Messages
167
I am intersted in buying old guns that are still shootable. I have been thinking about it for a while so I just bought a Mosin-Nagant. I would like to know what other rifles there are that are made from say 1900 to 1950 or so. The only thing that I ask from this request is that it the gun be reliable. I know that is hard to tell me, but it seems that the Mosins are reliable. I don't want a gun that has known problems like jams, or something else. So could you give me some names and the prices that they should run?


Thanks.
 
A good way to see what is out there (from the wholesalers anyway) would be to pick up a Shotgun News from a bookstore. The many ads will have a good range of what is available & what the current market prices are.

Most any military action (at least from countries that actually fought in a war or three) will be fairly rugged & safe to use.

Greg
 
Wow, very broad question. You can start by checking here: Parallax's C&R Forums Lots to choose from, but that's a good thing, no? ;)

Might also want to look into applying for a Curio & Relics Federal Firearms License so you can have these rifles sent directly to your home. It pays itself off after one or two purchases.

If you want to stick to the same caliber, go for the Finn M39. It's one of the best Mosin Nagants, IMHO, and you can find one in great condition for about two bills here: www.gunsnammo.com. There's lots of surplus 7.62x54R ammo available, plus Wolf ain't too expensive for new ammo, either.

Mausers are also great. There are about a billion different kinds of Mausers, but one of the better buys right now is the Yugo M48 8mm Mauser. You can get one in pretty darn good shape for about a bill, plus there's lots of surplus 8mm ammo out there for cheap (mostly corrosive, though, so clean accordingly). For a little more money, German, Persian, and Swedish Mausers are pretty sweet. www.empirearms.com has a great selection of Mausers.

Lee-Enfields are a bit more mainly because there's very little .303 surplus ammo left. You can find good examples of the rifle right now for about $150 at www.aimsurplus.com or www.jgsales.com. You're prolly stuck w/ new production ammo, though. I've had good results with PMP (available at www.centuryarms.com).

Everyone has their favorites, of course, but they're all pretty strong, reliable, and accurate designs. The condition of the rifle itself will probably be more important. Good luck! :)
 
I know that is hard to tell me, but it seems that the Mosins are reliable.
Click to expand...
There's an understatement :D

I favor mausers made by the Czechs- VZ-24s, 98/22s, and 98/29s which can all be commonly found. Swedish rifles and rifle made by Mauser for Sweden are even better but are getting pricey and harder to find. prices from $100 for a vz24 or 98/22 to $200-500 for a 98/29. 200+ for a swedish M96, add another $100 for a m38 carbine

Swiss rifles have impressed me in a big way also. At ~$100 they are the biggest mismatch between quality and price that I've seen

I also like 1903 springfields and especially M1 Garands- but they are on the expensive end of the spectrum for milsurp battlerifles. $400- $1000+ depending on condition and where you buy from, CMP has the best prices.

Mosin Nagants are fun and cheap- buy a bunch.
 
Whew, that's a broad category. The things that spring to my mind are Mausers of all sorts(I happen to like the M48A/Kar98K[just let it go Spiff-meister, I know what you're think :p] and the Persian M98/29), Lee Enfields, the ubiquitous SKS, SVT-40, FN-49, 1903(A3) Springfield, M1 Garand, M1917, and the M1 Carbine.

That should get you started. Mil-surps are addictive. Oh, you might want to visit www.surplusrifle.com

I know that is hard to tell me, but it seems that the Mosins are reliable.
Click to expand...

Sledge-hammers that happen to be rifles you mean! I don't think mere mortals like you or I could break them. :D I am of course kidding, so don't go throwing them into canyons or anything.
 
Just about every surplus rifle available today fits your criteria. They were developed from square one to be combat ready. And they have been battle tested to a level that VERY few weapons ever have been. There really arent many dogs out there as far as milsurps go. Some are uglier, rougher than others. But, they all work.
 
M-ade WELL and stout as all get out
A-ccurate (in good even mediocre condition)
U-nequlaed in reliability and toughness
S-ignificant historically
E-asily available at low prices
R-eliable (even better than many modern ones)
 
allrifles.jpg

l-r: AK47,SKS,M1Garand,M38 Mosin,Enfield Nr4, Mod1898(made in in 1902) Krag, another Krag.
All made between 1900-50
These exact Ak and SKS were NOT made during that time but many were.

03.jpg

1903a3 Remington, made in 1942
 
The Mosin will be a lot of fun!! They can be had in the $80 range at retail and once you get a C&R license, the cost can drop to $50 or less! Mosin's are a very simple rifle to operate and if you consider the environment they were made for (Russian winters, deserts, heat, and the fact that they had to be operated by conscripted Russian pesants) they are a tremendous rifle to start with.

7.62x54R ammo is easy to find and can be as cheap as $3.00 per box of 20 for Czech, Russian or Albanian milsurp ammo. This caliber is still in use today and is well over a hundred years old.

I have a 1931 Izhevsk 91/30 and I can easily get 8" groups at 200 yards which is about equal to minute-of-Nazi and that is what the rifle was designed for -- combat. If I was to hand-load and get the barrel counter-bored, it night even make a decent hunting rifle.

The olny real problem you may encounter with a Mosin is a sticky bolt. Years of shooting steel-cased ammo with a lacquer coating usually resulted in the chamber being coated with lacquer build-up and as you shoot, the lacquer heats up and cause the case to stick, making extraction difficult. A bit of cleaning using a battery-powered drill, a short cleaning rod and an old 12-gauge brass brush and some cleaner in the chamber usually solves this.

Enfields and Mausers are also great collectible rifles. The high end would be the M1 and 03 and 03A3 rifles. I have an 1941 M1 and a 1943 03A3 and they are a lot of fun and a piece of our military history. A M1 Carbine would be nice to have, but they tend to go for higher bucks if you want a USGI version.
 
Thanks Bam for the links. I was thinking of getting my C&R license but I really haven't started to really look into it yet. Thanks everyone else for the pictures and all the other suggestions. I'm not really picky about how availible the ammo is, I was just in my gun shop the other day and I saw the Mosin, so I brought it home. I was really really questioning the price of the firearm though. I thought that I was getting something that would blow up on me when I shot it. I see that alot of people are saying Mausers, so I'll check them out. Anyways thanks again.
 
I'll toss in another vote for the Mosin-Nagant.

Very simple, no frills and not too pretty. She works though. My M44 has been pretty accurate out to 300 yards. I can get them all into an 8.5x11 sheet of paper at that distance.
Ammo is dirt cheap although it is corrosive. You will have to clean the rifle after every range trip. My M44 was very clean and the chamber wasn't bad at all. The easiest way I found to remove the cosmoline from these guys is to strip it down (including the bolt) and spray it out with brake parts cleaner. This stuff makes short work of cosmoline. Oil and reassemble.
If you wan't to refinish the rifle, you can always take it to a machine shop and have them hot tank the action and barrel. That will remove EVERYTHING (including any blueing or other finish) and give you a perfectly clean basis to start from. I may do that if I come across another MN in the near future.
 
milguns002small.jpg

1917side_small.jpg

mysteryefield%20009.jpg

swede%20051.jpg


Take your pick. Nothing up there cost more than $180. None have blown up (yet ;) )

1915 Swede Mauser 96
1917 Enfield 1917
1938 Mosin-Nagant 91/30
1950 Yugo Mauser 48
1967 Enfield 2A1
1979 Yugo SKS (Suprisingly, the most expensive milsurp I own)

Add that to the other few:
Late-teens/Early-twenties Japanese Arisaka 38
1939 German Mauser 98k
1942 Enfield No. 4 Mk. 1

All of them (excludung the Arisaka) have readily available ammo, shoot well, and I have no problem pulling the trigger. Military rifles were made to shoot forever.

Careful, too. I had none of these before April :D
 
Last edited:
Well I like the Mosin so damn much, I just went and bought a M38 I think it was. What is the difference between the M38 and the M44? The price was a little more for the 38, but it looked cleaner.
 
Well I like the Mosin so damn much, I just went and bought a M38 I think it was. What is the difference between the M38 and the M44? The price was a little more for the 38, but it looked cleaner.
Click to expand...

The difference is actually quite noticable. The M44 has a permanent bayonet fixed to it that can be folded out, and the M38 does not. They're both shorter versions of the Mosin Nagant 91/30.

After coming home from the gun show today I smell of solvents and I've got an M38 and 91/30 now sitting next to my M44 on the floor. Good guns for what they are, that's for sure.
 
Ok I'm sorry I guess I should have worded my question differently. I know about the fixed bayonet and being shorter than the 91, but that's about all I know. Other than that they look the same to me. So leaving the bayonet off is there any difference?
 
I want to say the stock was manufactured a little differently for them, but so many ended getting swapped in arsenal repairs, that it doesn't really matter.

And the M38 is not capable of taking any bayonet at all. My friend found this out after he bought a 91/30 bayonet for it.
 
I shoot a lot of them, all milsurps, all main battle rifles, I'd pick up any one of them and use it. I'm taking a 1944 MKIV on a coyote hunting trip in a few minutes, will be using a kayak in flooded backwaters, isn't somewhere I want to take a high dollar gun. I load for most of what I regularly shoot, using good ammo and well maintained thay are excellent shooters withinin their parameters. Using a 60 year old gun isn't a problem, 60 year old ammo can make a difference though.

rk
 
Here's a Russian Mosin 38 that I got from SOG for $79. I 'washed' the old chipped finish off the stock I rubbed it with a lacquer thinner soaked piece of 000 steel wool- and this is what it looks like afer a little BLO coat. The whole thing looks like it just came out of the factory, nice and clean, clear stampings and great finish.

mosin.jpg
 
Never though about that. But, I like to keep them in original condition. That one is a vet bringback from Okinawa, a school marked rifle, so to me it's better like it is.

If it were one already sporterized, I'd consider it.

arisaka_whole.JPG
 
lots to choose some

The list has gotten better lately...
I have a few swedes I bought for 69.00 each (hand picked!! a few years ago) these are on par with the 1908 Argentine Mausers as far as fit finish and function. The only problem with swedes are that they are cock on close instead of cock on opening. A minor thing but it does make operating them feel a bit different. Swede ammo is current commercial production

Some of the Savage and canadian SMLE No 4 MK1 are wonderful rifles nicely made and some are fabulous shooters. 303 british rounds are commercial products.

enfields are nice used to be cheap and feel clubbish but they do work.

Krags and Springfields are wonderful. but getting harder to find, used to be every pawn shop had a Krag on the rack

mausers are around for 300 for war time production

garands are now available for 500 or less, but are more tempermental if not operated by trained people.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top