Rifle Trifle : or How I ran out of ammo and need help picking a cheaper rifle/caliber

Best for accuracy,price, and ammo price/availability (surplus pref.)

  • CZ 452 lux LH--.22lr

    Votes: 49 38.9%

  • Marlin 39A--.22lr

    Votes: 24 19.0%

  • Marlin 39Mountie --.22lr

    Votes: 7 5.6%

  • Fin m39 --7.62x54r

    Votes: 17 13.5%

  • Bulg. or Pol. ak 74--5.45x39

    Votes: 8 6.3%

  • Brazilian mauser refurbed by Czech --7mm

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • Persian/Iran/Czech Mauser--8mm

    Votes: 8 6.3%

  • Other (please specify rifle and reason)

    Votes: 12 9.5%
  • Total voters
    126
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J

Jolly Green

Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2009
Messages
103
Hello.
I believe i've done one or two threads like this, but I hope this is the last one.

The Situation: have a m96, 17 cartridges left, Samco is out of the web linked and I rather not get the corroded boxed ammo.

The Problem: I really like old military rifles (from late 19th century to around 1960's). This is a problem because most surplus ammo, like 8mm and 7.62x54r which use to be almost the price of rimfire is now around the price of .223.

The temporary solution: Im looking for a rifle and caliber that I can shoot for accuracy and price. This rifle needs to be under $700 (preferably, but I can afford a little over $1000 (but would like to keep that money tucked away).

The rifles Im looking at are:

CZ 452 lux LH--.22lr -- ~480 local
Marlin 39A--,22lr -- same price local
Marlin 39Mountie --.22lr-- (Gunbroker) so ~400 +25shipping, +25 FFL.
Fin m39 --7.62x54r-- ~500 local
Bulg. or Pol. ak 74--5.45x39-- <-- cheap ammo, but not so sure ammo accuracy, ~500.
Brazilian mauser refurbed by Czech --7mm-- ~300 <-- Samco has surplus 7mm cheap, but i would hate to have another "call them after a month or waiting and then they tell me their out" episode.
Persian/Iran/Czech Mauser--8mm -- 350+ ship&ffl samco


What ever rifle I pick, it will be for me to go back to the basics and learn better breathing and trigger control. I picked up shooting on my own and accordingly have been alone and learning the hard way.

Reloading is out. Im 18 and leaving for the corps at A&M in less then 2 months. Whatever rifle I pick will be with used extensively during those months and a few times a month when I come home.

Any suggestions/recommendations/comments are greatly apreciated. I went from shooting every weekend to cold turkey for almost a month now and would love to get back to the range.

P.S. Thanks if you made it this far.
 
Forgot to mention: I'm looking for a rifle that has nice open sights. A scope may come later, but im not currently interested in one.

Thanks.
 
Can't go wrong with a CZ .22lr. Accurate gun and cheap ammo.

As for centerfire, how about a Spanish 1916 in .308? cheap rifle @$170, cheap surplus NATO ammo, big rifle boom.
https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-1916.html

Edited to add; Whoops, missed your time-table vs. the backordered product.

Not many good options for a lefty. I'm a lefty and partial to the K31 myself.
 
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Of the rifles you mentioned, I'd go for the CZ.

Have you thought about an M1? You can get a service grade for less than $700 from the CMP. Surplus ammo (from them) for it isn't too bad either - IIRC $96 for 192 rounds. It obviously won't be as cheap to shoot as some other milsurps would be, but its something to think about, IMO.
 
I had a similar dilemna a while back.
Also wanting a rifle that was cheap to shoot and had decent iron sights.

The obvious answer to the readily available is .22lr.
Cheap, accurate and available with little recoil to cause fatigue.

The good sights took some more digging.
Then I came across Tech Sights.
They are an aftermarket AR style aperture sight with an AR post front sight.
I bought a second 10/22 and installed the sights and a decent web sling, as well as a couple of other things I always do to 10/22's.

Combine that with some reduced targets like they use at Appleseed shoots and you are in good shape for practicing you positions, trigger and breath control. Targets

They make tech sights for Marlins and CZ452 as well.
Hard to go wrong with any of them.

Best of luck, Kendall
 
Just out of curiousity, what's wrong with the irons on the marlin model 60? Sunday the irons on this particular one were letting me tap golf balls at 70-100 yds or so.
 
just so you know, calling something Persian means it's from Iran. they are one and the same.

Persian:Iran

American:United States
 
While I enjoy shooting 22LR and they're cheap to shoot, I still like to shoot rifles with some punch. Even tho I reload, rifles in handgun calibers fill the bill and are a heck of a lot cheaper to shoot now that most milsurp has either run dry or demand has driven the price up. I probably shoot as much .357mag and .44mag ammo outta my lever and bolt carbines as I do outta my revolvers anymore. My levers have decent irons on them and the sights on my 77/44 are very good also(altho I have a scope on that one).
 
Whatever works for you.

I have always liked aperture sights and am more accurate with them.
It also increases your sight radius fair bit.
Which always helpful with iron sights.

The main reason I recommended it to him is that he mentioned he was off to boot camp and wanted some practice.
Tech sights are very similar to an M16, M14 and Garand.
 
againstthagrane said:
just so you know, calling something Persian means it's from Iran. they are one and the same.

Persian:Iran

American:United States
Click to expand...

Not true. The Persians are merely the largest ethnic group in what is modern-day Iran. There are other ethnic groups that have been there for a long time who you most definitely cannot call Persians (for instance, Arabs). It'd be like saying all Americans are Caucasians. Also, there are other countries that have huge populations of Persians (~18 million in Afghanistan, 6 million in Tajikistan, 7 million in Uzbekistan, ~1.5 million in Pakistan, etc.). An ethnic group != a country.

More info here
 
just so you know, calling something Persian means it's from Iran. they are one and the same.

Persian:Iran

American:United States
Click to expand...

Almost. "Iranian" is someone or something from Iran. "Persian" is someone or something from a people of the same geographic area; and/or before the coupe/ current regime.

ETA: Idempotent beat me to it, with a better response to boot...
 
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kcollins said:
Whatever works for you.

I have always liked aperture sights and am more accurate with them.
It also increases your sight radius fair bit.
Which always helpful with iron sights.

The main reason I recommended it to him is that he mentioned he was off to boot camp and wanted some practice.
Tech sights are very similar to an M16, M14 and Garand.
Click to expand...
Thanks for all the replies so far. To clarify, im off to college (not boot camp). There im going to be in a pretty strict ROTC unit.

Im currently leaning towards a .22lr, but am also considering a mosin or another mauser. I handled a cz 452, Finnish m39, and Czech refurb Mauser in my local store a couple of days ago to get a feel for each and was content with each for their different points:

CZ 452: Light, but did not feel like a toy. The action was very easy, but could be worked on with some molybdenum grease.

Fin m39: Butt plate was thin and slightly uncomfortable, iron sights were okay. Rifle was in almost un-issued condition. Felt very sturdy and the bolt could probably be smoothed up (after working it once or twice it wasn't sticking as bad).

Mauser: Best aesthetically, crisp open sights (on par with CZ). My only hesitance to the mausers at my local store is they seem pretty pricey and i'd like to diversify my collection (or lack of).

Heres a few links for the CZ, Mauser, and Mosin at my store.

What do you think about them (price wise/etc.)?

Finnish m39
http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/admin/product_details.php?itemID=31965
CZ 452 Lux LH
http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/admin/product_details.php?itemID=31615

I don't have links to the mausers because there are quite a few at the store ranging from $350-1000+.
 
If you're trying to save money on ammo, then 7.62x54R is not going to do it. .22 LR really is your best choice. The CZ rimfires are quite nice, but have you considered a cheaper rimfire, such as the Winchester Wildcat? For around $200 you can get a pretty good bolt-action in .22 LR.

As for sights, a nice set of aperture sets (such as Tech sights) will serve you well, not only in improved accuracy on the rifle you buy, but also for their similarity to what you'll be shooting in ROTC.
 
Your local prices are high! For sheer cost effective high volume fire, you can't beat the .22 LR, and for rimfires you can't beat the CZ 452. It's got fantastic tangent sights and is dead-on accurate. I killed so many squirrels and small game with mine it was like a death ray. Really well built, too.

Almost. "Iranian" is someone or something from Iran. "Persian" is someone or something from a people of the same geographic area; and/or before the coupe/ current regime.
Click to expand...

Not in the world o' Mausers. Persian Mausers and Iranian Mausers are two different things. There was an official name change inthe 1930's which is reflected in the names of the rifles. The Persians include Czech-made long rifles and carbine, while the later Iranian model is an M49, which I believe was locally made. The earlier PERSIAN Mauser carbines are slightly different, and made by the Czechs.
 
I wish SAMCO had surplus 7x57! I've had a backorder there for at least six months now. I picked the CZ .22 instead.

William
 
If you decide to get a classic 8mm Mauser, there is a huge amount of very good-excellent Yugo 48s out there for $200-300.
Many Czech Mausers I've seen are really worn out or trashed.
You probably know that surplus Yugo and Czech ammo is .25/round.

But you can't beat a good .22LR for tons of shooting practice.
 
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I would not rule out the Kar98k Mauser. It is WWII surplus, has some deep history and they are pretty common. The Germans have always made rifles to high standards, just watch out for late war "last ditch" models, they were made in a hurry. Takes 8mm, not as common as 7.62x54R, but I've seen lots of surplus before. I don't think you can go wrong with a Mauser action.
 
Jolly Green,

since you like surplus military rifles and are looking for a cheaper gun to shoot, there is an easy solution for you; get a military trainer. A rifle used by the military to train recruits that was built in .22 l.r. to save money.

There are a lot of those trainers around, from the Romanian M69 all the way to the match grade Enfield No.8.

I voted CZ 452 from your list of options but recommend that you browse the military trainer forum at Rimfirecentral.

http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=125
 
I vote Marlin 60 + tech sights.


Some might ask why tech-sights... those are the people who have never used them.
 
I being in a similar situation age and resource wise to you, would recommend either a mosin variant or ruger 10/22 from my experience

im not entirely sure why some people have posted that 7.62x54R will not save you money but ive found military surplus to be at about 20 cents/round as compared to 38-40 cents/round for milsurp .223 (at sportsmans guide; just about as cheap as ive found or heard of)
the good thing about a mosin to is that if you get one in good condition(ie good rifling) it can also be used for big game with commercial ammo if you choose, and there are stock replacements and scope mounts by ATI
theyre also probably the cheapest you can get, i got my mosin with great rifling from a milsurp store in Ft Worth for 170$

i have also toyed around with a 10/22 which i find has great sights out of the box even, and is one of the most customizable .22lr guns out there

either way, if your going to A&M youll get to qualify with M9 and a m16 .22lr conversion in the shooting range underneath the Trigon building on campus
Gig Em'!
 
Jolly Green I have a Yugo 24/47 with a Mojo sight and over 350 rounds of ammo. I have been thinking about selling it. I am in the Ft Worth Tx area. If you are interested send a PM. I will make you a good deal on it.

Other than that I am all for a good 22 rifle. I really like my 10/22s. They do everything I want a 22 for.
 
If your runnning out of ammo buying a new rifle dont help ;) invest in reloading equipment a single stage press you can get a decent set up for under 300 easly, just build you a stout desk, and make your own ammo, chepaest gun out there id get would be a m91/30 mosin nagant
 
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