Your favorite milsurp rifle?

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For me you cant beat the Springfield 1903s. To me they are just a pure joy to shoot and own! The k98 is a close second. You just cant beat a good Mauser bolt action!
 
Ironic that two of the most liked, finest quality, and most accurate military rifles, the Swede and the Swiss, were from traditionally neutral countries.
 
Ironic that two of the most liked, finest quality, and most accurate military rifles, the Swede and the Swiss, were from traditionally neutral countries.
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There's a simple explanation. Because those countries fought no wars, they did not need huge quantities of low-cost, rapidly manufactured weapons. They had the luxury of producing small quantities of high quality weapons, instead.
 
My first rifle was a pieced together Springfield 1903 armorers special that I got from my dad. It's my favorite to look at.

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Honestly, the most fun useful practical and fun to shoot mil-surplus though are the ugly ducklings of the surplus world, the SKS.

I have to give honorable mention to my (mostly) mil-surp M16A1 look alike. Although, he actually died many years ago serving his county, his valuable organ donations have given life to younger, albeit less capable, lower receivers.

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I've never owned a Garand, but I'm sure they are awesome. Mosins are nice, but I have to add myself to the K31 group. I had one for a little while before I had to sell it to pay for school a few years ago. I've thought about getting another one, but I just don't feel the itch as much as I think I should.

I picked up a sporterized 1903a3 for $40 once. It was only missing a rear sight! I traded it and $200 for an SR1911, but MAN did that thing shoot! I had a Lyman peep on it for a few rounds and boy was I impressed. 1" - 1.5" all day long at 100yds with Federal 150s.
 
Went through drafting a long post regarding pros and cons. I boiled it down to this.

"Every milsurp's beautiful, in its own way"--a misquote of the Ray Steven's song.
 
Vern Humphrey said:
There's a simple explanation. Because those countries fought no wars, they did not need huge quantities of low-cost, rapidly manufactured weapons. They had the luxury of producing small quantities of high quality weapons, instead.
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Not so simple perhaps. Is their well known accuracy based strictly on the guns, or do the unique cartridges play a large part? The Swedish gun was originally produced by Mauser, not a small homegrown arms manufacturer.
 
Not so simple perhaps. Is their well known accuracy based strictly on the guns, or do the unique cartridges play a large part? The Swedish gun was originally produced by Mauser, not a small homegrown arms manufacturer.
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By and large it is the QUALITY of ammunition that influences accuracy, not the shape of the case.

The Swedes and Swiss were able to pay for QUALITY in both arms and ammunition because not being at war, they did not need great quantities of either.
 
Tough one to answer. It kind of depends on my mood. So I had to ask myself a slightly different question. Which one would be the last I would sell? Next to last = 1903A3, last = M1 Garand.
I sure would like to hear the story about the 1911 fish. I'd guess those are tough to clean!
 
Have these:
1) M-1 Garand,
2) Enfield #5 "Jungle Carbine",
3) Enfield #4.
4) Yugo M59 SKS: the C-series with No gr. launcher.

Along with the "J. Carbine" the handy Spanish FR8 Mauser rifle helped inspire the 'scout rifle' concept.
With the large-ring (8mm) Mauser action, the FR8 is strong enough for both 7.62 Nato and modern commercial .308 ammo.
 
The FR8 was used with the 7.62X51 CETME, not the 7.62X51 NATO.
The 7.62×51mm CETME round is a variant of the 7.62×51mm NATO rifle cartridge with a plastic-cored lead bullet and a reduced propellant charge. It was produced as a joint venture by the Spanish Government design and development establishment known as CETME (Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales, or "Center for Technical Studies of Special Materials") and the German arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. The 7.62×51mm CETME and the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges are almost identical, with the only difference being the projectile and the amount of propellant loaded into the cartridge.
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The 7.62X51 CETME is a lower pressure round than the 7.62X51 NATO, and most gurus don't advise using 7.62X51 NATO in that rifle.
 
Vern H.: True, but the marginal strength of the small-ring FR7 gets constantly confused with the large-ring FR8.

The Spanish reduced the strength of their 'Nato' rounds because of the weaker 7x57 Mauser action (converted to 7.62 Nato chamber/barrel), and many of those 7mm Mausers were converted to the FR7.
 
From an investment point of view, traditional wood-and-metal milsurp rifles of all kinds are a good bet. So far, they're off the radar of the gun banners. If an AWB is reinstated, they probably won't be affected, and therefore will be in greater demand. If you have some money to spare, this would be a good time to buy some. (Regardless of legislation, they're still a solid investment.)
 
This is true that theyre always an investment. I've really been wanting a swiss K and a Garand. I was hooked on military surplus since I'd bought my first mosin for 105 bucks in 2011.
 
I apologize in advance for the thread drift..........

tm22plinker: This is true that they're always an investment. I've really been wanting a swiss K and a Garand. I was hooked on military surplus since I'd bought my first mosin for 105 bucks in 2011.
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Not to veer of track here, but getting your first military surplus firearm is like a gateway drug. Once you get the first taste, it's impossible to stop. I bought a No4Mk1 when I was eighteen back in the late sixties. It opened the door to the wonderful world of history that is embodied in surplus firearms. I also like civilian legal versions of more modern military firearms too.

This is an older picture and represents about a third of what I have now and I find I can't stop.
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