Mauser vs. Enfield - Educate me

J

Jack 99

New member
OK, got the Tapco mailer last night and the Mausers in .308 are $120. I've had my sights on an Enfield for years but never gotten around to getting one. Now I'm set on getting either a Mauser or an Enfield. I just can't decide which. I wish Tapco wasn't sold out of the rebarreled Sporterized Mausers in 7mm. That looked like a sweet package.

Anyway, any experiences to share, reccomendations on suppliers, knowledge etc. is much appreciated. I'm still leaning toward the Enfield, it just looks cooler if nothing else. Is the .308 that much more desireable than the .303? How about sporterized versions, who does nice work?

Thanks in advance
 
Jack, they are both great guns. Personally, I love Enfields. I have #4s, #5s and on I heavily modified into a scout rifle.
the mauser design is probably more inherintly accurate but 1moa from an Enfield is not unususal, plus the #4s and #5s have much better iron sights than the mausers. Enfields also have faster actions and higher capacity.
It has been said that the 03 Springfield is the best target rifle, the mauser is the best hunting rifle and the Enfield is the best battle rifle.
The 303 can be loaded to almost 308 velocities and is very effective.
I love my mausers but if I could only have one or the other, I'd pick the Enfield. Email me if you would like more info.
 
Personally I like the Enfield Rifle design better but the 8mm Round better. SO I guess an enfield in 8mm would be my personal fav.

Seriously I would go with the Enfield though.. .303 is still made by a couple main stream ammo producers where as you are stuck with Surplus in the 8mm. The .303 Brit has about the same balistics as 30/06. But both are great rounds.
.303 is a little faster where as the 8mm is a bit heavier.

The sights on the enfield are far supperior to the Mauser and they wiegh about the same.

FInally the Enfield holds 10 rounds in a detatchable mag that can also be fed by stripper clips. The Mauser holds 5 rounds in an internal mag that must be fed by stripper clips.

Here is the order of my Favorite Surplus Bolt actions.

1: 1917, 30/06, 6 round internal Mag

2: Enfield (Num4 Mk1) .303 brit 10 round detatchable mag.

3: 1903 Springfield, 30/06 5 round internal mag.

4: Krag, 30/40 Krag, 5(6)? round internal mag. (Must be fed one at a time into the mag)

5: Mauser 98 (and other variants) 8mm, 5 round internal mag.
 
I think Kevins post is a little misleading.

The 8mm is a much more powerful round than the 303.

While the typ. 303 milsurp round is a little faster than the typ. 8mm milsurp round, the 8mm uses a much heavier bullet. 197 gr. vs 174 gr. If you ever chroned the 8mm 154 gr. load you would get a much different story.

In my experience, there is some good accurate 303 milsurp ammo out there, the same cannot be said for the 8mm.

If you intend to handload, the 303 wins this one also. Sierra makes a 174 gr. .311 matchking that works good for me. There is no target quality 8mm bullets, although the sierra 175 spitzer works for me.

The 8mm pushes the 175 gr. Sierra at 2625 fps. with my handloads.
The 303 clocks 2475 with the 174 gr. bullet.
 
Which Enfield do you mean P14, P17, or Lee Enfields? I like the Enfields better unless the rifle is going to be modify. The latter Lee Enfields (No.4 and No.5) and P14 have better sights, a peep sight as standard. Most military Mausers have V sight.

Will
 
And just to confuse things even more, check out the .308 Ishipore Enfields. They are the strongest of the Enfields, and where originally made in .308, not rebarreled. Plus you can get them for under $100. I love mine.

That said, I plan on picking up a Czech Mauser also.
 
Thanks, ya'll.

Think I'm going to hold out for a really good quality Enfield. Something about them just "speaks" to me. Who knows, maybe I was a Brit in a former life.

You guys might want to check out Tapco. Looks like they've got some good deals going.
 
You might want to check out www.gunbroker.com
There are a few Good auctions going on right now. Just type in "Enfield" on the Search window and you will have a couple pages to sorth through. My personal Favorites are the Num4 Mk1, and P14 but there are many other good ones as well.
 
Kevinw:

I have been trying to figure out which Enfield to buy. I, too, like the No. 4 but was wondering what the difference between the Mk 1 and Mk 2 is? I know the trigger placement changed. I keep thinking I should get the "latest" model as each design change was meant to improve the rifle. That would mean buying the Mk 2. But is that necessarily true (obviously not to you as you like the Mk 1's)? Any info would be appreciated.
 
Prof,

Many changes to the Enfield were to improve manufacture of the rifle rather than make it a better rifle. For example the 2 position sight.

The MK2 was made after the war. Qualitity standards would have been higher. Many examples had the luxury of matching number magazines and bayonets.

Will
 
The Mk2 has a more consistent trigger than the Mk 1 since it isn't affected by the expansion and contraction of the wood.
 
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