Military Rifle

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pinetree

New member
I'm thinking about picking up a military rifle at the gun show this week. I'm thinking bolt action in a readily available caliber. I'm not collecting, but want something fun to shoot. I was thinking about a Gibbs Jungle carbine, I know it's not original. I've also always liked Mausers. What do you recommend? I already have a short range and long range hunting rifle. I'd like to stay under $400.

Thanks,
tjg
 
Personal opinion: If you run across a Mauser 98 dated earlier than 1943, well, it's one of the best actions ever made. Slicker'n owl stuff. If you reload, the 8mm is fine to shoot.

$0.02,

Art
 
I prefer No4Mk1 SMLE. I think they have great sights and the smoothest bolt of any military rifle I've handled. Also, the .303 round is in the same ballpark as the .308 and frequently appears on various lists of the top ten reloaded cartridges.

The Mauser is an excellent choice, as well.
 
For a bolt-action, I like the FR8 Spanish Mauser. 7.62 NATO ammo is cheap and widely available. Note that there's some controversy over the safety of .308 Win in this gun.

For a fun-to-shoot military weapon in the $400 range, the Danish M1 Garand from http://www.odcmp.com just can't be beat. Surplus .30-'06 is not as common as 7.62 NATO, but it's still around.

Regards.
 
FUN TO SHOOT GUN

My fun to shoot gun is a M48A Mauser. You can buy them in great shape for around 100 bucks. Turk ammo is 6 cents per round in bulk. That's cheaper than just the bullet for a reload.
Mine shoots 3" into a shoot-n-see target at 100 yds with the Turk ammo. I'm sure some one who could see better could cut those groups in half.
 
I have a Yugo M48, The bolt is a bit heavier than what one would aspect. I have only fired 20rnds of Remington Core-Lokts out of it, Its a keeper. I Also have a No4 MkI enfield that is sporterized and it might be a Keeper, I have heard the recoil is bad, its nothing, about the same as a Mauser(ok, ok it's less)
Hope you make a good choice.
 
I own about a dozen of these types of rifles. I think I would go with the 8mm Mauser. If you don't reload, there is a ton of really cheap ammo out there that shoots good out of my guns. Don't forget that most of this cheap surplus ammo is corrosive. You must throughly clean your rifle ASAP after shooting or risk ruining the barrel. The Yugo Mausers are nice. I am also a fan of the Enfields. I own a couple of each (Mk1, No.3 and Mk4, No.1s) a couple of them really shoot. The Russian stuff is readily avialable and cheap but the ones I have arn't nearly as accurate as my Mausers or Enfields. You say you would like to keep it under $400. You should definitely keep it under $200 unless you are looking at a colector piece. $150 wouldn't be out of the question.
 
Ok, Look at the Enfield Jungle Carbine. Look at the Russian (Romanian, Polish, whatever) Mosin Nagant M44. These are good little rifles, fairly accurate and available from Big 5 for about $50. The only thing I don't like about them is the folding bayonet on the side which you basically can't remove. Don't be put off by the price, these are great rifles. The FR8s are very nice but considerably more expensive than this other stuff, and there is also some discussion about the strength. I have an Enfield Mk. 4, No.1 Tanker from Navy Arms. It is Ok. It shoots low, someday I will buy the correct sight for it.
 
Swede Mauser!!!!!!

For under $400 you can get one SWEET Swede.

If you're into carbine-length rifles, look at the model 94 carbine (17.7" bbl) and the model 38 and 96/38 short rifles (~23" bbl).

I've got three model 98s, and they're things of beauty and grace, but they're the ugly stepsisters to my model 96/38 Swede. I like the cock-on-close feature on the Swede vs. the cock-on-opening in my model 98s.

Swedes are inherently very accurate, and commercial and milsurp ammo is available and cheap. A box of S&B or milsurp will run you about $9.

I like the 6.5x55 cartridge. It's been said to kill like a .30-'06 due to its high BC, and there's tons of moose that will agree with that.
 
The last milsurp I bought was a Sweede long rifle. Cherry, all matching including the bayonet. Sling, four boxes of ammo. $250. This caliber is loaded by the major US manufacturers. Winchester, Remington, PMC...... I try to stay away from the milsurp ammo if I can. Not a carbine, but another great shooter is the Finnish M39. A great rifle that you should be able to get for under $200.
 
If you are NOT collecting..

It's better to go with an unissued Mauser from the Yugo stocks than an old Mauser. These aren't collectors items, but they're great shooting and you don't have to fret about busting it up.
 
K98k is a fun gun to shoot that won't cost an arm an a leg. Mine's a '44 BCD made at Weimar.

Very accurate too. If you get tired of it, you can always turn it into a sporter. Probably one of the best bolt actions ever made.
 
If you're looking to spend as much as $400, I'd really be sure to check out a Swede before plunking down the $$$ on an unissued M48 or M48A.

Nothing against the Yugos (I love mine, and it's a beauty), but you'll find some reasonably well-used Swedes that are in almost as good condition as the unissued Yugos.

And they shoot like nobody's business.

But no matter what you pick, please don't sporterize one that's still in original military condition. There's plenty of bubba-ized ones out there already.

Semper fi,
Bruegger out.
 
Thanks for all the advice.
My conclusions are:

FR-8: great gun, might be pricey, shoots 308 (a big plus), I like the modern look.

Mauser 98 Karbine(or clone): be careful of price, 8mm M. is a great all around round. Always wanted one.

Swedish Mauser: I have a 30-06AI and a 45/70, having something a little lighter might be fun. The 6.5x55 has great sectional density and should be easier to shoot than my other rifles.

Enfield: old carbines are not accurate, the Gibbs I have seen are a little rough and a little pricey.

We will see.....
 
$400!

That can get you 4 Great rifles!

#1 Mk 4 Enfield.

#2 Yugo 8MM Mauser!

#3 Spanish 7MM Mauser

#4 FR7 or FR8 Or! A Chinese SKS or AK-47{PC*} Politicaly Correct* variant!

Or a Sistema Colt 1911! :rolleyes:

None of those 5 will disapoint! :)
 
I'm thinking that $400 ought to buy you a couple of pretty nice model 94's or 96/38's.

Someone once told me that the 6.5x55 had killed more elephants than any other single caliber. Anyone else heard that, or different?

I don't own a 96/38 or a 94, but I should. Passed up a very, very nice one for about $160 a couple of years ago (had a Grade 1 bore and silky-smooth action), and have kicked myself about it fairly regularly since.

Among the milsurp rifles, I think the Swede is king.
 
I have a MKIII, Swede, unissued Mosin Nagant M44--all can shoot better than me. I bought a can of Russian 7.62-54 and shot 70 rds. yesterday and it groups well.

I put a Lyman receiver sight on the Swedish Mauser and it can shoot an inch group regularily. The machining is beautiful.

A fellow at my club bought an unissued Yugo and said it is the most accurate rifle he owns.

Does SARCO still sell the Persian Mausers?-pre-war Mausers and for $400 could get an unissued rifle with proof target--they were said to be the best made.
 
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