Mosin Nagant or CZ 527?

skizzums said:
You will NEVER save money reloading 54r or x39. It costs me more than triple to reload for my mosin. Your range ammo will be really cheap. Less than 20c a round for either. If you plan to ever hunt with it, then grabbing a couple boxes of hunting ammo in either caliber to sight in and take a deer isn't going to hurt any.
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I don't think that is what he was suggesting. I think he was saying, if the OP is so focused on ammo cost that he is limiting himself only two potential rifles, maybe he should consider reloading.

Powder is about 16¢/round (using ~45gr charge and $25/lb), primer is another 3¢, lots of bullets available for ~25¢ each, you can definitely load good quality ammo tailored to your gun for 50¢/round or less.

You can buy blasting ammo in .308 for less, but it won't shoot as well as properly developed handloads.

Mosin-Marauder said:
Why not a Zastava M85 Mini Mauser?
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That would be a cool little rifle. If his heart is set on those two calibers, he can get both the M85 and a Mosin 91/30 for about the same price as the CZ.
 
second the zastava, sweet little rifle. i don't know much about them, but arent the pretty much the same action as the CZ 527? seems like a no brainer. the cz will have a smoother bolt and be more aesthetically appealing, but i believe they are very similar rifles with a 170$ price difference, about what you'd pay for a mosin nagant with the difference. but, do your research first, as i said, i know very little of the zastava outside of what i see and read here on TFL. but i think it'd be hard to go wrong with a muaser type action and it should be darn accurate and outlive you
 
I'll try to be brief.

I've had my 527 x39 for ten years with thousands of factory and reloads downrange. It goes with me to the range, the AR stays home. The trigger is adjustable every way imaginable, makes for a fine plinker and (I've heard) hunter. I like it so much I bought one in 5.56.

That being said, as mentioned they tend to have difficulty lighting Wolf and similar ammo. Not horrible, but somewhat irritating. I've tweaked mine so it lights my reloads more reliably.

If you just want to plink at the range with occasional hunts, by all means get one. If you want a dedicated hunting rifle, look for a used 550 in 308.

The Mosin is a 2x4 with a barrel. And yes, I had one.
 
I don't hunt- but I don't believe the 7.62 x 39 would have enough punch to reliably put down a whitetail at 200 yards absent a perfectly placed shot (hunters, chime in here). At 200 yards, that round has a LOT of drop...

Given that IMO that's a marginal hunting round, I would go with a Mosin-Nagant for the cheap ammo aspect you like- but not your run-of-the-mill 91/30.
Their prices have gotten a bit absurd.
You can still get a Finnish M-39- which are usually crazy accurate- for about $350. Go that route, and you'll have a collectible rifle as well.

It will make short work of any whitetail at any range you're competent to take it, as well as any other game in North America.

Just make sure you flush the bore and bolthead to remove primer salts after shooting the surplus ammo.
 
You are correct. The 7.62x39 probably isn't a 200 yard deer hunting round for most people. According to my ballistics software Federal Fusion 123gr round has 908 ft-lbs of energy and drops about 6.5 inches at 200 yards, but has 1038 ft-lbs and drops just a hair over 2 inches at 150. Not everyone has the need to extend their hunting range. Id feel that it is plenty adequate to 150, and if anything is farther, don't shoot. But then again I do most of my hunting with a recurve, so most of the time I'm just trying to figure out how to get deer within 20 yards. :D
 
Thanks for the tips everyone. The reason I was looking at those two rifles/cartridges is because the main thing I'll be using this rifle for is plinking at the range, but with the ability to take a white tail under 200yd (maybe 150) if I ever wanted to. Currently no plans for that yet, but I'd like to have the option. So it would NOT be a dedicated hunting rifle, just something I can buy cheap ammo, plink with, get started, and maybe take a deer or two.

That being said, part of the reason I'm holding off on buying a .308/30-06/270 etc. is so that I have an excuse to buy another rifle later :) "But honey, the 7.62x39 doesn't reach out past 200 yards, and I know how much you like venison..."

So in short, I've decided I'm going to go with a CZ 527. Everyone that has one seems to love it, and they seem like great little guns that hold their value. I saw the Zastava M85, but I couldn't find a whole lot of info on it. I read replacement parts are a pain to find, extractor's aren't robust, trigger isn't as good as the CZs, and the action isn't quite as smooth. Does anybody know anything about the M85? Or Zastava? It's cheaper, but don't you usually get what you pay for?
 
I would not get the mosin. most are rather inaccurate. I have owned several and all where terrible at 100 yards. I know some people have better luck but I have not. Also the safety is a terrible design for hunting use. Even for target use I get discouraged quickly with mine. I have sold all but 2 just to keep because they fit in with my milsurp collection. I have not shoot them in years.

The cz is a very nice rifle. But the 7.62x39 is not a 200 yard deer cartridge. 100 yards max. There are plenty of other rifles in your price range that would be a better choice.
Since you like military actions try to find a sporterized mauser in .308. Most can be had fairly cheaply. Just make sure to have a gunsmith check it out first. Some where not sporterized very well. Most are ok. They also can be found in 30-06 or in the original 8x57. Surplus 8x57 is still around for semi cheap. It has a little more punch than the 7.62x54r. They are usually more accurate. I have a cz mauser made in 1923 that I can put all five rounds in a paper pate at 275 yards with surplus Turkish ammo. With open sights off the bench of
course.
 
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Also, if you are interested in milsurps, take a look at a Swiss K31. Especially since you said you wanted to start with open sights, though they are not as easily scoped as something that is already properly drilled and tapped for mounts. Many people claim they are the most accurate of the WWII era military bolt actions, and they can usually be found for around $350 also. The 7.5x55 it fires is similarly as powerful as the 7.62x54R, .303 British, and 8mm Mauser.

I'm picking up a Schmidt Rubin 1911 (the predecessor to the K31) tomorrow. I'm going to try to do a little write up on it once I get to put a few rounds down range.
 
I agree with the K31s. They are wonderful works of art and very accurate. I have also owned several of these. 1" groups with surplus ammo is the norm. The surplus ammo is not that expensive either. and its non corrosive. The only down side is the safety is also not very well designed. I took one of mine deer hunting one day and lost a shot at a nice buck due to messing with the safety trying to turn it off.
 
K-31's are the most undervalued milsurp in the market now.
Don't ask me why (despite earning a living largely with the Mosin-Nagant platform) wartime refurb 91/30's are selling for $200 and more, and the K-31 can be had for just $100 more. It's insane... the K-31 with GP-11 will outshoot one all day long.

Primary reason, I suspect, is the difficulty in scoping them. I have done one and it shoots like a dream, but I've never been a fan of offset scopes. Zero can only be set for a specific distance and holdovers for any deviation. Fine for hunting (as in close "enough"), but not practical for target shooting.
 
While I agree with the K31, you might need to look at the cost of ammo. I don't know what it is like in the US, but the stuff here is twice if not more than a factory sporter round. Ouch.

I own a lot of mosins and I just love them. But, yes, they are not ideal for hunting.
 
The 7.62x39 will be a fine deer cartridge out to 200 yards, if you place the shot properly. Soft point hunting ammo will not be as cheap as surplus ball, but you won't shoot the expensive stuff every day.

Try for 100 yard shots, you'll do much better, and have to track them a lot less.

For a Mosin-Nagant, it's really a milsurp collectible, go ahead and get one, 1920-1940, with nice lettering and matching numbers, and enjoy it. If you want to turn one into a deer rifle, get a WWII issue, 1941-1945, and modify it all you want, they're common as dirt and one less won't hurt the collecting planet.
 
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