one milsurp for hunting all north america

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seansean1444

New member
if you had to pick a milsurp to hunt north america with or at least any game in the united states witch would it be and why? trying to learn more about all these "new to me" cartridges because you dont hear much about them behind all the .223. .308. 30-06.
 
Surplus Military Rifle

The non-223,308,30'06 rifle round that can be used to take most of the big game in North America.
8x57 Mauser in a version of the K98k rifle. 7.62x54R in a Moisin Nagant rifle. Or maybe a bit under powered as compared to the others 303 British in an Enfield.
For starters.
 
Several good choices.
Depends on whether you plan on adding glass- as some, are easier than others to adapt to modern mounts.

I can tell you that I was ringing a 10" gong at 600 yards with my Mosin 91/30 (sporter, of course) last weekend. It'll get the job done, more inexpensively than anything else if you can do the work yourself.

We recently picked up Swiss K-31, and was very impressed with it first time out.
Ditto on a M24/47 Mauser.

But, I think "accuracy-wise", the nod must go to the Swede 6.5 x55, still a popular tack-driving round today. You can pick up an M96 for $250-$300, maybe less if you're just looking for a shooter and aren't concerned about matching numbers and the like...
 
8X57 Mauser. Hunted with one for years!!! Before the Mauser, I used SMLE Jungle Carbine in 303 British. Either would do well. But as with any cartridge, shot placement is the most important part!
 
For the big elk or grizzlies, browns, polar bears, either 7.62x54R or .30/06, in my opinion, with expanding bullets in handloads. As far as rifle goes, I'd want a short-barelled sporter with a slick action, good brush sights. The poster with the Jungle Carbine is right in there, although I think the .303 British too light for the big bears, they need 18" of penetration for certainty.
 
Not the 30-06, but its so versatile.
I think the Garand is the ultimate moose gun with 180 gr. Nosler Partitions. I have heart shot how many moose and have them run, but with quick follow up shots they do not run far. My Garand has a Schuster Adjustable gas plug that I tuned for 180 grainers. I really like partitions.


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But, I have also been loading up some 200 gr. Speer Hot Core for my SC 1903A3 and have yet to take a moose with it. It should be awesome and it is easier to load a variety of different weight bullets without changing the setting of a gas plug. My Smith Corona really, really likes H4350 and 200 grainers though.


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But, I've been trying and trying to get Mr. Moose with one of my .303 Enfields for the past 6 years. I've worked up loads and gone out darn near every day of moose season with an Enfield. Then I'll take my Garand or Ruger MkII -06 out for a day and kill one, always an 06. This past summer my fourteen year old daughter shot her first moose with a No.5 Mk1 that she claimed as hers. I worked up some 150gr. Hornady .312dia. that she could shoot accurately. I did help her with my Garand when she short stroked the third shot.


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Is there just one??? :D

One day I'll kill one with one of my No.4's, or my replacement No5.
 
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6.5x55 is the way to go. Super accurate, flat shooting, and is pretty well proven in Europe. I would also give the 8mm Mauser round and the Mosin Nagant 7.62x54r an honorable mention but I still believe the 6.5 Swede beats them.
 
M1903A3 or No4 Enfield. The 03 well handle about any 30.06 round on the market. The No4 with .303 180gr Core-Loc well stop any NA game animal.

One reason you see so many of these rifles sporterized back in the day, they got the job done.
 
One reason you see so many of these rifles sporterized back in the day, they got the job done.
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What he said plus 1. They still get the job done.
I still have a box of 150 grain Hornady Light Magnums in .303 British. What a great gun and round.
 
I wouldn't vote for any of the standard lot, mostly due to accuracy issues. An older .45-70 would seem to be a better choice, but I'd just as soon spend $275 on a new rifle with more ummmphhh!;)

-7-
 
Any of them.

I always thought the Enfield #5 would make a great hunting rifle, light weight, great sights, plenty of power in a handy little package.

Assuming the accuracy is there, pretty much any surplus military rifle would foot the bill, but I wouldn't want to carry some of them.

I would also prefer ones with a aperture rear sight, which rules out most of the Mausers and Mosin Nagants.

My choices would be Enfield No 5, or 1903A3.
 
I have a few MilSpec rifles, don't hunt with them, but if I was, I'd go with my 1903a3 SC. Its light, smooth and super accurate.
 
If limited to a manually loaded rifle, I would go with the 8mm Mauser and full power loads. It is marginally better than the .30-'06 for large, heavy animals. If a semi-auto is allowed, the M1 without a doubt or the M14/M1A, although that is not really milsurp.

Jim
 
1) 7.92 x 57 (8mm Mauser) with full power Euro loads like Norma and Sellior & Bellot. You can get a very nice sporterized one (beware of Bubba Mausers) if you look around. Bullet weights of 150 to 198 gr, does very well with 196s.

2) K31 with 7.5 x 55 Swiss. Probably not as many varieties of ammo or as wide a range of bullet weights, but a very impressive piece.
 
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