Interesting how things change over the years
When I was a kid, we "collected" milsurp rifles, by the barrel full! The "best " ones were the ones easiest to turn from heavy, clunky, ugly GI war clubs into sleek, svelte sporters, in more effective and efficient calibers.
Today, we have collectors/shooters who are much more interested in those rifles in original condition than they are in the sporterised ones. And, we have two basic types of milsurp "collectors". Those who want the rifles for their historical place as firearms of a particular period, and those who want them as cheap shooters.
Well, wake up and smell the cosmoline, that cheap ammo won't be around forever, or even, much longer. We are at the end of the era. Even the Russian rounds will eventually be gone, at least as far as cheap, case lots are concerned. The .303 and 8mm stuff is nearly gone, and most of what remains is the "crap" ammo that nobody would buy before. Also, besides dwindling stocks, the current political climate abroad (thanks so much, UN) means that a lot of what is still left will not be sold (facilitating "arms trafficing), but will be destroyed, instead. SO, get you some dies, and a supply of good brass, if you want to keep on shooting these old veterans, at a reasonable cost!
I have a number of milsurps, and do enjoy shooting them, but I don't bother with surplus ammo. Sure, its cheap, but its often dirty, accuracy is spotty, its nearly all corrosive (except for US stuff, and some of that is), and except for US stuff(again) the cases are useless after firing!
I Reload for .30-06, .308, .303, 8mm, 7.7mm, 6.5mm, 7.62x54R, and a couple dozen civilian calibers as well. Bredan brass is a waste to me, as the low price simply doesn't balance against the utility of being able to reload the cases, for me. And then there is the whole pain of corrosive primers, and cleaning. But, if it works for you, enjoy. You don't have me competing against you for the last cases of 8mm or whatever from third world countries.
My collection includes M1, M1A (not really a milsurp, but as close to an M14 as I can get) FAL (again, as close as I can get), Moisin Nagant 91/30, M38, SMLEs (3 and 4, and one of the .308s), T99 Arisakas, Kar 98s, Vz 24, Swede M 96, Tokarev SVT 40 (one nobody mentioned before, but maybe one of the best, for a civilian to own), Springfields, 1917Enfield, and a few others I can't recall right now. The best? Real hard to define. All depends on your critieria.
Choose one to have to fight with? I'd pick my M1A. But thats just me.