The Good 'ole Boys

[iamdug]

I need some suggestions on what old military bolt actions or semi-autos I should be looking for. Now I'm big enough for the kick-ass rifles, so anything would work. Sombody just know of a good ole...and please don't suggest an ati-material or tank rifle...California resident

[johnwilliamson062]

M1 Garand from CMP!!!
K31!!!
1903a3 If you can't handle the k31.

[militantamish]

moisin nagant

[Hawg]

Look at pictures. Find one you like and go for it.

[P99AS9]

Russian or Finnish Mosin Nagant

K98K Mauser

British Enfield

M1 Garand

M1 Carbine

German Gehwer 43

Soviet SVT-40

Japanese Arisaka

French MAS

Italian Carcano

Springfield 1903

Swiss K-31

Plenty of them out there. I think I nailed just about all of them.

[Vergeltung]

Mauser 98k
Mosin Nagant

you can pick them up for fairly littel green, and the ammo is out there.

[Dustin0]

I am building A K98 Mauser right now.

[saands]

I break this one up into a couple of lists.

1. The "get them while you can" list - quantities on the market dwindling)
1903(a3) from CMP
M1 Carbine from CMP (10 rd mags available for CA)
M1 Garand from CMP
Finnish M-39 (cheap ammo and a great shooter)
Lee-Enfield SMLE

2. the "Still at the wholesalers" list - at least in some conditions
Com-bloc Mosin Nagants (same ammo as M-39 above, but not as accurate)
Carcanos (ammo is difficult)
K-31 (great shooter, ammo is not so cheap)
Mausers in 8x57

Those on list 1 are a little more expensive in general but you may not have a chance on those in another year or two.

[iamdug]

That's what i was afraid of saands. I really dig 1903s, what's the cheapest price you guys have seen for all of the above? The cheapest 1903 i could find was $650. Forget that, im 16 with a 16-year-old's budget so that was OUT!!! When it comes to M1 Carbines...well lets just say that is also out.

ALTHOUGH!!!!!!!!!! It's summer so I can work more, maybe I can afford some pricier guns now...

[Larry D.]

Start out easy.
Turk Mauser and/or Mosin Nagant.

[Tikirocker]

Yup ... if I was on a 16yr old budget I'd be grabbing a couple of Mosin Nagants ... an M44 and a 91/30 ought to keep you very busy and there is plenty of ammo still out there. My main focus has always been the Lee Enfield but these are becoming much more expensive generally and the surplus ammo is tougher to find. .303 from modern manufacture is still readily available however.

On the cheap ... Mosin.

Tiki.

[noelf2]

Com-bloc Mosin Nagants (same ammo as M-39 above, but not as accurate)

Maybe not as accurate when using surplus ammo, .prvi, or standard Winchester white box, but if you slug the bore of your Mosin Nagant (non-Fin) and use the right sized bullet, it turns out just as accurate from my experience.

The M44s are getting hard to find and when you can find them, they're between $130 and $150, and will probably go up higher. You can still get a very good M91/30 between $70 and $100 at gun shows. I can't find any M38s on the milsurp sites now.

[Dustin0]

16 year old budget get a Mosin Nagant there less than 100 bucks.

I willl have almost 1000 in my K98 when done, before optics.

[Tamara]

Forget that, im 16 with a 16-year-old's budget...

To me, that spells M-O-S-I-N.

[mnw42]

There are no bad options in this post.

Just looking at what rifles I have:

Long Branch No. 4 Mk. 1 Enfield
MAS Mle. 1936
IBM M1 Carbine
91/24 Carcano
Finnish M39 (My bore slugged 0.308 and is scary accurate, btw)
Yugo 59/61 SKS

The first of the lot was the Enfield and the most recent was my MAS. I say you should save up for what you want and go get it or simply peruse your local shops and see what catches your eye. Very few of my guns I bought when I was expressly looking for them. I have a list of arms in my head that I want to own and several shops that I frequent. When that stars align (I have the money and a good specimen of something I want is on the rack) I buy.


Getting a Mosin ($100) is a good, inexpensive way to get into the hobby. Some of them are drying up (Garands, K31s, etc.) and the price will increase as a result. I would consider saving up for one of the more expensive ones and get them while you can. I don't think that the Mosins will always be a hundred bucks, but they'll probably sill be quite affordable for some time.

[Wrothgar]

Mosin Nagant or a k-31, straight up. Mosins are 100, K-31s are 200, but the ammo for the nagant is cheaper. Yugo/Czech mausers are still relatively cheap, and ammo is typical hunting ammo prices.

[mp25ds4]

Enfield no. 3 mk I is
In my opinion one of the best

[Drachenstein]

My daughter started out at 13 with a 8mm turk mauser and learned shooting and hunting on it. She's now 22 and won't let go of it. The closest thing she'll shoot of mine when she's left hers at home is a sporterized K98 I have. Beware, mausers are very addictive. It starts with a turk , a M48, then a K98, then a P38, a Hsc, a Luger ,,,,,,,,,,,when you're done you have an arsonal.

Seriously, on your budget check out the mosins and the turkish mausers. Remember to take into account Ammo in the budget. Shooting it will be most the fun. If you can't afford the ammo you'll have some neat wall decor or a high tech club,,,,,,,, or a spear if you have the bayonet.

[Dr. Mauser]

It all depends on how deep your wallet goes, the Mosin Nagant M91/59 Carbine was my first gun, it was only $85 at a gun show, but if you want a semi-auto, then your looking at anywhere from $600 (M1 Carbine and Garand)-$5000 (German G-41, G-43, and K-43, with the Soviet SVT-40 somewhere in the middle). The next alternitive would be to go to Gunbroker.com and start searching the type of gun YOU want and get price ranges. Thats what I do.

[TheHighlander]

Don't forget about the SKS! one of the guns most overlooked by serious collectors! Gotta love the poor man's com bloc garand, though, and at about 250-350 depending on local prices, you can still pick up a decent Norinco for relatively cheap. (or a yugo from samco global). Uses the same ammo as the AK's too (7.62x39), so ammo's most likely going to be available in the future with the volume of AK and SKS enthusiasts (whereas something like the K31 ammo, GP11, is a bit more niche)

But I do love my mosins

[Dr. Mauser]

I owned an SKS, and I didnt like it at all, compared to my K98s and Mosins, I didnt like the semi-auto, bolt action is for me.

[MuscleGarunt]

The 91/30 Mosin-Nagant, you will not be disappointed.

[raftman]

Mosins are definitely the way to go on a budget. They can be had for $100-120 on average, but if you really look around, you can get some awesome deals. I've a friend who got a 91/30 for $45, but that was a couple of years ago, and I got my M44 for only $79, and that was a couple of weeks ago. Ammo is cheap and easy to find.

[Dr. Mauser]

Amazingly a place that has good deals and is freaking everywhere that usually always has mosins and m95s is Big 5.... Weird i know but i've pick up several Mosins there for under $100 and i bought an Austrian Steyer M95 for $65 call around to your local Big 5's and ask what antique rifles they have, the first rifle i bought was at Big 5 and it was a 1935 Mosin with a hex receiver, the stock was mismatched wood, but it was a great shooter. and as stated earlier the ammo is cheap and readily available at almost any gun store, just clean them intensively after you shoot because the surplus ammo is really corrosive.

[raftman]

I used to see Mosins of various kinds at the Big 5 all the time, but lately they never seem to have them. M95's are always there though.