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Old December 24, 2009, 12:37 PM   #76
Tamara
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zfk55
All use the same cartridge and are inherently the single most accurate production military rifles ever produced.
I have a 96/11 and a K.31; love 'em! Both are accurate, but neither is noticeably more so with commercial or surplus ammunition than my Finnish M.39 or my U.S. M1903 or my Ross Mk.II.

Maybe I'm just a lousy shot?
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Old December 24, 2009, 12:45 PM   #77
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Somehow I doubt you're a lousy shot.

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Old December 24, 2009, 02:56 PM   #78
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What's the best Milsurp? I don't know. The question is too general. However I can tell you what Milsurp WW2 rifle really suprised me when I finally had a chance to fire one. It's a 7.7 Type 99 Arisaka. I had always heard that they were inaccurate and poorly made. That all changed now that I have one. It's a early WW2 vintage. The workmanship on this rifle is top notch. It handles well and the sights are a pleasure to use. As far as accuracy, it appears to be on par with any of my 1903's and 1903a3's which I consider to be some of the more accurate Milsurp rifles. The only downside to this rifle is the availability of ammo. Not a problem if you reload. The Arisaka probably got a bad rap at the end of WW2 when the last ditch rifles were being made.
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Old December 25, 2009, 01:54 AM   #79
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Best milsurp rifle? For shooting, Here are my rankings:

1. U.S. M1 Garand
2. U.S. M1903 and m1903a3 Springfield Rifle.
3. k98 mauser (lump all 98 mauser variants in here for shooting purposes)
4. Swiss K-31
5. Enfield No. 4 mk-1.

This is an "I'm gonna shoot the bbl out of the gun" list, not an I'm gonna collect it list. That list would be a lot different.
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Old December 29, 2009, 01:22 AM   #80
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Alright, I don't reload; is it even worth it to get a K31? Should I spend a bit more on a good Enfield, or should I get a good K31 now while they're about 100 bucks less than a comparable Enfield (and the K31 has the accessories!)

I don't buy guns unless I can shoot them, and if there's not going to be any ammo I can't shoot them. I don't want to reload and even if I did there's no room in my tiny apartment for the setup. Also, if ammo runs out for them, doesn't that bring their value down?

Also, are Finn Mosins generally considered "better" than the cheapo Ruskies going for 100 bucks nowadays?

Last edited by Wrothgar; December 29, 2009 at 01:28 AM.
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Old December 29, 2009, 12:09 PM   #81
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Swedish Mauser and K31. Reloading makes them both great rifles, but commercial ammo is still around. I use them both for hunting and can find plenty of 6.5 x 55 for hunting; haven't looked for 7.5 Swiss in hunting rounds since I haven't used up my hunting reloads yet and I can still find GP11 at gun shows.
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Old January 3, 2010, 11:57 AM   #82
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K98
K31
SAFN49
Enfield n4 Mk 1
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Old January 5, 2010, 01:23 AM   #83
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Wrothgar:
Just curious whether you have handled both a K-31 and a LE #4, or used them?

Believe that there was some Prvi Swiss ammo at Saturday's gun show in Southaven MS (by Memphis), and several boxes of over-priced ($18/box) Prvi. .303: should have bought it. Might have seen both calibers of P. at some other gun show(s) in '09.

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Old January 5, 2010, 11:50 AM   #84
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I've handled plenty of LE in stores; just about any decent gun shop has surplus enfields. However, I've only ever handled one K31 and it was at a gun show; I liked both of them.

However, I ended up buying the K31 because it came with all its original accessories, matching, and I REALLY wanted that bayonet :-).
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Old January 5, 2010, 12:26 PM   #85
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrothgar
Alright, I don't reload; is it even worth it to get a K31? Should I spend a bit more on a good Enfield, or should I get a good K31 now while they're about 100 bucks less than a comparable Enfield (and the K31 has the accessories!)
You can find GP11 surp ammo for the K-31 for 40-45 cents a round. You can not find Enfield ammo even close to that. While the K-31's may have a beaver chewed stock(there's a reason) the metal finish and over all build quality is superior to the LE's.

My LE collection is fairly complete and I'm just getting started on the K-31's. They are really a fantastic rifle, maybe the best bargain out there.
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Old January 5, 2010, 01:03 PM   #86
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Pretty much a dead heat between my K98 and my Mosin Nagant M39 in accuracy. But the Mosin ammo is a bit cheaper.
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Old January 5, 2010, 01:17 PM   #87
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yeah, the surplus ammo is what I ended up buying, and it was cheaper per round than the Wolf stuff, but I had to buy it in a 60 round pack (10 magazines full, that's pretty good!). I'll have to keep buying that as much as I can find it, it would be nice to have some of that piled up, its cheaper than any of my other surplus rifle ammo.
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Old January 10, 2010, 05:51 PM   #88
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For getting everyone's attention at the range there is nothing like a Steyr M-95 Carbine. Finnish M-39, K-31, Garands, I love them all.
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Old January 17, 2010, 05:03 PM   #89
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Personal favorite is the mauser. There is a reason the Germans kicked butt in WW2. They had a sweet rifle.
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Old January 19, 2010, 02:51 AM   #90
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Tater134 I'm with you. I have 8mm Mauser Mosin Nagant and an Arisaka 99. The Arisaka is the most accurate of my three and by far my favorite. Iv'e taken deer from 15 to 220 yards with it and even buffalo at around 150 yds. that one took two shots, the second one to the brain, everything else is one shot one kill. I did some work on it as it was bubbaed when I got it.
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Old February 16, 2010, 06:39 PM   #91
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MILSURP Rifles

Concur with all the comments about the available ammunition; why buy what you can't shoot?

Regarding the Mosin Nagant, I seem to recall in my fuzzy old brain that the Russian Olympic team used them in the winter Olympics back in the sixties for the Winter Biathlon. That is the event where you ski cross country and stop to take target shots from time to time. In those days, the rules required a real .30 cal. or 7.62 rifle at long ranges. Now we just use .22 rifles at short range, which makes the site selection and preparation much simpler! As I recall, the Russians took the gold medal using the Mosin Nagant. If you like more material about this great rifle, see the film, "Enemy at the Gate". It is based on the true story of a Russian sniper during WWII. Very powerful stuff, and not recommended for the faint of heart.
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Old February 18, 2010, 08:24 PM   #92
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m1thumb:

Quite true about the German Wehrmacht und Luftwaffe, but there is a bit more to it (as you realize)-at least their neighbors' vulnerability to their surprising offensives at the first of the war:

Their neighboring countries seem to have been quite ignorant of the powerful potential of Blitzkrieg warfare, with the motivations of the combination of the 1) ancient German fear of encirclement, 2) the smoldering humiliations prompted by the WW1 Versailles Treaty's vast crippling financial reparations plus the "stab in the back" ("der Dolchstoss") legend and 3) poverty and sense of future chaos, worsened much more by the 1929 Great Depression etc.
The Germans' deep insecurity generally began as a result of the apocalypse of the Thirty Years' War in 1618-1648.

Europe in general could not stomach the thought of any more war after the many millions of soldiers' deaths in WW1. Check the unbelievable deaths in less than a week at Paeschendaele, Belgium-just one battlefield.

The German and Japanese military branches were open to lessons learned from our air force demonstrations in the 20s and 30s which the US military seemed not to care about, as the Army Air Corps was an 'upstart' branch, i.e. Gen. Billy Mitchell. Lessons taught by us helped lead to our enemies' Blitzkrieg.

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Old February 23, 2010, 10:55 AM   #93
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Classic

FN 1949 The Best of the Lot.
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Old February 25, 2010, 12:51 PM   #94
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I have a1917 enfield that I really like. 125 gr. nosler bullets,67.5 gr.s varget, and it will shoot sub moa. just bought a swedish mauser carbine for my 11 yr old son, we both like it, working on loads for it.
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Old February 25, 2010, 06:20 PM   #95
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I have an arisaka but it is a "last ditch" rifle and should not be fired.
I love my R.I. 1903 and Garands.
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Old February 25, 2010, 06:33 PM   #96
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I have many Mil-Surps, but nothing I have outshoots my K31, truly an amazing firearm> I see the prices on them going up, I just may grab two more for futures sake.
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Old February 25, 2010, 10:01 PM   #97
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Quote:
Tater134 I'm with you. I have 8mm Mauser Mosin Nagant and an Arisaka 99.
Wait, wait, wait... I've never seen a Mosin in 8mm. How'd that happen?

Quote:
I have an arisaka but it is a "last ditch" rifle and should not be fired.
I love my R.I. 1903 and Garands.
Actually, that's just a rumor about the Arisakas. If you look around, you'll find that the "Last Ditch" models are perfectly capable of being fired and do quite well. The "Last Ditch" status doesn't refer to the gun's inherent safety, but rather the fit and finish of the gun.
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Old February 28, 2010, 03:15 PM   #98
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From a practial point of view, the best milsurp rifle to get is the one that you can get ammo for and will be able to get ammo for in the future. having said that, the best choice (strictly from a practical point of view, that is) would be something in 8mm Mauser.
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Old February 28, 2010, 11:56 PM   #99
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money no object M1A low budget SMLE Lee enfield in 7.62MM nato
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Old March 1, 2010, 10:18 PM   #100
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I dont know how to post on this board, but someone said which ever one you can still get Surpluss Ammo For.
If thats the case It would have to be anything chambered for 7.62x39 Its the most commonly available Surplus Round going, next to the 7.62x51 Nato(308) and the 5.56MM (223)
Myself if it gets down to those three, I will probably reload, or get a Mauser rebarreled for 308 and keep shootin!!
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