Bolt action piece of history recommendation

[online2mch]

I've decided I would like to get an old military bolt action rifle to plink around at the range, and to have as a piece of history. Would like to hear the argument for Lee Enfield, Springfield 03, Nagant, Mauser and Krag, Don't want to spend a ton of money either. Thanks

 

[Feud]

Well, you can find Mausers and Nagants for dirt cheap, so spending a ton of money shouldn't be a problem.

 

[jdc1244]

All the rifles you’ve noted are fine. Mausers are going to be a bit more then MNs. Put the Swiss K31 on the list as well.

If you haven’t already you should consider getting your C&R 03 FFL. It will make obtaining classic rifles easier and you can get on dealers’ mailing lists when good deals become available.

 

[jrfoxx]

I like the Mauser K98 if you factor in surplus ammo price and availability, power, and acuuracy, as well a historical significance (in the case of the nazi marked ones).The K31 is a great gun too in those regards, and is likely to be more accurate, but ammo costs more, the gun often costs more, and I dont personally find them as "historically significant" as the Swiss sat that war out.That said, I own bothe, as well as a Savage Enfiled and Mosin, and plan to get an '03 and Krag in the future.I wouldnt worry too much, if you get you 03 ffl (and possibly even if you dont), you'll end up hooked and getting them all eventually too anyways, so.....
We milsurpers await your joining us on the dark side......

 

[Franco2shoot]

The Mosin-Nagant carbine (M44) and full length (91/30) are my personal favorites. Great history, and the 7.62x54r cartridge packs the hunting wallop of a 308, should you get the opportunity. Ammunition is about 5 bucks for a pack of 20, so you can plink Hi-power all day for cheap. My only complaint is that there are only 2 types of bullets readily available, a FMJ, and a lead nose made by winchester. The latter goes for 13 bucks and is geared toward a hunter.

KKKKFL

 

[Avenger29]

K31s are excellent, top notch rifles. Ammo is more expensive, you you are going to want to probably reload for that rifle, but top-quality surplus (near match grade, actually- GP-11) is available, but it is a mail order affair. There are a couple of factory loads for it, too. The K-31 is chambered in 7.5x55 Swiss, IIRC. $200-250

Enfields are a very cool design, in my opinion. I love the 10 round magazine, and the sights are very good. $200-$300. I just wish we could get the AIA new production Enfields in the US.

I'd pick up an Enfield and a K-31 while I still could (you should be able to get both for $500 or under. Then, get a nice Yugo Mauser and a Mosin Nagant, because there are plenty available for now, and probably the next few years- at least, for the Mosin.

1903s are way too expensive these days, you you might want to forget about those for now.

 

[shuvelrider]

You didn't say what your limit is for price range in dollars. Cheap will get you a decent Mosin, I shoot a M-44 and its fun and accurate. Up to 300 will get you any variation of enfield minus a sniper or P-14, K31 is a good buy under 200 but you will want to reload for that and the brits cuz its cheaper in the long run. 400 and up and you can start looking for the Springfields, Krags, garands , and M1 carbines. Its a wide market so shop around, I,d go for a No 4 enfield to try out a milsurp but look for a model A3 Springfield , just my opinion,

 

[Mossman]

My vote goes the the Mosin M44. Dirt cheap gun, reliable, fun and cheap to shoot. You get a real sense of power shooting this gun. Given how limited the Russians were on resources there is a good chance the one you get could have got one of those damn Nazi bastards right between the eyes.

 

[Vaarok]

Finnish M-39. Just as good as the K-31, but better history.

 

[elmerfudd]

Since you're asking for a piece of history, get an M39. Between the Winter War and the Continuation War, the Finnish army of just over 500,000 men caused over 1,000,000 Soviet casualties with over 300,000 Soviet deaths and they did it mostly with small arms. So when you pick up an M39, chances are extremely high that it was once fired in battle and odds are better than average that one or more Soviet soldiers actually met their end due to that particular rifle.

To top things off, they are accurate rifles and there's plenty of cheap surplus available for them.

 

[Cosmoline]

I agree. If you want a rifle that was actually *there* in the fighting, your best bet is Finnish Mosins. Esp. the pre-war models. I've had some with shrapnel damage to the stock and actions worn butter smooth from repeated firing. A small civilian military force beat back an army larger than their entire country, so you can imagine how hard they had to fight.

Another option would be Russian capture K98's, but of course it's harder to know exactly where those came from. Some may have been Stalingrad pickups, others may simply have been snagged from overrun arsenals.

 

[icebones]

mosins can be bough for under $120 and ammo for them is dirt cheap (corrosive though) although mosins have a bad rep for bad actions, especially when firing old ammo, sometimes a rubber mallet or a healthy push is needed to get the bolt handle to open. but thats because it cocks on opening anyway.

mausers are a bit more expensive and ammo is a little higher too.


it may be just me but the krag rifles are an interesting peace of history, and the magazine is unique.

i have an old, circia 1989 (i think) mosin nagant. damn if that rifle could speak, the stories it would tell...

shrapnel damage in the stock!!! dont see that everyday.

 

[Cosmoline]

An intact Krag is worth serious $$. Almost all of them were sporterized over the years.

 

[Float Pilot]

I have owned or still own a few historical military bolt guns.

1. 1896 Springfield Krag in 30-40. Pros: Very smooth action, pretty darn accurate (more so than any Springfield I have fired) , And a great topic of conversation regarding US history.
CONS: Weak action, becoming expensive.

2. 1903 Springfield in 30-06. Pros: Strong action, powerful cartridge suitable for hunting just about everything. Simple to maintain and strip. Another historical US rifle. Good accuracy.
Cons: Becoming very expensive.

3. M-98 Mausers in 7.92 x 57mm or 7 x57mm Mauser or 7.65 x 53mm. Pros: Very strong and suitable for hunting large game. Prices not as high as the Springfiled and Krags yet. Simple to maintain and disassemble.
Cons: Many are beat to craop or made from salvaged parts. The accuracy is not nearly as good as many other rifles.

* Some variants like the 1950s FN in 30-06 bring in more money.
There are lots of cool odd-ball variations. Something like a 1950s era Moroccan Police carbine in 308 or 30-06 can bring in big bucks.

4. M24/47 or M-48 Intermediate length Mausers, all in 8x57mm. Pros: less expensive than the older full size Mausers.
Cons: less historical value. Often confused with real WWII era Mausers. Not as accurate as otehr blt rifles in many cases.

5. M/96 Swedish Mausers in 6.5 x55mm: Pros: Extremely accurate. Often in excellant conditions. Some have historical battle history fighting in Finland with the Volunteer Swedish Battalions during the Winter war and the Continuation war (WWII).
Cons: Very long. The cost is climbing fast. The 1896 actions are not as strong as the later M-98 actions. Bulk ammo is drying up fast.

6. M/38 Swedish Mauser in 6.5 x55mm: Same as above, but in a shorter 23.5 inch barrel. Much more handy and still extremely accurate.
Cons: The Husquvarna WWII production guns are becoming very expensive. The machine work is not nearly as wonderfull on the 1940s made rifles.

7. M/94 Swedish Carbine in 6.5x55mm: A real show stopper at the range, but they are becoming horribly expensive.

8. Mosin Nagant Series: Pros: very inexpensive. Lots of historical value. Many of the older long rifles have been found with pieces of spanish newspaper inside form the Spanish Civil War period when the Russian supplied the Communist troops. Ammo is very cheap.
Cons: the long rifles are a little cumbersome. Not nearly as accurate as the Swede Mausers or the Swiss Rifles.
Cons: in the short M-44 and M-38 style carbines, they are REALLY loud and have a pretty good muzzle blast.
The actions are not nearly as smooth as almost any of the other rifles from that period.

9. I have not yet owned a Swiss straight pull rifle long enough to make a good comparison. They are Extremely accurate, but often require handloading only. Most are in super condition. The cartridge has almost exactly the same power as a 308 Winchester.

10. 1917 Eddystone or Remington Enfield rifles in 30-06: Super strong. Fairly accurate. Widely used in WWI. Almost impossible to break.
Cons: Kinda clunky. and the prices are jumping.

11. British Enfields in 303: Pros: Super smooth actions on most of them, very fast to fire and load.
Acceptable accuracy but nothing great on most.
Wide range of quality control depending on the time period and where it was made. The stocks are fickled and they are not as easy to totally disassemble.
Many have some questionable wood in the stocks. Particularly the India Enfields. I have a couple of the later 2As that fire 7,.62mm OK but have wood from lord only knows where....They have a fairly weak action.

 

[Baba Louie]

Don't want to spend a ton of money either.

Then buy the Moison-Nagant, better yet, buy two, maybe three. M91/30, M39, M44, any of those (or 1 of each) and some surplus bulk 7.62x54R ammo.

You could spend a lifetime collecting all of the variations on that receiver alone. Maybe not as pretty as some of the others you listed, it saw service during the October revolution, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, heck, maybe even the Russo-Japanese war of 04, some in Finland's Winter War (the Finns made an excellent rifle in their M39).

Having said that... if I could only have one, it'd be a Swedish Mauser 96 of which I have 2-96's, a 38 (and an Ag-42b... but that's not a bolt action). Others would disagree and choose an Enfield SMLE or a 98 Mauser, a 1903 or an 1896 Krag. Lately the Swiss K31's have been on the market relatively inexpensive (and worth every penney). A couple that have been overlooked in the past is the Japanese Arisaka and the Italian Carcano.

But right now, best bang for the buck, it'd have to be the Ruskie bolt. I could be wrong... but I'm not.

 

[Schleprok62]

What are some good sources for Mausers??