K31 or Swedish m96

[loneguitar]

I will be indulging in my first mil-surp rifle purchase in the next few weeks and I am trying to decide on which of these rifles to get. I will most likely use it to hunt white tail/ mule deer this fall with elk being a possibility. Will both of these rifle in there calibers (7.5 swiss and 6.5 swede) be alright for these. Also which would be the better first buy. I know a bit about the K31 and have been thinking about it for some time, but I just got turned onto the Swedish mauser.
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[Oldnamvet]

Either caliber will be adequate for your needs. If you don't reload, you may find the 6.5 the better choice since it is easier to find commercial hunting loads in this caliber. Hedge your bets and get one of each. The prices are not going to go down, only higher.

 

[BsChoy]

I am partial to the Swede's. The 96 is awesome but I love the M38 which is why I happen to own one. Great round too. You'll get alot of K31 fans as they are legend for their accuracy but the asthetics are not there for me. Just my 2 cents however.

 

[azhunter12]

If you want to use it on elk I personally would go with the K31. I have one and the accuracy is very good. Unfortunatly I don't shoot it too much because the ammo isn't as easy to get as some of my other rifles like my mosin nagants and my mausers. I don't have any experience with the swede. I hear though that they have accuracy as good as the K31. People in Europe (I don't know where) hunt European moose which are similar to the North American elk. IMO I think that 6.5 is a bit small for elk but great for deer.

Last fall I went deer huntin with some of my uncles and cousins. One of my uncles and two of my cousins brought their K31 and they each got a doe.

If you are hunting in a rough place then you may want to consider a modern sporting rifle because military rifles get heavy after awile. My uncle who is a exprience hunter said that after a day or two he was tired from carrying the rifle through the fields. This is just my .02 cents.


Azhunter

 

[loneguitar]

I think I am leaning toward the Swede. Samco has them for $169 and Norma has a 156gr round that looks nice.

 

[CZ223]

Mercedes or BMW

Either will serve you well and they are both extremely accurate. I have not owned a K31 yet but I have owned a 96 that I should have never sold. When ever I had a bad day at the range with one of my hi powered scoped rifles, which means I wasn't shooting sub halfinch groups or better, I would pull out the Swede. I could put a box, 20 rounds, into an ich and a half group any day of the week and most would go under an inch. I never scoped it because I din't want to be disappointed. The only reason that I haven't bought a K-31 yet is that I have not found the right one. Most that I have seen around here are pretty beat. Flip a coin, you won't go wrong either way.

 

[Outlaws]

I think I am leaning toward the Swede. Samco has them for $169 and Norma has a 156gr round that looks nice.

Well I guess prices around the country vary, and Samco has the Yugo SKS's for a lot less than I see then going for here now. So maybe that Swede is a good deal, its just hard to say without seeing it. But I paid $300 back in December.

 

[cracked butt]

I prefer Swedes to K-31s, though I have a 1/2 dozen of each. The only negative I can say about the swedes, especially the M96 is that the sight graduations start at 300 yards, it will shoot high at 100 yards unless you install a taller front sight.
I don't really know what kind of M96 that $160 will buy from Samco as they are listed as 'fair' condition. Most of the the good M96s in circulation command prices upwards of $300 these days. $160 should still buy you a decent K-31, though prices are sure to go up in the near future.

 

[atomchaser]

I think the M-96's from Samco are just barreled receivers. Going rate for M-96's is more in the range of $250-300.