Milsurps in .308

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XxWINxX94

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Anyone know of any? Converted or not. Preferably some sort of bolt action, no FALs or HK91 variations, Already have a Garand in 30-06. I've heard of the Enfield Jungle Carbines, looked at one today but it was a 303. The newer bolt guns are nice, but I like something older or more collectable.

I inherited a gun collection, and all the ammo used to feed over 50+ guns, and I've got about 500 rounds of surplus 308, with no rifle.

Anyone know of, or own any milsurps in .308?
 
Every now and again, Dunham carries Mauser's rebarreled into .308 Win.

Geno
 
Gonna be mostly conversions. .308 didn't come out until 1952 and bolt actions were out of favor by then.

You named the 2 big ones, Navy Garands and Enfields.
 
Spanish FR-8. At the adoption of the .308 by European Armies the Spanish were developing the CETME. To fill the need for a rifle to utilize the new cartridge the cut the stocks on Spanish Mausers, rebarreled them to .308, added a muzzle break, and a tube below the barrel that kind of gives it the look of a bolt action m14. German mausers sent to Israel and converted to .308 can be found as well.
 
Bolt-action, milsurp rifles in 7.62x51 which are commonly available include the Indian-made Enfields, Israeli K98 mausers, and the FR-8. Opinions differ on whether the FR-8 is safe with 7.62x51, as it was originally designed for a weaker cartridge.

Please, please don't ask about .308/7.62x51 interchangability... just do a search...
 
1916 Spanish Mauser, Isreali M98 Mauser,Spanish FR-7 and FR-8, or you can build your own by having a .308 military barrel installed on any M98 action.
 
Opinions differ on whether the FR-8 is safe with 7.62x51, as it was originally designed for a weaker cartridge.
Click to expand...
FR8s are converted from large ring mausers, no problem at all to handle 7.62x51. Many magnums are built on large ring Mauser actions. FR7 built on small ring mausers is the one having different opinions on handling 7.62x51.
I have both FR8 and Ishapore. Had a 1916 in 308, but converted it to 7.62x39. 1916 is a 7mm small ring mauser converted for 7.62x51. The spanish manual clearly shows 7.62x51 on the cover, not 7.62CETME.
 
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i dont think youll find a milsurp one but you should look into an M14 or M1A from springfield

im not sure the inner and outer workings of the ordeal but i dont think any M14s ever saw this side of the civilian market butthere are good makers of civi (non select fire) models Springfield being one of them

i know its not a bolt action but it would go along with your M1 Garand very nicely then all youd need is an M1 Carbine and you could have the whole family
 
"...an M14..." Once an MG, always an MG.
"...Israeli K98..." Just what you're looking for. Made by FN for the Israeli's.
"...Ishapore..." No. 1 Mk 2A and 2A1. Made from scratch using better steel by India in the '60's. They're not converted .303's. The 10 round mags look like converted M14 or FAL mags. They're not though. They run $36 from Gunparts.
"...FR7..." Not actually designed to use 7.62 NATO. Made to use 7.62 Cetme. Lower pressure with a lighter bullet.
"...Enfield Jungle Carbines..." There are a lot of fakes out there. No. 4 Mk I's bubba'd into carbines. Felt recoil and muzzle blast is considerable. Mind you, I knew a guy who used one for moose hunting in Northern Ontario, for years.
 
Israelis rebarreled a lot of Mauser 98s to 7.62 back in the 1960s. Years ago I bought a 7.62 FN K98 for 90 bucks, the bore was/is like new as it has only been fed cast boolits.
 
Israelis rebarreled a lot of Mauser 98s to 7.62 back in the 1960s. Years ago I bought a 7.62 FN K98 for 90 bucks, the bore was/is like new as it has only been fed cast boolits.
Click to expand...

I have one of these "slave labor" K98's. My receiver was made in 1945. While it is an interesting piece of history, mine does not feed reliably. I suspect the factory slave workers played a little with the dimensions.

Something that if the defect was discovered, got workers hung. Right in front of everyone.
 
I shot an FR8 just yesterday and the fact that anyone would say it can't handle 7.62x51 is dumb. It was fairly accurate, no signs of excessive pressure, but was very loud. Tons of sporter rifles were made on large ring mausers utilizing higher pressure cartridges than the .308. Mausers are very tough rifles. People have this same stereotypical sentiment about Swedish Mausers not being able to handle hot loads. Norma tests ammo in their factory with m96 mausers. Norma loads also tend to be much hotter than normal commercial ammo.
 
"...Israeli K98..." Just what you're looking for. Made by FN for the Israeli's.
Click to expand...

Not all. Some were made by FN for the Israelis after the 1948 war for independence. However, the Israelis used many actual German made k98s to fight in that war, and had them rechambered/barreled for 7.62NATO.

I have one of these. It was made in Germany in 1937. Captured by the Russians, sold to the Israelis and used by Israelis to win their independence. Then rebarreled to 7.62x51 so that the Israelis could be a part of NATO.

I love that rifle. The poetic justice, and irony of it is beautiful. One day I plan to mount it in a display case next to a copy of Leon Uris' book 'Exodus.'
 
"...the Israelis could be a part of NATO..." Isreal is not and has never been part of NATO. They used 7.62NATO ammo because it was easy to get at the time. Likely provided by the U.S.
 
Sorry. You're correct. I should have said "in order to be using the NATO standard" rather than saying that they wanted to be a part of NATO.

Thank you for stepping up and correcting that bit of misinformation.
 
Hey everyone,
Thanks for all the suggestions. I really like the Ishapore Enfield design, I already own a WWII No.4 Mk 1 (I think), in .303 British. The Spanish Mauser doesn't have the looks, and as Sunray said, one variant was designed for the weaker cartridge load, and that worries me a little bit, and I don't reload. The K98 in .308 is really cool, but there aren't that many on gunbroker in decent condition, but then again I already own one in the original 8mm.

To completely change the topic of the OP, has anyone ever put a scope on one of those Ishapores in .308? I have a scope laying around that I think would look good and be pretty accurate on a nice rifle. Is it at all possible to put a scope on an Ishapore Enfield?
 
HankC beat me to it.

There are serious concerns about conversions from the very old (1890s) Spanish 7mm Mausers to .308. I first learned this on the Internet, and first-hand from experienced Mauser owners at local gun shows.

Somebody stated on whichever website weeks ago that a guy was killed because of this at a range in PA.
I saw no other info, such as exact brand of ammo, whether reloaded etc. Nothing.

Sunray: Mine seems no worse than my Yugo Mauser (Yugo ammo), but am skinny and my LE #5's recoil is not bad, if you stay upright. At the range (versus the river), I kneel on the ground and don't need a pad, but leaning forward on a stool, a recoil pad makes it decent.
A guy in Canada or Alaska is alive today due to the LE #5's power. Four shots (plus steel nerves and skill) stopped a charging grizzly, after he left his car to take a leak.

For a very handy carbine, not bad? I have no idea whether other handy, light carbines can do that.
 
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