Suggestions for military surplus rifle

[OK Bowhunter]

I have ebeen thinking about getting a military surplus rifle for plinking and long range shooting practice. Need something that runs cheap ammo and inexpensive. I may even try some of the local compentions. Any suggestions?

 

[rhodesbe]

The whole 'cheap ammo' constraint is fairly ambiguous...

The Tantal/AK-74 might be a good place start.

 

[ronny]

Cheapest ammo is generally 7.62x54. However, the Russian Mosins, while great fun to shoot, aren't consistently the best shooters.

For accuracy, I'd recommend a Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55 or a Swiss K31 in 7.5x55. There is still Swiss military surplus ammo available, GP-11, which is exceptionally good stuff. Both the 6.5 and 7.5 are not cheap.

You can generally find a good Mosin for about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of either of the other two.

Mosin $120
K31 $300
Swede $350


I haven't actually priced a K31 or Swede lately so these may be a little off.

 

[Old Fart]

Mauser K98 & Swiss K31
Both real good shooters.

Mosin
Cheap and fun.

But to be fair they are all good guns and addictive.
There was a good thread on them in the rifle section recently.

Currently I've got Ariskas in both Type 38 & 99.
A Swiss K31.
A couple mosins.
A French MAS 36.
And a couple others I can't remember right now.

 

[ronny]

Don't know what I was thinking about. You want cheap to shoot and accurate, get a Finnish Mosin; more specifically an M39. They can have accuracy very close to some of the others mentioned. They will run about the same in price as the K31 and Swede.

 

[madokie]

i agree mosin nagant,is best buy,cheap ammo(308 power),usually accurate,do the muzzle bullet test,to make sure you dont get a bad one with worn out crown.short carbine kicks bad,even the rifle will need recoil pad .8mm rifles are around but quality varies,too easy to get a heavily used one and they are not known for good accursacy unless they are like new,some romanian 8mm ammo is coming in cheap paractise stuff 15cents or so i would get ammo first, before it dissapears againg.

 

[omegis13]

For what it sounds like you want, look no further than either a m39 Finnish Mosin Nagant, or an m48 Yugoslavian Mauser. Both run cheap ammo that is easy to find as well as commercial loads, and tend to be exceptionally great shooters. You can even find unfired/little fired m48's for a reasonable price still, due to their production and issuance coming just prior to the adoption of semi auto/full autos being mass issued.

 

[Perplexed]

Another plug for the Finnish M39. As a whole, they're pretty accurate, and the surplus ammo is dirt cheap compared to most rifle calibers. The M39 won't be as inexpensive as a standard M-N 91/30, but it'll definitely be more rewarding to shoot

 

[poopgiggle]

The Holy Trinity of accurate milsurp rifles are the Finn Mosin Nagant, Swede Mauser, and the K31. If you want the cheapest ammo get the Mosin. Keep in mind that not all Finnish Mosins are created equal: I have a Continuation War Finn-capture 91/30 and it's just a Russian with the SA stamp. This site always has some pretty good M39s, and I think AIM Surplus has some Finn rework 1891s.

HOWEVER, if you shoot cheap, corrosive 7.62x54r through that Finn without properly cleaning it afterward I will hunt you down, take all your guns, and then give them to someone who deserves to own guns.

I have a K31 and I love it, but keep in mind that ammo will be harder to find. GP11 is great stuff (gotta love an army whose standard-issue ammo is match grade) but it's pretty much dried up online. I haven't tried any of the modern manufactured Sellier & Bellot or whatever ammo.

 

[Roadking Larry]

What is the deal with the alleged poor accuracy of the Mosin/Nagants? Is it an issue with the rifle or the cheap surplus ammo? If it is the ammo could the accuracy problems be overcome with handloaded ammo?
I don't have one (yet) but I've kind of been looking.