The very best "deal" on any milsurp is still the BRNO made Persian Mauser, accurate and perhaps the finest workmanship of any military arm ever made. These are sleepers and are still available in excellent condition for around $200 from SAMCO etc. Mine was just about unfired, without even so much as a scratch on the bolt face.

As you will find, one rifle will not satisfy your appatite!

Good luck!

military rifle silhouette, cast bullet matches, what would it be and what caliber? I am about as new as you can get when dealing with milsurp rifles.

Thanks,

Alan

Swedish model 96 in 6.5x55. Accurate, easy on the shoulder, and long sight radius. Try it, you'll like it. Roger.

The Swedish Mauser is a fine choice. Most will shoot sub-2" five-shot groups at 100 yards. Your maximum bullet weight will be 140 or 160 grains or so.

Another alternative is the Finnish M-39. The Finns built their military rifle on the Russion 7.62x54 receiver. They used good barrels (27"), floated them, and did trigger jobs on them. The round is nominally .311", so you cast, or you use 303 bullets. These also usually group under 2". You can easily use up to 180 grain, or even 200 grain bullets in these. MV's are sorta 308 to 30-06ish.

The Swede is an exceptional piece of workmanship. The Finn is heavier, and not quite as well finished.

Swedes require quite a bit of work to scope properly. Finns require even more. I use Mojo sights on mine. That's an iron sight that works amazingly well when you are old enough to have trouble seeing the rear sight.

See Wholesale Guns and Ammo if an M-39 is what you want. Excellent condition ones go for around $170-180.

I don't have any experience with swedes yet, every one raves out them, but at this point my choice would be a K31. I am not sure how these will do with cast loads, in fact I would be interested in any info anyone has on cast loads for these guns as I am gonna be shooting with a group of guys that perfer everyone shoot cast reloads, but if surplus ammo is allowed I think that it would be neck and neck and would depend on the individual rifle and shooter as to weather or not the swede or the k31 would end up ahead.

The Swede M96, and it's shorter cousin the M38 are both fine and accurate rifles. An advanatge they hold is that the Swede M41 ball ammo is still available on a fairly common basis and is also an increasingly popular commercial round. For the handloader, the 6.5 mm Sierra 140 and 155 gr. MATCHKINGS can offer astounding accuracy. Don't ever even think about putting a scope on one of these fine old rifles, no more are being made, and that will make one less! I do have one that was a military target rifle, (much like a NM 1903) with the Soderin adjustable aperature sight.

As the minimum sight gradation for the issue sight is 300m, a taller front sight post (available) may be required for shorter ranges.

Stay with a rifle, proven, for which you can get and make good ammunition!

Can't disagree with any of the advice, but let me add that the Model 28/30 Finnish Nagants (especially the Sako's) have heavier barrels than the M 39 and are a bit more accurate. Also, the K-31 Schmidt-Rubin is every bit as accurate as the Finns and has an even lighter trigger to boot. Another advantage of the K-31 is its ability to shoot a wide variety of CB designs (and weights) exceptionally well, as long as they're sized to .309". And, lest I forget, the K-31's can be had for bargain prices whereas the Finns and Swedes cannot. One last point: Scope mounts (permanent or clamp-on) and diopter sight sets are avilable for the K-31's from Brownells. The diopter set (excellent) can also be obtained from Graf & Sons. Just MHO, ...Maven

To all - your feedback is much appreciated.

Do any of you have experience buying milsurps via online sources? If so, what/who do you recommend? I am interested in the K31.

ok you asked so I am compelled to tell, If you can wait a month or so to get a rifle, you should apply for a C&R firearms licence, they are good for 3 years and cost 35$. this will allow you to have any gun over 50 yrs old to be shipped strait to your door. this is way cool IMO a k31 can be had right now for $89 shipped to your door, if you buy locally or through a dealer you will be looking at around 140$ so this would pay for your licence and you get discounts at brownells and midway. I took out the ole swiss war horse today, I must say that every time I shoot it I am always impressed at how well it shoots, Today I was outshooting guys that had scopes on their rifles. last range outting back 2 back .5" groups at 50 yards, today .75 and 1.25 at 100 yards, call it luck or what ever with iron sights but it aint bragging when you keep on doin it. did I say that I love these guns, this is from my rougher looking gun also

I just sent my C&R papers in a few days ago. Currently the license fee is $30 for 3 years. I expect to make that up on the first purchase.

Try

http://www.southernohiogun.com/surplus_rifles.html
or www.empirearms.com

They both have K31's. Empire is the deluxe way to go. They describe the guns in great detail, and you get what you expect. If you see what you like, do not delay. Get an FFL in UPS or FedEx for second day delivery, and place your order as soon as the FFL gets there, because their stuff turns over fairly fast.

Southern Ohio is more of a crapshoot. Lots of good stuff, some better than others, and their prices reflect that.

I've kinda passed on the C&R license. Got a guy here in town that works out of his home, doing guns on the side. For new guns, he charges me $20, and for milsurps, he charges me $10. I have a concealed carry permit, so, for me, there is no $7.50 background check fee.... at $10, I consider myself VERY lucky.

Swiss K31, Finn M39, Swede M96 or Finn 28/30. The Swiss is IMO, the best combo of price and accuracy. Downside is GP11 ammo is expensive(~$170/480 rounds), so you'll probably want to reload for it. The Finn M39 is gonna cost a little more (~$150 on up at WGA), but surplus 7.62X54 is widely available at a reasonable price. The Swedes are very accurate, but prices have really moved up on them the last few years, probably they're only downfall. Expect to pay $250 or more for a good condition, matching rifle. Finally the M28/30 is very accurate, but highly sought after by collectors. They seem to run $300 and up, and I saw one sell recently on one of the auction sites for $600. However, check around, sometimes you can find them in pawn stores or gun shops marked as Mosin's for a very reasonable price. This is the order I would take them based on a combination of accuracy and price. All are quality built, but I give the M96 a slight edge, followed by the K31 with the Finns just a tick behind....but we're splitting hairs. Go find examples of each to handle and see what feels best to you. And have fun!

Joe

Oops, should have read the responses before I replied. For sources for the K31, you can try AIM as well. Mine came from there. I took the crapshoot and didn't pay the handpick fee. I got a nice 1944 with 90%+ blue and, as with all Swiss, a great bore. Wood wasn't bad either, unlike a lot of the K31's. Understand that with a K31, they drilled with these rifles (all Swiss men are in the reserves), so sometimes it looks like a bunch of Swiss beavers chewed up the buttstock. Gotta love that Swiss beaver....... Mine wasn't bad at all. You could pay the handpick fee and request a good stock, or do as others have said and talk to Allans Armory or Empire for a better description of the gun.

I would say that the M96-M38 swedes are great so to the Persian Mauser but if you can find a No4 MK2 Lee Enfield with good reloads these rifles can shoot as good as a swede with the bonus of a peep sight there are some K31 being offered here in Oz but they are twice the price of a good swede 1 other rifle that i have that shoots really well is a model 1904/39 portugese verguirio (spelling?) it shoots really well with turkish exmil
I also have a heavy barreled No1 Mk3 that has been tuned by a big bore amourer using 174gr mathkings i shot a 45/50 at 900m on modern bigbore targets it might not shoot as high a score as a true blue target rifle but it didn't cost me $2000 dollars either what are the rules of the comp you wish to shoot in?

Portuguese Mauser-Vergueiro mate I have one as well in 8x57. Is yours 8mm or the origional 6.5?

That's easy! A Springfield 03A3!

Owning and shoting a number of 03 and 03A3 Springfields, I will agree they can be fiendishly accurate, even by modern standards, with good ammunition. The only real drawback is that quality often spells money, especially when it comes to original condition Springfields. You may be able to find one for a bit less that someone has "sporterized" to some degree and resurect it, though it still won't be a bargain basement rifle.

I scraped off the Military finish off mine and found some great wood underneith. I still use it for hunting in thick cover. The pig below was shot at about 3 -5 meters as it bolted past me.

I found mine at a gunshow I walked past a table and there it was fiddle back walnut and all for $120 I didn't really go looking for an 8mm but couldn't leave it there as a bonus it shoots really well I have shot into the 140's with it in military rifle comps

Mine shoots great as well. I've never shot it at a range but I knocked over a roo whilst spot-lighting one night at a measured 200 meters. I can tell you nobody was more suprised than me when it fell over

Some years ago, bored with the long, cold Canadian winter, I picked up a Swedish M96 at a gun show and decided to restore it. I liked the results so well I purchased another, then a third. With 3 rifles looking like they just came from the arsenal, I decided to give them a try at the range. What a pure delight! The Swedes didn't really get involved in the heavy conflicts, and their rifles were well maintained. Some of the bores look almost new. They're accurate, won't turn you into a spastic cripple, and the actions are reliable. I'd recommend them in a heartbeat. Best wishes.

Cal - Monteal

I like a rifle with a tight chamber like my 30-40 KRAG.
I would stay away from rifles like the Lee Enfield 1896. Bolt action Rifle. The Lee Enfields I own take a hot load to seal the case to the chamber.