What to Buy?

[Hip's Ax]

I have a lot of different mil surp bolt rifles and the one I use for 200 yard mil surp bolt rifle matches is my No4Mk2 Enfield. I got it new in the wrap and tightened up the head space to commercial specs. I shoot Sierra MatchKings with IMR 4064 and get a little over 2 MOA prone from the sling. The rifle just works well, great for the rapid fire phase with its short bolt throw and easy stripper clip reloading and the sights are just great. Only wish it had a windage knob but holding off for the various positions seems easy. These rifles can be found for your price range, that is ones that were unwrapped and fired a little.

[OTThomas]

Is $480 dollars (plus tax) a good deal for a sporterized Remington P17?

[Hip's Ax]

Sounds high to me. I'll assume its an M1917 Remington in 30-06?

[Dutchman]

I'd suggest forgetting the Swede and instead hunt down a Czech Persian 98/29 in 8x57. Superior 98 action & utterly strong. Remington makes 8x57 brass so it's not an issue to find good brass cheap. 8x57 is a very capable cartridge and with cast can be very accurate.

Dutch

[higgins]

I too can cast a vote for the Finnish M39 Mosin. They are generally accurate with decent triggers, and a good stock design. I haven't shot handloads in mine since I still have cheap surplus on hand I bought several years ago. Be aware that most of them you will come across have been fired almost exclusively with corrosive combloc ammo, so be very critical of bore condition. I've seen a lot of nice ones (Enfields too) that look great on the outside and have ruined bores because they were not properly cleaned after firing corrosive ammo. 7.62x54R surplus is still available and more reasonably priced. To get educated on the vast array of MN rifles, go to 7.62x54R.net.

[MtGun44]

Notice he said "new or surplus".

Frankly, the most accurate rifle for $450-500 will be a Savage in something "normal"
like .308, 7mm-08, .270, .30-06, .280 or similar.

None of my milsurps will do what EVERY Savage will do. We are talking jacketed
bullets here, now.

I LOVE MY MILSURPS. But, they are old rifles, often with poor barrel bedding and action
bedding, worn bores, etc. Great history lessons, and perfectly adequate for many purposes.

But "most accurate". . . . . . . NOPE. Buy 10 Savage M110s and you will see consistent
accuracy from a moderately priced rifle. I am not a giant fan of their very average looks,
but they DO work!

If you mean "most accurate milsurp", then 1903 Springfield, Finn M28, Swiss K31, Swede
M95 are all really good shooters, and sometimes they may match what the Savage will do,
if you add a scope, fix the triggers (on most) and get a good barrel.

Bill

[shawnsmc]

Or you can get a mauser see how it shoots and if you are not satisfied you can sporterize it. Those Adams and Bennett barrels from Midway shoot amazingly well for such a cheap barrel. I did one in .220 Swift and I have put that gun in the low .2's at one hundred yards on numerous occasions.

I also would recommend one of the newer Savage bolt guns with the acutrigger. I got a 30-06 that came in a package with a cheap simmons scope and rings model 111 I think. After I bedded the action and worked on the trigger(non acutrigger) I can get half inch groups consistently with Federal Gold Medal ammo and the same maybe slightly better with handloads.

Shawn

[30calflash]

Notice he said "new or surplus".

Bill

Good point! I guess all of us milsurp addicts skipped the 'new or' part altogether!

+1 on a Savage if you go 'new'

[LEADLUBBER]

I have seen a lot of very-nice used condition Push-feed Winchester model 70's that will group 1 MOA or better out of the box, without being messed with. These push feed rifles sell for around $300-$350 here in Texas.

I have seen used 1997-1999 model 70 Classics with controlled round feed and BOSS system group .5 inches with factory loads out of the box. You can find these rifles for $450-$550 from an individual seller still if You take some time and buy it right...

In all honestly, messing with a Milsurp action seems like You would be moving backwards before even starting. I LOVE milsurp rifles for the novelty of shooting something with a legacy, but, using one for a precision shooting tool can be a challenge so difficult that You will quit shooting this type of scenario with this gun very quickly, and military guns have more finicky buyers than new-used guns many times. You truly must have the gun headspace checked, and look at the barrel with a bore inspection tool. Almost all military barrels, if used, will be pitted because of mercuric primers and moisture in the bore because of use of the rifles or improper maintenance.




Go to any mechanics tool box and see what he has in it. He probably won't have a set of old globemasters and a western auto-brand rachet; if on a budget even, he will have at least Craftsman professional tools and a few Snap-on or Mac tools thrown in.

Don't potentially disadvantage yourself by starting with an old worn tool.

go with a .30-06 or .308 to keep costs down for reloading with cast and jaxeted boolits....

My picks:

1. Winchester model 70 Classic with BOSS
2. Winchester model 70 push feed
3. Savage model 10/11/12


If going surplus, get a BRNO VZ24 Mauser or other controlled round feed mauser with an excellent bore in 8mm x 57 and convert it to some type of aperture sight mounted to the receiver


GOOD LUCK!

[MtGun44]

Of the three, if you are just looking at odds of getting a really accurate rifle, I'd bet that
your odds with the Savage are 90% or better, and with either Win about 50-50.

The Wins will win the beauty contest, hands down.

Bill

[shawnsmc]

Of the three, if you are just looking at odds of getting a really accurate rifle, I'd bet that
your odds with the Savage are 90% or better, and with either Win about 50-50.

The Wins will win the beauty contest, hands down.

Bill

I agree with that. The only winchester 70 I have is a 270 WSM and I cant get it to shoot under about 1 1/4 inch at 100 yards. I have played with it a lot, bedding the action and free floating the barrel then tried putting a pressure bend in it to no avail. As for the savage's I have played with 3 of them and I got all of them under 3/4 of an inch. And the 220 swift I mentioned above is built on a brno vz24 action.