Next purchase

[JSnover]

What charlie b said.
'98 Mausers have a look that I can't resist. Enfield's have some of the smoothest bolts I could ever wish for in a military rifle. I loved my Garand but it was just plain heavy.
I'd opt for one with a decent market for components; 7 or 8mm, .30/7.62, .303 would all be fairly easy to feed and a lot of different makes/models to choose from.
Is there a particular country or conflict you had in mind?

[Ithaca Gunner]

These days you would want something you can at least get ammo or brass for, (at an affordable price). The days of picking up a mil-surp on the cheap are over, not to mention one that you can find affordable ammo or brass for. I was disgusted at the prices I saw this year of mil-surps! charlie b is right, I saw ''common'' mil-surps earlier this year generally in nice shape at a show and the prices were $1,000.00 each for bolt actions in original condition, (Mausers, Mosins, Enfields) with Springfields and U.S. Enfields approaching the $2,000.00 mark.

For me one of the funnest mil-surp rifles is the U.S. Springfield .45, (trapdoor .45/70) but even these in shooter grade are now getting up there in price. One that I've considered for myself lately, (before they get any higher in price) is the Chilean Mauser 7x57 Mauser. They're beautifully made and finished, a great many of them are antiques and can ship to your door, they have a third safety lug behind the bolt, (I think they're the only 1893 design with this feature) and they're 7mm Mauser!

[ukrifleman]

If you want something a little bit different, a MAS 36 could fit the bill.
They are well made, fun to shoot and the 7.5x54 cartridge is on a par with the 7.62 NATO round.
ukrifleman

[charlie b]

This has caused me to look on gunbroker. I've wanted a sport Mauser in 7x57 for a while. Found out there are quite a few sporterized 7x57's out there not very expensive. Hmmmm.

[Speedo66]

Some of the nicest are the Swedes, well build and very accurate. Mild recoil, and the Swedes took care of them, so most are in great shape.

I had both the 1896 and the M38, and really liked the '38 short rifle. Ammo, 6.5x55, is not hard to find.

[Eddie1971]

Deals are still out there, you need to be diligent and look on GunBroker and your local gun shops. Many times there are deals to be found. I find deals still in military surplus. But the days are over thanks to inflation, of finding good original ones for $100-300. It's more like $500+.

[ebb]

If you just want surplus Classic arms has Carcano's for $249. But to my way of thinking that's $149 too much. Anything that is desirable is expensive. I haven't seen a M1 carbine in years for less than 1200 -1300 dollars. To me that only surplus that I would want and could afford would be a SwissK31.

[Rich/WIS]

I am partial to the US 1903A3, the peep rear is compatible with aging eyes.30/06 brass is not an issue and there are a slew of bullet molds available. Unfortunately they have gotten quite pricey, but a shooter grade is still not too crazy price wise. The only upgrade on my CMP rifle was a replacement C stock to make it more use friendly for me, but a lot of shooter have no problems with the issue stocks. As noted before check bore condition.

[Dutchman]

Owner of military bolt action rifles since 1966 and handloader since 1968 you can take my opinion for what its worth. I've owned everything from 1871 Mauser to K98k Mauser and others in 6.5x55, 7x57, 7.62x54R, 7.65x53, .303, 8x57, 7.5x54, 7.5x55, .30-06, .30-40 and some I've forgotten to include the m/1903 Springfield, m/03A3, m/1917 Rifle, m/1898 Krag.

Best choice in 2022: Czech Persian 98/29, K98k, various Yugo 98 (m/24-47, m/48). You'll choose these over all else if you want the best rifle action, strongest action, most available reloading components. If you'll accept a military "sporter" then a 98 Mauser will offer the widest selection with K98k being the most available and a Yugo m/48 coming in a close 2nd.

I've spent most of my life working with the Swedish m/1896 Mauser 6.5x55 but the action strength and technicals of the m/1896 and m/38 are sub-par to the 98 action.

While various Mosin-Nagant m/1891-30 and m/44 are very prolific on the market they are archaic and clumsy overall. I own quite a few different models but I would never pick one of these over a 98 Mauser.

Lee-Enfield: only if you have an excessively masochistic need to untwist pretzels.

The French MAS36 has no mechanical safety. Although they have a good reputation for accuracy they are possibly the ugliest rifle every made by the hand of man.

Avoid everything else not mentioned above and your choices will be much easier. Probably the most widely available military bolt action will be the K98k Mauser caliber 8x57.





Dutch

[Uncle Grinch]

Amen Dutch!

Couldn’t say it any better.

[steveu]

Finn 28/30! They shoot .308 bullets and have been accurized.

[gwpercle]

Been doing it since the mid 1960"s ... lots of fun and interesting .
I have enjoyed reloading and shooting bolt actions more than semi-auto's .
Bolt guns give you a little leeway on boolits and powder charges ...
Starting with my first :
7.5 Swiss K-11 Schmidt-Ruben straight pull
30-06 1903-A3 Springfield
7 X 57 Mauser model 1895 Spanish Mauser- short rifle
303 British No 4 MK I (1942 BSA) Lee-Enfield

I like them all ... the Swiss rifle is a work of art and accurate , but the 03-A3 Springfield is too . I sporterized the 7 X 57 95 mauser and it's my favorite hunting rifle and accurate also .
My favorite cast boolit rifle is the 303 British . Mine was built at Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) and the tolerances are spot on with a nice 5 groove barrel ...the
Lee 303B C312-185-1R , sized .313" over 13 grs. of Red Dot is a tack driving fun gun .

They are all a hoot to shoot ... my advice is get whichever you can in the best condition you can ... they are all good rifles .
My 7 X 57 95 Mauser came with a dark rough bore ... a brass brush and J-B Bore Compound cleaned it up well enough but a good bore from the get go is best .
My 303 British had a nice unpitted bore , as did the 03-A3 Springfield and made cast boolit shooting easy .
Good luck ... let us know what you find !
Gary

[john.k]

if you want a sporter,then a nice 98 converted by Parker Hale in 1960s is a good buy.......not expensive,nice wood ,and will have scope mounts ,and maybe even a quality modern scope............any kind of milsurp in original condition will cost much more than a nice sporter converted by a reputable maker.

[uscra112]

The first big decision is whether you care about originality. I blew that off and bought sporterized versions for quite a few years. Much cheaper, and they work the same. Some are true works of art, but others are victims of bunkhouse gunsmiths, so beware, especially of stuff offered on Gunbroker.

K-31s in original condition are still pretty reasonable, and they are almost always in good condition, (they were owned and maintained by Swiss, after all), but they are very hard to mount a scope to. Properly set up, they are so accurate that our club banned them from mil-surp shoots.

Everyone has to own a 98 Mauser and an 03 Springfield before they are allowed into Heaven. And I have, but as a cast bullet nut I give my first allegiance to the Krag. Sporters are plentiful, owing to the fact that at one time you could buy one from Uncle for about 2 bucks, and an awful lot of working-class hunters did. Also difficult to scope, but not so much so as the K-31.

My $0.05 worth.

[slim1836]

I've only had 3 Mausers and several Mosin Nagants but when I got my WWII Springfield M1 Garand that settled the debate for me. I will continue to shoot the others, but the Garand just fits what I like, love the sights, very little recoil, and semi-automatic. Heavy, but I bench rest shoot due to physical limitations. Ammo and casings are easy to come by also. Very enjoyable.

Slim

[HWooldridge]

I put a long eye relief scope on my K-31 for a while but we liked using the iron sights, so I put the rear sight back and mounted an offset scope mount with a Leupold 6x scope. My son shoots it more than me; now he can switch back and forth between the two.

He used to work on an exotic ranch and carried the K-31 as a backup rifle when guiding clients. I gave him a box of PRVI jacketed soft points along with the ball ammo we normally carry. He had to dispatch a wounded eland once and dropped it with one shot through the shoulders at about 100 yards. Ballistically, the 7.5x55 is somewhere between a .308 and .30-06 so it's a pretty good thumper.

And we have shot golf balls with it at 100+ yards. Those Swiss rifles are extremely accurate.

[JoeJames]

I am putting my waiver in right now, and hope I am not starting an argument here. Most things I have learned have been from bitter experience. Ages ago I bought a 1903 Springfield at a local gun show. Turned out it was a low number with a barrel with a WW2 barrel date. Way before the internet, but I looked it up in Hatcher's Notebook. Mine was definitely in the dangerous low number zone. Finally learned that yes indeed, the US Government during the stress of WW2 re-barreled a slew of them under the philosophy of "Hey, if only one or two blow up out of 200,000 or so, ain't no big deal". So it was difficult to resell. I shot it a few times before I was cognizant of the danger without trouble. However, I do own a high number 1903 US Springfield with a 1920 barrel date.

[uscra112]

Those Swiss rifles are extremely accurate.

They sure are! I don't post what mine have done for fear of being called a liar. With good eyes and decent weather, golf balls at 100 are almost a gimme off of bags.

Here's my installation of a Bushnell Phantom pistol scope on one of my K-31s. Nice low sight line.

[beemer]

They sure are! I don't post what mine have done for fear of being called a liar. With good eyes and decent weather, golf balls at 100 are almost a gimme off of bags.

Here's my installation of a Bushnell Phantom pistol scope on one of my K-31s. Nice low sight line.

I completely understand, I had two, one would shoot ragged holes at 100 yds. with GP-ll ammo. I have spent a lot of money to get some rifles to shoot that. I never improved on the GP-ll ammo either.

Accurate and made like a Swiss watch but I never took to them. I sold both for a good price and don't miss them. I just prefer my #4's and Mausers.

[lead collector]

There has been some great advice given so far, but I will throw in my thoughts.
If you are new to military rifles, and it sounds like you are, I would start simple and work from there.

An a 8mm is a wonderful cast lead shooter, and usually a very willing cast shooter. With the exception of a Spanish that my brother has, all that my shooting buddies and I have played with have proven to be very accurate.
Its not too hard to find a reasonable priced Turkish 98 out there, but look the bores over very well, before laying out you cash.
Yugos are the same way, only probably better, as they are newer, and a lot of them came into this country as new un-issued rifles, just a few years ago.
Both of the above rifles have merit, as neither are not of much interest to most collectors, and perhaps will never be, so the price is easier to swallow.
An 8mm mauser case is easy to make from abundant cheap 3006 brass, so you are not limiting your self to specific case availability, like a 303, 7.62 Russian, 7/5 Swiss and 6.5 Sweed.
Before PPU started making brass and ammo, some of these were really expensive to buy, as about the only show in town was Norma.
If you have the funding available an 03A3 is a very good choice. Very accurate, and the sights are probably the best of all rifles.

A Swiss is a fantastic rifle, but the brass is propitiatory, and if the supply of PPU brass goes away, the cost will go up notably.
If you buy one, you will more than likely love it, as most people do. Just stock up on brass, while you can.... Just in case...
A Finn, is also a great rifle, but brass is the same thing. Same with the Russian Mosin Nagants.

If shooting cast is your plans, and I am guessing it is, I would not go below 30 caliber.
I am not saying that cast cant be shot in 7mm's and 6.5's but it becomes more difficult.

Good luck.