Which One Should I Buy?

[Fred McIntire]

Okay, I'm looking to buy a military surplus rifle. I'm looking for one that has the following characteristics;

1.  Plentiful CHEAP Ammo Supply.
2.  Hunting Level Accuracy.
3.  Readily available parts / accessories.

I have been leaning towards an SKS. Which brand or country of origin / manufacture should I choose? Which one is the most reliable? Is there a better bang for the buck than the SKS? What should I expect to pay?

Any suggestions as far as who offers the best prices on these weapons and accessories?

Thanks for any and all input.

Fred

[RB Rooson]

How about a Mosin-Nagant M38 or M44?

1.  7.62 x 54R ammo is very affordable and can be found in variety of bullet weights.

2.  Get the M38 or M44 with the "K in a Circle" stamping on the receiver.  This was the Russian proofing stamp for accuracy and I have found them to be "dead-on".

3.  The rifle can be obtained for around $99.00 and if you are judicious in  your search, you can find very good stocks and barrels.

The M38 or M44 (take off the bayonet for hunting unless you plan on stabbing a deer......) is fairly light-weight and easy to carry all day long.  Both are very simple in taking apart and there is a ton of extra parts/accessories out there.

Hope this helps.......

[MGMorden]

I'd agree on the Mosin-Nagant, or possibly one of the cheaper 8mm Mausers.  Ammo for both is cheap (though it's FMJ which won't be much good for hunting) and the guns are far more accurate than the SKS (they're far more powerful as well, with the the above two guns being closer to the .30-06 in power and the  SKS being closer to the .30-30).

[Mikey]

Fred:  get yourself either an 8mm Yugo Mauser/VZ24, a Moison -Nagant in 7.62x54, a 303 Brit, a Swede M38 in 6.5 Swede, or even a 7.5x55 Schmidt Rubin.  All make excellent hunting arms and calibers.  Hunting ammunition can be purchased for all calibers mentioned and purchased very inexpensively.  The best ammo around for those mil-surp calibers is (in my opinion) Sellier and Bellot - european made to original factory specs and is of excellent quality.  

Right off the top I would go for the 6.5 or 8mm Mausers - those calibers leave nothing to be desired and the 6.5 Swede is incredibly accurate.  The 8mm Muaser gives up nothing to the 30-06 and all the other calibers mentioned fit right in between the 308 and 30-06 power range.  HTH.  Mikey.

[1911crazy]

Well I would buy all three a Yugo 8mm mauser,  a mosin 7.62x54 and an sks  you could have all three for under $400 WOW the average hunting modern rifle costs more than that for one gun??  I found my latest sks purchase(chinese paratrooper) to be very accurate it will shoot 1 1/2" to 2" groups with chinese FMJ surplus ammo and who knows how it will tighten up if I roll my own ammo.  There still are some affordable excellent condition yugo sks's still available right now and a chinese sks or a russian refurb can run from $150 to $250. The mosin's are affordable($59 to $99) right now and they have to be the best buy out there right now and they give up nothing in accuracy to anything too.  The M38's and M91/59's(carbines) make great hunting rifles and the 91/30's make great mid to long range weapons too.  The shorter carbine is a nice gun for using in the woods.  You can still find affordable 8mm mausers(up to $149) too right now the time is right to buy any of these or all of these they all have cheap affordable surplus ammo still available too.
                                                                 Frugal  BigBill
A swede 6.5 mauser is a good choice too they can be found a little pricey right now but some can be had for around  $175 to $225 but they will surely out shoot like any expensive modern rifle and you just won't believe the accuracy they have if we do our part.  Ok now we are up to 4 rifles for around $600 it doesn't get any better than this???

[Fred McIntire]

Thanks for all the info guys! It sounds like there are a lot of opportunities to get a great shooting gun for just a little money.

I guess the thing that we sometimes forget to think about is the fact that these rifles were on the cutting edge when they were originally manufactured. It's kinda like something an old man pointed out to me when I was looking at tractors. Many years ago, if you had a 2 cylinder John Deere, with a 2 bottom plow, you were it. Look at it now though. If you don't have a tractor with quad wheels, turbo charged, 16 row plow, or more, you can't farm.

Thanks again.

Fred

[Runs with Scissors]

You can find a swedish M38 in VGC for $200-$300 or so. Look for the rear sight with the dial adapter that replaces the old ladder-type elevation adjustment. Also, look for a "2" or "3" marked in the triangular section of the brass stock disk. Clean it up and shell out $20-$30 to have the barrel re-crowned.
This rifle is easily capable of 2" groups at 100 yards....with iron sights!
For practice, you can order FNM FMJ ammo from Sportsman's Guide for $5 a box/$150 for 500.
S&B makes great hunting ammo that sells for around $8-$10 a box.
Parts for the swedes are a little more scarce than the German mausers, but you still can find them.
In about 3-5 years you can sell the swede and purchase any newly manufactured deer rifle with your profit.

Bill

[RB Rooson]

Everyone has absolutely great tips on which gun to buy cheaply......(ahh, inexpensively)!  I would have to throw in with Mikey and also promote the Swiss K-31 Schmitt-Rubin Straight-pull in 7.5 x 55 mm.......

The ammunition may be abit more pricey, but the accuracy of this rifle is scary (meaning it can hit anything that you can see!) and is probably the best rifle for money on the market right now.  But, with the K-31 you had better hurry up as we have seen the demand for them grow tremendously in the past few months.

The Mosin's are very affordable for both gun and ammo if you don't want a huge investment right away.  The deer, bear or whatever doesn't care about the quality or price of the gun that hit it, just that a bullet going like a locomotive was dead-on at that given moment.

Good Luck and keep us all informed on what you finally get......I would really like to know and hear your comments as to why.  

Take care..........