Picked up this Chinese SKS at a show last fall, my first military rifle. Enjoy shooting it. Now I have the bug for more and would appreciate any suggestions. Garand? (not cheap), Mauser, Enfield, Arisaka, etc?

I have a few Garands, a 1903a3, a five digit serial Chinese sks and a few others too.

I do like the Garands, also the Brit bolt guns in 303.



Right now you can find some recent import first run Chinese sks. They are well used but can be made to look decent for a battlefield rifle.

M1 carbines are loads of fun too!!!

Technically, the Mosins were military. Can be had at reasonable prices.

I've got a whole lot of Mosins and a few Enfields

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I have one Garand.

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Steve

Martini-Henry:



1917 Enfield:



Standard Products M1 Carbine:



Jungle Carbine:



I've got an 03A3, a couple Garands, a Mosin M44, an 8mm Mauser, and some other SMLEs. I love old military guns.

__________________
“What you got, ain’t new.”

Two Arisaka's with bayonets passed to me by my father,
that he brought back from WWII. One a Type 38, the other a type 99.
Both in very good condition.

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As others have said, Mosins...

I like them too

I have been buying them as they come available, rounds, hexes, laminate stocks and these.

These are the pride of my modest mosin collection.

Its a pair of 1944 carbines, in the Russian box with goodies and an instruction manual. I have left one untouched in the box, the other is great fun to shoot.





Ammo is still on the cheap side and even its kinda fun to play with!



The M44 will draw folks at the range, its loud and different.

The instruction booklet that came with it, well it calls the gun a hunting rifle, not to use surplus ammo, and dont use the paper in the box (oil paper) to wrap food in. It also has just the basic safety stuff.

Ammo available for these? How do they shoot? I heard some are unsafe.

I was late to the party and paid dearly for that too. No pictures but have a Springfield Garand and IBM M-1 carbine.
I sure did miss out in the 80s when they were going cheap but didn't have interest then in them.
I also have a couple Romanian 22lr trainers I did buy cheap. Good little rifles and pretty accurate for what they are.

Surplus from which country? I have rifles that were Chinese, Japanese, Siamese, English, Canadian, Russian, Egyptian, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Hungarian, German, French, Brazilian, Romanian, Czechoslovakian, Argentinian, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian and of course American. (I passed on the Danish Kreg.) Ivan

Only got this one CarlGustaf m96 6.5x55

my 8mm mauser kicks like a mule

I've sold my Yugo Sks and Mausers but still have a few left.No pics of my German K98

I've got the milsurp disease nearly as badly as Ivan. I only have a Russian refurb SKS though. Should have grabbed a Chinese one when they were still cheap as they are usually the best shooters.

If you can get a M1 Garand from CMP while you still can .
A service grade will run you just under $700.00.
M1 Carbines are fun but are getting up in price.
The Russians are still cheap .
German is very expensive.
Japanese can be had still at a decent price .
British can be had at a decent price also.
The best thing I can tell you is before you buy is Buy books and learn first so you don't get burned.

M1 Garand, of course.
Beyond that, my preference is for Argentine Mausers.
Back in the day, they bought nothing but the finest:

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Yes but you have to look for it. Hornaday makes some. I'm surprised PPU doesn't. Arisaka actions are some of the strongest. Very difficult to just blow up even with over pressure rounds. Some were re chambered in 45-70

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Here are some , all in 22lr. Most from Germany.

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Arik is correct, in that Arisaka rifles are very strong actions and have been chambered in 458 Win Mag.. However the rifle that was re-barreled to 45-70 in large numbers was the Siamese Mauser. They were designed by the Germans and made by the Japanese. They are encountered in oiled stocks for the 3 field regiments,and painted (tan) stocks for the 2 palace guard regiments-that is what I have. My best friend also had a rare surplus rifle: the Montezuma Arisaka. Arisaka rifles made for Mexico in 7 x 57. Just a few hundred were made.

Military rifles are like a drug. In the past 47 years I have had dozens come and go. A couple managed to hang around.

Unlikely this Garand saw any service since it was made after the Korean War was over. But it is a military rifle.





This Carbine, on the other hand, is dated April of 1944 leading to thoughts of it going ashore at Omaha Beach. It certainly looks like it's been through a war or two.





I think this was intended to be a military arm so it may have been issued to somebody somewhere.





No excuses here. Probably saw action in the big one.





One of 3,000 made for a clandestine operation, the lot was never delivered to the insurgents.





Among those no longer hanging around the house would be numerous M98 and M95 Mausers, a 303 Enfield, a couple of 1917 Eddystones, Another M1 Garand and another M1 Carbine sent down the road, a Carcano, a Remington Rolling Block and God only knows what else.

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No life story has happy end.

What do you mean technically? LOL! Mosin Nagant were CERTAINLY military weapons and I don't think a soul on Earth would refute that! We've often heard that the M1 Garand was the rifle that won WW2. Well if you ask me, in all honestly the Mosin Nagant probably fits that bill better. People don't give the Russians enough credit for the unfathomable numbers of troops the Soviets threw at the Germans, there was something on the order of 10X the manpower being employed on the Eastern Front in the war vs. the Western Front that the US and Britain was fighting. Many of those men in the East were carrying Mosin Nagant rifles.

I'm the proud owner of two 91/30s and a boat load of ammo for each. I don't shoot them as much as I should, or used to. Great rifles for the money. Here is one of them.



This one is a 1938 Tula M1891/30 7.62x54mmR infantry rifle. Accessories shown are a cleaning kit (lower left), five-round stripper clips (lower center), ammunition pouch (lower right) and a bayonet (upper right). The DVD set (lower right) is "The Unknown War: WWII And The Epic Battles Of The Russian Front" which is narrated by Burt Lancaster. It's definitely worth a watch.

M-14 sniper in an E2 stock.
Winchester M70 with USMC sniper scope

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I enjoy my assortment of USGI milsurp firearms including M1 rifles, M1 carbines, and M1903




Lee Enfield No4 MKII

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- Change it back -

The original receiver was the strongest in the world and could handle any ammo thrown at it. Late war guns might have issues. Yes ammo is available.

Technically? How else can you describe them?

I have just one, a 1917 SMLE No.1 MkIII* in .303 British. I got it for $85 about 20 years ago at a Big 5 Sporting Goods store. I use it as a deck rifle, culling 4 coyotes in the back yard over the years. Clean Break

Love your hunting ensemble color co-ordinated no less. And good hunting. Frank

The Steyr-Mannlicher M95 was originally issued in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and saw action in WWI. Many were rechambered from 8x50R to 8x56R and issued to rear echelon troops in WWII. Yugoslavia converted them to fire 7.92x57, the classic 8mm Mauser round.

As several people have said Arisaka's have a very strong action even the late war rifles.
The thing is make sure DO NOT SHOOT A TRAINING RIFLE!!!!!!
They mostly have smooth bores and where only made to be fired with blank's.
Also it is always good to check head space as a lot of bring backs had there bolts swapped and are not matching to the rifle's.

A "faux" surplus. Expensive tin can shooter:


Faux 1903-A4, two authentic 1917s: one Colt, One S & W.


One Colt 1917, One S & W 1917, one Bavarian Victory Model.


All 1917s:


1943 1911-A1, brought back from Iwo Jima. Made 1943.


Model 12 and 1911 A-1 with Randall #1


More to come

Part dieux:

Garand with 1911 A-1


Carbine with 1911 A-1


Krag


WWI issued 1911


Also have a Colt 1902 from Phillippine Insurrection. No pictures, yet.

I included a few pistols, thought no one would mind. If so, I apologize. My favorites: The m-1 carbine in rifles, the Model 12 in shotguns (also have a model 97 from Adams Express=not a military but marked), the S & W 1917 for revolvers, 1911A-1 for semi autos and 1917 for bolt action rifles. No, maybe the Krag. Or, maybe the Springfield (back to OEM, now)

At one time I had approx. 20 M1 Carbines, including 2 or 3 M1A1's. Had one from each manufacturer including Irwin Pederson. A buddy and I were collecting them, and he had more than I did. We put on displays for a few years at the Ohio Gun Collector's Association when they had their shows at the IX Center by Cleveland Hopkins Airport.

We both got burned out. I sold all my guns, parts, associated paraphernalia, etc., and now regret not keeping some of them. He still has a few and does work on them, including re-doing the leather on the M1A1's folding stocks. His work is flawless and some high end collectors have had him re-do the leather pads.

Don't even have any pictures of the guns anymore.

I have a ton of them but I guess I'll show some that are a little unusual.

Albanian SKS, 1978. Supposedly only about 5,000 of these were ever made.

A Savage Enfield No4, MKI lend lease rifle with the very early round cocking piece. A friend gave me this one. I wish it could talk.

I give up, Photobucket sucks today.

My guns are divided between two states right now and I don't have pictures but here is what I think is a complete list:

M1 Garand
M1 carbine
M1 carbine paratrooper with folding stock
M1A
AR-15
CAR-15
AK47
German Mauser
Moison Nagant 1891
1911A1 WWII manufacture but I don't remember the maked
Walther P38 WWII manufacture, pretty rough but I haven't researched it
Nambu
Webley shaved down to take .45 ACP
Makarov, East German and Russian
1917 "Enfield"
SMLE Mk IV
SMLE Mk III

Arisaka: I split this off in order to tell a short story. I bought it off gunbroker just to fill a hole in my collection. All I wanted was one with the 'mum intact. I never shot it, just put it in my safe while we moved to Korea for three years. Finally relocated us to Denver, the gun still in St. Louis. Last May I made a mad dash to check on my house and pick up some of my guns and this was one that I brought back to CO with me. I took it to my gunsmith who is also president of the CO Gun Collector's Association. I asked him if it was shootable. He said yes, but that he wouldn't. He said it was the fineset example he's ever seen and the only one with a bolt # that matches the rifle. He doesn't think it was ever issued because it still has cosmoline in the monopod attach hole.

My wife (asawa) is from the Philippines. I believe you are referring to the War for Independance.

Ok.. so you want's handguns to

How about a Husqvarna m07 in 9mmBrowningLong?

Alltough this one is civilian, the military look's just the same.
only different is a unit stamp.

And a Husqvarna m87 in 7.5mm SwedishNagant


traded it for a WaltherPP

A Swiss K31. Used to be able to buy them for $89. They are very accurate.

Reising Model 65 WW2 training rifle in .22, a semi-auto built to simulate an M1 in size , heft and sight picture.

My absolute favorite is this Springfield Armory M1922 M2.

Another oddball, an Enfield No2, MK4 training rifle in .22 made up from an No1, MKIII rifle. There are no springs or follower in the magazine and the empties fall into it and get emptied like an ashtray at the end of the day.

Forgot my Phillipine "War of Indepence" 1903 Colt Army left wheeler. Most of these have bad finishes due to the climate where they served.


A pair of Colt Commandos exactly 100 digits apart.

Off topic, so I will make it quick........I read somewhere that of all the Ordinance expended during WWII, the Russians fired off 75% compared to the rest of the Allies 25%....

I started buying Milsurp firearms when I was still in the military, back in '87 or'88. For one reason or another at that point in time the EBRs that I was really interested in had experienced a substantial increase in price (though nothing as dramatic as we would see later during the '94-'04 AWB.)

So while trudging around a gunshow looking for a new acquisition, and not finding anything I was interested in that I felt I could afford...I loitered at the table of one of the dealers I had dealt with before, and he had a large selection of Milsurps. Since they were MUCH more affordable, I believe I left that show with 4 rifles and 2 handguns. If memory serves, I believe that day I picked up a Hungarian 8x56 straight-pull (M.95 Steyr-Mannlicher), a French MAS.36, a Finnish Mosin Nagant 91/30, and a SMLE, as well as a Swiss Ordnance Revolver M.1929 in 7.5mm, and a French M. 1892 revolver in 8mm.

Over the next couple of shows I picked up a Chinese Type 53 (M.44) Nagant carbine, an Egyptian Hakim in 8mm Mauser (what an interesting rifle, with an odd manual-of-arms...hand one to a friend, watch him try to figure it out!), a Chinese Type 56 carbine (SKS), and an Arisaka.

Then after a few years pause while I went overseas, I came back and acquired a M-1 Garand, then later a "Tanker" Garand (yes, I know...there's no such thing, it's a commercially modded rifle) a couple of 1903s, an 03A3, multiple additional SKSs (Yugos and Norincos), multiple Makarovs(E.G., Bulgarian, and Russian [commercial, not technically "surplus"]), several Polish P-64s, several CZ-82s, a pair of Walther PPs in 7.65mm, an IBM M-1 Carbine, a CZ-50 and CZ-52, and a Nagant M.1895 revolver.

I also inherited a P.38 and Radom P.35 from my Father when he passed away. These were weapons he had brought back from his time in France and Germany during WWII. These, of course, are more meaningful to me than all the rest.

I'm glad that I did have the opportunity to have purchased what I did, when I did...but there are still some I wished I had thought to purchase back then. While I love my ARs and AKs and the like, these surplus firearms are so enjoyable to fire, and even just handling them and thinking about the people that may have used them, and the battles they may have seen...you're just holding history in your hands.

Tim

I got started with South American mausers then all kinds of milsurp rifles. No one has posted an FN49. Here are a couple of Argentine rifles.


These rifles were made after WW2 when the world was filled with free M1s from Uncle. They were made in 5 different calibers for 9 countries. I have bunches of them.

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Dennis

I have a Garand, 1903A3, M1 Carbine, S&W 1917, Colt 1917, Chinese SKS, plus Arisaka and Moisin wall-hangers that were given to me. While it's no warrior, I have a Remington 40X-B .22 marked "U.S." Sorry, no pics. I know, I know....

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Wayne
Torn & Frayed

Looking at a Swiss K 31 and a Swede 6.5. My friend says I can shoot them first, then decide. Larry

Sometimes it seems you spend as much money on the "stuff" that goes with the milsurps as you do on the guns themselves.

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- Change it back -

Here's one you don't see every day; a Steyr M95M. Started life as an Austrian 8X50. After WW I, it was given as war reparations to Yugoslavia, where they converted it to 8X57 Mauser. Everything forward of the receiver looks like a Kar 98K. It loads from Mauser stripper clips and has a much modified magazine to feed the thinner, rimless round. The extractors break, and are completely unobtainable, thus I don't shoot it much.

Quite a few of them were modified, but they fought the partisan war in Yugoslavia and not many survuved. Typically they are in 'boat anchor' condition, and the two other ones I've seen were like that. The condition of this one is almost unprecedented.

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6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser. Nice gun.

I have a few.



Swedish Mausers from left to right.

1899 Oberndorf Mauser M96/38 All matching, arsenal force match

1912 Carl Gustaf M96 matching except for the rear sight. Has shot m.o.a.

1912 Carl Gustaf FSR M96 matching. Beautiful tiger striped walnut stock.

1915 Carl Gustaf M96. has shot m.o.a.

1922 Carl Gustaf SA marked M96 matching. Ugliest rifle I own, looks like it's been drug through a trench. No need cleaning up history.

1924 Carl Gustaf M96 matching. Rarest year of production, only 2149 made that year. Perhaps my favorite.



Swedish CG63 built on a 1895 m94 Oberndorf Mauser receiver by Carl Gustaf in 1965. Not technically a military rifle anymore. Rebuilt by a Swedish government arsenal though for the Swedish shooting clubs.





Left and top, an RC 1937 J.P.Sauer and Sonhs K98k. See the billboard import stamp. Right and bottom, 1937 J.P. Sauer and Sohn K98k bringback. Matching except for the front band which has obviously been on the rifle for a long time.
Serial numbers are within 10,000 of each other.





Chinese SKS matching



Polish AK.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Easy decision, get both. K31s and Swede Mausers are usually stupid accurate. 6.5 Swede is easier on the shoulder, of course, but don't underestimate it as a hunting round. They kill moose with them in Scandinavia. That round penetrates like the Dickens.

The K31 will take a no-drill scope mount and then it's off to the races. If you have a good one with just a 4x scope it will make you feel like a sniping god.

I've got a bunch, don't have any pics of most of them. But here's a
CMP Springfield Garand made during the Korean conflict in the 50s.
Also this Navy marked Victory model S&W with replacement grips.

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