7 replies to this topic

[Horty]

I was talking to a fellow shooter today and he suggested that mil-surp bolt action comps are a blast. I know nothing about mil-surp rifles, if I wanted to get into this what would I need? He suggested a Mosin since they are so cheap, what are some other options?

[Kevin S.]

You can find lots of other rifles in the $2-400 dollar range. Different types of Mausers, Enfields, Arisakas, and the Swedish straight pulls. The big thing about the Mosins, along with them being dirt cheap, is that the ammo is as well. You are looking at needing 50 rounds or so for those matches, and unless you handload that will get expensive fast.

[Dustin Cantrell]

Just buy one of each. It's a good approach.

I like my 91/30 but I haven't shot it a ton. $100 is pretty cheap for a rifle.

[aeropb]

The guys that shoot MBABR have like 4 of each rifle. But you'll mostly see 1903's.

[poopgiggle]

You can find lots of other rifles in the $2-400 dollar range. Different types of Mausers, Enfields, Arisakas, and the Swedish straight pulls. The big thing about the Mosins, along with them being dirt cheap, is that the ammo is as well. You are looking at needing 50 rounds or so for those matches, and unless you handload that will get expensive fast.

The straight-pulls were Swiss. The Swedes shot their own special Mausers.

OP, the holy trinity of inexpensive, accurate milsurp bolt guns is the Swiss K31, the Swede Mauser, and the Finn Mosin.

I used to own a K31 and it was awesome. All the milsurp ammo, GP11, is match-grade non-corrosive. It is, however, Berdan primed so reloading it is a giant pain in the ass. You can buy Boxer-primed brass though. I never tried to reload for it but I've heard that it's difficult because of the K31's tight chamber and short throat. The upside of the K31 is that they're still popular in Switzerland as target rifles so you can buy all kinds of neat stuff like diopter sights for them.

A friend of mine has a Finn Mosin and it's great. Just make sure you do your research so that you know the difference between a Finn Mosin, a Finned Mosin, a Finn capture, Finn purchase, etc. Only downside is that most surplus 7.62x54r ammo is garbage.

I don't know a whole lot about Swede Mausers except that they're chambered in 6.5 Swede, and the Swedes sent their own special steel to Mauser to make them. 6.5 has been a popular match chambering in Europe for years and it's starting to gain momentum in the US among obscure caliber dorks, so finding information and components to load good ammo for it shouldn't be hard.

[poopgiggle]

Or you could just, like, buy a 1903. They're more expensive though.

FWIW, when I've looked at the results for the milsurp bolt action matches at Red Castle the guy who wins almost invariably shoots a K31 or a 1903.

[Dux-R-Us]

you will need to spend lots of cash on a 1903 to win the vast sums of money up for grabs at the Mil.Bolt Action shoots. How do you think those guys can afford that many rifles??? Cuz they win! Often!

I like the MBA matches, but they conflict with USPSA at OKC and I only have so much capitol (or capital) to put towards shooting things that are not skeet. I shoot a No4MkI. I'm Still convinced that that rifle is better than the shooter. It's fun regardless. After the last match I broke down and bought a P---sy Pad to wear. My hand went numb after 20 rounds. At 51, I have suffered all the nerve damage I can take.


Tally ho!

K

[DoctorJJ]

Get a K31. You won't be disappointed. It will probably be able to shoot as good as you can. The ammo really isn't that expensive. I have a few Mosin's, but the Swiss is my fave. They are a bargain right now.