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Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

houghtonsurvival

houghtonsurvival

Private
Minuteman
Jul 12, 2011
45
0
46
Michigan
www.houghtonsurvival.com
Hey,
I am just starting to collect vintage, original weapons. I bought my first, a 1944 Mosin Nagant, and am addicted. Anyone know of any other good starter vintage rifles? Price is an issue, so let's start with the most inexpensive.

The M91-30 I got is a beauty! It took a while to get it clean but it looks so nice. I am not into "sporterizing" these things, I feel like it is a piece of history that I am owning.

Anyhow, any ideas?

Thanks!
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

CMP Garands are a must. Sign up for the CMP Sales News Letter on up coming sales, a few more 1903s and 1917 Enfields are suppose to be released later this year.

Also go go with your Mosin, another much have is the '95 Nagant Pistol 7.62X38. About the same price as the Mosin (in the $100 Range) at J&G Sales. A heck of a lot of fun to shoot, (picture below).

Hats off to you for not wanting to sportize (butcher) these rifles, they aren't made any more.

GEDC2504.JPG
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

Sorry

Double tap, it doubled on me.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

What does a 1903 go for? I would love t add that to my collection! Also, I will look in to CMP. Thanks!

I had no idea that the Nagant pistols were that inexpensive! That is great news!
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

Finnish Mosin Nagant's, Swedish 6.5x55's. Both should be in the $300 range, give or take.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

I like the Spanish Mauser FR-8. Neat little bolt-action "assault" rifle chambered in 7.62x51.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

98K trumps ALL "vintage" bolt military weapons.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

The 98K and the K31 both look really nice. I think this is the direction I will be taking. The others seem to be pretty expensive. Right now the income is not that good!
smile.gif
Anyone looking for a website? LOL!
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

trying to find the Spanish Mauser FR-8 for sale... What does it go for? The rifle looks sweet. The K31 Swiss bolt is insane! If I see one of these puppies, it will be an addition to the charge card bill!
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

Enfield's Mk1 and Mk4 great shooters, both mine will out shoot me 03's and you cans still pick them up for 250.00 ea.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

No question, the K31 Swiss. I would spend a little more $300-$400 to get a walnut stock in a tiger pattern. However, a walnut stock rifle in good condition with a 90%+ bluing can be had for as low as $230.

Pick up some Swiss 7.5x55 GP11 ammo as well. Hands down the best military ammo ever made, it's not almost a match grade round, it IS a match grade bullet (drilled primer holes instead of punched, wax sealant ring around the bullet for a more consistent seat within the chamber, tight tolerances from bullet to bullet).

Most K31's will shoot at MOA at 100 yards, an incredibly accurate rifle, the bore of almost all of them are bright sparkling clean as the Swiss NEVER shot corrosive ammo and used a special grease to clean their barrels. Also, if you're lucky, you can remove the buttstock and find the laminated strip of paper that details name and address of the original owner of the rifle (way back in the 1940's). Sometimes you can even track the owner down, it's very cool to have.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: armydog</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Enfield's Mk1 and Mk4 great shooters, both mine will out shoot me 03's and you cans still pick them up for 250.00 ea. </div></div>

Boy I sure would like to find one of these. I am going to look right now and see if I can get one from my local gun shop. Thanks for the info!
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

Mosin Nagant
SVT
Mauser 98K
Enfield
M1 Garand
Springfield '03

Must have, hehe.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7.62gunr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">98K trumps ALL "vintage" bolt military weapons. </div></div>
That is true, but for variety, sometimes you change channels.
MosinNagantwithVZ59barrelcheekrestbipodscopeweldedboltandnowpistolgripreallygettingtobebeautiful7-23-2011.jpg

I have $5 into the 1937 Iz Mosin Nagant receiver at a gun show. It had a sewer pipe barrel attached.
I got an unfired semi finished VZ59 machine gun barrel for $40 from TN Guns. I got that discount because it had a gas hole that I tapped and plugged. I cut many of the quick change features off the barrel to make it round. I made a stepped shroud that I lapped and Loctited at the breech so the receiver should and the inner C ring both made contact when I headspaced it.
The stock was a take off.
The pistol grip was an STG58 take off [discarded for 922(r) compliance], mounted with 3/8" lag bolts with the wood screw threads cut into the wood in two holes so the grip can be moved forward or back.
The scope mount is an ATI $23 model, but I drilled and coutersank a third hole for the 10-32 screws into the receiver.
I pillar bed with 3/8" mild steel tubing while pre compressed.
The bi-pod mount was a piece of scrap Walnut that is glued with Tightbond II and pinned with .1" diameter stainless deck nails.
There is a $2 Uncle Mike's swivel stud screwed into the Walnut, for the Harris bipod mounting.
The trigger job is just a .045" shim under the rear of the sear, that gets the force from 9 pounds to 4.5 pounds.
Someone TIG welded the bolt handle for me, as my TIG welding skill is primitive.
Try to buy a newly manufactured receiver with an inner "C" ring, flat bottom, and integral recoil lug, and you will be into the big $.
When in two minutes, the scope, rings, cheek rest, and bi pod are moved on to another rifle, there is only ~ $100 invested into the rifle.
I got a 100 piece box of the 7.62x53R Lapua brass for $42 ~8 years ago. Now it is $126.

What does it all mean?
The rifle cost less to build than 100 pieces of brass
shocked.gif
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

Houghton:

All good suggestions above. I would consider adding a Ross to that list. They can be quite inexpensive and have gained a lot in popularity over the past few years.

Depending how far you want to go back, a .577 Snider conversion Enfield is a hoot and ammo is available again.

And don't write off Arisaka's. They can still be found for peanuts, though great examples with Chrysanthanum intact are getting pricey. I picked up a relatively nice one last year for under $50.

Last, a .30/40 Krag is one to look at. They used to cost nothing, but have definitely hit the collector sweet spot. Cool rifles w. side-load magazine.

Cheers,

Sirhr
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

I bought my K98 Mauser a couple years ago from Mitchell's Mausers. Beautifull rifle, and still shoots decently. From what I can tell, it was an early war production rifle, and it still has the Nazi eagle and stamps all over it.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

I don't think you can go too far wrong with a good, original Enfield - either a SMLE or a No4.

But not sure how good your supply of .303 174Gr ammo is your side of the pond.

98k's are also good (if you can find a good original, non-Russian capture or bubba'd mess). Try to go for the pre 1943 models - prefereably Oberndorf, Sauer or Steyr Daimler Puch production - as Adolf was running out of materials and factories to do a proper job by then!!
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

Can't beleive no one said 96 Swede in 6.5x55...
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

thickstrings, the Swede's are nice rifles.....but no real history compared to the others mentioned. That to me is a major factor in collecting vintage rifles.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

I would have to make another vote for the K31. My ffl just emailed me that he made the winning bid on one i picked out on Gunbroker. i got it for around 300 bucks and its in almost perfect condition aside from dents and dings in the stock. Im very excited to get ahold of it and to post up a review. I was in the same boat as the op a few weeks ago looking for an inexpensive milsurp rifle. I was drawn to the M96 but they were quite expensive, looked around for a bit, read alot about the K31 and decided that it was an excellent choice.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: HSNARC</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would have to make another vote for the K31. My ffl just emailed me that he made the winning bid on one i picked out on Gunbroker. i got it for around 300 bucks and its in almost perfect condition aside from dents and dings in the stock. Im very excited to get ahold of it and to post up a review. I was in the same boat as the op a few weeks ago looking for an inexpensive milsurp rifle. I was drawn to the M96 but they were quite expensive, looked around for a bit, read alot about the K31 and decided that it was an excellent choice. </div></div>

Congrats on the rifle! Let us know how it is when you get it!
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

Yugo 8mm mausers are inexpensive and generally shoot very well.

1936 French MAS (7.5x54) are kinda neet and its a big plus that most of them have only been droped once.
wink.gif


okie
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: okiefired</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yugo 8mm mausers are inexpensive and generally shoot very well.

okie </div></div>

Is that the same as a Yugo SKS? I was looking at one of those the other day and they look pretty nice and surely inexpensive. (at least where I saw it)
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Clark</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7.62gunr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">98K trumps ALL "vintage" bolt military weapons. </div></div>
That is true, but for variety, sometimes you change channels.
MosinNagantwithVZ59barrelcheekrestbipodscopeweldedboltandnowpistolgripreallygettingtobebeautiful7-23-2011.jpg

I have $5 into the 1937 Iz Mosin Nagant receiver at a gun show. It had a sewer pipe barrel attached.
I got an unfired semi finished VZ59 machine gun barrel for $40 from TN Guns. I got that discount because it had a gas hole that I tapped and plugged. I cut many of the quick change features off the barrel to make it round. I made a stepped shroud that I lapped and Loctited at the breech so the receiver should and the inner C ring both made contact when I headspaced it.
The stock was a take off.
The pistol grip was an STG58 take off [discarded for 922(r) compliance], mounted with 3/8" lag bolts with the wood screw threads cut into the wood in two holes so the grip can be moved forward or back.
The scope mount is an ATI $23 model, but I drilled and coutersank a third hole for the 10-32 screws into the receiver.
I pillar bed with 3/8" mild steel tubing while pre compressed.
The bi-pod mount was a piece of scrap Walnut that is glued with Tightbond II and pinned with .1" diameter stainless deck nails.
There is a $2 Uncle Mike's swivel stud screwed into the Walnut, for the Harris bipod mounting.
The trigger job is just a .045" shim under the rear of the sear, that gets the force from 9 pounds to 4.5 pounds.
Someone TIG welded the bolt handle for me, as my TIG welding skill is primitive.
Try to buy a newly manufactured receiver with an inner "C" ring, flat bottom, and integral recoil lug, and you will be into the big $.
When in two minutes, the scope, rings, cheek rest, and bi pod are moved on to another rifle, there is only ~ $100 invested into the rifle.
I got a 100 piece box of the 7.62x53R Lapua brass for $42 ~8 years ago. Now it is $126.

What does it all mean?
The rifle cost less to build than 100 pieces of brass
shocked.gif
</div></div>

+1 on this ^^^
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

i like my m48 mauser...and i got a 30/40 krag i love to shoot..but the ammo is getting crazy expensive for them..if you can find it:( only reason i didnt get a french MAS...ammo getting hard to get too and spendy...my 8mm still cheap atleast for now..been stocking up on brass and ammo for it thou..just in case..i got to say my fav bolt action i own is my 30/40 krag.. if you never felt the action on a 30/40 krag you should pick one up and try it...is the smoothest bolt action i ever felt in my life.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

thanks!! my krag got sported a bit:( there so spendy now with original wood on them....but its still a nice bolt action..and i like the trash box..better than my mauser's striper clips...so easy to just open it and toss them in.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: hyena429</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i like my m48 mauser...and i got a 30/40 krag i love to shoot..but the ammo is getting crazy expensive for them..if you can find it:( only reason i didnt get a french MAS...ammo getting hard to get too and spendy...my 8mm still cheap atleast for now..been stocking up on brass and ammo for it thou..just in case..i got to say my fav bolt action i own is my 30/40 krag.. if you never felt the action on a 30/40 krag you should pick one up and try it...is the smoothest bolt action i ever felt in my life. </div></div>

Ya, I'll admit, I dont really concider ammo price with my old battle rifles. I dont shoot most of them over a few times a year so I always have plenty and I have a good friend that keeps me supplied so I'm lucky. These old rifles always amaze me though. If you put all this modern shit (equipment speaking) in the back of your mind and just concintrate on fundementals and having a good time, the performance you get out of some of these pieces is impressive. I luv shooting them. Gonna continue to aquire them as long as possible.

okie
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

so true thou..you got too enjoy them...my freind gets so serious ..if the gun doesnt cost over 2,000..he wont touch it..i cant be that bias..lol...i got a few as shooters...and some as collector rifles...some as collecting and shooting once and a while...i got the 8mm as a low cost budget shooter with alot of power....it filled the bill...allmost got a nagant..and still mite:) there is not a battle rifle from 1850 up till now that i dont like..lol..tring to find a civil war sniper reproduction springfield with the long brass scope too.
 
Re: Good inexpensive vintage bolt action rifle?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: houghtonSurvival</div><div class="ubbcode-body">That is one thing that I REALLY would like to learn to do Clark! I would love to have the knowledge to be able to put something like that together. How does it fire? </div></div>

Took it to the range today.
Sierra .311" 180 gr Soft point #2310 47 gr Surplus IMR4895 = H322 in Quickload predicts 59.8kpsi 24" barrel 2744 fps
16 pounds as tested.
I fired 8 shots from bi pod in front and mono pod in rear.

Gun groups well. The vertical adjustment in the rear is really nice, but the swaying side to side is not. I need to put an ejector in that rifle.
.5" 3 shot group at 50y
.96" 3 shot group at 100y, there was a 10 minute cease fire between the first two shots and the last shot of this group. During that time I got in a snit with another old geezer [ I could crush him like a bug] over me taking a shot during the 1 minute to cease fire time, and he had his ear protectors off. There were a dozen guys there, including the range master, shaking in fear as the two titans faced off with angry words.
Then my trigger ceased working.
The shim may have got knocked out by the wimpy recoil.
The rear action screw was not accessible at the range, as it is under the scope.
There are 4 lands in the muzzle and two of them show a little Copper.
When I got home, the postman had left my new Timney Mosin Nagant trigger on the doorstep.
 
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