Lee enfiled, Mauser, or K31?

So just to say this right off the bat, I plan on getting all three later down the road but right now I am only able to afford one. And here is what I know about each of them

Mausers: The apex of the bolt action, most commonly found I 8mm, most common of the three?
Lee enfield: Comes in a few variants, most common in .303 but there are .308 versions that are less common, everyone has their own option on countries and manufacturers even more so than mosins.
K31: straight pull, never fires corrosive ammo, easiest to find in great shape,

I am looking for is more towards, basically a rifle to shoot and something talk about with people when they see it in the case. Thoughts?

More Mausers and Lee Enfields made than K31 ever, options and choices are much wider with them.

Mausers in many countries and calibers.

Lee Enfields also in many countries but in 303 only, with India manufactured and sniper versions in 7.62.

Three different action characteristics. All are sufficiently accurate and dependable.

K31 not used in war. The other two used in many conflicts all over the world, thus more to talk about.

Buy the first one you find in good condition at a good price, then go for the next one, etc. My preference is Lee Enfield.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daan Kemp

My preference is Lee Enfield.

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Mind if I ask why? I'm always looking for people with personal experience with the guns I am looking at?

Buy the first of the three you can find in the best condition that fits your budget.
The rest will take care of itself.
Very addictive this hobby of ours.

The K31 is going to get the wow factor at the range hands down. Everyone has a Mauser and Enfields are all over the place and are not super popular in the US. K31's prices have been going up faster than the others. Mausers really depend on which country and which make. K31 has the potential to eventually be a hard to get ammo but it is plentiful now and not expensive. 303 ammo is not what I would all common in the US but there is no shortage of it and not likely to be one either anytime soon. Most common Mauser calibers are easy to get.

I'd go K31 first, then Enfield, then Mauser but would not pass up a good deal on an out of order one.

One asks the question why not a Swedish Mauser 6.5x55, nice low recoil flat shooting round, very good quality rifles and a choice of the 96, 96/38 or 38

Dick

Mausers are found in different calibers... if you want something common, .30-06 and .308 versions are out there. Israelis converted most of theirs to .308. I picked up a Yugo M48A and some 8mm ammo... but at the worst, if I run through the surplus, I can buy some commercial. Yugos, especially the M48 series, tend to be in great condition.

I have an Ishapore 2A1, which I do like. Very well built design, as it was a No 1, Mk III. I wanted an Enfield, but not the .303. The Ishapore .308s are a great solution for that problem. Having a M1A (actual got it after the 2A1) and a Remington Model 7 in .308, it is a nice fill in. My M1903 and Garand share .30-06... but didn't want to get a .308 Garand so I can keep .308 off enblocs to reduce a mixup.

I wish I got a K31 years back. I know they are great shooters, but I think I missed the boat on them. Ammo comes in, but not as common as .308 or .30-06.

Import mark not important as far as value and collecting?

Import mark is a factor in both value and collecting. How big a factor depends on the type firearm. Those without an import mark will often be worth a bit more Those with a really ugly ill placed import mark will often be worth less. Just don't have a choice with a lot of rifles. Most Swiss, Russian, Austrian rifles were imported after the requirement so almost all have one. Very few Japanese have an import mark. I don't think it is a huge deal for most people, maybe just the very hard core collecgtors.

K31 and as many cases of GP11 as you can get. If you get one matching with a good bore (and most are matching with good bores, don't settle for less) it'll almost certainly be a great shooter. Superlative quality, wonderful actions, and very few "bad ones" out there.