Want to Get Into a MilSurp...Need Help Deciding.

The main thing is to start. You have so many choices and I take it from your post you live in the USA so I would start with a good Moisin, they are very cheap, great shooters and lots of ammo is available. Then save and get a SKS, again a good shooter and I am sure you would like it. You have to decide if you want to collect by country or just any milsurp.

Start small, buy good quality no matter what you choose, as mentioned clean them religiously as generally milsurp ammo has corrosive primers and it would be a shame to ruin a great gun for lack of maintenance.

Welcome and let us know what when you make your first purchase.

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Originally Posted by easthawk

Mosins do not have a "wow" factor because nice, original examples are cheap and easily available. That will change in a couple of decades.:)

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And the first time you send the 7.62x54r round downrange and everyone turns to you and say's "what kind of cannon is that".

I also own a Carcano and a 1944 K98 Mauser. For the money you can't beat the Mosin Nagant, incredible deals right now and get's you shooting for very little investment. There is a lot of great advise here, as Patrick said get Paul Scarlata's book, look at your family history as Smellie suggested. You can also apply for for C&R license if you're here in the U.S. It's a great way to find deals, and have them shipped directly to your home, and you don't have to pay the transfer fee.

Good luck with whatever you decide, you have certainly come to the right place for information.

I started off with wanting to collect every known mauser about 20 years ago. My first two military surplus guns were a yugo model 98 mauser which is a captured german mauser with the markings scrubbed off with the yugo crest put on them. Its a german mauser at a yugo price, there the samey same. My second surplus rifle was a finnisn m39 mosin. Then i went and got a chinese sks when they were first offered. Then i got a russian m44 mosin. Then i sat tight for around 10 years doing other things. As my life went on i found my self with extra $$$ and wanted to get more into collecting guns. I thenm got my C&RFFL03 license and my very first buy was a turkiish m38 8mm mauser for $36.95. My point is for anyone who is interested in gun collecting you have to get your C&RFFL03 license and then hook up with a dealer locally who will only charge you for transfers on the modern guns too. We can have the best of both worlds. Plus we get discounts on gun accessories and ammo too on the net.
Back then i did find out there are over 1,000 different mausers so i went on to the military semi auto's and grabbed bolt action rifles inbetween. But right now i'm into C&R handguns, mausers again and modern handguns. CZY

BTW: I would suggest grabbing what mosins you can too. I have the russian and the finnish mosins. My problem is i like them all.

I think an excellent choice would be a Finn Mosin. You can find them with plenty of wow factor in terms of the stock, as well as the history you might be able to glean from it. Ammo is also the same as any other Mosin (ie, dirt cheap).

The mosin was my first milsurp. I love that thing. It is nice and tight. I got mine from AIM Suprlus for less than $100 and is came to me in awesome condition. I couldn't be happier. It was an actual WWII combat issue. A LOT of history there. That is what makes it sexy for me.

If you have $200, get a Yugo Mauser from Aim.

If you have $300, get a German Mauser from Dan's Sporting goods. Mine was nice and clean. It had some scratches and so forth, but I was surprised by how clean it was.

If you want really sexy, get an AES-10 which is a civilian version of the LMG version of the AK-47.

If you want cheap to shoot, get the mosin. The surplus ammo is still cheap and available.

I bought my first m-n for $39.00 plus shipping.
Imagine a rifle with 30-06 class power, bolt rifle, with a history for $39.
Fun to clean-up the first time and fun to shoot.
Not a moa rifle - but who cares?
Love to shoot it and to watch "enemy at the gates"

Has anyone thought of the horse power factor? I find my Garands to have a nice easy kick and the bolt actions to kick hard. To go to the range as often as you say I could not imagine shooting alot (say 100 rounds) with a M/N as I'm told everytime I ask, they kick hard. I'm 230 lbs at 6 ft (ok 5 11 and 3/4) and consider myself tuff enough but am getting to the age where I just don't want to take a beating. I will, and am looking to get both a M/N and a mauser(possible yugo) because of the $$$$ is right, but will shoot the garand for 100rds and then maybe a bolt for 10rds. that ratio works for me.

You want kick? Try a Marlin 512P slug gun. Or a Remington 710 in 30.06. They will kick you. The Garand is easier on the shoulder because of the gas system. You don't get that with the bolt guns. Factory ammo has a lot of thump but you can releoad and reduce the powder charge by a couple of grains and get probably even morte accurate ammo with less thump so you can shoot more. And yes reloadable brass for the 7.62x54R is available. Another o[tiom is to adda slip on recioil pad to the rifle butt. Try Winchester. They run around 30 bucks.

Dave,

Here's an old thread about mauser recoil that you might find interesting.

Mauser Recoil

cafdfw, went to the recoil thread you suggested. Great read and info I will use, thanks.