Advice. Vintage rifle for new shooter.

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Tacoma

New member
Admittedly, I don't do much military /rifle shooting. To date, I've shot my AR-15 and M1 Carbine in a few competitions only. That said, in taking my teenage son to the last match, we both got thought the "vintage rifle " class(@ 200 yds.) was interesting. Since all the best shooters are shooting peep sights, I'm thinking something with open sights will put us in a class where we have a chance not to be humiliated. Also, I should mention that he's not a real big kid so I guess recoil should be a consideration. ( Come to think of it, I don't need a beating either!) He tried a Garrand and it was a bit much for him right now.

So, I was thinking that a Swedish Mauser might be the ticket due to it's reputation for quality/accuracy and lighter bullet. Nobody ahs one locally so I'd have to gunbroker one of these.
Local shop has a Enfield MK III that appears cosmetically good and the bore is shiny ( but that's all I know.) Not sure how these would compare.
LAstly a shop about 50 mi away has a few Swiss k31 that are reportedly decent.
My head hurts!:confused:
Thoughts on rifle recommendations and experience very welcome!
 
L

lej0012

New member
I dont know much about the type of comp your shooting, i have a M96 Mauser, made in 1920 and had very lttle use, it is an absolutely lovely rifle and accurate, excellent calibre easy to load for and parts, reloading bits and pieces are readily available and not super pricey. Reckon it would be the exact type to suit your needs.

If you dont know much about these types of rifles then my strongest suggestion to you is befriend someone at the club who knows their stuff and get them to help you with your purchase maybe even inspect the rifle you intend to buy if possible.Buying exmilitary rifles can be a bit of a mixed bag. Another tip i could offer is to ask for the date of manufacture and the factory, stamped on the action in most cases, rifles produced during war years are sometimes pushed through with less quality control and in some cases outsourced to other factorys.


Better still if your friend at the club knows someone who has a M96 or any other rifle were are considering see if you and your son can have a look, feel and hopefully shoot of it. Dont know if your comp involves any off hand shooting but the Mauser M96's are long barrelled heavy rifles which someone of smaller statue may find very fatiguing. M38 is the carbine version but again the trade off is recoil.

I seen alot of people go out and buy equipment including rifles with the intention of shooting a particular match only to find out after joining the club that they have the wrong stuff and in most cases paid more than they have to for it.

Best of luck :)
 
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T

TargetTerror

New member
Either the K31 or the Swedish Mauser will serve you very well. Be advised that recoil with the K31 is in league with .308s, and the buttplate on the rifle is of course metal so you feel it. If the league lets you use one, a limbsaver slip on recoil pad will let you shoot indefinitely.

I haven't shot a Swedish Mauser, but recoil wise it should be less than the K31.
 
T

Tacoma

New member
Thanks Gents, course of fire is pretty basic. 10 rounds slowfire offhand, 10 rounds sitting/kneeling slow , 10 rounds prone rapid.

Not looking to win , just get in the game and have fun. (Some of the guys I shoot with are national champions and routinely take gold at Perry.)

Leaning towards a 96 but have to ask if
the Enfield SMLE III is worth checking as well ?
 
D

DnPRK

New member
I haven't seen a Swede 96 that didn't shoot great. The long sight radius, light recoil and ballistics of the 6.5mm bullet just seem to be magic. I like them so well that I have 4 of 'em.

The only modification is to replace the front sight blade with a taller sight. The Swedes had them hitting about 9" high at 100 meters.
 
K

ksstargazer

New member
I have a SMLE #1 Mk III and although a nice rifle, it doesn't come close to the accuracy of my two Enfield #4 Mk 1's. If you want accuracy, I would go with the #4. You will also like the sights on the #4.
If you are going after the .30 calibre rifles, I agree that a K31 is an excellent choice. I have two and they are easily 1 MOA rifles which is rare in the surplus category. The GP11 is what you would need to achieve that kind of accuracy (and of course skill).
 
T

Tacoma

New member
Ok, still looking like the 6.5 mauser is the way to go. Assuming I can find one.
Gunbroker prices are all over the place. Any idea on what I should be looking to pay for a decent one? Any advice on what/ where to look in general?

ksstargazer, Don't the MK 4 Enfields have a peep vs knotch sight?
 
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kraigwy

New member
Correct me if I'm wrong, but arn't Vintage rifle matches limited to 200 yards (never shot a ventage rifle match).

That being the case, who cares. Fill the case (about 75% full, dont compress the powder) with TrailBoss powder. Use what ever rifle (boltgun) you want, very little recoil. Adjust the sights for 200 yards and get after it.

With trailboss, my 375 H&H kicks less then my wifes 243, a pleasure to shoot.

Heck with trailboss you can even use those low number Springfields.
 
L

LilHog

New member
This isn't vintage but how about taking a look at a CZ 527 Carbine. It has open sights and is available in 7.62x39 or .223 and it's a very nice size for anyone to shoot. It is very accurate also.
 
C

Citizen Carrier

New member
Folks, the Swedish 6.5mm cartridge is similar to the 30-06. Indeed, at least PMC ammunition I know was loaded as 6.5 in years past used 30-06 brass as the basis for the load.

The military surplus loading for the 6.5 used a 140 grain bullet. So recoil will not be less than that of the K31 Swiss. I certainly did not find the Swedish Mauser to be less recoiling than a Springfield M1903. If your son thinks the M1 Garand's kick is a bit much...

Do you have padded shooting jackets? Even a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and then field jacket (Army surplus, etc.) will tame that recoil somewhat. You might look at the shooting jackets you can buy from the CMP online. My first match, back in Kansas in the 1990s, was with an M1 Garand. It was an 88 round match and all I was wearing was a t-shirt. My shooting at the end was not as good as my shooting at the beginning, to say the least.

That being said, the top two scoring rifles in the Vintage Rifle Match at Camp Perry (you can check the results online) tend to be the Swedish Mauser or the K31. Sometimes an M1917 Enfield will appear in the top 10 results.

At Camp Perry, they have a seperate match for Springfield Rifles, so Springfields are not shot in the Vintage Rifle Match. Not sure if your club makes a distinction and seperates by rifle type like that.
 
T

Tacoma

New member
Well thank you all for the input! You confirmed for me that the gun I wanted was either the Swedish Mauser or the Swiss K-31 in the $270 range. Made a few calls this week and looked at a few K-31's. The Swed's were going to be much harder to find based their scarcity at the last two gun shows I had visited.Was almost ready to "pull the trigger" on the K-31 when a call to a small /unknown to me gun shop found a " M96 had just come in". Went down to look and fell in lust. The rifle just felt good in my hands. I liked the balance and sight picture allot. Action was SMOOTH and the quality of fit and finish was obvious. As icing on the cake, this 1910 model was in VG condition. ( Read: nicer than most guns I've seen of WW II vintage.) No gouges, repairs or major scratch's on the stock. Finish appeared uniform and original but I can't say for sure. All fittings were in VG condition and all parts had matching serial #'s. No barrel threading, import marks or other alterations (other than a (repro?) trajectory plate had been installed on butt stock.). Metal finish was also VG with minimal spot wear. Bore was bright, crown good and rifling looked uniform. The blood was already drained from my head when the guy produced a set of reloading dies and 100+ rounds of reloaded 140gr "match" ammo that went with it. Given the guns condition, relitive scarcity and the extras, I gladly forked over the $350 asking price without haggling. Now I just have to wait for the 7 day “cool down” period before I pick it up .:D
Will try to post pics next week.
 
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