Military Surplus
Rifles and Their Well Deserved Place Among Modern Hunting Rifles
So often in
today’s hunting and shooting communities, the discussion and reviews are about
all of the new weapon platforms that are being introduced to the market.
Whether its events like SHOT show or the Great American Outdoor Show, people
tend to focus on what is new and trending in the market. The problem here is
the high price that often times is associated with all of the newest
technology.
While a lot
of people prefer to have all the newest hunting gear, their socioeconomic
status may not allow for that. So many of today’s rifles are all about the
polymers, plastics, and optic mounting and often look past the foundation of
hunting: being able to put a well-placed shot on your target. In addition to
that, with all of the new modern amenities, come higher price tags. The rifles
that are targeted towards the lower end market are often substituted with lower
quality craftsmanship and lower end materials (i.e., press in vs threaded in
barrels, mass produced plastic vs. walnut stocks).
A lot of
shooters have turned to the military surplus market to help fill this void.
Rifles from around the world that were produced and stored away for a potential
conflict that never happened are readily available now that many countries are
selling off their inventory of older military rifles in order to bring in
modern weapon systems for their soldiers.
The military
surplus or “milsurp” market is booming right now with companies that are
importing these vintage war horse rifles and dozens others are the making
affordable accessories to help them reach their maximum capability. One of the
common constraints collectors have is that any modification they make, they
must be able to return the rifle to its original military configuration for the
collectability aspect.
Some things
to consider when making the decision about using a milsurp as a hunting rifle
are listed and explained below:
1. For a hunting rifle, what overall condition will
you be happy with? (These rifles range from seeing service in several military
conflicts to having never been fired.)
2. How readily available is the caliber in which
it’s chambered? With budget in mind, it doesn’t make sense to buy a cheap rifle
that shoots ammo that’s hard to find and more expensive than your standard
factory loads.
3. What is the realistic range that I’m going to
shoot this rifle and in what environment?
Among the
leaders on the milsurp market are the mausers from various countries (South
American and Yugoslavian mausers can be found from around $100-$250. The
Russian surplus rifles also have a massive following given there were nearly a
billion rifles made in several different configurations. These rifles depending
on the model and condition can range from $100-$1,000.
Throughout
this series I will review a few different types of common military rifles as
well as a few that have been modified heavily to show the range which is
available to someone wanting a high quality rifle with a little history behind
it. So Stay Tuned!
-Ryan
