Looking for a Fun WWII Era Shooter with Some History

[sstephenson]

I'm looking for a fun WWII era rifle to take to the range and target shoot with once in a while. A buddy of mine is planning to purchase an M1A after he qualifies to buy one through the CMP. I'd like to do something a little different so that we can have some variety at the range. I'm thinking about an K98 8mm Mauser. I stumbled upon the Mitchell's Mausers website and I like what I see, but the rifles here look almost "too good". What experience have any of you had with Mitchell's? Since, I don't know much of anything about Mausers and I was hoping for a little help from you all in selecting a rifle maker and source. For instance, I've read things about secret marks tracing various K98 makers and I'd like to know more about that.

Here's what I'd like to find:

I'm looking for a rifle that is in good condition, but I want it to have a little history behind it. That means I don't care if it looks used. In fact I'd like it to be a bit battle worn. Not knowing a lot of history behind 8mm Mauser production, I think that I'd like to have a German rifle, but please feel free to school me on any history or information about other origins that you think would be interesting. Additionally, although I'm certainly not a lover of anything that the Nazis stood for, I would like to own a little bit of history from a dark chapter in world history. By that I mean that any characteristic German or Nazi maker marks would be considered a plus.

Also, if there are any websites that provide a good source of information on this subject I would love to hear about it. Thanks so much.

[Bull's_eye]

Do you only want a German gun? Look into a mosin nagant 91/30. Fun to shoot, cheap ammo, and at $100 a pop everybody should have one.

[sstephenson]

My mind is kind of set on finding a K98 right now, but you're right, its hard to go wrong on a Mosin Nagant at the price they're at. Maybe that would help round out the collection

[Noonanda]

Mitchells mausers have no historic value other than the sum of their parts. Mitchells takes Russian Capture K-98s and renumbers the parts to give you an "all matching" gun. If you want a gun with history buy a russian capture K-98, they go from between 300-500 depending on condition. They reek of history having fought in some of the fiercest battles and on some of the toughest terrain of WW2, finally being captured and rearsenalled by the russian after the war.

After re-reading your post, definately go with a russian capture and stay away from mitchells for the reasons I just posted

[MrPlink]

Mitchell is a crook and his rifles are a joke. Buy from a legit source.

[sstephenson]

Thanks guys. I've done some more reading regarding Mitchell's. The web is loaded with stories about their products, and you're right, that's not what I'm looking for. I guess if you just want a decent shooter that looks nice, that might not be a bad way to go.

[Low-Pressure]

How about the Swiss Schmidt-Rubin rifles. The 1911, K-11 and K-31 are all known accurate rifles.

http://www.swissrifles.com/sr/

[sstephenson]

Definitely interesting. Not everyone on the block is gonna have one, that's for sure. Still on a K98 path though.

[vincewarde]

Do you only want a German gun? Look into a mosin nagant 91/30. Fun to shoot, cheap ammo, and at $100 a pop everybody should have one.

Great idea! Cheap to own, and cheap to shoot.

May I also suggest looking into a CMP M1 Garand. Just google the term. Do an Appleseed course and and spend a few buck to join RWVA and if you are a US citizen who is legal to own guns you can buy one for a lot less than it would otherwise cost.

[OldShooter32]

Whatever you get...get out and shoot it! There are vintage military matches most everywhere, and they are a lot of fun.

[t0kie]

I have a K98 & it's a nice piece for sure, but if I were you, I'll get an M1 Garand. The "ping" noise when the clips ejects after the 8th round is SO AWESOME!

[Donkeypunch0420]

You're going to want a 91/30 at some point anyway. I say buy the Mosin Nagant now to scratch that itch......then wait for a good deal on a K98 to come your way.

[PEZHEAD265]

Try Samco Global he has 98 or the Yugo 24/47 for under 300.They have history unlike the polished turds you will get from Mitchell for a lot more money.Samco has a lot of C&R rifles to choose from.

[rogervzv]

Seems like a stock Mosin Nagant has as much history attached to it as you could want. My understanding is that after the war, the Soviets prepped them for long term storage for use by the second and third echelon troops in the event of war with NATO. Many of these rifles saw action before being stockpiled. I intend to pick one up when I get time to go looking.

[kris smith]

And after they say action with the Russians they were passed around I every country in earth to fight there wars used in Korea nam desert storm and the curent mid east conflicts mosins have history oozing off of them it's hard to see sometimes because it's covered in cosmo