This weapon is very versitile, can be had with a compensated barrel, threaded barrel, 3 1/2 or 5 inch...nice little package, but the trigger is attrocious.
I'd appreciate any and all input on this weapon.
Posted on 10/18/2003 11:37:40 AM PDT by dogbyte12
I am about to finally leave the urban jungle of Los Angeles and move down to both Louisiana and South Carolina. While I do fish out here, I have only gone hunting a few times with borrowed equipment.
I am interested in starting to hunt, and would love for any freepers to give me recommendations on a good beginner rifle, something that isn't so pricey, but reliable, as well as any other gear that I will need as a beginner.
I am not a stranger to handguns, or to military rifles, I qualified expert on both a .45 and an M16, so I am not starting from scratch, but I am looking for a rifle for deer hunting basically that will not set me back too much money, yet still be a decent value. I plan to not spend that much money so it can be economical. I do know how to fabricate a carcass, and would love to hunt for meat, without the cost of hunting making it more expensive than going to the supermarket.
Any help in this regard, web sites, consumer reports, etc, would be much appreciated. Thanks all.
Getting back to the original question, which has probably been answered a couple hundred times already... I think the terrain would dictate which rifle to use. I took a 13 pound tactical rifle into the "juniper jungle" in the Kiabab area of Arizona last year and I was wishing the whole time I had a iron sight Model 94...or even a spear... This year I am going to hunt western South Dakota in the open prarie, much more suitable for the scoped rifle.
wardaddy, Brooke Burke ??? Yeowww !!! I had to go to church twice this morning after that post...
BTW: Pheasant opener was yesterday in South Dakota. My dad and his party limited out then and were half way there to filling it again today when I talked with him. Hot weather though, his dog got dehydrated and was vomiting, they did loose one...He hunted like a champ up to his last breath then gave up the chase...what a way to go.
This weapon is very versitile, can be had with a compensated barrel, threaded barrel, 3 1/2 or 5 inch...nice little package, but the trigger is attrocious.
I'd appreciate any and all input on this weapon.
Sorry to hear bout yer dads pup. Dog doing what it loves won't take time for itself. Glad he was playin in a field on a nice day hunting. Hope when my time comes I go out same way.......
I have a friend that took an old mexican mauser, cut the action in two, welded it back up and did one hell of a lot of work to make hisself a 7.62x39 javalina /white tail ultra lite iron sighted rifle. He graduated from the Colorado School of Trades Gunsmithing and Engraving course and it was his first project out of the chute. He did very well.
My only concern was the barrel he turned down to almost quirt like diameter. Rifle weighed in about 5 pounds tops and had a nice williams peep sight. Every place he could do so safely he removed metal - drilled honeycomb like holes to reduce weight. He even removed the metal ball on the end of the bolt and threaded a phenolic machine knob on to it for weight reduction.
Very nice woods/swamp caliber and construction IMHO for lower 48.....Stay Safe !
There goes Eaker, brag'n about his plums again :O)
I looked at a binocular a few weeks ago which I think might even be better than the Swarovski. I am saving my money but it is going to take awhile. This one is the Nikon Superior E in 10X42. I believe in the short time I had to look through it, that it is the best one I have ever seen.
The price was $850 although I have seen it a bit cheaper since then.
Thanks, I'll check them out...
I didn't know they had a store in Houston. That one might be better but the one in Fort Worth, or is it Dallas?, is pretty high on their prices. Their service is ok but they also demand a restocking fee if the item is defective.
They do have a good selection and sometimes have specials. I have had better luck with B&H even if it is in New York.
I will look into Mausers very seriously.
The reworked Spanish military model FR-8 Mauser rifles used as a training and second-line auxiliary personnel substitute for the 7,62 NATO caliber Spanish CATME assault rifle ire well made and use a rotary rear sight with multiple aperatures set for varying distances, from *close* to 400 meters. The rifles can often be found in the $125-$200 price range, and if you're familiar with the 7,62 round from your own military service, you know that it's an excellent one and is widely available from a vatiety of commercial and surplus sources in a variety of bullet weights and power level loadings. The turnbolt Mauser rifles are most usually found with V-notch sliding rear open sights like the Kalishnikov, and the Spanish FR-8's are one of the few exceptions to that generality.
If you did go that route, that could also give you ammunition and accessory compatability with a CETME semiauto, very inexpensively available right now, which could be either an advantage or a mixed blessing.
There are few faults or flaws to be aware of if shopping for a FR-8 other than those that can apply to any similar weapon, but beware getting the earlier FR-7 version made from the Spanish Modelo 95 action rather than the later and stronger M98 action- if you get one, you want an FR8, at least from a user's standpoint; collectability is another thing entirely.
If the old .30-06 cartridge of the M1 Garand rifle [another VERY good choice should you later be in the market for a high quality and accurate semiauto] is acceptable to you, the earlier issue M1903A3 Springfield rifle is chambered for that cartridge and is an excellent choice. Springfields generally go for a little higher price, in the $400-$500 ranhe, but it's another excellent bolt-action rifle with an aperature rear sight that should work well for you. Again, there's the earlier M1903 version with a shorter-radius sliding adjustable v-notch rear sight mounted atop the barrel with about half the sight radius of the M1903A3 model. There's certainly nothing wrong with the earlier version [I have my granddad's old one, and it's a great shooter] but I think you'd find the later type with the improved sighting arrangement would better suit you.
It's of course possible to rebarrel either a FR-8 or M1903A3 to another caliber if you so require, but if it ain't broke, don't fix it, and there's certainly little wrong with either the .30-06 or 7,62 NATO calibers as a good choice for a working rifle.
Spanish FR-8, 7,62x51mm NATO chambering:
M1903A3 Springfield, cal. .30-06:
I once read a test a few years ago which rated the Audubon as the sharpest they had ever tested in the center. I wouldn't go that far but still very good value.
The embattled Boer commandos of the Boer War period did indeed make use of the 7x57mm Mauser cartridge and the then-new British .303 Enfields when captured ones became available, but the 7,65mm Mauser was the more common chambering of their rifles. It wasn't until I actually went to South Africa and was given the opportunity to handle some of the rifles so used, almost always 29-inch barrelled longrange target or infantryman's versions, and very commonly still in daily use with the grandsons and great grandsons of those who used them back then, that I noted the variety. A few thousand Japanese 6.5mm Arisaka Model 38 rifles also turned up in that theatre of war as well, it seems.
-archy-/-
Have you caught on to the neat and handy way of carrying a dozen rounds of .50 ammunition for use in the field? The Tac-Star *sidesaddle* 12-gauge shotgun shell holders meant to be attached to the side of a pump shotgun action neatly hold s shotgun shells in line, but are happily also just the right diameter for .50 rounds. Simply bolting two of the things back-to-back with a carrying strap fixed in between makes a quick-and-dirty speedloader for a Big .50, whether afield hunting or on a target range.
At $25 each the *sidesaddle* carriers are not exactly a disposable item, but a pair of them so arranged do get the job done, and they can still be disassembled and used for their originally intended purpose, or a single unit may be affixed to a .50 rifle to keep a half-dozen rounds handy for fast reloads.
Anyway I think it is the Dallas area.
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