Garand

Given that many here are reloaders and bullet casters, the question came to mind is, do you own a surplus military rifle in an "Obsolete" caliber that is anywhere from 75 to 120 years old. Many of these rifles are still serviceable and while they may not work for current combat, they are useful for hunting at limited distances (depending on the barrel condition) and arming those who have not thought ahead in your group or are very inexperienced with firearms.

Examples would be like the Japanese Arisaka in either 6.5 or 7.7, French MAS36, Mauser M1898, etc? If so how much brass do you keep for reloading? Personally over the last 30+ years I have had a number of good experiences, with a number of Swedish Mausers in 6.5x55, in both the M1896 (in original condition & sporterized) and the Swedish M38. I like to keep about 350 rds of brass and at least 1,000 cast bullets around in case a long range side match happens at any of the matches I attend.

John in AR

I don't. The downside to doing that was something I saw as a kid in the 70's; a nearby farmer owned a gun in .35 Winchester, a caliber that stopped being commercially available in the 1930's. He wasn't a 'gun guy' and didn't reload, and was having to pay $2 in 1970's money ($11-$12 in today's money) per round, for reloaded rounds. He didn't shoot much other than a few rounds during deer season, so it wasn't a huge thing, but it stunned me at the time.

That said, he could make that rifle get up and dance. It was impressive to see how tight he could shoot that old iron-sighted beast. He did have another gun - a levergun in .30-30, but that .35 caliber thing that he'd had for ~50 years was truly "his" rifle, and he could do some very impressive things with it.

I've been slowly trying to reduce the number of calibers I own & shoot; preferring calibers that are common and/or easy to cast & load for. I suspect .32acp will likely be the next - and probably last - caliber that I completely get rid of.

Terry G

I have a lot of Military Surplus but most is in over the counter or at least on line calibers. .30/06, 7.62X39, .303, 8MM Mauser. 6.5MM Carcano is out there as is 7X57MM. The last two I rarely shoot and the 8MM Mauser Corrosive was something like .06 a round shipped so I bought more of that than I'll ever shoot.

John in AR

Terry - if any of your mausers are in calibers that you're not keen on, might be worth looking into a caliber conversion. At an auction some years ago I picked up a small Mauser 93 carbine solely because someone had converted it to 7.62x39 caliber.

Terry G

I really like tot keep them in their original calibers since I can get ammunition for them. As a matter of fact I don't own a firearm I don't have at least a few hundred rounds for with the exception of some .32 Rimfire and .38 Short that I wouldn't
shoot on a bet. The long barreled Iver Johnson I have fired with S&W .38 that work in my Webley.

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Garand

I can relate to that gentleman, about 7-8 years ago, I picked up a Winchester John Wayne Commemoration Carbine in .32-40. The previous owner left it in a damp area destroying its collector value because of rust. I managed to pick up about 250+ pieces of brass for it and started to reload for it. Its very accurate at 100 yds using IMR 4227 and would make a great bush gun. .32-40 was last made in 1940 except for a batch of Commemorative ammo in '83 when the rifle came out. Which is unbelievably expensive at gun shows. It appears that I bought the brass at the right time as it looks like Winchester has finished its recent run with it.

gripper

I have (and continue to do so)laid on a LOT of Eastern Bloc 7.62(x25,x39&x54R-I like me some canned goods full of API goodness)..as well as the 9x18 stuff(got another 3000 rounds set up for a FTF private purchase in NH next week)
Not REALLY obsolete as much as " Not Standard Here And Affected By Overseas Availability".. but it is a good idea to stock, prepare and get your handloading -Fu up to snuff (reloadable brass, primers, bullets and molds, powders). And to network among the like-minded

BigEd

No not anymore.

The only thing my military surplus I have is a parts build 1903A3 in 30-'06. That someone butchered the stock on. After a safety check of headspace I'll decide what to do with it.

In the past I had about 8 different older/surplus chambered firearms to feed.

boati

if it's surplus, with rare exceptions, the GUN itself is obsolete. The Star BM 9mm was so far ahead of its time, in the 70's that it's still a fine choice to this day. People paying $300 for mosins are out of their gd minds.

Garand

It might be obsolete for global conflict, but we are not talking about global conflict are we? Melvin, think back in history to Russia in 1942-43, the partisans successfully harassed and killed large numbers of german soldiers with Mosin Nagant rifles before the captured enough fully automatic firearms to advance their attacks. Think of the Winter War in Finland in 1940, where 1 Finish sniper they called "White Death" had over 259 CONFIRMED kills with a Finish M/28-30 bolt action rifle. The rifle might be obsolete but an opponent skilled in bush craft could cause you to have a very bad day.

Dorobuta

It's not the rifle, it's the rifleman.

Terry G

These two are surplus, I still think they could do the job. Also think this: Colt AR-15 SP1's are Curio and Relic eligible.

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Dorobuta

I have one Garand, and if that was what I had to use, I wouldn't feel undergunned at all. Iron sights and all.

John in AR

I said above that I don't have any, but there is one that I hadn't considered. I have an old M1 carbine, a 1944-production gun, that would probably qualify. Didn't think of it initially because I was thinking more along the lines of Moisins, Enfields, 1903's, etc.

Used to have two of them, but traded one off to a friend a few years ago as a first deer rifle for his young son. The one I still have sits pretty much unused in one of the safes at work, but if need be, I would trust it completely for defensive purposes. It would actually be my second choice; after an AR, but before an AK.