Anyone hunt with Enfield/98k/Garand??
- Thread starter Max-4
- Start date
Every time I think of hunting this upcoming season my thoughts go past my expensive modern hunting rifle to my M44 Mosin carbine in the back of the safe.
I don't know why, but it keeps calling to me. Also seller and bellot makes some nice basic soft point hunting ammo for 7.62x54R.
Also as others have suggested practice with the iron sights with the ammo you will be using.
I don't know why, but it keeps calling to me. Also seller and bellot makes some nice basic soft point hunting ammo for 7.62x54R.
Also as others have suggested practice with the iron sights with the ammo you will be using.
I've taken deer using an AG42B, M38 and M44, Carcano carbine, M-1 Garand, SKS and No4 Mk1. Absolutely no complaints with any of these guns for hunting. In fact I've seen my Scoped M38 outshoot much more expensive commercial rifles at the range at a fraction of the price. That always gives me a quiet inner chuckle. I LOVE my Milsurp rifles!
Al
Al
Cottage Hill Bill
CGN Regular
- Location
- Pensacola, FL USA
All of the cartridges that have been discussed here, in fact most military calibers over 6mm are adequate for most North American game, although the 6.5s might be a little light for stuff in the elk and moose range.
For a reason other than the cartridge I think that there are only a few that are suitable hunting candidates. The best choices in my mind are the Lee-Enfield (No1 or No4), The P-14 or M-1917, any 98 Mauser variant, 1903 or 1903A. The reason is the way the safeties function. All of these rifles have safeties that can be easily and quietly disengaged. That means the safeties will get used.
The safety on Mosin-Nagants, Schmidt Rubins, Carcanos and Arisakas are difficult to use in a hunting situation, that means you are more likely to be carrying it with a round up the spout and the safety off, meaning an accident is more likely.
For a reason other than the cartridge I think that there are only a few that are suitable hunting candidates. The best choices in my mind are the Lee-Enfield (No1 or No4), The P-14 or M-1917, any 98 Mauser variant, 1903 or 1903A. The reason is the way the safeties function. All of these rifles have safeties that can be easily and quietly disengaged. That means the safeties will get used.
The safety on Mosin-Nagants, Schmidt Rubins, Carcanos and Arisakas are difficult to use in a hunting situation, that means you are more likely to be carrying it with a round up the spout and the safety off, meaning an accident is more likely.
Keep in mind the Swedish Moose is about the size of our Canadian Elk, and thousands of them are taken every year in Sweden with the 6.5x55 cartridge. Of course the key with anything is correct shot placement.
Only if you forget Muzzle control, and stupidly keep your finger in the trigger guard, which are the two basic issues of firearm safety. The next rule we were taught was to never trust ones safety to bail you out of forgetting the first two rules.
Another trick with the Mosin is to load a empty casing on the top of the stripper clip so it gets loaded into the chamber when you close the bolt...muzzle in safe direction, pull trigger...click, safe rifle.
But for the record the Mosin safety is not hard to use with practice, and it locks the bolt up good enough to turn the rifle into a club (small pike if bayonet is attached/folded out) until disengaged.
Arisaka safety operations:
http://www.surplusrifle.com/arisaka/operations.asp
Mosin safety operations:
http://www.surplusrifle.com/mosincarbine/operations.asp
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I went on a hunting trip with my uncle and his friends 10 or so years ago, they all had newer hunting rifles with 10x scopes and custom loads for hunting my uncle had his fathers #4 and surpluss .303 from 1955, we were about 1.5-2k down a valley from the closest shooter and could hear him blasting away for about an hour when a very nice 8 pointer came into vew 200 250 yards away. I was amaised when my uncle raised the sights on the #4 walked over to a tree steadied the forearm an a branch aimed and fired, a single shot and the buck raised on its back legs and fell to the ground, it was allmost poetic, a 50 some odd year old rifle with 40 year old ammo beat out all the modern rifles and custom loaded heavy weight softpoint ammo, he was the only one to fill any tags that week.
it wasnt until recent years that he told me he started shooting with that rifle at age 10 he knew how it shot and his own limits and that if the deer was 50 more yards away he woudnt have taken the shot, plus I think he was showing off a little
this year I'll be going with him again this time as a shooter and I'm planning on bringing a #4 of my own.
it wasnt until recent years that he told me he started shooting with that rifle at age 10 he knew how it shot and his own limits and that if the deer was 50 more yards away he woudnt have taken the shot, plus I think he was showing off a little
this year I'll be going with him again this time as a shooter and I'm planning on bringing a #4 of my own.
Cottage Hill Bill
CGN Regular
- Location
- Pensacola, FL USA
Calum,
I agree the safeties on all of the rifles are workable and do what they are supposed to do. I have hunted with both a Schmidt-Rubin and A Mosin-Nagant. My preferred guns now are a Savage 99 and a Parker-Hale sporterized No1 MkIII. I hunt in the southern US, frequently stalking. It is not unusual to come up on deer at well under 100 yards. With either the 99 or the Lee-Enfield I can shift the safety silently with a minimum of movement. You can't do that with the safeties that are mounted at the rear of the bolt and require a push\pull and twist motion to disengage. Because the safeties are harder to work on some rifles means some folks won't use them, meaning more accidents getting into/out of stand/shooting houses/trucks etc.
There is nothing wrong with any of the milsurps from a design or mechanical point of view, I just think some of them lend themselves more easily to becoming hunting rifles than others.
I agree the safeties on all of the rifles are workable and do what they are supposed to do. I have hunted with both a Schmidt-Rubin and A Mosin-Nagant. My preferred guns now are a Savage 99 and a Parker-Hale sporterized No1 MkIII. I hunt in the southern US, frequently stalking. It is not unusual to come up on deer at well under 100 yards. With either the 99 or the Lee-Enfield I can shift the safety silently with a minimum of movement. You can't do that with the safeties that are mounted at the rear of the bolt and require a push\pull and twist motion to disengage. Because the safeties are harder to work on some rifles means some folks won't use them, meaning more accidents getting into/out of stand/shooting houses/trucks etc.
There is nothing wrong with any of the milsurps from a design or mechanical point of view, I just think some of them lend themselves more easily to becoming hunting rifles than others.
M1 on deer
Largest mule deer buck I've taken went down with my M1 using 168 gr HPs.
My hunting buddies were dozey after lunch. They saw me leaving camp with the Garand and laughed. I'd been using a scoped .308 up to then.
A half hour later, I was back looking for help to drag it out. They were laughing any more, and both went home skunked.
There isn't anything I wouldn't use the M1 on with appropriate ammo, but I'd keep the range to 200 yds max.
Largest mule deer buck I've taken went down with my M1 using 168 gr HPs.
My hunting buddies were dozey after lunch. They saw me leaving camp with the Garand and laughed. I'd been using a scoped .308 up to then.
A half hour later, I was back looking for help to drag it out. They were laughing any more, and both went home skunked.
There isn't anything I wouldn't use the M1 on with appropriate ammo, but I'd keep the range to 200 yds max.
seems reasonable enough to me... you could ask this monster B.C. mule deer but the one shot from my 1918 BSA enfield shtle 3* kind made him dead in a hurry. I have been putting 3 deer a year in the freezer, every year of the last 12 with this rifle... federal powershock 180 gr SP
12 yrs later and you're still hunting Stanley Park?
I picked up a very nice M38 Mosin from Anthony at Tradex, will be trying it out this fall for black bear providing I can source some decent brass. Should be fun, and certainly capable enough at the distances I'm expecting (100 yds or less).
I hunt with all of the above, Enfield, Mauser and Garand.
4 deer on my Garand with Federal blue box 150 grain ammo, 2 on the Mauser with Norma 196 grain Oryx and none yet for the Enfield but ain't shot at anythin with it so far either.
It was kinda funny, I bought the Mauser (an RC) at the Eaganville show from Trade Ex and said somethin about moose season coming up, and everyone around kinda laughed. Anthony from Trade Ex said "I believe him...He's from Maniwaki, Quebec"
No moose yet sadly. Lookin forward to trying out some 180 grain ballistic tip loads with the Norma brass tho!
4 deer on my Garand with Federal blue box 150 grain ammo, 2 on the Mauser with Norma 196 grain Oryx and none yet for the Enfield but ain't shot at anythin with it so far either.
It was kinda funny, I bought the Mauser (an RC) at the Eaganville show from Trade Ex and said somethin about moose season coming up, and everyone around kinda laughed. Anthony from Trade Ex said "I believe him...He's from Maniwaki, Quebec"
No moose yet sadly. Lookin forward to trying out some 180 grain ballistic tip loads with the Norma brass tho!
