bolt action milsurp .308 options

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madashell

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Hello Gentlemen,

Kinda always wanted a bolt action milsurp rifle but it's gotta be in .308 so obviously open to conversions.
Reason for wanting to stick with .308 is most of my bolt actions are .308 and already reload for them so really don't want to pick up another cartridge.

Pretend I know nothing about milsurp bolt guns .... which isn't far from the truth :reface:

Not even remotely interested in collecting. Want something I can shoot. Criteria is it's gotta be rugged as a tank and accurate. If it's pretty and in good condition even better. No specific budget in mind.

Have always preferred more compact .308's so don't want anything long enough to belong in a US civil war re-enactment :p

Obviously there's the Israeli K98 and I'm sure other converted Mausers. Some of those carbine Mausers look neat but know nothing about them. Curious, has anyone on here converted a Swiss K31 to .308 ?

What other options and details should I be looking into ??

Appreciate any insight, this is a new road for me to go down and know there's a lot of knowledgeable guys on here.
Thank you all.
 
Not a MILSURP, but a faux sniper in the form of a Rem M700 heavy barrel. Scout around on the EE. They are ready for a scope and accurate enough to make reloading/load development feel worthwhile.
 
Ditto on the Israeli k98, you can still get a nice one for around $600.

The FR8 is fun but the straight bolt isn’t as slick as the bent bolt of the FR7 while the FR7 comes with all the “It’s a small ring Mauser designed for the CETME round and Spanish steel is junk” voodoo.

Twincamharley has some great options with the enforcer/envoy/Parker Hale rifles but you’ll need deep pockets.

DCRA guns are a hobby all by themselves, suggest some serious research before you dive into that pool!
 
Oh I have that more than covered.

Just like the idea of something really rugged that can take a beating and I won't cry too much like I would with some of my custom 700's.

purple said:
Not a MILSURP, but a faux sniper in the form of a Rem M700 heavy barrel. Scout around on the EE. They are ready for a scope and accurate enough to make reloading/load development feel worthwhile.
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With a decent barrel in good shape I don't think you can go wrong with an Israeli Mauser. I still have one that I bought over 30 years ago and it is still going strong, capable of shooting much better than my eyesight will permit for sure. I can't begin to imagine how many rounds have gone through this rifle and I still enjoy shooting it as much today as when I first received it away back when.
My opinion only, others may not necessarily agree.
 
Not a whole lot of options really, by the time the 7.62x51 (.308) came along most militarie had adopted either semi auto rifles or select fire rifles.

DCRA Converted Lee Enfield No.4, although most wont have a proper magazine as they were intended for single shot. These are generally considered rpime collector rifles though.

Another is the Indian 2A/2A1, although somewhat hard to find in Canada.

Like mentioned, the Israeli K98, Spanish FR-7 and FR-8.

While Not original, Calgary Shooting Center has Swiss K-31's re-barreled for .308. Pricey however at about 1400.
 
There are several Mauser options being overlooked here. They are the South American rifles, mostly built in Germany.

Brazil, Peru, Chile, Honduras and others released a lot of their surplus rifles onto the North American markets over the last 25 years.

Some of them are carbine length with 18-20 inch barrels but they are expensive and don't come up very often.

Recently there were a bunch of Steyr built 1912 rifles that were converted from 7x57 to 7.62x51. They were given new barrels and the two I have, one long rifle for my aging eyes and a standard length, shoot better than I can hold, even with surplus ammo.

As mentioned, the Spanish FR8 rifles are very good choices if you can find one with a decent bore. As for the FR7, yes they were built for the CETME round which is dimensionaly identical to the 7.62x51 but supposedly is safe for the standard NATO loading. Mine handles the standard 7.62x51 fodder without an issue and shoots it well.

Now, what you don't mention in your post, is whether you're looking for a plinker or something more accurate for long range shooting.
 
To answer your question bearhunter .... looking for something more accurate for longer range shooting.

Thanks for the information.

bearhunter said:
There are several Mauser options being overlooked here. They are the South American rifles, mostly built in Germany.

Brazil, Peru, Chile, Honduras and others released a lot of their surplus rifles onto the North American markets over the last 25 years.

Some of them are carbine length with 18-20 inch barrels but they are expensive and don't come up very often.

Recently there were a bunch of Steyr built 1912 rifles that were converted from 7x57 to 7.62x51. They were given new barrels and the two I have, one long rifle for my aging eyes and a standard length, shoot better than I can hold, even with surplus ammo.

As mentioned, the Spanish FR8 rifles are very good choices if you can find one with a decent bore. As for the FR7, yes they were built for the CETME round which is dimensionaly identical to the 7.62x51 but supposedly is safe for the standard NATO loading. Mine handles the standard 7.62x51 fodder without an issue and shoots it well.

Now, what you don't mention in your post, is whether you're looking for a plinker or something more accurate for long range shooting.
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BeaverMeat said:
And... your saying you can't fire 7.62NATO out of it?
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There is a reason they downloaded 7.62x51 to CETME pressures in small ring Mauser. Just look up maximum pressures for 7.62NATO vs CETME. I think Spane adopted proper NATO ammo in the 80s.

Personally, I wouldn’t try commercial 308 rounds in fr7 as those sometimes exceed NATO pressures. Just for a simple reason that these rifles are close to 100 years old. Why risk damage?
 
BlackVoid said:
There is a reason they downloaded 7.62x51 to CETME pressures in small ring Mauser. Just look up maximum pressures for 7.62NATO vs CETME. I think Spane adopted proper NATO ammo in the 80s.

Personally, I wouldn’t try commercial 308 rounds in fr7 as those sometimes exceed NATO pressures. Just for a simple reason that these rifles are close to 100 years old. Why risk damage?
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I wouldn't worry too much about 7.62NATO or 'commercial' .308 in a Spanish 93 Mauser action. The problems will arise when you handload some hot rounds. Commercial .308 is still down-rated enough by manufacturers.

The CEMETE spec 7.62NATO being downloaded specifically for the FR7 is dubious. Wiki is your friend.
 
BlackVoid said:
There is a reason they downloaded 7.62x51 to CETME pressures in small ring Mauser. Just look up maximum pressures for 7.62NATO vs CETME. I think Spane adopted proper NATO ammo in the 80s.

Personally, I wouldn’t try commercial 308 rounds in fr7 as those sometimes exceed NATO pressures. Just for a simple reason that these rifles are close to 100 years old. Why risk damage?
Click to expand...


The reason they loaded the CETME rounds the way they did was to reduce felt recoil. The pressures 7.62 Nato is loaded to is within the safe margins of the original 7x57 load used by Spain as the pressures are fairly close.

BeaverMeat is right on the money.

The bullet diameter on the CETME bullets is .310 in. When I measured my examples and a few dozen from different lots that's what all of the diameters were. I found out later this was to raise pressures for their issue CETME automatic rifles, which had gas adjustments to handle the several different loadings encountered between Nato issue ammo.
 
I like the FR7 much better than the FR8. I use 300 Savage data in my.

From SN's online it appears the 7 is a much rarer rifle maybe 4000 units compared to 50000.
 
I found out later this was to raise pressures for their issue CETME automatic rifles, which had gas adjustments to handle the several different loadings encountered between Nato issue ammo.[/QUOTE]

Since the CETME rifle is an arm operating on the roller lock system it does not have gas adjustments.
The 7.62 CETME ctg was loaded to meet the requirements of Spanish tactical doctrine.
See "Full Circle ATreatise on Roller Locking" Stevens
 
madashell said:
To answer your question bearhunter .... looking for something more accurate for longer range shooting.

Thanks for the information.
Click to expand...

Then a K98 conversion is your best bet, and easiest to find. Depends on what your idea of 'long range' means though.

One man's long range is another's point blank...

No need to convert a K-31, the brass is readily available and the bullets are .308. All you need is brass and dies.
 
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