K98 vrs lee

Canadiankeeper

Canadiankeeper

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Ive done a bunch of research on both of the guns over the past month. I cant decide what one to pick up ! (I know buy both ! Well, cant... Not at the same time at least)

Im not looking for a sporterized lee, id love the full stock original looks of them if I was to pick one up.
As for the k98 im not super picky they all look relatively the same. (some eagles would be cool though)

I will be doing some casual plinking and hunting with the rifle. They are about the same price point (when the lee is close to original)

I know the 303 ammo is a bit more available then the 8mm.

I would love to hear anyone's input who have shot both. What one is your fav ? CONVINCE ME ! lol (please before I get ancy and buy a moisen)
 
They both absolutely rock.mausers are a bit easier on brass.p17 or spring g field 03 a3 might be up your ally.best of both worlds.imop
 
I personally prefer the Lee Enfields, that being said both are solid rifles. Here is what I would look at if I was buying one of each.

For the Lee Enfields I would get a No. 4 Mk. 1(*). I currently reload .303 British for about 35 cents a round (note this is shot out of a P14 which has a regular chamber not the weird Enfield chambers) using 7.62x54r surplus. So far my reloading equipment has paid for itself in no time flat (only having to shoot 555rds of .303 British to have made my money back, everything from there is savings).

For Mausers I would get a Israeli Mauser (or any other countries Mauser based on a 1898 action) in 7.62 Nato. Plenty of these are former German rifles which were converted to 7.62 Nato later on. By choosing a 7.62 Mauser of some sort you will save money in ammo as you can buy commercially for cheap (roughly 50-75 cents a round for surplus). This means you can shoot more or save up quicker.
 
If your L-E is a No 4 Mk 1, I'd pick that for hunting/plinking over the K98 - for two reasons:

the iron sights on the No 4 Mk 1 are, IMHO, better for hunting than the sights on the K98, and.....

the ammo for the L-E is a lot easier to find (and is usually lots cheaper) than K98 ammo, as long as it's not one of the Israeli K98's that were converted to 7.62 NATO.

I've used a L-E for hunting (took my first deer with it) and it's still in Dad's gun cabinet. I have a RC K98 as well, and comparing the two I'd pick the L-E in the OP's shoes.

My two cents only, YMMV.
 
If you prefer peep sights, get an Enfield #4.

If you prefer tangent sights, get a 98K.

The biggest downside to the 98k right now is the availability of 8mm Mauser. I find it a bit odd, because it's a very popular hunting round, and fairly widely available, in Europe.

.303 isn't exactly the most available cartridge anymore either, but you can usually get a box or two of hunting rounds at your LGS.

Another adavantage for the Enfield is the sheer volume of wisdom and knowledge available about it in Canada. You can't help but bump into people who know a TON about the platform, different hunting loads, reloading tricks, etc. etc. Easy access to a deep body of knowledge about a gun is pretty priceless.
 
I own many lee enfields and several mausers so I'll chime in here.

If you like peep sights get a number 4 lee enfield.

If you like tangent sights get a number 1 mark 3

And if you want a mauser get a p14!!!

Don't get me wrong I love 98 actioned mausers but I tend to always like lee enfields more. But that being said a p14 is about as nice of a milsurp as you'll find. The actions are built to withstand magnum pressures and are very slick to work. The rear sight works well for my eyes and the triggers usually are very nice.

Lastly 8x57 is getting hard to find vs 303. I hand load so ammo availability is never a concern to me but it often is an issue for those who don't roll the own.
 
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