Milsurp's today, where to start?

With an adjustable gas plug you can get away with not reloading for an AG42. For a similar price you will likely only be able to find an Egyptian FN49 in 8m mauser. Depending what you are doing I personally prefer the 6.5x55mm cartridge for resting and target shooting. If you want to stop a large animal than 8mm has it beat but I would not want to lug an fn49 into deep bush. One plus side to the fn49 is an adjustable gas system, mind you with it on maximum vent mine still flings factory brass pretty hard.
 
Are you shooting or collecting because the first thing I would look at is the availability of reasonably priced ammo that can be sourced locally.

Next I would be looking for all original firearms, matching numbers, decent bores. What is the collectability like? Is decent information (books, online) available? How many variations? Is there a range of accessories (slings, bayos, cleaning kits) etc to buy? What history interests you? Which war? Which army?

IMHO you should be looking at a Lee Enfield in bolt action and Garand in semi auto......
 
It sounds like you're a shooter not a handloader. Israeli Mausers as suggested are great and in 7.62 NATO which is still cheapish. Norwegian Mausers can be found in .30-06. I've seen FN 49s suggested which are lovely shooting rifles with great sights and an adjustable gas system, you'll likely find one in .30-06 before finding a 7.62 example. The AG42b is a fun rifle but has no adjustable gas system so if your store bought ammo doesn't work, you're SOL. Personally I think buying a Soviet captured K98k (the K98 is a Polish Mauser worth a lot more) no longer makes sense at $1200 plus.
 
Welcome to the DEEP rabbit hole. You are obviously computer savvy, so do your research. There are lots of good milsurp collector sites that will widen your knowledge base. I gather information to do with military surplus rifles and ammunition, and store it on OneNote, a free app. I refer to it nearly every day, as I can't reasonably recall all the info I've gathered over the years. Once the internet became available, I realized that I had rifles that I knew very little about. One prize example is my SAT barrel Finn Mosin Nagant. I owned it for approx. 25 years before I fully understood what I had. A fellow from another site pm'd me and asked if I realized what I had. He sent me a blurb from a site describing this particular model. He's the kind of person you will find on these sites.
 
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Update: I just picked up an awesome looking Swedish Mauser M38 for a great deal. Far cheaper than what I've seen them listed for on CGN/Gun Post.

I think I've decided now to go with the AG42B to share ammo with the M/38 and will stick with the Swedish Milsurp theme for now.

Thanks everyone!

EDIT: Now I just need to find some places that have 6.5x55 in stock.
 
Northern Shooter said:
Update: I just picked up an awesome looking Swedish Mauser M38 for a great deal. Far cheaper than what I've seen them listed for on CGN/Gun Post.

I think I've decided now to go with the AG42B to share ammo with the M/38 and will stick with the Swedish Milsurp theme for now.

Thanks everyone!

EDIT: Now I just need to find some places that have 6.5x55 in stock.
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Welcome aboard!
 
M38 Swede- Great place to start. Good luck with the ammo search. Gun shows if and when they get back up and running- a good place to look.
 
I feel the Swiss 1911 Long rifle is a great rifle to start with if you dont want to spend to much. They are generally cheaper then the k31s and are usually in excellent condition. The 7.5x55 swiss ammo made by PPU is very good and relatively easy to find. You could also run swiss GP11 surplus ammo as well. I have been shooting milsurps off all kinds for 15 years and hands down! They are one of most accurate rifles out there. Just my opinion of course.
 
What's a good price on a AG42B these days? I'm kinda seeing prices all over the place.

I'm still trying to figure out what to look out for on these old Swedish Battle rifles.
 
A good price is the cheapest one in the best condition haha. The only surplus semi auto under $1000 these days is an sks unless you get lucky. Depending on condition expect anywhere $1000-2000. The plus side is most of these rifles were surplused in relatively good condition (compared to rifles that went to war haha). I bought a cheaper one that sat in someone’s basement since the 70s unfired this side of the ocean. You can check the stock discs for bore dimensions when surplused. If it was tight it would take a fair bit of shooting to wear out. If you want a shooter look at rifles in the low $1000s if you want a super grade type look closer to $2000.
 
Webley No.5 said:
A good price is the cheapest one in the best condition haha. The only surplus semi auto under $1000 these days is an sks unless you get lucky. Depending on condition expect anywhere $1000-2000. The plus side is most of these rifles were surplused in relatively good condition (compared to rifles that went to war haha). I bought a cheaper one that sat in someone’s basement since the 70s unfired this side of the ocean. You can check the stock discs for bore dimensions when surplused. If it was tight it would take a fair bit of shooting to wear out. If you want a shooter look at rifles in the low $1000s if you want a super grade type look closer to $2000.
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Good to know, thanks! It seems to be that the AG42b is one of the last "affordable" semi autos in a full powered cartridge.
 
The 42B and Hakim are great for giving a puff of gas in the face - that and no easy way to mount an optic...I have had several of each. Accurate but my old eyes don't like open sites anymore.....sigh.
 
DaveGP said:
The 42B and Hakim are great for giving a puff of gas in the face - that and no easy way to mount an optic...I have had several of each. Accurate but my old eyes don't like open sites anymore.....sigh.
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Any similar alternatives that you would recommend? I would love a M1 but they cost over double the price.
 
Northern Shooter said:
Any similar alternatives that you would recommend? I would love a M1 but they cost over double the price.
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A couple of mention:
I did like the SVT40 - although in my experience a fragile trigger mechanism (I had 2 that would double on occasion)
FN49 is hard to beat - but it does feel heavier than it actually is.
MAS44 or 44/49 - a bit unconventional looking but a decent shooter.
The mentioned firearms are optics friendly too.
 
My journey, just starting really, started with an $180 Chinese SKS from Cabele's, then accidentally started a project to build a M1 Garand from parts. That is almost done (just waiting for the barrel on a very long backorder), and am now looking to a WWI era Lee Enfield MkIII, and maybe a M1 Carbine. I would have loved to have a 1911, but I guess that opportunity is about to pass.

I guess it really depends if you are interested in a specific war, period, or country.

EDIT TO ADD:
Mil-Surp seems to only ever go up in value. As long as you care for them, it is never a bad investment.
 
Andronicus said:
My journey, just starting really, started with an $180 Chinese SKS from Cabele's, then accidentally started a project to build a M1 Garand from parts. That is almost done (just waiting for the barrel on a very long backorder), and am now looking to a WWI era Lee Enfield MkIII, and maybe a M1 Carbine. I would have loved to have a 1911, but I guess that opportunity is about to pass.

I guess it really depends if you are interested in a specific war, period, or country.

EDIT TO ADD:
Mil-Surp seems to only ever go up in value. As long as you care for them, it is never a bad investment.
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Tell that to anyone who owns a milsurp pistol, anti-tank rifle, FN-FAL, etc.

OP honestly a M1 is much better than a AG-42b, Hakim, FN-49, or a SVT-40. Can’t say for certain on the MAS 49s as I haven’t handled any but for the price of one of those you can just buy a M1 Garand anyways.

It depends on what your looking for. A AG-42b is limited on what factory ammo you can use (cannot use Federal for example as their sensitive primers can cause out of battery detonations with them, I know this from experience). The ammo is also substantially more expensive than .30-06 or 7.62 NATO if thats the route you choose to go.

A M1 Carbine would likely be the best for cost and ammo costs. Last I checked a box of 50 was about 38$. The Carbines themselves tend to be in the 800-1500$ range and you can find them as non-restricteds too. Just food for thought.
 
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