Ok, I am thinking about buying either an Enfield or a K98 Rifle and I don't want to pay any more than 200 bucks. How available is the .303 ammo for the Enfield compared to the K98? What is the usual cost I could expect to pay for Mil surplus ammo for either one of them? How accurate are each of them, trigger pull? What rifle do you guys suggest I should get? Thanks.

I'd be more concerned with the tiny mauser sights vs the peep sight on the #4 enfields.  There's still surplus 8x57 around where what's left of the enfield stuff may well be click-bang.

Buy both.

Dennis Jenkins

Quoted: Ok, I am thinking about buying either an Enfield or a K98 Rifle and I don't want to pay any more than 200 bucks. How available is the .303 ammo for the Enfield compared to the K98? What is the usual cost I could expect to pay for Mil surplus ammo for either one of them? How accurate are each of them, trigger pull? What rifle do you guys suggest I should get? Thanks.

There is no choice, ya GOTTA get both! Surplus 8mm is ALOT more plentiful than .303, but the rifles are so different, you really do NEED both.

I with them....................get both!

Enfield ammo is cheap anymore. Go with the K98.

I vote for getting both.  I just found a small supply of .303 ammo at a local shop yesterday.  I tried a box today to see how good it shoots, and I will be going back this afternoon to buy what he has left.  There were 2 rounds out of 32 that did a kind of "click...bang" thing, but the rest shot just fine.

While I'm sure its not evident, I'm ever so slightly partial to the Lee-Enfield (points if you can guess my favorite version).  Because of that I, personally, would pick an enfield any day over a mauser.

However, if you are looking for a shooter, I would strongly consider looking into a mauser of some sort.  7.92mm ammo is much more prevelant at the moment and far cheaper than .303 ammo.  The 150ish grain 7.92mm is very plesant to shoot, however the 198grain ammo will leave a bruise on your shoulder if you fire it for a while.  

The sights on K98k's aren't too too bad and its quite easy to hit pie plates at 100 yards with the rifle.  

If you're looking for collector value/interest I'd look for a 98K that hasn't been peened out (there are some that have turned up in the recent lots coming in), however most will be mix-masters and would need a bit of work to be true collectors.  If you just want to shoot I'd look into one of the turndown bolt yugos, or some of the VZ24s as those are essentially K98ks but were selling for a hair over $100 here a while back.  

That said, the Lee-Enfield is a great rifle.  My #1MkIII is quite accurate, the magazine capacity is good and the action is super.  I don't think you could go wrong with one, the only thing I think that would make them a hands down knock out winner would be if you could find one .308.  

However, in either case do expect to spend some time looking for one.  Its best to check out a lot before you drop the cash as the quality of K98k's and #4's that I've seen recently has varied widely.  I picked up a rather nice #4 that is in cosmetically good condition, but appears to have been rebarreled before it was put away so the bore is literally brand new.  This is in stark contrast to all of the other #4's at the shop I bought mine at, as most of those rifles had bores that looked like the surface of the dark side of the moon (i.e. sucked in all the light and lots of craters).  I'd sense that the K98k's are somewhat similar, however I haven't had the opportunity to check out a lot of those yet.  

Anywho, good luck in your search and let us know what you get!

Cheers!
Lithgow303

while i agree with the get both idea, if you are going to get just one i recommend the enfield as well.  i had an ishy #1mk3 and enjoyed it a lot.  but if i bought another enfield it would be a #4 for the better sights.  the 10lb weight tends to help dampen the recoil a bit.  i put 5 rounds through a mauser once and i wasn't overly impressed by it in any way, though it was easier to get the bolt off than on my enfield.  however you can't do the super cool rapid fire thing with a mauser like you can with an enfield--lithgow303 i am sure you know exactly what i am talking about.  i also tried to stay away from milsurp ammo because sometimes i am lazy about cleaning and it takes me a day to get around to it.  but you can get s&b factory fresh .303brit fmj ammo for like $10/box.

My vote is for the K98  (German) as the .303 ammo available with the hang fires does not make it as fun to shoot. There is PLENTY of 8mm surplus out there.

Depending on how much you plan to shoot, (I usually do 200-300 rounds) it may not matter as there is new manufactured ammo available but it does cost $$$$, but if you only shoot 50 rounds each visit, it may not matter.

Once I finish my .3030 surplus, I will reload my own ammo to feed the Enfield.

Although the sights on the Enfield are great, the K98 sights are outstanding as well.

If you want a bolt action surplus rifle that is cheap to shoot, get a Mosin Nagant. If you want the best bolt action battle rifle ever made, get the Enfield.

I'm biased.....Get a German K98

I say get both as well. They are both fun and interesting rifles, you really need both. If your finances will only allow you to get one now, I say go with the Mauser just because of the availability of inexpensive quality surplus. The good quality .303 surplus dried up a few years ago. The last good stuff I had was from Greece. It was excellent ammo, but it hasn't been available for awhile now. There is new .303, but it will cost more to shoot than an 8mm Mauser with good surplus. So get a Mauser in 8mm first, then get an Enfield. Just my $0.02

Quoted: I'm biased.....Get a German K98 No4MkI Enfield.

Fixed it for you.

K98's are the rifle of the losing army. Always remember that.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm biased.....Get a German K98 No4MkI Enfield. Fixed it for you. K98's are the rifle of the losing army. Always remember that.

So is the M16, always remember that.

Quoted: Quoted: I'm biased.....Get a German K98 No4MkI Enfield. Fixed it for you. K98's are the rifle of the losing army. Always remember that.

twice no less

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I'm biased.....Get a German K98 No4MkI Enfield. Fixed it for you. K98's are the rifle of the losing army. Always remember that. So is the M16, always remember that.

Yeah, because we lost Vietnam due to complete domination by the enemy forces, total destruction of our industry and millions of combat and civilian deaths.....that's what happened alright. We lost that war big time....just like the Germans lost WWII.

Oh, and the M16 has been with us through 4 military actions ("wars") since that horrible defeat, all of which we kinda won.