I have been considering collecting infantry rifles from the WWII era. Many of the rifles I have looked at are dirt cheap! Which rifles have the best craftmanship and accuracy?

I have a cheap ass 8mm mauser, it is a pretty cool gun.  It has a big kick to it, and I guess if you are good with it you can be pretty accurate.

M1 Garrand. British enfield. German 98. The rest are cool, but lack the value to me to collect. The Russians fielded a shit load of Mosin-Nagants that can be had cheap. I have zero knowldege of the Jap rifles.

Here's a link to a bunch of forums:

[url]www.gunandknife.com/boards/[/url]

Also, a link to some M1 Garand/Carbines for sale (some real nice M1 carbines):

[url]home.att.net/~ra-carbines/home.html[/url]

I'd say the best bet for craftsmanship and accuracy would be an 8mm Mauser that is slightly post war.  If you can find a good German WWII get it, they are becoming quite rare at most gunshows.  Well at least the ones in even decent shape.

I am looking for a good Enfield, Britains rifle, but the ones I have seen so far have not been in the best shape.  I've heard that a good one can be quite accurate.

Mosin-Nagants are fun.  Especially the M-44 if you like rifle/flame-throwers.  They kick like a very P.o'd mule though!  Quality ranges all over from junk to really nice.  I picked up a fair '91/30 for about 60 bucks.  At 50 yards it shoot about 6 inches high and 4 inches left though.  Fun to shoot, but not all that accurate.  Mine also has a problem ejected spent casing out of the receiver.  They generally just have enough energy to roll out.

The jap rifles, I don't know about, I keep hearing things on the history channel about how unreliable they were, but I have no real experience.  It would seem they were pretty accurate based on what the japanese could do with them though.

I love the historic rifles.  My '91/30 is dated 1931 I believe.  It just oozes history.  I would be interesting to see just where this rifle was most of the time?  Stalingrad?  Moscow?  Captured by the Germans in the first days of their invasion?  If only these guns could talk.........

I would recommend you look into an M1 Garand rifle.  You will never find a finer crafted or more reliable weapon than the M1.  As raf mentioned, the CMP program is a great place to start and offers a good source for quality M1 rifles.  Stay away at all costs from the commercially made Century and CAI junk.  They are nothing but problems.  Buy only USGI.  

Another good choice would be the M1903 Springfield rifle.  Good specimens can be had at gun shows in the $400 to $500 range.

The Yugoslav Mausers are a good bargain but finding decent ammo is a problem since much of it is corrosive primed.  Hope this helps.    

You have to go with an M1 Garand.  They are the best.  No WW II collection is complete without one.  I have a great one and I also have one from the Korean War (oops, make that police action) which I shoot a lot.  It too is a fine rifle and is extremely accurate.  Also have a German m-98 and an M1 Carbine.  And, a bunch of handguns from WW II..  All shootable.  I would like to have a Thompson to shoot.  Don't want a de-mil to just hang on the wall, though.

Here a list of WWII rifles you can collect:

American
-US. Rifle, cal. 30, M1, M1C (Garand)
-US. Carbine, cal. 30, M1
-The Johnson rifle
-Springfield 1903, from A1 to A3 version

German:
-Mauser 98K 7,92 x 57 (the cheapest version are the one built by CZ)

Italian:
-Manlincher-Carcano mod. 91/38 cal. 6,5. I don't know availability of ammos. But if you collect only, no problem. There is also a short version used by cavalry. Anemic ammo but if in good conditions they are accurate.

Russian:
-Moisin-Nagant. Cheap, but quality can vary a lot. Cheap also the sniper version.

Japanese:
-Arisaka. Interesting for collection. Poor quality and accuracy. Excellent bayonets.

England & Commonwealth:
-Enfield Mk1, Mk4 cal. 303 British. Also interesting the T (sniper) version of this rifle. Plenty of versions. Interesting also the Mk.5, so called Jungle Rifle.
-Enfield P14. Version in 303 Brit. of the P17 of the Sgt. York.

There are also non belligerant WWII rifles.
I feel that the most interesting could be

-Swedish M96 Mausers in 6,5 x 55 Swedish. Superb steel, actions and barrels, even in cheap models, can still offer good accuracy. Ammo available, and SHARP.

-Swiss straight-pull Rubin-Schmidt Rifles. I think that the K38 model was the one in use during WWII period. Cal. 7,5x57. Accurate, powerful, but ammos aren't so easy to find.

I hope I have helped you.

Get the Garand.  It is at the top of the WWII infantry weapons (that you can legally own) food chain!

It was revolutionary when it came out.  The Mauser and enfields are also excellent bolt actions.

Dont forget the Springfield 1903a3

You might want to get a Curio & Relic FFL if you want to get those rifles even cheaper.
My WWII Enfield is one of the most accurate rifles I have.
Some love the Garand, but I prefer he M1A.
The Jap rifles used to be cheap, but now are getting up there.
My next purchases will be a 1930's Mauser and postwar Russian M-44.

Swedish Mauser (Best of the Mauser family.6.5X55 cartridge is a superior round.
Finnish M39 ( Mosin Nagant copy. Much better accuracy and quality.)

More semi autos from that time frame are the Soviet SVT40 (For a true combatant) and the Swedish Ljungmann AG42 (For a non combatant).  Most AG42s went through a "B" conversion that fixed certain problems.  These AG42Bs are a hell of a lot more common than original AG42s.

SVT40
[IMG]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=192182&a=1409106&p=48153332&Sequence=0&res=high[/IMG]

AG42B
[IMG]http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=192182&a=1409106&p=50010033&Sequence=0&res=high[/IMG]

 

I recieved my Garands from the CMP on Friday. One was made in '43 and has an absolutely beautiful wear(patina?)on the metal. It screams history. I wish it could talk. The second one is from '54 and is like new. I can't believe the shape it is in. Luck of the draw I guess. You can't go wrong with a Garand from the CMP.

Thanks for all the suggestions...and warnings! I have been looking at a lot of the Mausers. I was amazed at the low cost because I heard they were pretty good weapson, especially the Swedish Mausers. What are your opinions on the Mauser family?

If you want to collect, put a want add in the paper.  Buy war trophies (bring backs) as these are usually in decent shape and haven't been rebuilt 3 times in the last 50 years.  

I also collected Mausers before I got into AR's.

OSA

BUY  THE MAUSERS. GERMAN K98k'S IN DECENT SHAPE ARE GETTING SCARCE. MOST I SEE AVAILABLE NOW ARE RATED "FAIR". IF YOU FIND A NICE MAUSER, GRAB IT! SO MANY WERE BUTCHERED AFTER WW2 INTO HALF-ASSED SPORTERS, IT'S SAD WHEN THE BEST MAUSERS I SEE ARE SPORTERIZED ONES WITH NO COLLECTOR VALUE CAUSE SOME DILL-HOLE F'ed IT UP DRILLING AND TAPPING FOR SCOPE MOUNTS. I SAW A BEAUTIFUL "byf" MAUSER IN SPORTER FORM THE OTHER DAY AND ALMOST CRIED. SAD OUR GRANDPARENTS DID'NT HAVE THE FORESIGHT TO PRESERVE THOSE SHOWPIECES.