I wanna buy a cheap ass one mostly for plinking and possibly for pig killing.

Please rank these:
1. Enfield No. 4 Mk1
2. M48 Mauser
3. M44 Mosin Nagant
4. M91/30 Mosin Nagant

By these Criteria:
1. Accuracy
2. Best Budget Ammo
3. Best Action
4. Price

    I vote for the M48 Mauser, as the ammo is DIRT cheap, it's accurate, action is smooth and there are many aftermarket accessories to make it a good hunting/sniping rifle.  The M44 is also a good bet, it's a fire-breathing dragon to shoot!  The action is clumsy and the ammo slightly more expensive than M48 stuff, but WHAT A POWERHOUSE!!!

I got an M-44 made in 1946 by Tula..it's a good rifle..much better than I expected..The trigger is somewhat creepy but has a nice let-off...I can hit the 300 yard gong time after time at the range... however the safety is hard to engage and disengage. All in all, I would get a 98 (or 48) If I had to choose... rank? M48(98),Enfield(if in good shape and a good shooter), M44, 91/30(too long and bulky)

1. M44
2. M44
3. M44
Any questions?

Yeah, one question: who wins #4 ?

WSG&A has excellent condition M39s with a sling shipped for $120, I think that may be the winner.

Isn't a Swede Mod. 96 a C&R rifle?

DaMan

I have a 91/30, and unissued M-44, a Yugo M48 Mauser and a 1903A3.


The best of the bunch is the '03A3.
But given your list and my experience, I'd go for the Mauser.

It may just be me, I've only shot it once, but I can't hit crap with my M44.  I get nice tight groups with my mauser.  3-6" at 100 yards and I'm obvioulsy not a great shooter.  Groups open up a lot when you start to flinch from the recoil blasting your shoulder into putty.

The barrels on most 91/30 are dicey at best, if you find one with a nice barrel, it would be a good collector.

Yes indeed, as are shorter variants like the Model 96/38 and subsequent relatives with turned-down bolt handles.  I own four Swedes.

A Russian SKS is also a C&R.

Don't forget the M1 Garand and M1 Carbine, though their prices have gone up a lot in recent years.

California_Kid, the Swedes, while more expensive than some of the other C&R rifles mentioned, are VERY ACCURATE and VERY WELL MADE!  Plus the 6.5x55mm is an excellent cartridge.

I like the M98 or (Yugo M48) and 03-A3, but in 8mm and 30-06 they knock they crap out of me!

Don't think too much of the MN!

The Enfields are OK, but .303 is lame!  The Ishapores in .308 would be the only Enfields I'd want to own.

The Russian SKS is also great C&R rifle, but demand a high price these days.

I think the Swedes are still the best kept C&R secret!

DaMan    

By these Criteria:
1. Accuracy M44 Mosin Nagant
(mine's a tack driver)
2. Best Budget Ammo - M44 Mosin Nagant
3. Best Action - M48 Mauser
4. Price M44 - Mosin Nagant

Having said that, I would go for the M48 Mauser. Mine is mint, nice looking, shoots well, lots of cheap ammo now.

My M44 gave me the best group I ever shot. 3 rounds, all touching, at 50 yards. They are handy little, powerful rifles. Ammo is very cheap for them.

The M48 is *a* rifle!

troynm,

Don't knock 8mm ammo.  Coles has 900 rnds for 65 bucks I believe.  That is also what I paid about 9 months ago at a gunshow in Indy when I still lived there.

I think the action on the Mauser is a little stonger.  The Mosin's have a few more moving parts going on in their, their actions are also kinda notchy.  Just my opinion, I just can't hit with mine.  I was all over the paper at 50 yards.

I'll vote for the M39  mosin nagant. I think it has good sights and a very smooth action. It is imho the best mosin nagant available. I have a Swede mauser too and it is a great gun also. but its seems a though its a mile long w/ 30in bbl.
-bricklayer

I'm not sure if its on the list yet.

CETME Spanish FR-8
[url]http://www.gunsworld.com/spain/cetmefr8_us.html[/url]

Excellent, accurate, handy little rifle (18" Barrel)

The M48 has a smooth action?  None of the guns I have shot or heard anyone talk about had a smooth action until you put a few hundred rounds through them, assuming you buy and unissued one.  Not that they are bad shooters, I just do not agree with the action part.  It has the worst action of any gun I own, period.

But for my ranking
1.  M1 (semi-auto, accurate, available, well made)
2.  M96 (great worksmanship, accurate, not so available)
3.  Persian Mauser (awesome but not as accurate as a m96)
4.  M39 (nice trigger, accurate, but overrated)
5.  M48 (shitty action, accurate, available)
6.  FR-8 (bastardized piece of shit, accurate, available ammo)

I have never shot a 1903, 1917, M1 Carbine, M44, M91/30, K31, or a K98.  These would be some other guns I think would rank pretty high.

Swedish M96/M38

Finnish M39 ( Mosin Nagant copy) but, better made.

I own every rifle on your list (several times over) and most of the other ones mentioned in this thread.  

First, I will answer your question directly:

1. The most accurate will probably be the M-48, IF you get the right ammo for it (198gr bullet).

2. Best budget ammo is 8mm (the Romanian stuff is fantastic), but the 7.62x54r is real close.  There are some great deals on it right now.

3. M-48 has an intermediate action, so while it IS a 98, it is not a full lengh.  Ultimately it is probably the best if your ammo explodes, but I wouldn't screw with it (ie don't build an elephant gun from it).

4. Price wise you can't beat an M44.  Like new ones are 50 bucks.  Sure, you can get a M91/30 cheaper but it will be beat to pieces.

If those 4 are your only choices: I'm a Mauser guy but I don't like M48s, so If I was you I'd get the M44.

All that said, I have to agree with some other posters in that I have some other suggestions. Consider:

M39: Mosin action, better stock, Hbar, better sights, cheap to shoot, wicked accurate!

Swede 96: also one of the most accurate milsurps you will find.  Nice shooting, but costs a lot to shoot.  No more 6.5x55 surplus.  :(  

Yugo K98: one of my personal favorites.  Real Nazi German K98 refurbed to VG-EX condition by Yugoslavia.  Identified by commie crest on receiver ring and Preduzce 44 on siderail.  Shoots 8mm, has history.  Nice weapon for $125 or so.

Finally, Russian and Romanian SKS are C&R if you want a semi.  Share ammo with your Kalashnikov.  I have a excellent Russian for sale if anyone is interested, $260 shipped.

Hope this helps, email me if you want anymore info on anything C&R.