Budget friendly Vintage Sniper Rifle?

[man32ahan]

Looking at getting a vintage sniper rifle for fun.
What’s the best for the budget?
K31, 1903A4, 91/30?

Willing To pay a little more for better accuracy. What’s my best option and thanks in advance.
Not concerned if it is a clone.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Probably a Mosin. You'd likely have to pay a small fortune for K31/43 or Zfk55.. I'd go with a USMC 1903 Unertl clone if it was me, though its gone be more $$$ than a Mosin. A 1903 with a NOS barrel or Criterion will shoot lights out with the right loads, and the 8x Unertl repro will be a better option than any of the 2x-4x scopes used on other vintage snipers. The exception would likely be the M39 SOV with the PEM scope.. I bet thats a real good shooter. 1903 with Unertl would still be my first choice.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

HOWEVER, if I could find one of these tip off Pachmayr scope mounts for the Garand, I'd go that way.. tho obviously it was never a USGI issue item

 

[Son of Dorn]

A surplus M91/30 and an Accumounts scope/mount of your choice will make for the cheapest budget "sniper". But there are some other alternatives. With some looking, cheap-ish Swedish Mausers and Yugos etc can be found; an Accumounts mount will suffice but getting the right scope might be more difficult (but a repro PE/PEM scope is OK for a WWII German rifle since they were using whatever they could or whatever an individual sniper might've fancied). M1903A4 clones are out there for around $1.2K last I checked, but they're getting a bit rarer. They usually have the miserable Weaver scope on them but you can attach a repro Unertl in its place a la the guy in Saving Private Ryan.

 

[Random Guy]

As noted, a repo 1903A4 with 2.5x scope for $1200ish is often the cheapest route. Match grade 30-06 ammo is also widely available and affordable.

 

[Sooter76]

I have an 1903a4, Mosin PU, and the Lee Enfield (T), all repros... The LE (T) is by far the most expensive but I also paid for high quality parts and the best craftsmen to build it for me so it was done right.

I would recommend the PU sniper as your cheapest option at around $600. That said, don’t dismiss them because of the price. I used to be dismissive of the Mosin due to its somewhat undeserved reputation. The truth is with some shimming of the action and sanding of the stock for proper fit the can be really good shooters. After some work, mine shoots on par my K31 and usually better than my a4.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Didnt even think about the M41b. I'd love to have one a those.

Anybody know: were the M41b rifles specially selected for accuracy? Or have components specially selected for accuracy ala the 1903A4?

 

[Son of Dorn]

Didnt even think about the M41b. I'd love to have one a those.

Anybody know: were the M41b rifles specially selected for accuracy? Or have components specially selected for accuracy ala the 1903A4?

I expect they were selected for accuracy, the same way German Mausers were.

 

[sandwarrior]

HOWEVER, if I could find one of these tip off Pachmayr scope mounts for the Garand, I'd go that way.. tho obviously it was never a USGI issue item

I had one of them on my Savage 1899 in .250-3000. Amazingly accurate for what I assumed wasn't.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

I had one of them on my Savage 1899 in .250-3000. Amazingly accurate for what I assumed wasn't.

Very cool! Any pics? Idk why we didn't use something like that on the M1C or M1D..

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

I expect they were selected for accuracy, the same way German Mausers were.

Sounds like they were..


Wish I had a original

 

[sandwarrior]

Very cool! Any pics? Idk why we didn't use something like that on the M1C or M1D..

Maybe inability to take abuse? Remember the scope is able to "roll off" it's intended position rather easily. For shooting groups with it, I held the scope to the right, which pushed it down to it's stops.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Maybe inability to take abuse? Remember the scope is able to "roll off" it's intended position rather easily. For shooting groups with it, I held the scope to the right, which pushed it down to it's stops.

You're probably right, as I doubt they didn't at least think of something like that. Though the Unertl also moved... but it only moved in a straight line

 

[Flint62a1]

I just put together a PEM mosin sniper
The rifle I bought a few years back for under $200. The mount and glass came from Accumounts. The mount scope and drills amd taps ran under $300. Then it was off to the smith for the install. It’s a good scope and a great way to get involved in vintage sniper without coughing up a lung
I did the same with my K98, but I owned that rifle for years. I understand the price of mauser rifles has gotten stupid of late
I’ll try to get a photo up soon as I can

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Somewhat OT.. but @sandwarrior or anyone else who knows.. do you know what all Germany employed in WW2? Was it just the ZF39, ZF4, and ZF41? I know they also used the PEM but Im talking strictly German made scopes...

 

[Ledzep]

6x and I believe (rarely) 8x scopes were also available. Similar construction to the ZF39.

 

[Son of Dorn]

I just put together a PEM mosin sniper
The rifle I bought a few years back for under $200. The mount and glass came from Accumounts. The mount scope and drills amd taps ran under $300. Then it was off to the smith for the install. It’s a good scope and a great way to get involved in vintage sniper without coughing up a lung
I did the same with my K98, but I owned that rifle for years. I understand the price of mauser rifles has gotten stupid of late
I’ll try to get a photo up soon as I can

I'd be interested in knowing how that PEM works out for you and what the quality is like. I've been thinking about getting one and combining it with a side rail mount on a Mauser.

 

[Flint62a1]

I'd be interested in knowing how that PEM works out for you and what the quality is like. I've been thinking about getting one and combining it with a side rail mount on a Mauser.

So far I'm pretty happy with it. I was only able to shoot about 30 rounds thru it before a problem developed with the trigger. I like the optics, the scope knobs were a little mushy but that's to be expected. regardless the scope tracked well.
Overall I am very happy with it so far. I'm hoping that later this week I will be able to get out and spend some more time shooting it.

 

[Son of Dorn]

So far I'm pretty happy with it. I was only able to shoot about 30 rounds thru it before a problem developed with the trigger. I like the optics, the scope knobs were a little mushy but that's to be expected. regardless the scope tracked well.
Overall I am very happy with it so far. I'm hoping that later this week I will be able to get out and spend some more time shooting it.

Define "mushy" for me? No click/soft click on adjustments? If it's anything like the no-click knobs on my M91/30's PU scope, then I can deal with that.

 

[Dan M]

Looking at getting a vintage sniper rifle for fun.
What’s the best for the budget?
K31, 1903A4, 91/30?

Willing To pay a little more for better accuracy. What’s my best option and thanks in advance.
Not concerned if it is a clone.

Define your Budget. Cheapest will be a real 91/30 PU (least amount of dicking with) and the mount should have been zeroed by an armorer. Replica PU snipers may need work on the mount (grinding or shimming) to get zeroed. I had an Accumounts PE scope back in the day and you couldn't zero the turrets...the range ring was fixed to the turret and couldn't be adjusted for zero (you can't loosen the screws and slip the ring to zero) ...that was 10 years ago, not sure if they improved the product.

 

[Flint62a1]

Define "mushy" for me? No click/soft click on adjustments? If it's anything like the no-click knobs on my M91/30's PU scope, then I can deal with that.

The clicks are soft but audible, the elevation knob has some play in it. That being said it seems to track pretty well. I havent had the chance to really wring it out, but my initial impression is that its a good scope

 

[Son of Dorn]

The clicks are soft but audible, the elevation knob has some play in it. That being said it seems to track pretty well. I havent had the chance to really wring it out, but my initial impression is that its a good scope

Gotcha.

 

[acudaowner]

may not be the best place to find what you want but they have some k31's and others at pretty good prices look call shop good luck

SWISS K31 - Z41432

Firearms for the Finest Collectors

simpsonltd.com

 

[Son of Dorn]

may not be the best place to find what you want but they have some k31's and others at pretty good prices look call shop good luck

SWISS K31 - Z41432

Firearms for the Finest Collectors

simpsonltd.com

They've got a '03A4 sniper clone on there for $1100-ish, last I checked, @man32ahan . You could probly do worse than that, if it's in your budget.

 

[Flint62a1]

Gotcha.

Did some more work with it today, the scope works really well, seems to track very well
The glass is really clear. It was a dark overcast day here and I had no trouble holding on or seeing the targets.

 

[Son of Dorn]

Did some more work with it today, the scope works really well, seems to track very well
The glass is really clear. It was a dark overcast day here and I had no trouble holding on or seeing the targets.View attachment 7225428

Good to hear. Am I correct in thinking it uses a three-post reticle like the PU?

 

[Flint62a1]

Good to hear. Am I correct in thinking it uses a three-post reticle like the PU?

Yes standard 3 post reticle. subtends about 8 inches at 100 yards

 

[Son of Dorn]

Yes standard 3 post reticle. subtends about 8 inches at 100 yards

Context of "subtend" in this case? Middle post covers up 8" of [insert target here] at 100y?

 

[Flint62a1]

Context of "subtend" in this case? Middle post covers up 8" of [insert target here] at 100y?

yes that's it exactly. If I can I'll try to get a photo of it. When looking at the reticle at 100 yards the post covers approximately 8 inches on the target. I suppose if need be you could use it for rangefinding.