$200 or under gun

[speelyei]

there are dozens of nice bolt action and lever actions on gunbroker for less than $200. Winchesters, Remington, Savage, Mausers... some with scopes, some with iron sights.

 

[smonk]

Don't forget about the old savage's out there in gun stores and pawn shops. You can find them, usually with an old scope for very reasonable prices. I paid 250.00 for a ported 338 Win mag with a scope. 30-06, and 7mm are the most common calibers and they are accurate! I don't think you can beat them for a cheap hunting rifle.

 

[chiefchip]

I agree go with an H&R or NEF. The only bad thing is the H&R is kinda heavy (mine is)

 

[huntpotter]

Savage .22 bolt action, $159
Mauser 8mm surplus bolt action. $199
Mossberg 500 12ga duck barrel. $199
Big 5, Bi-mart, Walmart type specials.
Get one of each, and you can hunt small game, big game, and fowl.

 

[dario541]

Watch the sales at Bi-Mart. It seems that every week they have some of their guns on sale (only rifles and shotguns, no handguns). I have seen some pretty good prices for new products there.

 

[FrontierFritz]

Mauser 98 or Yuglosavian M48. Forget the scope. At "brush" ranges you will not need a scope. Modifying a 98 is an atrocity anyway!!

Rossi makes a nice three barrel combination: 22LR, .243, and 20 ga. .243 and 20 ga. are fine for deer.

 

[SAR1846]

8mm Mauser is a fine cartridge... however, it might be a little expensive to shoot hunting ammo without reloading. On most Mausers, you can install a scout scope mount, it simply replaces the rear sight. To get it back to original condition, pop a few pins & screws and its back to normal.

Cheers!

Mauser 98 or Yuglosavian M48. Forget the scope. At "brush" ranges you will not need a scope. Modifying a 98 is an atrocity anyway!!

 

[Gunner3456]

I'm wanting to find a brush gun under $200 that i could put a scope on if I wanted. Being a poor college student I'm going to have some left over money from loans and don't want to hunt with my AK . Mosin? beat up k98 at the pawn shop with no markings? Need some suggestion.

Shotgun with slugs or buckshot. Lots of brush, slugs. Easy find under $200. I'd be looking for a 22" barrel with rifle sights. It will double as a home defense gun, too.

You don't need a scope in brushy country, imho.

 

[slingshot1943]

I've got a 30-06 with a scope on it for $200 if ti's easy to do.

 

[SgtKashim]

Two warnings I'll give about the Mosins (as a proud owner...) -

1) The safety is a real bear. Most people don't even use it. Its actually probably a safer rifle if you don't use it - the way it's engaged and disengaged leads to accident potential, I think.

2) The sights - Every Mosin I've ever fired has hit high "out of the box". I'm told most surplus rifles do - they sighted them this way intentionally, so you could point the gun at the enemy's chest without re-adjusting the sights and hit somewhere between the groin and shoulders at anything under about 500 yards. Never confirmed that, just what I've been told.

Every Mosin I've fired, though, has been high on the irons.




I think Gunner may be on the right track with a shotgun, though. They're really the most versatile of firearms. You can get one with a slug barrel for now, get a used bird barrel at a gunshow or here later... Sooner or later I'm going to pick up a proper adjustable choke barrel for my Mossberg. Last gunshow I saw the barrels for around $80 used w/ adjustable choke.

 

[DeanMk]

I'm wanting to find a brush gun under $200 that i could put a scope on if I wanted. Being a poor college student I'm going to have some left over money from loans and don't want to hunt with my AK . Mosin? beat up k98 at the pawn shop with no markings? Need some suggestion.

Neither the Mosin or the 98K are good for scopes.
Most of those old military rifles are like that.
They pre-date common usage of scopes, so they weren't designed with mounting those in mind.
I know, I hunted with a '95 Chilean Mauser for years. Iron sights all the way. Had to.
I don't know if its "the best", but whenever that brush gun question comes up, the answer is still...
Marlin 336 in .35 Remington.
Big, fat bullet will put a big, fat hole in the game. You can mount a scope on those easier than with a Winnie 94 (unless you find an "angle eject" version) and they can often be found on the used market for about the same price as a 94.

If you have any knowledge of WOODS hunting, then a shotgun might be the way to go.
If it were me, I just might do an H&R Pardner in 12 ga. and order an extra barrel, then have a 'smith open that extra barrel up to cylinder bore.
Now you've got a nice "combo" happenin'.
Regular barrel for bird hunting and the extra barrel for deer hunting.
Just remember, the ranges are shorter with a shotgun. Figure 50 yards as an absolute limit and remember, you can't adjust your sights, so you'll have to adjust your aim (i.e., take it out to the range and see where it hits).
Most 12 ga. slugs are 1 oz. That's 437 1/2 grains. Muzzle velocity is generally around 1550 fps.
Slug is about 3/4" in diameter (.75 cal.).
The result? ME of 2334+ Ft./lbs. and an even bigger and fatter hole in the game, compared to the .35 or (pretty much) anything else.
Make sure the slugs are "rifled", or they may not work in your un-rifled barrel.



DeanMk

 

[DeanMk]

I agree go with an H&R or NEF. The only bad thing is the H&R is kinda heavy (mine is)

As of last month, or possibly the month before, NEF ceased to exist.
Its all H&R now.


DeanMk

 

[spengo]

I know a guy who hunts with his Romanian RPK clone (AK with a huge barrel and a funny stock basically). It is fine for deer. If you really don't want to use your AK, mosin nagants are alright and cost like $70. Just make sure you inspect the bore before buying or get a "hand picked" one if you buy online.

Good places to get surplus guns cheap:
Aimsurplus
JG Sales

If you can afford it that Czech 8mm mauser looks beautiful, just a little out of your price range though. ($210)


EDIT: Where is this coctailer guy's store? If he has lots of surplus rifles at a good price, that may be a better idea than ordering online since you can paw through a barrel of them and pick the best one on your own.

 

[mjbskwim]

You can still find some 303 british Enfields out there for around $150.

 

[andy*]

How about a Stevens 325 or a Savage 340? Both of these are a .30/30 bolt action rifle
with a 22 inch barrel. They are light in weight and shoot well at "brush" ranges (100 yards or so). Mine is a excellent little rifle that does its job well. I just saw one of each at a gun show for under $200 this past weekend. Andy

 

[sweetbeard]

Shotgun !

but a Mosin and a tin of ammo is still sub $200

 

[The Cheese]

Shotgun !

but a Mosin and a tin of ammo is still sub $200

too bad you still have to go out and buy $20/box soft points. FMJ's are a no no.

 

[SAR1846]

too bad you still have to go out and buy $20/box soft points. FMJ's are a no no.

I've heard that the russian steel cased 200gr softpoints work pretty well, and are not that expensive. Should be able to get ammo for less than $10/box.


MilSurp rifles can make good hunting rifles. <broken link removed>

 

[coop44]

saw a sporterized smle at the last show for 150 (16" barrel, a real flame thrower), I have a m91/59, an m44, and a m38. any of which would make great brush guns, I to think a scope is a bad idea on a brush gun. K.I.S.S. guns are the best. A "brush gun" is one that will be used at close range on moving targets requiring reactive, instinctive shots, a scope just gets in the way.

the only mod I would do is to modify the bolt handle with what used to be called a "butterknife" or "manlicher" bolt handle. This will require cutting,welding, and shaping.
I would only do it to make the rifle into a snag free package. If a scope was really required a LER scout mount type would be best, in a low power magnification.

just my 2 cents

 

[gehrheart]

eddystone P1917 sporterized. I have seen many for sale for under $200. Bought my last one for $50. (but of course I stripped it all down to a bar action and started rebuilding it to a .338-06.)

I have a couple P1917 from winchester remington and eddystone. Including original Remington model 30's.

Unless it has been re-barreled it will be a 30-06. Hard to beet that for anything in this country. And easy to come by!

Some will say the eddystone is bad. Early one's had heat treating issues. hard pressed to find one though.


love the mauser idea to, could always build it better latter on.