If the Germans had come crashing over the borders, half a million K31s and an equal amount of older K11s would have shown the German Army why you should never mess with a country that has never stood for anything but it’s own self interest. Swiss K31: The Rifle that replaced the K11, although they both served alongside of each other during the Swiss armed neutrality during WWII. He complimented the Swiss on their very accurate rifles and equally good shooting skills and said “You are 500,000 and you shoot well, but if we attack with 1,000,000 men what will you do?” The soldier shrugged and then replied: “We will shoot twice and go home.” An apocryphal story says that when the German Kaiser shortly before World War I, visited Switzerland he spoke with a Swiss Army soldier. Swiss K11 Schmidt Rubin: The Swiss K11 Schmidt Rubin was the weapon of neutrality in both WWI and WWII. They make fine hunting rifles, as the 8mm Mauser round can knock down any North America game with the proper load. G98s are rare, but the K98, M24/47, and various other Mausers are imported into the USA in the thousands and can be purchased for around $270. Shop Bayonets and Firearm Accessories on Amazon
Over 1 million were produced before and during WWII and many more afterward. The M24/47 Yugoslavian Mauser Rifle was a shortened version of the Gewehr 98 and was close to the K98. But if you count all the other Mauser action rifles produced up to, during and immediately after the Second World War, it may actually exceed the production of Mosin M91/30s in WWII. It was almost as prolific as the Mosin, with close to 15 million produced. This shorter rifle was to equip Hitler’s troops as they marched across Europe and Russia. It was replaced in service in the 1930s by the KAR-98/K98 and other shortened Mausers. The Mauser Gewehr 98 was the standard rifle for the Imperial German Army in World War 1 with 6 million produced. Mauser 98, and various clones and siblings: The Mauser has been around since Peter Paul Mauser designed his iconic action with the controlled round feed in the 1880s. If you run out of ammunition, a massive 18-inch spike socket bayonet that looks like something Napoleon issued comes standard, ‘cause you never know when you need to bayonet a deer or bad guy. God forbid, the world ends tomorrow and you have to survive, the rifle will hold up. These rifles are accurate, well built and have been stored coated is cosmoline for 60 or 70 years. With the collapse of the USSR, and end of the cold war, millions of Mosins have flooded the US markets. They saved everything in anticipation of having to defend the USSR from a NATO ground invasion.
#MAUSER GEWEHR 98 ANNIVERSARY CENTENNIAL TV#
Much more than anyone you will see on TV today. In fact in World War II, the Russians produced well over 17 million improved Mosin M91/30 rifles. It saw service in the Russo-Japanese War, World War 1, the Russian civil war, the Winter War, and World War II. It served as the standard long arm of the Imperial Russian, and then Soviet militaries. The rifle entered mass production and Millions were produced for the next 55 years. After a competition between 3 designs, a rifle designed by Russian Army Captain Sergei Ivanovich Mosin was chosen and was designated the M1891. With the Invention of the French Lebel rifle, every army on the globe was scrambling to adopt a bolt action rifle, and the Russians were no different. After suffering horrible losses at the hands of faster-firing arms, the Russians set out to adopt their first repeater as the standard long arm. The Turks were armed with Winchester repeaters, while the Russians were armed mostly with Berdan single shot rifles. The rifle was designed as the result of the Russo-Ottoman War which was fought in 1877-1878. The Mosin Nagant has been around longer than any human that now walks the earth. The Mosin-Nagant: For the Motherland, Comrades! This has to be about the most indestructible bolt action rifle ever devised by man. Here is a list of 5 affordable surplus rifles you can find easily enough on the second-hand market. While US surplus rifles like the Garand and M1903 cost close to $1000, there are some other rifles that can be found for under $500 if you hunt around a bit. If you love firearms as much as I do, chances are you might be drawn to surplus military rifles.