hi, i'm off to a gunshow this weekend sooooo i am looking for a new old one.
i already have Mausers, Enfields, ect, but don't own "American" .
I will be searching for a 03a3 ,,, Krag,,, or Garand .
i have saved my coin for a while and want one of the above .
Now the hard question ,,,,,.
What are the pro's and cons of each rifle and which would you buy?

Having asked all this could i even get a decent one of the above for circa $700+/-.....? .
have a great evening.
adrians.

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EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE SEPT FOR ME AND MY MONKEY.. J.W.L

You should be able to get a decent 1903a3 for $700, I know some dealers to be excessively proud of their wares though. A Krag for that price would be a beater. You might also find a M1917.
The Garands at shows or the ones I have seen lately have been purchase by the Dealer from the CMP and then have a $200 mark up. I'd just eliminate the middle man.

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Mostly Harmless and almost sane.

well i don't want a beater so the Krag may be relegated to the bottom of the list (unless i see a good deal and the good lady gives me some coin ).
M1917, huh! didn't think about those ,o.k on the list it goes,
There is probably a huge list of rifles i could get that are home grown but i haven't really given any others much thought ,,,maybe i should broaden my horizons a bit .
Thanks P-14Guy for your input i will take a looksee for a m1917, you have me curious now .
Oh i lied i do have an American, a 1873 trap..

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EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE SEPT FOR ME AND MY MONKEY.. J.W.L

I agree with the two fellas above, for 7 C-notes you should be able to buy a M1917 with 1 to 2 left over.

The 1903A3 seems to be a $600 to $700 rifle any more, so that's still within your budget too.

Good hunting,
Mike

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Charter Member Family Firearms & Finishes Fan Club

IOWA-Birth Place of John Wayne

There's more than one way to skin a cat, waiting till they are completely dead is the safest!

If you showed me a Krag, 1903 or 1903A3, 1917 and Garand, all with good bores and in original military condition and offered to sell me one for $700, I'd probably take the Krag first. You don't see many of them in original condition anymore and they have about the smoothest action you'll ever fondle on a military rifle. Out of the four rifle types listed, the fewest of them were made (less than 500K, vs millions of the other models) so they are more rare. Finding ammo for them is a problem unless you reload, as I think that only Remington still makes 30-40 Krag in limited production runs prior to deer season. Most of them are pre-1899 antiques so there's no need to get an FFL involved in the transaction.

Next on the list would be a Garand. They're hard to come by for $700 these days unless it's a beater. I probably wouldn't get one at a gun show though unless it was from a private seller walking around with one. As P-14 guy says, most dealers buy them from the CMP, mark them up $200 and sell them at gun shows to folks who either don't know about the CMP or who think that the purchase requirements are too much of a hassle (they're not, unless you're not a citizen). If you want a Garand, the CMP is the way to go.

I happen to like 1917's more than 1903's but that's just me. Although they seem to be the red-headed step child of US military rifles, I think that they have some neat history behind them. Stick a proper 16.5" bayonet on one and tell me it's not a scary looking beast. You should be able to get a good one for $700. The problem with 1917 rifles is that they don't have a windage adjustment. They're also pretty heavy. Since they're an Enfield design they cock on closing which some folks have a hard time getting used to.

1903's are fine rifles. I prefer the sights on the 1903-A3 over the 1903 ladder sight system. Watch out for "low number" receivers (SN less than 800,000 on a Springfield Armory rifle, 286,506 for a Rock Island Armory rifle) as they may not have had proper heat treatment. At one point the gooberment tried taking them out of service but once the war started they stopped scrapping them. Some folks shoot theirs and others don't. For $700 you can get a good one but it will be a mix-master (most of them are). If you see the last 4 digits of the SN electropenciled on top of the bolt handle that's a sign that it was loaned to Greece in the 1950's and then sold through the CMP in the past decade.

I'll also add the M1 Carbine to the list. It will be a challenge finding a USGI one for $700, but you should be able to get a decent commercial clone for several hundred less (I had a Plainfield one that worked great. I've heard the Iver Johnson ones are good too, but stay away from Universals). They're not very accurate for anything past 50 yards but they are fun to shoot. Very lightweight.

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I'm the only guy in the world who has to wake up to have a nightmare.

jbrower thanks, my trip to the show is coming up today and i may be able to scrape a few extra $$$ ,but i'm not holding my breath .
The more i listen to youse guy's the more i like the sound of the M1917.
Is there certain things i need to know about the different arsenals they came from or is it a case of "apples and oranges".
you'll have to excuse my ignorance on this matter but like i said i usually end up with an Enfield or Mauser when i go to the shows, i have to broaden my horizons,,,,, .

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EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE SEPT FOR ME AND MY MONKEY.. J.W.L

Good luck at the show let us know how it went

I keep an eye open for "American" but they seem kind of hard to find and when I do find them most have been sportorized to a certain extend. I think my next strategy if I were to buy and didn't have a specific gun in mind I would show up early and stand at the front door checking out everyone's guns coming in.



When I see Garands I see them $800-$1200 saw one at $3000 one time can't remember what made it special didn't really care since I wasn't going to buy it. More than one dealers has pointed out the fact that their Garand came from the cmp I thought this to be a moot point but after hearing one dealer go on about how great the program is I agreed with his views. The rifles are inspected, if theres a problem people would have sent them back, there not stolen, and there is no important stamps. I don't understand when comparing two exact garands the cmp one should cost more but I guess anything to make more money.

It might be just me, but I have a hard time buying milsurps at gun shows unless it's from an individual. I just don't trust the regulars who travel gunshow to gunshow. If I'm going to buy from a stranger I'd just as soon it be from someone I can email back and forth for a few days and ask for more info. The sellers at the larger gunshows around here sit there with an attitude it seems. Perhaps from no one buying their wares or dickering prices too much. Beats me It would have to be a milsurp that I am very comfortable judging myself to buy it at a gunshow.

Anyway, I don't have a Krag (yet) and the Garand was my latest addition. I tried to have some method to my madness and went for the bolt actions that I wanted first, then crossed over into the semi's. If I remember, it was 03-A3, 1917, 1903. And they were all around the same price. That's just how I ran into them.