Q:Best pre 1899 battle rifle?

[Lanius]

Some sort of K98k precursor? Or a K98?

Actually.. scratch that. Which smokeless powder rifle from that period is
a) common, that is, buying one is not extremely expensive
b) good ergonomics
c) reasonably powerful (as in, at least 3000 J muzzle energy)
d) preferably a large magazine
e) ammo for it has been produced in this millenium..

I'm leaning towards an old Mosin rifle. I have a Mosin in Europe and like it. The thing gives me the feeling I could club someone to death with it and it would not lose zero.

[21H40]

Mosins and Mausers are both good rifles with effective ammunition. Heck, the 7.62x54 is still in use today, all across Africa and the Middle East.

Does it have to be 1899? Enfields have a better magazine capacity, and the 303 does well against people and deer.

If you're looking for cost at a primary factor, you pretty much have to go Mosin.

[Lanius]

I'll get a Mosin then. Preserve the stock and make one with a pistol grip and collapsible stock...

Has to be pre 1899. Any other gun, you need to pass a NICS check,and that's impossible for me, because I am a visitor.

I can only legally own a pre 1899 weapon, and that only in some states probably. I'll re-check that five times before I pay any money.

[Lanius]

And I'll engineer a drum magazine for it...

I think I might have caught the OMB bug.

[P5 Guy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1895_Lee_Navy

How about a Lee?

[KodiakBeer]

It's hard to find a pre-1899 anything. Most MN's Mausers, etc, were made well after that date. The really early ones are in the collectors market.

What you can do, is simply buy a rifle from a private party. No NICs check is required for a private purchase and you can get anything you want.

[Lanius]

Are there any .45-70 lever action rifles from that period that don't cost too much?

Or any lever action that used a powerful cartridge?

I think I've heard someting about a 1895 lever action chambered in something powerful.

[Powderman]

Arrrrgh!

Lanius, I know where you're coming from, and I really wish that I could help....but you can NOT legally buy a firearm in the United States right now!!!

PLEASE go about it the right way. If you're a visitor, I'm sure that there are a ton of people who will help you in your quest to burn powder and make noise.

But please do NOT ask people here how to circumvent and break the law!!!!

Come on, dude!!!

[KodiakBeer]

People on visas can possess long guns if they are for hunting or target shooting. I don't know what else you'd do with a long gun, but that's the way the law reads. What they can't do is pass the NIC's check. But, since no NIC's is required for a private party purchase, it doesn't matter.

I think it would be unwise to do so in NH, since he's surrounded by anti-gun states and would be at extreme risk traveling. In fact, I think it would be unwise to do so anywhere east of the Mississippi, but legally, within a particular state, he shouldn't have a problem. He'd certainly have no problem in Alaska.

[Lanius]

Yes, except, I'm not on a visa. I just recieved 'authorization', it's called ESTA.

I don't think I'd have recieved a visa. Unmarried, mostly unemployed, no real ties to EU?

Obviously wants to move to the US to abuse your welfare system.
No matter that even though I've been eligible for welfare payments from time to time, I never bothered to collect them. Beneath me to accept charity when I don't need to.

@Powderman.. don't freak out.
Cap & ball is legal in most places for me, same with hunting and stuff. Except I'm not a hunter.

I'll figure it out in a couple of weeks... I have bigger fish to fry right now.

[KodiakBeer]

Well, I can just tell you that I meet lots of European tourists with guns. Long guns. Mostly, they are hunters, but even fisherman and campers here often carry guns. They bring them from home, so it's different than your situation. But, I emphasize, it's a state thing. What you can do in Alaska, you may not be able to do in some other state. And that's the problem - if you travel with a gun, you have to cross many state lines.

You should have just brought your MN along with you, then you wouldn't have to worry about acquiring one here. Yet, you'd still have to cross the New York state line to get out of NH and it's probably not worth the effort. The US is a checkerboard of states with different gun laws, and most of them in the east aren't much different than Europe.

[Lanius]

Except I'd have had to sign up with some hunting agency or something, and I imagine they charge for that privilege.

[pmeisel]

As Ringo said, "you know it don't come easy"....