german rifles

Question
I am a complete amateur on rifles. I own an ak-47 and am starting to like shooting distance. My friend purchased a mauser and he and I want to start shooting distance. Cheap and beginner is the object here. Can you point me in the right direction?  Modify the ak, buy a mauser, spend more on something modern that I can scope later?  Cheap and easy is first in mind but I may consider an experts opinion with regards to price. Used or new. Where to buy. Anything would help. Thanks a lot.  john zunich

Answer
An AK47 is just plain fun to shoot and ammo is cheap. It's not a gun made for long distance however. The Mauser on the other hand will "reach out and touch someone" and ammo for that, if you go with surplus military ammo is cheap also. Only downside is if you get "old" surplus, the primer is corrosive, so before your regular cleaning swab the bore once or twice with water, or water and a bit of soap.  An AK or the Mauser can be scoped, depending on model of AK you may be able to mount a scope without drilling and tapping. With the Mauser, along with drilling and tapping you will need to bend the bolt handle to clear the scope unless you get a used sporterized Mauser. Hope this helps, thanks for the question.