Yes, surplus rifles, if you just want to shoot and enjoy them, are a real steal. I've been more than pleasantly surprised with the accuracy I've obtained from LOTS of surplus guns. My results have been....
1. Russian 7.62 x 54 long gun excellent!
2. M98 Turkish 8 x 57 great!
3. Model 1916 spanish mauser 7 x 57 good.
4. Model 1A Enfield .308 great!
5. Model 95 Hungarian 8 x 56R great!
7. Model 96 Swede SUPERB!
8. Model 38 Swede excellent!
9. Several SKS 7.62 x 39 fair-good.
10. 6.5 Japanese short carbine fair-poor (can't win em all)
I have done the sporterizing game a couple times. Pretty expensive overall, (if you don't do the work yourself) and the accuracy is no better than a factory rifle that you could usually buy for more than $100 less, but the pleasure of the project and the pride in the gun can make it worth it. For keeping em original and enjoying cheap shooting, surplus rifles can't be beat.