So what’s the lastest and greatest best deal on a military surplus rifle?

[Tripplebeards]

I can remember around 90’ when I walked into the local gun shop and sks’s Were $69 and I didn’t want anything to do with them. They had mak 90’s for $249.00

Then I remember some Mausers for $89/$99 back in 2000’/02’

Of course I didn’t buy any and now wish I would have picked up a few. I did buy a sks back in 00’ for $140 with a plastic fold stock and bayonet. It wouldn’t feed worth a darn. I’m guessing now maybe the 30 round mag spring was weak?

Well, are there any current piles of military surplus rifles in any of the LGS now or will be again any time soon?

What’s the best bang for the buck going right now?

[rancher1913]

not a great deal but ar's are selling pretty dang cheap right now and when the time comes that you need one they will be very expensive.

[Uncle Grinch]

Love the old Mausers, Enfields, Carcano’s and Arisakas. Sure miss those prices too.

I haven’t been able to convince myself to pick up an AR yet. My Garand will have to suffice.

[Tripplebeards]

I have a couple ars. A 1917 enfield in need of a stock, and a couple old Lee Enfields that need wood as well. Kinda getting frustrated looking for non existing parts and figured I’d look for some complete rifles. I saw the Swiss straight pull on line the other day and that that would be a hoot. Anyone still sell unissued sks rifles?

[higgins]

I've bought a few Lee Enfields and Swedish Mausers over the years that needed new wood, and it was nothing but aggravation getting wood that matches at a reasonable price, and you end up with a mismatched rifle if that matters to you. The only one I found a good matching stock set for was a Swedish Mauser, I suppose because stock sets are available because so many of them were completely sporterized instead of just cutting the forearm off to make a deer rifle. I think the best source of good rifles is youngsters selling off Papaw's old guns. They either underprice them, or overprice them because they think any rifle is worth the price of the unissued one they saw on Gunbroker.

[Tripplebeards]

Yeah, I threw on my reading glasses yesterday and saw some E marked parts on what I thought was an all W marked 1917 Winchester enfield. So To add to a W stock set, I need a bolt, safety selector, bolt release,and trigger guard all with W’s. My E marked stuff is pristine so maybe I can find someone to swap with? ...or just buy a non matching stock set and call it done?:-(

Maybe I’ll just buy a stock set and call it a day. So how much value decrease is it with mismatched parts?

[Themoose]

Not vintage, but I saw Classic Arms(IIRC) just got several crates of Vietnam Era Chicom SKS with bayonet... will be selling between $400-$500

[Petrol & Powder]

I remember seeing a wooden crate with 10 SKS rifles at a gun show back in the early 1990's. They were $89 each or the entire crate for $890. Each rifle was coated in cosmoline and each had accouterments with it. At the same show you could buy some type of sealed wooden crate full of 7.62 x 39 Soviet Bloc ammo for next to nothing. It was steel cased, lacquer coated, probably corrosive ammo; but it was cheap. I missed that investment opportunity.

In the 1980's you could buy Lee-Enfields at just about any discount department store for under $80. The vast majority of those were very worn and not good quality. However, if you took your time, knew what to look for and willing to walk away from the particularly bad examples; you could get a decent shooter for under $100.



Now that I'm a lot older and maybe just slightly wiser, I keep my eyes open for today's good military surplus bargains. Unfortunately times have changed and I think the military surplus market is all but dead.

[Texas by God]

If an SKS has the original magazine, Jam is not in its vocabulary. If by chance a stash of intact Mauser shows up from some country, they will not be inexpensive those days are gone I'm afraid. Even the tractor jack Mosin nagants go for around $300 nowadays!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[lefty o]

quite honestly, there are no best deals left in the milsurp world. most now cost as much or more than budget priced new guns do.

[Petrol & Powder]

quite honestly, there are no best deals left in the milsurp world. most now cost as much or more than budget priced new guns do.

Agreed

[T_McD]

quite honestly, there are no best deals left in the milsurp world. most now cost as much or more than budget priced new guns do.

2nd Agree.

[Scorpius]

quite honestly, there are no best deals left in the milsurp world. most now cost as much or more than budget priced new guns do.

Yea but nothing beats this old wood and steel. Just not made the same

[Hick]

Deals still exist-- but you have to look hard (and get lucky). I bought an 1909 Argentine Mauser carbine (numbers matching) and a 1936 build Enfield Mark III* last summer-- both with very nice barrels for a total of $599 for both. Two very good shooters.

[Tripplebeards]

Yeah, I figure your going to have to find a kid who inherited one and wants to upgrade to a modern firearm. I saw the beat up sks’s at classics. I’ll hold out for an unissued one. There is a listing for unissued laminate sks rifles in Canada for $499.00 I’m sure it would be next to impossible to get one imported to the states.

I must be getting old because I’m starting to facing blue and steel again like the I did in the early 70’s.


I’m guessing the next military surplus dump will be around the $300 range same as a budget rifle and the $69 and $99 rifles I remember are long gone.

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Think of an 1895 Winchester in 7.62x54R as a surplus relic. I remember a Hunter's Lodge(?) ad from the 60's and as 14/15yr old(?) kid I didn't have the money.

[oconeedan]

There is not a lot of love for anything Turkish or Spanish, and the price reflects it. If you choose carefully, you can get a fine shooter for less money.
And...sporterized rifles are inexpensive (usually). But excellent deer rifles. Dan

[T_McD]

I guess I compare everything to a savage axis and wonder why go surplus? Without cheap ammo, it loses its appeal and is why I sold my mosin.

[Jedman]

I remember back n the late 60's when I started buying and selling guns there were a lot of M1 carbines around for $20 sometimes less. Here in OH I never seen much use to own one.
About the only thing that you could legally shoot with one was varmints and I heard they weren't very accurate so there were better guns for not much more.
I still don't have any use for them but they seem to go for a lot of money now. I feel the same about AR's.

Jedman

[Tripplebeards]

I like the idea that something was made 100 years ago. Its an antique and built like a Sherman tank versus the cheap mass produce rifles today. I’d like to see what’s left of an axis, Mossberg, or 788 in another hundred years. I’d take a modern rifle for hunting over mil surplus all day long. I just would like a few for its history, keepsake, and plinking.

[Earlwb]

I don't think there are any good deals anymore. After WWII there were millions of guns that flooded the market. Thus good deals were to be had everywhere. But in the 60 some off years since then, the surplus guns have been exhausted. There aren't that many left anymore. The French MAS rifles were probably the last and those are pretty much all sold off now too. The French tended to hang onto stuff long after they quit using them. Now there may be some small countries with a warehouse of old guns still moldering someplace. But those will be small quantities. I suppose that the Russians and the old iron curtain countries may still have large numbers of Mosin-Nagants though. Russia had sent a bunch of Mosins to Venezuela recently. But the surplus prices in the stores isn't all that good for them though. At least I feel it isn't. Other surplus guns wind up being sold for what I feel are high prices. I still remember buying Japanese and Italian rifles for $100 for five of them. With Mausers going for $40, Argentine Mausers at $40 each and Saimese Mausers at three for $100. Then SKS rifles were $79.95 each and brand new Chinese Mosins were going for less than $100 too. Unfortunately that was years ago, But then my brain has trouble getting used to inflation. So maybe $40 dollars back then is now worth $400 today, I don't know.

[izzyjoe]

I got in on the tail end it, in 90's I remember the cheap milsurp stuff, but I didn't have a lot of extra cash. I did buy a nice SMLE sporter in a bishop stock, wished I'd keep it. Then around 2000 I started buying Mausers mostly the Turk stuff, but they made very nice customs! Those days are gone, and will never come back. That's why a lot of guys have started building savage, AR's, cause there easy to work on, not cheap, but easy, cause it doesn't require a lot of tooling.

[LAGS]

I was lucky.
Back in 2008 I picked up several Yugo Mausers and Russian Capture 98's at very good prices with the intent that I knew I was going to be out of work for a while with the recession.
I wanted something to play with while I was sitting at home.
I took some of the ones that were not worth cleaning up and shooting in original form, and installed new barrels and took the ones with bad stocks and either sporterized them or built new stocks for them.
And all the bad ones were stripped down and used to mix and match the parts to make up a complete restorable rifle.
I took a lot of the Mismatched parts and built some nice Customs that I am going to hang on to.
I still have about a dozen in the original form in the Better condition that I have not done anything with them.
But recently, I am downsizing and tried to sell off most of them.
There was only Limited interest because everyone around here wants AR's or AR parts guns.
They can buy a complete AR for the same price as a lot of the Mausers are going for now.
No one even wanted to give me what I paid for them ten years ago.
I guess I will just sit on them some more, or use them like I did with the sporters , and use them in Horse trading for other things I wanted.
But back in 2010 when I was originally working on them, Everyone else was out of work and did not have the money to buy what I had.
But most of those people want the same deal I had bought them for, because they remember the deals they couldn't afford at the time.
Even LGS's wanted to give me a Dime on the Dollar for them.

[Bigslug]

Consider your boat missed.

The last big influx was in the early '90s after the Soviet Union went bankrupt and sold off a lot of their surplus and WWII German captures in exchange for ready cash. Much of the similar era goodies from their Eastern Europe satellite states came over at the same time.

A lot of British, Swedish, Swiss, and French stuff came over at the same time - probably both to make money and to get those evil firearms out of their socialist utopias.

Now the well is drier and there's more resistance to getting them into the U.S. Amusingly/irritatingly, CMP is still bringing Garands in from overseas, but M1 carbines, with their detachable magazines, are too close to "assault weapons". It's simple supply and demand - your $70 Russian SKS is now good for just shy of a thousand bucks.

Your best bet is to haunt the gun shops for when some guy who loaded up on these in 1995 dies and his relatives hock his stuff.

[RED BEAR]

I really like the old top break revolvers you can pick them up for little to nothing if you look even if they need a little work most parts are still available. And the little 32's are very cheap to shoot.

[tdoor4570]

I like the idea that something was made 100 years ago. Its an antique and built like a Sherman tank versus the cheap mass produce rifles today. I’d like to see what’s left of an axis, Mossberg, or 788 in another hundred years. I’d take a modern rifle for hunting over mil surplus all day long. I just would like a few for its history, keepsake, and plinking.

I'm just the opposite, I'll take a mil surplus over a modern rifle any day of the week. they just work when you need them, anything forged in combat will work in the field.

[LAGS]

@ Red Bear
I am with you on the Old Top Breaks.
I have a whole collection of them I picked up for next to nothing.
The ones that had the barrels or cylinders that were too rusted to shoot, were then Sleeved to a smaller caliber and are shooting just fine.
I sleeved the .38 S&W's to .32 , and converted some of the .32's to 25 ACP or .22 RF
I even sleeved a .32 RF to .22 LR with a barrel liner epoxied in and sleeves for the cylinders epoxied in since .32 RF cant be found, and the barrel was Iffy at best to try and shoot in .32 with the Ramset primer adapters.
I call the collection my Suicide Specials.
This is only part of my collection

[jimb16]

I thought I was overpaying when I bought a Mosin sniper for $350. I see them selling at shows now for $1000-$1200. YIPES!

[RED BEAR]

Lags thats a nice collection. My wife asked me if 32 was the only caliber made any more.

[Earlwb]

I thought I was overpaying when I bought a Mosin sniper for $350. I see them selling at shows now for $1000-$1200. YIPES!

The run of the mill common ones were going for $400 each when I last looked recently. I remember when they used to sell for $29.95 and then on to $40 to $50 each.

[toallmy]

Yesterday I bumped into a fellow that handed me a Argentino 1909 , and said if will work for you give me a 100. Dollar bill when you see me . It's been in the closet since the mid 80s when the county banned center fire rifle deer hunting . A lot those rifles that were imported are still around .

[Texas by God]

Yesterday I bumped into a fellow that handed me a Argentino 1909 , and said if will work for you give me a 100. Dollar bill when you see me . It's been in the closet since the mid 80s when the county banned center fire rifle deer hunting . A lot those rifles that were imported are still around .
And you bought it, right? Right? Right?
I was smack in the middle of the second Milsurp boom. I bought several Enfield 38/200 revolvers from Martin Redding for $25 each, Swede 96 rifles for $49, Egyptian Hakims for $100, SKS and a case of ammo was $100 and so forth. I bought a Beautiful 7x57mm Mauser 1935 Chilean barrel(unissued) for $15. An original Mauser 93 made for the Turks was $65. On and on and I’ve nothing to show for it but it sure was fun!!

[Earlwb]

I remember those rifles too I had bought some at the time as well. I liked the huge Egyptian Hakim 8x57 rifle. It was large, heavy, and cumbersome, but it was fun to shoot with the mild recoil. I didn't envy the soldiers that had to carry it in the hot Saharan desert way back then. If I remember right mine was one of the ones captured by the Israelis and sold off as surplus after their last war in the region. I do remember having to spend forever getting all of the sand particles out of it. That was a real pain. The sand had gotten into everything.

[toallmy]

And you bought it, right? Right? Right?
I was smack in the middle of the second Milsurp boom. I bought several Enfield 38/200 revolvers from Martin Redding for $25 each, Swede 96 rifles for $49, Egyptian Hakims for $100, SKS and a case of ammo was $100 and so forth. I bought a Beautiful 7x57mm Mauser 1935 Chilean barrel(unissued) for $15. An original Mauser 93 made for the Turks was $65. On and on and I’ve nothing to show for it but it sure was fun!!
Yep - but now I'm stuck with what to do with it . Set up to load 765 or change it to something else .
I must be very careful I think these old mauser rifles could become a habit .

[Lloyd Smale]

you can put together an ar15 today for about the same money factoring in cost of living as the beat up sks's they sold for 80-100 bucks in the mid 90s. Got to say that other then nostalisa Id take an ar15 any day over an sks if they both cost the same and would take a savage, rem, win or ruger entry level bolt gun anyday over a military surplus gun. 98 mausers an springfields are no doubt made out of better material but there expensive and need more money in work to turn into a valid hunting rifle then the cost of a new axis or American. But some guys are just into the nostalsia thing and that's ok too. Honestly I wish I had the 3 m1 carbines ive owned back in my safe today. Id take an m1a if someone was selling them cheap too. but I can build 2 ar15s and a ar10 for what either one of those guns can be bought for today. Just never got the itch for but ugly bolt guns.

[Tripplebeards]

I picked a sportorized 7.65 1891 Argentine I bought years ago that my dad claims it was his. It was at a the LGS. I bought it for him as a Christmas present that year. I traded in a H&r 410, a single shot ithica 22 lever action, and $40 for it at the time. He had it dtilled and tapped for a Williams peep sight right after I gave it to him. Uhg! I learned how to adjust a peep that year and shot a doe at about a 150 yards on a full leap! It was making huge leaps across a field and I put the bead on its nose when it was about 10’ in the air and flipped it sideways. It hit the ground and slid sideways for about 15 yards! I hit it in the backbone. DRT...in the air and flipped sideways!!! The only deer I’ve ever shot with it. I shot my first buck about 15 minutes earlier and switched guns with my dad at the time since we had some bonus tags and figured he’d like a scoped optic with his old eyes. It was a good day!

[Adam Helmer]

Tripplebeards,

Excellent Thread; thanks for the trip down memory lane. I bought my first military surplus arm in 1958 at the age of 13, in the presence of my parents, for $13.88. I mowed many lawns and bought every surplus arm I could thereafter. Unfortunately the GCA 1968 ended the heyday of fine military surplus arms.

Gun control laws are voted into place by folks who know nothing about guns and crime. That terrible trend continues to this day!

Most younger shooters at my local gun club know about ARs, but when I uncase a 6.5 Swedish M1938, a Hakim, a Madsen M58, etc., they gather about and ask what is it??

The only source of vintage military arms hereabouts is in the local "Penny Saver" weekly paper and not the LGS. Old guys are dying off and many heirs have no interest in vintage arms.

Adam

[Earlwb]

you can put together an ar15 today for about the same money factoring in cost of living as the beat up sks's they sold for 80-100 bucks in the mid 90s. Got to say that other then nostalisa Id take an ar15 any day over an sks if they both cost the same and would take a savage, rem, win or ruger entry level bolt gun anyday over a military surplus gun. 98 mausers an springfields are no doubt made out of better material but there expensive and need more money in work to turn into a valid hunting rifle then the cost of a new axis or American. But some guys are just into the nostalsia thing and that's ok too. Honestly I wish I had the 3 m1 carbines ive owned back in my safe today. Id take an m1a if someone was selling them cheap too. but I can build 2 ar15s and a ar10 for what either one of those guns can be bought for today. Just never got the itch for but ugly bolt guns.

One good point for the old bolt guns is the anti-gun crowd will ban them last. The AR's are at the top of their hit list.

[Earlwb]

Yep - but now I'm stuck with what to do with it . Set up to load 765 or change it to something else .
I must be very careful I think these old mauser rifles could become a habit .

There isn't anything wrong with the caliber, it is a good shooting round. Well, as a teenager, I used one as my deer rifle at the time. I had gotten a Lyman rear sight put on it too. I had bagged several deer at the time using it. Many years later I gave it to my brother in law, but he didn't want to reload and didn't want to pay the Norma ammo prices. But it wasn't like he shot it much, maybe a couple three rounds every year. He eventually sold it of all things and didn't offer to give it back to me. I don't remember him getting another rifle to go hunting with either.

[country gent]

When I started in shooting NRA High Power a CMP / DCM garand in pretty decent shape was $169.00 to your door. Shooting the spring beginners match at Perry and belonging to a recognized club you could buy one. For a few years you could buy the one you shot at the match even. I too can remember the $99.00 sks and aks with $89.00 a 1000 round case of surplus ammo. In the 50s and 60s it was o3s and mausers most were sporterized to one extant or another by smiths or do it yourselfers. SLedgly, Griffen and Howe, and some other Shops made big business of this and produced some very nice rifles. Brownells, Kings, And some other made big businesses out of selling the parts to sporterize by the home tinkerer. Now with the numbers done there are few in original issue and prices are driven up. In the hey day this was big business and was the way to go.

[lrdg]

I know the thread is about milsurplus rifles, but consider the Star BM, 9MM. J&G in Prescott, AZ, is selling them for $150. We will be talking about them the same way in ten or twenty years.

[Earlwb]

I know the thread is about milsurplus rifles, but consider the Star BM, 9MM. J&G in Prescott, AZ, is selling them for $150. We will be talking about them the same way in ten or twenty years.

That reminds me of the British Webley Revolvers. After WWII jillions of them were sold off as surplus in the USA. I wonder what happened to them all. I rarely see one anymore. Both the 38 S&W and 455 Webley versions were sold here in the US. A bunch of the 455's were converted to 45 ACP too. But those are deemed unsafe and should only shoot loads that duplicate the 455 Webley cartridge. If I remember right, as a kid, they were selling for like $19.95 and later $24.95 each. They also sold lots of S&W revolvers chambered for the 38 S&W cartridge too. That was when S&W sold lots of revolvers to the British at the beginning of WWII.

I have a old S&W revolver chambered for 38 S&W, I need to take it out and shoot it some for the heck of it.

I found a old 1957 ad about it too. I remember seeing advertisements like this ages ago as a kid too. it sure makes one feel bad that they missed out on all the sales at the time when a Remington rolling block rifie was going for $13.95 then. Or the German Mausers for $39.95.
https://wwiiafterwwii.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/winfield1957.png

ref https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2016/11/06/postwar-advertising-legacy-of-wwii/

http://www.vannuystargetrange.com/old_guns_ads/Guns-and-Ammo-September-1965-P61-Western-Military-Arms.png

[john.k]

The surplus guns were still same prices in the mid sixties,and there were a lot more antiques included ,as the importers found stocks of them.71/84 Mausers,Martini Henry Mk 11 s,all kinds of Euro klunkers like Beaumonts and Vetterlis ...........trouble was ,i didnt have $14-95 for a rolling block or a Martini,or a 71 mauser..........let alone near $100 for a Garand......and anyway ,there was always ones with rusty barrels in the pawn shops for $5 ,from idiots didnt clean them after the surplus ammo......then when the Turk 98s came on the market,they were everywhere for $20.Ive still got a Swede I paid $20 for ,straight from the shipping container.,and in new cond....Truth is its fired the one box of ammo came with it 40 years ago......cause I never liked straight Mauser stocks,they whack my cheek bone.

[lrdg]

I remember as a kid there was a local Army/Navy Surplus store called Yates. They had a 55 gallon drum full of 98 Mausers (German). Your choice, $20.

Like I had $20.

[john.k]

yep,$20 was money you didnt have.........my budget never ran to more than $5 guns,and preferably cheaper......in those days ,you could buy a decent second hand motorbike to ride to work for $10,and the first gun money I ever had was when the prices of old Indians and Harleys took off around 1970.Bikes I got for nothing ,I was selling for $50 ....Didnt last long tho,all the farmers wised up on prices very quick,and you couldnt find old cars or old bikes......I once found a nice 34 Ford coupe for $100,and didnt have the money to buy it.

[Baltimoreed]

Where’d I park my time machine?

[Lloyd Smale]

I get just the opposite message from that. If there going to ban them and im sure someday they will. Youd better get them while you can. I sure cant see in my lifetime police coming door to door confiscating ar15s. If they do theyd better have good body armor. Another smart reason to buy them is like I said for under 400 bucks you can put one together today. Even a gun scare sends prices to double that. You could buy an ar15 for 400 bucks sell it for 800 and get your military bolts at half price.
One good point for the old bolt guns is the anti-gun crowd will ban them last. The AR's are at the top of their hit list.

[Lloyd Smale]

I bought a like new m1 carbine off a guy for 50 bucks in 1970 and the threw in a another one that was his beater for free. That's about what they sold for then. But back then a 5 dollar an hour job was considered a good job!
I remember as a kid there was a local Army/Navy Surplus store called Yates. They had a 55 gallon drum full of 98 Mausers (German). Your choice, $20.

Like I had $20.

[Adam Helmer]

That reminds me of the British Webley Revolvers. After WWII jillions of them were sold off as surplus in the USA. I wonder what happened to them all. I rarely see one anymore. Both the 38 S&W and 455 Webley versions were sold here in the US. A bunch of the 455's were converted to 45 ACP too. But those are deemed unsafe and should only shoot loads that duplicate the 455 Webley cartridge. If I remember right, as a kid, they were selling for like $19.95 and later $24.95 each. They also sold lots of S&W revolvers chambered for the 38 S&W cartridge too. That was when S&W sold lots of revolvers to the British at the beginning of WWII.

I have a old S&W revolver chambered for 38 S&W, I need to take it out and shoot it some for the heck of it.

I found a old 1957 ad about it too. I remember seeing advertisements like this ages ago as a kid too. it sure makes one feel bad that they missed out on all the sales at the time when a Remington rolling block rifie was going for $13.95 then. Or the German Mausers for $39.95.
https://wwiiafterwwii.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/winfield1957.png

ref https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2016/11/06/postwar-advertising-legacy-of-wwii/

http://www.vannuystargetrange.com/old_guns_ads/Guns-and-Ammo-September-1965-P61-Western-Military-Arms.png

Earlwb,

Thanks for the REMINDER of how it once was and still could be. The GCA 68 gelded the military surplus heyday for NO good reason. We still have crime which had nothing to do with ending the military surplus gun trade. The "poster child" was supposedly Oswald used a $21.88 scoped 6.5 Carcano to make 3 shot in 6 seconds that were NEVER duplicated. It was enough "cover" to end military surplus arms sales for ALL honest US citizens! Really??

Adam

[Speedo66]

Didn't end surplus arms sales, just delivery to your house.

My new in the box Chinese SKS and two Swedes, a '96 and a '38, were bought well after that.

[edp2k]

What you are missing is, the 1968 GCA banned importing surplus military guns, as a result of the US sporting gun manufacture's lobbying.
That didn't get repealed until 1986, when we also lost "no more new full autos".

[lefty o]

Didn't end surplus arms sales, just delivery to your house.

My new in the box Chinese SKS and two Swedes, a '96 and a '38, were bought well after that.

with a C&R FFL, they'll still ship them right to your door in most states.

[BigAlofPa.]

I picked up this Mosin from my LGS for 200.00 OTD. I redid the wood. It came with the bayonet and sling and ammo pouch. 238728

[Bigslug]

My favorite old magazine ad was from a 1959 issue a friend gave me. It had the usual $90-$100 Garands, the $15 Lee Enfields, the $20-$30 1903's, etc...

But what really stood out to me was how the LESS desirable WWI-era 1911 was about $37; the MORE desirable WWII-era 1911-A1 was $39; and that BOTH were cheaper than the $42 two-man inflatable life-raft. :-P

[RogerDat]

I think the inexpensive surplus is gone. What does come on the market in small amounts might be a good price but won't be cheap. Recall the Greek government dumping 303 ammo as part of selling assets to deal with their debt problem? It was available for a little bit, good price, then gone. Nothing like the really cheap stuff one used to see at gun shows but still a good price.

Thing is several civilian versions of the military arms offer comparable value at decent prices. The AR platform is one, there are others but not my thing so I sort of don't pay them a whole lot of attention. Then there are a whole host of decent quality "budget" firearms available the model 700's the Mossberg 500's and 870's in shotguns. The mini-xx and ranch rifles or other Ruger carbines are not cheap but are priced competitive with the old military stuff that is similar. The used lever action market offers many good useful firearms at good used prices. As long as one avoids the "collectable" versions.

I reload and cast so "cheap to shoot" compared to commercial ammo is a given. I won't see the big battle packs of ammo from days gone by again but I doubt I'm paying much more than what they cost to cast and load my own. I do lament and hold a grudge against a local dealer and Bill Clinton. I put $100 deposit on a Garand with a small local firearms dealer at a weekend gun show. Going to pick the rifle up the following week at his home/business and pay the balance. Following week Bill Clinton stopped the Army from disposing of surplus Garands by selling them to the public. Price skyrocketed overnight and seller refused to honor deal. I know Bill got some payback for the bad karma and hope the seller did too. I would still admire to own one just not enough to spend what they cost today.

If you really like the semi-auto rifles then the SKS is probably a bargain with a lot of stock choices to bed it in. Then there is this list of several auto loaders of solid reputation at lower cost than many of the classic military arms. https://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/guns/rifles/centerfire/2011/11/20-best-semi-automatic-rifles-big-game-hunting#page-21 For the 303 Enfield sportorized shooter type rifles I would and am considering the purchase of a poly Monte Carlo stock. The rifle stock is already cut to sporter it and in some ways a good poly stock would be superior to a mediocre sporterization.

[Tripplebeards]

I was going to buy a plastic stock set but the wood on the sporterized 303 is too nice. I just spent about 2 hours sanding and put a couple coats of minwax tounge finish on them.

http://i.imgur.com/EVT4L8T.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/3wvoso3.jpg

[samari46]

Over the "good old days" I used to buy junkers just for their actions and wood if it wasn't trashed. Right now I have an 1895 Chilean action waiting for a Belgian never been on a rifle barrel. Win 54 action waiting for a 1919A4 MG barrel cut,threaded and chambered for the 30-30 and a marksman stock. Swedish 1896 action waiting for a sporter barrel in 8mm to get installed. And a few others. My favorites are the 1891 Argentine mauser actions. I have two with nice barrels, one in a Bishop stock and the other in a cut down military stock. Williams Gunsight years back had a booklet "how to convert military rifles" and still provided ideas. Frank

[jimb16]

I think you parked the time machine in 2242.

[Lloyd Smale]

Ill take 4 of each. M-59 M1 carbine m1 garand, springfield and lugers. ah heck throw in a pallet of those 1911s too.
That reminds me of the British Webley Revolvers. After WWII jillions of them were sold off as surplus in the USA. I wonder what happened to them all. I rarely see one anymore. Both the 38 S&W and 455 Webley versions were sold here in the US. A bunch of the 455's were converted to 45 ACP too. But those are deemed unsafe and should only shoot loads that duplicate the 455 Webley cartridge. If I remember right, as a kid, they were selling for like $19.95 and later $24.95 each. They also sold lots of S&W revolvers chambered for the 38 S&W cartridge too. That was when S&W sold lots of revolvers to the British at the beginning of WWII.

I have a old S&W revolver chambered for 38 S&W, I need to take it out and shoot it some for the heck of it.

I found a old 1957 ad about it too. I remember seeing advertisements like this ages ago as a kid too. it sure makes one feel bad that they missed out on all the sales at the time when a Remington rolling block rifie was going for $13.95 then. Or the German Mausers for $39.95.
https://wwiiafterwwii.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/winfield1957.png

ref https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2016/11/06/postwar-advertising-legacy-of-wwii/

http://www.vannuystargetrange.com/old_guns_ads/Guns-and-Ammo-September-1965-P61-Western-Military-Arms.png

[Lloyd Smale]

just saw a bonnie and clyde movie where texas ranger frank Hamer went in a local hardware store and bought thompsons and bars for his troops.

[fgd135]

If you think prices on surplus firearms have changed, and the "good old days" were cheaper, use an Inflation Calculator to figure out what those 1957, etc. prices would generally be in 2019. Those 1957 Hunters Lodge $89 Garands would cost $800 in 2019. BM-59s would sell for over $1200 in today's dollars. $40 Mausers? $360. So not much difference in many ways, esp. since most of those advertised prices were for the lower condition weapons. Better selections, perhaps. And of course direct shipping.
Money was tighter--Average annual salary in 1957 was about $5500.
Now, in 1992 I was buying M1891 Mosins from Century Arms for as little as $9.97 with free shipping! $18 in 2019 $$$. The golden days started in 1987-and continue.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

[Earlwb]

Yes that is true about inflation. But being a old guy I still have trouble wrapping my head to it. I had done the math a while back and can confirm the prices are around the same when you factor in inflation. But still there is that nostalgia effect there. I regret not being able to buy as much as I wanted to way back then, but money was tight back then too.

[LAGS]

I want to thank you guys for the info in this thread.
I let some friends read this , and all of a sudden they are more interested in buying some of my extra surplus rifles that I was trying to get rid of.
They just thought the shortage of surplus rifles was a Local issue here in Az.

[cwlongshot]

I never was a huge mil surp guy... BUT and its a sizeable but... Mausers are a sweet spot. I have bought over a dozen mostly 98 variants but a couple others.

I picked up a very early 1889 Mauser. Its the predecesosr to the 1891 Argentine. I bought it because it was built right here in CT @ Hopkins and Allen in Norwich CT. Pretty cool, I thought ALL MATCHING, but dark. Not pitted rusty, just very dark, must have been cosmoline storeed a very long time. Took me most of a week to clean the bolt, action and barrel to the point I fent comfortable saying it was safe to shoot with light loads. I cast some 180g boolits and loaded them light. Still havent gotten to the range with it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/Argentine%20Mauser%201889/B4FA8952-C0C1-4C97-96F3-E79D02E6D963_zpsocjwjjuf.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/Argentine%20Mauser%201889/902363F8-BD18-476E-947C-A36FEE14FF69_zpsqvl03lkb.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/Argentine%20Mauser%201889/BD0BEB96-0042-4071-8B6F-F5E433743D79_zpsxgkcbtgk.jpeg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/CWLONGSHOT/Temp%20stuff/Argentine%20Mauser%201889/D6B12CCF-0516-4807-A054-ADF731DD7F54_zpsbhvlfsib.jpeg

Sliky smooth reminiscent of a Mannlicher Shoenauer. With its smooth bolt. Alot of that is the cock on close spring assisting bolt opening. Its sibgle stack magazine was in pretty bad shape and I probably should replace if I shoot it much. But it functions.

CW

[RED BEAR]

I know that it probably cost no more in todays dollars but in my mind and my wallet i am still in 1980. I love old surplus guns and used to buy them because i couldn't afford a new rifle. I just can't bring myself to spend more for a surplus gun than a new rifle cost. I see mausers in poor condition selling for 4 or five hundred dollars. Saw a 7.7 Japanese asked about price and about hit the floor when i was told 1200 dollars. When i said i will pass i was told it had the mum . Well hot dang. I am just happy that i bought what i have back then.

[Eddie2002]

It's not a military surplus but I have my dad's third series Colt Woodsman still in it's box with the original cash register receipt. Back in 1964 it only cost $76.95 which in today's world would be around $750.00. I'm just like a lot of people who still have a hard time getting my head around how much inflation has grown.
I'm at the point where even a sporter military surplus is worth a look if it's going for under $150.00.

[Fly]

It,s over! I have collected Military rifles for years. But that was then & this is now. Even Mosin Nagants are way over priced. Get a black gun for
the WW1 &WW2 stuff buying has gone crazy. I quite looking a long time ago.

Fly

[LAGS]

Even the days of the $150.00 Sporter are gone.
People are aware, that if they aren't too Bubba'ed they can part it out for twice the price or even use the parts to rebuild a less then functional Mil Surp. ( IE, Bad Barrel if it hasn't been chopped)

[Lloyd Smale]

in most cases your correct. but if a guy could go back in time and buy thompsons, lugers, and a few others for 50 bucks a crack you surely could have made some serious money selling today even with inflation. that 50 bucks then might be a grand today but find me a Thompson for a grand!! Heck they get that for the semi auto versions.
If you think prices on surplus firearms have changed, and the "good old days" were cheaper, use an Inflation Calculator to figure out what those 1957, etc. prices would generally be in 2019. Those 1957 Hunters Lodge $89 Garands would cost $800 in 2019. BM-59s would sell for over $1200 in today's dollars. $40 Mausers? $360. So not much difference in many ways, esp. since most of those advertised prices were for the lower condition weapons. Better selections, perhaps. And of course direct shipping.
Money was tighter--Average annual salary in 1957 was about $5500.
Now, in 1992 I was buying M1891 Mosins from Century Arms for as little as $9.97 with free shipping! $18 in 2019 $$$. The golden days started in 1987-and continue.
https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

[Earlwb]

Well, early on in the Netflix "Highwaymen" movie, Keven Costner (aka Hamer) goes into a gun store and buys a Thompson, a BAR, a 30-06 scoped rifle, a 351 Winchester, a used 30-30 lever gun, a 1911, a couple of revolvers, a couple of shotguns etc. Plus extra magazines, a couple of drum mags and a large case of 45's and lots of ammo for the other guns too. It sure brings back the nostalgia seeing that. Oh yeah Hamer's pet pig stole the show there in his cameo scene too.

[bob208]

the last best deal was when the muslin ifles came in years ago. they were the last of the bolt military rifles to be surpluses and come in, in mass amounts. now it is catch as good a deal as you can get. before them it was south American mausers. then the Swedish mausers.

[Texas by God]

CW that 1889 is nice. I once had a barreled Reciever like that that came with a pile of other goodies. I had no idea H&A made Mausers till then.

[Arisaka99]

I don't think there are any good deals anymore. After WWII there were millions of guns that flooded the market. Thus good deals were to be had everywhere. But in the 60 some off years since then, the surplus guns have been exhausted. There aren't that many left anymore. The French MAS rifles were probably the last and those are pretty much all sold off now too. The French tended to hang onto stuff long after they quit using them. Now there may be some small countries with a warehouse of old guns still moldering someplace. But those will be small quantities. I suppose that the Russians and the old iron curtain countries may still have large numbers of Mosin-Nagants though. Russia had sent a bunch of Mosins to Venezuela recently. But the surplus prices in the stores isn't all that good for them though. At least I feel it isn't. Other surplus guns wind up being sold for what I feel are high prices. I still remember buying Japanese and Italian rifles for $100 for five of them. With Mausers going for $40, Argentine Mausers at $40 each and Saimese Mausers at three for $100. Then SKS rifles were $79.95 each and brand new Chinese Mosins were going for less than $100 too. Unfortunately that was years ago, But then my brain has trouble getting used to inflation. So maybe $40 dollars back then is now worth $400 today, I don't know.

Just for kicks, I hit an inflation calculator to see.

$40.00 in 1965 is equal to $320.99 in 2019.

$40.00 in 1985 is equal to $93.97 in 2019.

So I'd say you're about in the right ballpark!

[elysianfield]

1917 wood. Reminds me of the late 70's, early 80's. I had a very large gun inventory in my business at the time, and would get calls from various importers, etc., along with their catalogs. If I remember correctly, "Springfield Sporters" was such a company, and I received one of their flyers that offered complete 1917 Enfield wood, along with all the iron...$10.00 per set. I bought five.

[Tripplebeards]

Well, early on in the Netflix "Highwaymen" movie, Keven Costner (aka Hamer) goes into a gun store and buys a Thompson, a BAR, a 30-06 scoped rifle, a 351 Winchester, a used 30-30 lever gun, a 1911, a couple of revolvers, a couple of shotguns etc. Plus extra magazines, a couple of drum mags and a large case of 45's and lots of ammo for the other guns too. It sure brings back the nostalgia seeing that. Oh yeah Hamer's pet pig stole the show there in his cameo scene too.
I watched it last night... I’ll take five of everything.

[MajorDude]

I was going to buy a plastic stock set but the wood on the sporterized 303 is too nice. I just spent about 2 hours sanding and put a couple coats of minwax tounge finish on them.

http://i.imgur.com/EVT4L8T.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/3wvoso3.jpg

I’ d like to see that together when you get her done.

[3006guns]

As my mentor said back in the eighties (when the flood of guns came on the market), "Forget all the old Hunter's Lodge and Klein's ads from the late fifties.....THESE are the good old days!" He made this comment as I helped him clean a batch of Mausers he recently paid about $35 each for. We found wood on those military guns that rivaled the finest custom stocks. I found out later that shiploads of surplus arms were waiting offshore, anticipating the relaxation of federal regs. When that happened, it was Katie bar the door! The import guns were NOT the battered surplus of years before. No, they were "war reserves", stored in cosmo and in controlled environments. It was a bonanza.

I purchased one lot of 81 rifles back in '87 (I think) for $20 apiece. That lot consisted of M27 and M48 Yugos with brand new metal and bores, several 98k's and scads of parts guns. I still have some of them stashed away for "future use".

Bought a '96 Swede Mauser for $89 including shipping and still have it. It's a 1905 Carl Gustav and shoots better than I can hold it. I kick myself for not buying more....not for profit, but because I like the rifle.

I was privileged to accompany my FFL on a trip to "the warehouse", where I saw SKS's piled like firewood on pallets, Swede Mausers in long racks, boxes full of those Brazilian contract S&W 45 acp revolvers, boxes full of 1896 Mauser broomhandles AND bolos. The list seemed to go on forever. Brand new AK's, either fixed or folders, for $249 apiece (no interest to me) I ended up buying three SKS's (my FFL had to talk me into it) at $60 each, two of the S&W's and two broomhandles....$75 each. Had to stop at a gas station to scrub the cosmoline off my arms.

I have several Enfields, both no.1 mkIII* and no.4 rifles. Japs? Got an entire wall full of them, along with a bucket of bayonets. Never paid more than $65 and complained about it. One of them (a type 99) is wearing a reproduction stock and is my main cast boolit shooter.

I only bought one Swiss K35. Shot it, liked it and gave it to one of my sons.

Got a 1909 Argentine that's about perfect, along with two Dutch 6.5's....a rifle an carbine. There's an 1889 Belgian carbine hiding in there somewhere too.

1903's........bought my first one at a gun show back in the 70's for $135. Bayonet cost me an additional $30. Found a 1903a3 at another show for $150. The 1903 is in pristine condition, while the a3 is at least very good. Both shoot like a house afire.

My last purchase was a Mosin Nagant for $90 (I paid for hand select). Still have that one, although I'm not all that crazy about the old Russian muskets. They're not a bad rifle, but why did they put that stupid, stubby bolt handle on there?

Why am I telling you all this? Boasting? No, because I didn't even realize how great those times were and thought it would continue forever. Uncharacteristically, I KEPT many of those guns and now I find myself supposedly sitting on a "fortune". I don't care.....it's the history of the development that fascinates me and they'll go on to my sons with a warning: "Sporterize or sell just ONE, and I'll come back to haunt you!"

Just remember.....the lower priced "common" guns will become scarcer as time goes by and more new collectors show up.

I have a small fortune in reloading gear and dies. I'll be 70 this June and I can see the end of the trail approaching. It's been one helluva hobby, but those days are gone. Sadly..............

[3006guns]

I just remembered something. Somewhere I have an original Service Armament Company catalog (they later became SARCO) from the mid sixties. In it they offer Sten guns, Lewis guns (dewatted) and several 37mm field guns. Believe it or not, ammo for the 37mm's was offered....your choice of high explosive, armor piercing or anti personnel for $3 each. This was LIVE ammo for God's sake!

Talk about a lawn ornament........or lease breaker.........:)

[Tripplebeards]

Cool! I’m still waiting for someone to post a new surplus pile comming in!

[Lloyd Smale]

that's the show.
Well, early on in the Netflix "Highwaymen" movie, Keven Costner (aka Hamer) goes into a gun store and buys a Thompson, a BAR, a 30-06 scoped rifle, a 351 Winchester, a used 30-30 lever gun, a 1911, a couple of revolvers, a couple of shotguns etc. Plus extra magazines, a couple of drum mags and a large case of 45's and lots of ammo for the other guns too. It sure brings back the nostalgia seeing that. Oh yeah Hamer's pet pig stole the show there in his cameo scene too.

[BigAlofPa.]

Cabelas had a Mosin 91/30 400.00. I was like wow. I only paid 200.00 for mine this past winter. I did some grouping test. It groups good. Im getting a scope for it and mount where i don't have to butcher the gun.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I think that for the most part the "good 'ol days" of cheap surplus are gone. But, in thinking about it, there are two "deals I can recommend. One would be the Star Mod. BM pistols currently for sale. Right around $150, and in the best available condition about $200 +/- a little. What stands out to me about this deal is that for years now the deals have been rifles, but here we have a pistol, and a very good pistol at that. Yes, many of them are shop worn externally, but most in mechanically excellent condition. A buyer can always have the pistol refinished at a later date. Soon to be all gone, and many will wish they would have invested in a couple of them. I mean, really, where can you get a quality 9mm pistol now days, all steel, for $200?

Next, the 1937 model Turk '98 Mausers were a great deal about 20 years ago at $39.95. Lots of gunsmiths and collectors loaded up on them, and many still have a few stashed away for future projects or investments. I keep pretty close tabs on the internet gun auctions, and it's not at all unusual to see these going for around $150 now days. But Mauser pattern rifles made by other countries and in slightly different configurations easily go for $250 to $450. The odd thing is that the Turkish Mauser, well made, reliable, very accurate, is just as strong as any of the others and can be made into an equally nice sporter, if that is what the owner desires, or shot "as-is". So, even at $150, with no more Mausers in sight, I'd consider it to still be one good bargain. And I'm pretty sure they'll continue to slowly increase in value.

DG

[Texas by God]

You are so right (as usual) DG. If I don't get another Star BM before they're gone I may cry. Perfect size for the 9mm cartridge.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[waksupi]

Cabelas had a Mosin 91/30 400.00. I was like wow. I only paid 200.00 for mine this past winter. I did some grouping test. It groups good. Im getting a scope for it and mount where i don't have to butcher the gun.

It wasn't many years ago, I was buying those at $129 delivered for three.

[444ttd]

i know that it is "dead" post, but i'm going to reply anyways.

i do sporters, military sporters to be exact. i have purchased rifles under $150. they were without open sights, stock cracked, rust on everything, junk barrel and so on and so on. i have or had done a 91 arg, 93 spanish(s), 95 chilean and 98 mausers also the 1898 springfield armory(s). i won't do "antique" rifles, mostly because of my bank account; i don't have the funds:killingpc[smilie=l: and i'm handicable(not handicapped).

take, for example my 98 mauser sporter. i paid $120 for it. it came with bishop stock and either a lyman or redfield aperture sight. everything else was put in 1944. the barrel was scrubbed clean:holysheep and i slugged it .3235". the bishop stock was rubbing against barrel. so i took her apart and expecting to sand the barrel channel. but instead the inside of the stock was black with "furry white eyes" staring back at me. the stock must have been waterlogged for some time, dried out and then put on the gun. i got a richard's walnut stock and i am in the process of finishing(pumice and rotten stone) it. the aperture sight was loose, so i picked the screwdriver and began to "screw the screw". only to find that the screw was stripped. well i started to find the screw on duck duck. nuthin. i go to the Fastenal store. can't find it. well, i'll put it in mental note to find the screw. three weeks later, i have pick up a rifle from my gunsmith. i'll take the screw with me, maybe he'll have one. he didn't...........but he takes the screw into his workshop and after he he's done with it......now i have the screw!!!!!! (he has a bench grinder, which i have, and he puts on a "macro vision" glasses, looks at the screw, fires up his bench grinder and then he grinds. the "stripped" screw was just in need of love). i tried to pay him, but he declined saying, "all it needed was a bump on the grinder". i thanked him again and now i'm on my way to "screw".:groner:

i now have a pair of macro vision glasses. not that i needed glasses. not going to eye doctor, nope!!! why i can see just fine. :killingpc (i'm trying to go to eye dr<covid>, but it will be since i had the stroke, about 8 years ago)

why do i go thru making a military sporter? it gives me something to do. i'm in no hurry to do it either. whether the stock or action or whatever makes me mad, its time to put it away and wait for next day.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

The last issue of Firearms News has a two page ad from Royal Tiger Arms. All sorts of military surplus rifles. Many were around $1,200, and very few below $400. I saw no real bargains. Same for Hunter's Lodge on the next page.

[Gewehr-Guy]

The best bargains are the CMP M-1 rifles, and in my opinion the Swiss straight pulls are my next choice. A G-11 or K31 are about half price of 1903's and probably a better rifle, although I really like the Springfields too.

[slim1836]

My first Mosin Nagant cost $89.00, my second $199.00. Still not a bad price. My Nagant pistol was $125.00, not too bad either. Got a RG-22 (pure junk) for use with blanks for field training dogs and it was free along with a Lorson .25ACP (another piece of junk).

I do have many other firearms of much better quality but I do like my Mosins.

Slim

[Texas by God]

Since I like hunting rifles better than military rifles, from now on I will only get previously sporterized rifles if they are a good enough deal. Except for M1Garand and M1 Carbine- I like those “As Is”. I still will not own a safe queen or collectors item.

[444ttd]

....will not own a safe queen or collectors item.


me either. i buy a rifle to shoot and hunt.

i have a 93 spanish mauser(oviedo) in 7x57 in a cut off stock. its barrel is so-so, but i'm not interested in 7x57. i am interested in 257 roberts, so i'll rebarrel her. the action is "naked", it needs a d&t and scope mounts. while i'm at, it will get a dayton trigger set and 2 position safety. i might as well refinish the stock too. i'll put on a 2-7x leopold and then i'll have my dream rifle. but i have to do another 93 spanish mauser(oviedo) that will be my son's rifle. it will be be 7x57 in a douglas barrel. (i have done a 98 mauser in 7x57 years ago. it is now my oldest son's rifle)

the only actions(as oppose to rifles) that i have are two 1898 spr armory without bolts and a 1895 chilean navy mauser with bolt. i bought the 2 1898 spr armory actions this year and they were $30/each. the 95 mauser was also bought this year and it was $120. the two 93 spanish mausers were $70 and $80. the 91 argentine sporter was $150. the only thing i did to the 91 argie was a redfield aperture sight. i should refinished it, but....... so much to do, so little... (ahem)...uhhh, i have time to do it!!!!!!

[salpal48]

Those are days long gone and never return again

[Baltimoreed]

272148
At the Md Military Antique Arms show in 2019 I stumbled up on this 1896 [it was so nasty it was labeled 1898] Krag rifle wrapped up in cosmoline. I cleaned it up enough to see that the stampings and grasping grooves were nice and sharp and bought it for 650.00. When I got it home [NC] and cleaned all the junk on and out of it I was amazed. It was minty. I’m sure its worth more than I paid by a lot. Even a blind squirrel.....

[kawasakifreak77]

I saw PSA had 6.5mm Carcanos for 229. I've never dealt with a Carcano, don't know if they are any good but in today's money that seems decent.

[RU shooter]

Seems like the good ole days of cheap surplus are over unless some ex soviet or whoever country stumbles upon a forgotten bunker or cave full of rifles and ammo . Wish the days of the unfired Romanian Ak parts kits for 89 bucks would come back

[444ttd]

i remember it was sometime in the early '90s when my gun shop/smith owner had sks and it was like $80. if you bout a crate of them it was $60 or $65 a pop. i should have three crates!!!!! the cheapest (chinese) sks today is $300-400 and they go up from there.

if your willing to wait or if the rifle needs repaired or if it is a military sporter, you'll find a cheap rifle. trust me, i know about cheap!!!!!

[Shiloh]

Not vintage, but I saw Classic Arms(IIRC) just got several crates of Vietnam Era Chicom SKS with bayonet... will be selling between $400-$500

The first I saw of those, '88-'89, they were around $200 with a wooden crate of Chinese ammo. Memphis Tennessee gunshow in midtown fairgrounds.

Shiloh

[Shiloh]

Agreed

$125 Yugo SKS and Serbian Mausers about 20 years ago.

Shiloh

[savagetactical]

I remember buying SKS rifles and other surplus because they were cheap and I was poor , so poor I could not afford nicer or better guns. As the cost of ammo went up or became to scarce as to make those guns affordable or cheap to shoot I sold most of em off. I wish I had kept more of them but as others have pointed out there are still deals to be hard I bought a pair of m1903 rifles for $600 a year ago One is a very very nice example of a Warner Swasey sniper sans scope. One day I hope I can afford a scope and mount for it but I am not going to hold my breath. Original WWI rifles are getting expensive and this one is very very nice with sharp cartouches and a perfect bore so I have no complaints. My other 03 is an 03 with a scrubbed receiver that shortened in years past to make it about 4 inches shorter than a full size rifle , it is still in its original military configuration just shorter .

It really doesn't have any collector value , just shooting value. The stock is rather tired on it and I need to replace it at some point as it will not stay tight in the original wood which is cracking and has other issues. At some point I will find a used stock and trim it to fit the gun. It actually shoots amazingly nice . I had considered putting a full size barrel back on it and at some point I will probably will.

About two years ago I purchased an Amberg Gew 88 at a Flea Market for $100 with a new condition barrel, the gun can really shoot good and does wonderfully with 200 grain bullets.

As others have said there are some good deals to be hard , it just depends on what your interested in .

I still have one new in the box SKS I have never shot , and probably never will . I have shot many of the rifles so I know how they perform and I just do not see a point to shooting this one considering it is new unfired . At some point I will probably sell it to buy a gun I really want as the price keeps climbing on the SKS rifles.

My most recent surplus gun is an 1884 Springfield that is really quite nice , has a lot of the original finish and shoots wonderfully. In fact it is the gun I enjoy shooting the most at the moment. I think I paid $600 for it , and considering the level of finish it has its probably worth three times that price given what I see others asking for guns with much less finish and poorer condition bores.

I am still tinkering with loads for it trying to find the sweet spot for the gun but it will post a 2 to 3 inch group with a laser cast 405 grain bullet. I have been told it will do better with a 500 grain and have loaded some for it but have not had a chance to hit the range as yet.

[lrdg]

As long as we are remembering.. I bought a pair of Chinese Mausers at a Great Western Show at least twenty years ago. The guy had a table stacked with the most worn out (both in quality and quantity) rifles I've ever seen in one place. I was so fascinated I bought two. I can't recall now if I gave $20 for the pair or $20 each.

[John Boy]

Gents the days of $100 firearms are ..... Gone
If I was looking for a quality military rifle, my choice would be the 7.5x55 Swiss K31.
Five years ago, mine cost me $325.00 in NRA 90%. Today’s the price has escalated to approx $600 for the same NRA grade.
The quality of these rifles was pure craftsmanship and their accuracy IMO has no parallel. I shoot 1000yd coyote sillioutes with stock micro adjustment sights and do have a scope for it

[dtknowles]

With the price of new bolt action hunting rifles and other fun guns being so low, no mil surps seem to be a bargain.

Tim

[savagetactical]

With the price of new bolt action hunting rifles and other fun guns being so low, no mil surps seem to be a bargain.

Tim

I suppose that depends on what you want. I am not saying they're bad rifles but this new crop of cheap hunting rifles isn't what I really am keen on guns like the Ruger American, and Savage Axis do not appeal to me . It't not that I hate plastic stocked rifles, I own a Stery SSG , but these new bargain guns just feel cheap and I like for my hunting rifles to look and feel like those of years past.

One of the things I truly appreciate about an old mauser is the quality of the gun. The craftsmanship , steel, wood and the challenge of getting an old gun to shoot for me.

[salpal48]

With the Import buys On surplus Military Rifles . the prices will just keep going Up.. There are still Millions out There in surplus storage. If the govt would change the policy from Curio & Relics to Antique, then more items will come in. The last big change was the Nepal rifles but They were antique. In C&R was the Swiss M 1889 / M 1896.

[Bmi48219]

I’m old enough to remember K-31s & German Mauser 98s for $10.00 in NRA Very Good condition at the gun shows. That being said there’s a good chance our kids will one day regret not buying surplus military rifles when (as in now) they were only $600 to $1200.00.

[samari46]

I had a jungle carbine and a Ruger MKII. Guess which one got used
the most for hunting in Pennsylvania?. The jungle carbine. It used to be many years ago you grab a surplus rifle,take off the old sights and slap on a set of peeps and off you went. For the well heeled shooter, instead of irons he'd get a scope mounted and bolt altered. By the time you do that today your money ahead getting a Ruger All American in your favorite caliber. Frank

[ebb]

A friend and i bought 5 Turkish Mausers from SOG about 12-15 years ago $59 each. I am not about to pay $300 for a M-N.

[charlie b]

"In the old days" the interest in the surplus rifles was to get the rifle, put on a sporter stock, good sights and then go hunt. Total cost about 1/2-2/3 of a new Remington or Winchester rifle.

These days, IMHO, there seems to be a resurgence of the popularity of the WWII era. Just look at the many movies in the past several years. I know of several of the younger (30's) who have become interested in that era of world history. At least one has mentioned looking for one each of the service rifles and pistols from each country in WWII.

Then there are the Youtube videos with folks shooting surplus rifles and getting decent accuracy from them.

At the range I find some who have one of these old rifles and they have a lot of fun with them. I have to admit I still enjoy shooting my Garand a lot.

The only WWII bolt gun I would not mind having would be the SMLE jungle carbine. Just a bit of a weird duck, but, kinda the pre-cursor to the "scout rifle" of today.

[savagetactical]

"In the old days" the interest in the surplus rifles was to get the rifle, put on a sporter stock, good sights and then go hunt. Total cost about 1/2-2/3 of a new Remington or Winchester rifle.

The only WWII bolt gun I would not mind having would be the SMLE jungle carbine. Just a bit of a weird duck, but, kinda the pre-cursor to the "scout rifle" of today.

While I admit they are a handy rifle... The precursor to the scout rifle is the ZF41 not the jungle carbine . IIRC I think Cooper actually referenced the inspiration being the ZF41 ...

Incidentally I wanted one pretty badly the finances just never allowed for it and given the cost of a ZF41 in this day and age I do not see myself getting one ever.

[Nick Adams]

CMP M1 Garand, ... 'nuff said.

[godzilla]

CMP M1 Garand, ... 'nuff said.

Do they have any guns left to sell????

[HumptyDumpty]

Do they have any guns left to sell????
Last I checked, they had a few service grades for $700.

[TNsailorman]

I mostly shot "surplus" rifles for over 50 years. Then the supply started getting thin and the demand went up followed by startling jumps in prices. I bought my first 8mm "byf" 98 mauser for $8.00 and the last one, a 24/47 for $159.00(in re-arsenal new condition). I will not be buying anymore at the going prices today. I enjoyed the ride while it lasted but no more. james

[MOC031]

The only WWII bolt gun I would not mind having would be the SMLE jungle carbine. Just a bit of a weird duck, but, kinda the pre-cursor to the "scout rifle" of today.

A 1950 Long Branch No4 Mk1, the last of the best, is the primary platform for most of my cast bullet shooting. I have never felt the love for the No. 5 - but if a nice one were offered me for sale, I would not find it hard to come up with the cash to buy it.

But... scout rifles?

My 30 years as lawn dart infantry ended not too long ago, no small amount of it in recce. It spanned the early 1980's to the second decade of the second milennium; aperture sights to optical sights. Bolt action sniper rifles to semiautomatic gas operated snipers.

Unless I've forgotten something from too many landings on my head, I don't recall a single NATO nation - including those fighting crappy little bushfire wars in assorted countries - who saw sufficient value in Jeff Cooper's "scout rifle" idea to arm even some of their specialized units with such a rifle. Maybe they knew something based on decades of real world recce experience that Cooper did not.

The "scout rifle" always appeared to me to be an ingenious solution to a nonexistent problem. Charging magazines via stripper clips thanks to a forward mounted VERY long eye relief scope, versus simply changing the magazine out, appears to me to be something that could only be realistically useful to a very tiny group of people who could find no other commercial alternative.

If you like it - then it's the perfect rifle for you and as always I'm happy when any fellow gun/shooting enthusiast finds a rifle that floats their boat. But looked at from the scout/sniper end of the real world infantry biz... I don't see anything there I would have had any use for in my travel light/freeze at night years.

I will now don my asbestos suit and prepare for the incoming fire...

[GunsandCoffee]

CMP M1s are still a solid deal when they are available. IMO, even if paying a premium (which to me means $900-$1300), they will last a civilian shooter a lifetime. I have several that I purchased when stationed in AL (close to Aniston) and my grandkids will probably use them.

[perotter]

Royal Tiger Imports right now has about everything ever made in bolt action. Even have a few different makes of self loader including M1 Carbines. The era's covered start with black powder cartridge rifles to about 1960.

They bought all of the Ethiopian surplus and bringing batches in so pays to check from time to time. The lowest priced currently are Carcano 1891 carbines at $250. Seems that the Ethiopians never got rid of anything that came there way.

[Nick Adams]

CMP M1s are still a solid deal when they are available. IMO, even if paying a premium (which to me means $900-$1300), they will last a civilian shooter a lifetime. I have several that I purchased when stationed in AL (close to Aniston) and my grandkids will probably use them.

A guy at our range just bought two CMP M1's - one directly from the CMP, a .30-06 RG or FG 'Special' (the ones for like, $750-$800), and one in .308/7.62 that was another club member's. I think he paid about $900 for that one. Not sure what 'grade' it was, but the seller gave him the CMP paperwork.

He bought both to be 'shooters' - the .308 primarily, because .308 FMJ ammo is easier and less spendy to source at least in normal times, thanks to the proliferation of .308 AR rifles, than chasing down 'Garand-Safe' '06 ball ammo. ... The Greek mil-surplus HXP is either gone or prohibitively expensive. Dudes at our club say Gun-Show dealers are asking almost $1.00 a round for that stuff! :veryconfu

So having an M1 in .308 these days just makes a whole lotta sense.

[GhostHawk]

I have a young protege (30's) who is into com bloc rifles.

He has a Romanian PSL (Sniper version of the 762x54r.
A couple of AK's in the smaller 5.7x28 caliber. One of which is an SBR.

A Steyr Aug, and he just bought a Finnish M39 reworked Mosin.

His big issue is it is not a great time to find good accurate loaded rounds for them.

He also bought a used Mossberg 12 ga shotgun. I'm not sure which model.

[10-x]

A guy at our range just bought two CMP M1's - one directly from the CMP, a .30-06 RG or FG 'Special' (the ones for like, $750-$800), and one in .308/7.62 that was another club member's. I think he paid about $900 for that one. Not sure what 'grade' it was, but the seller gave him the CMP paperwork.

He bought both to be 'shooters' - the .308 primarily, because .308 FMJ ammo is easier and less spendy to source at least in normal times, thanks to the proliferation of .308 AR rifles, than chasing down 'Garand-Safe' '06 ball ammo. ... The Greek mil-surplus HXP is either gone or prohibitively expensive. Dudes at our club say Gun-Show dealers are asking almost $1.00 a round for that stuff! :veryconfu

So having an M1 in .308 these days just makes a whole lotta sense.
Wow, gun show prices on M-2 ball around here are little over $2/ round, about same for 7.62.

[Tracy]

A 1950 Long Branch No4 Mk1, the last of the best, is the primary platform for most of my cast bullet shooting. I have never felt the love for the No. 5 - but if a nice one were offered me for sale, I would not find it hard to come up with the cash to buy it.

But... scout rifles?

My 30 years as lawn dart infantry ended not too long ago, no small amount of it in recce. It spanned the early 1980's to the second decade of the second milennium; aperture sights to optical sights. Bolt action sniper rifles to semiautomatic gas operated snipers.

Unless I've forgotten something from too many landings on my head, I don't recall a single NATO nation - including those fighting crappy little bushfire wars in assorted countries - who saw sufficient value in Jeff Cooper's "scout rifle" idea to arm even some of their specialized units with such a rifle. Maybe they knew something based on decades of real world recce experience that Cooper did not.

The "scout rifle" always appeared to me to be an ingenious solution to a nonexistent problem. Charging magazines via stripper clips thanks to a forward mounted VERY long eye relief scope, versus simply changing the magazine out, appears to me to be something that could only be realistically useful to a very tiny group of people who could find no other commercial alternative.

If you like it - then it's the perfect rifle for you and as always I'm happy when any fellow gun/shooting enthusiast finds a rifle that floats their boat. But looked at from the scout/sniper end of the real world infantry biz... I don't see anything there I would have had any use for in my travel light/freeze at night years.

I will now don my asbestos suit and prepare for the incoming fire...

I guess that would be so, if the only purpose of a rifle were use in a modern military environment.

[MOC031]

I guess that would be so, if the only purpose of a rifle were use in a modern military environment.

Except that's how the concept was attempted to be sold... unless "scouting" was more related to hunting, backpacking, etc., somehow or other. Most of my 30 years were mostly as a lawn dart, and mostly in recce, or teaching it. and I don't see much useful to scouting with a Scout Rifle, whether Vietnam or current conflicts.

The FN is one rifle that had both a bridge for chargers (in the dust cover) and a magazine. I think the instances of soldiers recharging an FN (for example) via striper clips and the charger bridge rather than simply changing mags in a situation of duress would be about as rare as rocking horse poop.

For those who are enthusiasts of the Scout Rifle theory, good on them for having what they believe is the best rifle setup for their needs. When one of my obsessions is plugging away at targets 600 yards away with a Lee Enfield (loaded via the charger bridge, BTW) and aperture sights... I am going to be the last one to say they picked the wrong rifle setup.

But the Scout Rifle doesn't have any relevance to military scouting, particularly being born in an era of semiautomatic weapons, where even designated marksman have optical sights mounted directly above the action opening. Which is why, to the best of my knowledge, not a single nation has adopted the Scout Rifle concept for any segment of its military.

[farmbif]

I have fond memories of a gun shop where a bunch of us young whipper snappers could hang out with the old timers and hear stories and learn lessons about guns and ammo and hunting shooting and reloading. there were a few wood barrels in the shop filled with old imported military rifles. you could buy any gun out of one of the barrels for $50. buy a gun and you could get one of those big tin cans of ammo to go with it for like another $25. those days are long gone

[copperlake]

I have fond memories of a gun shop where a bunch of us young whipper snappers could hang out with the old timers and hear stories and learn lessons about guns and ammo and hunting shooting and reloading. there were a few wood barrels in the shop filled with old imported military rifles. you could buy any gun out of one of the barrels for $50. buy a gun and you could get one of those big tin cans of ammo to go with it for like another $25. those days are long gone


How about ca. 1961, Miller's Surplus on the corner of Euclid Ave and Holt Blvd in Ontario CA, any '93-'95 mauser short rifle out of a waxed pickle barrel for $9.99. The really good stuff was at Ye old Hunters Lodge in LA but I couldn't walk that far.