C&R Collecting?

[dwhess504]

Im looking to get into the Curio and Relic firearms.... well mainly surplus. a few weeks ago I bought my First Mosin Nagant and I fell in love with the history of older surplus type guns.

I so far have
Walther PPK made is 61
Polish PPS Tokarev
and the 1932 Tula 91/30

Can you guys direct me on what other type of surplus type guns I can get from the $100-$300 range?
I want to start buying a couple a month.

 

[SCAR17S]

arisakas type 38 & 99s (japanese bolt action) there are m44s which are carbine style mosin nagants. carcanos, italiana bolt action rifle somewhat smaller caber.k95s another very interesting bolt action. several of the enfields will fall in this price range. most of the mausets depart from this price range starting just above 400. bug you could luck out. alog of this depends on condition and functionality as well. i share you enthusiasm. i pick them up whenever i can. oh i forgot to mention m53s also mosins,.they can sometimes be had for around 200.

 

[SCAR17S]

sorry for shitty spelling and grammar. my phone complicates this.

 

[Cubsfan]

Polish P-64
CZ-82
Couple more Mosins of various types
One of the C&R Makarovs
K98 if you can find one
Last two a bit more than your range but worth it anyway.

 

[dwhess504]

awesome guys thanks!

I will start there.

 

[Raguel3]

Also a good idea is, once you get something you really like, get more,..of course thats already every gun collectors mentality, but my reasoning is, they get scarce eventually, and then its too late to add them, price skyrockets,etc.
I try to get one to keep as is for historic collection, one to modify if there are parts to do so, and maybe another (depending on the low price)for future trading in case the prices rise and make it worth much more than I paid.

 

[dwr461]

Do your research before buying Milsurps. There are lot of unknowledgeable people who want to sell you crap at inflated prices.

Do not buy anything from Mitchell's Mausers. They force match rifles and sell guns at inflated prices after destroying their value to a collector.

You might to collect a certain type of rifle or era. For example a person could just collect Arisaka Type 99's. Different arsenal's and series etc would keep you busy for a long time. But many of the Arisaka's are starting to go up in price.

I'd start out with buying them from reputable dealers like allans armory or empire arms. You might pay slightly more but they're honest.

Dave

 

[Candyman]

Give Todd at Family Firearms & Finishes a call. You will pay just a bit morebut, he hand picks everything he sells. You will never be unhappy with a gun from him. You will need to call to see what he has in stock.
http://www.familyfirearmsandfinishes.com/

Just tell him that Candyman said to give him a call.

 

[Renegade]

You can't go wrong getting yourself a Mauser. k98 is obviously what you want, but the Yugo makes are very nice as well. Lots of info on milurps over at www.surplusrifleforum.com

 

[Blackhawk]

Samco Global has some good deals on surplus rifles. I just bought one of their m1916 Mausers in .308 for $169.95. Here's the link:

https://www.samcoglobal.com/rifles-2010.html

 

[erazir]

if you like the 91/30, the M44 is a great gun. It has a fixed folding bayonet nad is a lot shorter. it kicks like a freakin mule. Also, the mosin 1895 pistols are great. i picked up 2 for under $100 each. Also, keep an eye out for Enfield 303. if you find anythign else,post it here. im always lookig too!

 

[BOSS351]

VZ-24s are still reasonable and have a great history surrounding them. I think they can still be had for less than 350. Do NOT buy anything you see at Cabelas--if you see a Mauser its probably going to be a Century or Mitchell gun and over priced to boot. If you want to see a joke, go into the special room and look at the mismatched Mauser "sniper" rifles for about 2500...Last time I looked they had 3 of them.

 

[my-rifle]

You can't go wrong getting yourself a Mauser. k98 is obviously what you want, but the Yugo makes are very nice as well. Lots of info on milurps over at www.surplusrifleforum.com

May I suggest the goal of many a military surplus collector is to have a representative sample from each of the major participants of the Second World War.

Mausers are the bomb for collecting. Aside from being generally well made, there is an infinite variety to choose among. The Mauser brothers went out of business early on, and they sold out to a Jewish fellow named Ludwig Loewe. Just before the turn of the century in order to deflect interest in the firm's Jewish ownership, Loewe renamed the firm "Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken" and cranked out Mausers for nations all over the world including a LOT of South American countries. The long Chilean Mausers in 7mm are things of beauty, as are the ubiquitous k98s with Nazi stamps.

In fact the Nazi k98s are an excellent place to go now that you have your Mosin-Nagant. Another suggestion is to get a Persian Mauser. They are gorgeous, and they look like they've been very lightly used. I picked one up for $250 on the secondary market (marketplace forums).

This brings me to another Mauser variant that's worth looking into: The VZ24. The Czechs began making Mausers at their Brno facility in 1924 under the model number VZ24. It was a short version of the pre-WWI gewehr 98 model that was shorter and handier. The Czech Mausers I think are better made than the German ones, and they sold them all over the world. You can get Turkish VZ24s, Brazilian rebel VZ24s, Romanian VZ24s, and the list goes on. The Romanian ones are also in beautiful condition, and mine is one of my favorite shooters.

Also as was stated above the Yugoslavian Mausers are still available and relatively inexpensive. They are not parts-interchangeable with other Mausers, but they're nice guns nevertheless.

Now something to look for: Rifles that have matching serial numbers on the receiver, the bolt, floorplate, and any other numbered part fetch a higher premium than unmatched guns. That having been said you're unlikely to encounter a K98 with matching numbers in your price range. Most were captured by the Russians, then in the clean-up process their parts were mixed and reassembled. These are called "RC" or "Russian Capture" K98s, and they're just fine as guns, they are collectible - specially the ones with original Nazi stamps on them. Since I collect in your price range, many of my Mausers have mismatched serial numbers. I love and shoot them.

The Austro-Hungarian M95 is a good gun to buy, but there are few variants available. They're rapidly disappearing from the market, so if you want one get it soon. They are interesting because aside from the fact that they armed the Austro-Hungarian empire, they were mostly used in both world wars, AND they use a peculiar straight-pull bolt that really sets them apart. Be warned though: They use 8x56mm ammo that is hard to find. You may have to reload this round.

British Enfields are also on the way out. The SMLE is still available on the secondary market, but few importers still have them. Again ammo is hard to get, but they have very nice triggers, and if you want the WWII set, you gotta get one.

Of course everyone wants an M1 and an M1 Carbine. Nuff said about that.

If you're going to be getting surplus firearms, you really should get a Curio And Relics license from the BATF. It allows you to receive firearms in the mail or via UPS without going through an FFL and paying $45 each time you get one. The C&R license costs about $30, and is a minor hassle to process, but once you have it you're golden. Trust me on this. I bought over 75 guns within 2 years of getting mine.

 

[762NATO]

Any chance you'll part with an M44, myrifle?

 

[my-rifle]

Any chance you'll part with an M44, myrifle?

I did that once. Boy! Do I regret it. It was "only" $70 when I bought it as one of a 3-pack, so I didn't figure it was worth much. I haven't seen a Romanian M44 on the market in a long time. I recommend though that if Classic Arms is still selling their chromed Mosin-Nagants, get one.

They are bad-ass!

 

[BOSS351]

My-rifle pretty much hit it on the head. My VZ-24 is in outstanding condition, tight, and my favorite of the mauser 98s and variants I've owned and own presentlly. It is very well made and tight. Some of the Gew 98s are things of beauty if you are lucky to find them and were also used in WWII. Collecting WWII rifles is a lot of fun and used to be not too terribly expensive--deals are still to be had you just have to work a little harder to find them sometimes.

 

[wfarrell1]

May I suggest the goal of many a military surplus collector is to have a representative sample from each of the major participants of the Second World War.

Mausers are the bomb for collecting. Aside from being generally well made, there is an infinite variety to choose among. The Mauser brothers went out of business early on, and they sold out to a Jewish fellow named Ludwig Loewe. Just before the turn of the century in order to deflect interest in the firm's Jewish ownership, Loewe renamed the firm "Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken" and cranked out Mausers for nations all over the world including a LOT of South American countries. The long Chilean Mausers in 7mm are things of beauty, as are the ubiquitous k98s with Nazi stamps

Learned somthing new, didnt know that, I have the 1909 argentine mauser carbine variant, made from the dwm factory, very well made gun.

 

[Sulzer]

I recommend though that if Classic Arms is still selling their chromed Mosin-Nagants, get one.

They are bad-ass!

How much were those selling for?

 

[my-rifle]

How much were those selling for?

Heck if I know. I bought it over five years ago. I wish I'd gotten the 91/30 as well.

 

[Raguel3]

@ My Rifle- love that chromed M44, very cool.