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Old January 4, 2012, 07:49 PM   #1
TheMilitaryGunBuff
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Collectible Millitary guns

What are some collectible military guns that are reasonably priced
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Old January 4, 2012, 07:56 PM   #2
leadchucker
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Mosin Nagant maybe???
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Old January 4, 2012, 07:59 PM   #3
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What Wars are you thinking about?
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Old January 4, 2012, 08:52 PM   #4
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The Nagant revolver and the Mosin Nagant rifle are probably your best deals.

Makarov and Tokarev pistols are also fairly inexpensive.

You might find good deals on an Enfield.

Pretty sure the Yugoslavian Mauser is the least expensive Model 98.

The French MAS 49 is less than $350. Avoid the cheap conversions though.

One thing to remember is that in collecting, condition is (almost) everything. A collectible Mosin is going to cost more than a rack grade.

Oh, check the CMP for Garands.
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Old January 4, 2012, 09:26 PM   #5
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Thanks yall. And When i said military guns i meant anything Vietnam and earlier
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Old January 4, 2012, 10:08 PM   #6
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What's your definition of "reasonably priced"?
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Old January 4, 2012, 10:36 PM   #7
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look into Finn mosins, late war mausers
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Old January 5, 2012, 01:04 AM   #8
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$100 91/30 mosin
$100 M95 steyr mannlicher
$200 M44 mosin
$175 turk mauser
$250 Chinese SKS
$200 model 1916 Spanish mauser
$250 Romanian Tokerev
$250 VZ 24 mauser
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Old January 5, 2012, 01:20 AM   #9
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Thanks yall. And When i said military guns i meant anything Vietnam and earlier
Everything mentioned is "Vietnam and earlier."
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Old January 5, 2012, 01:48 PM   #10
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CMP has M1s, which every American should own.

M1 carbines are still around, but more expensive, as are 1903s and 1917s.

Soviet Mosins are the cheapest and widely available.

Finn Mosins are generally better rifles, but not as common and more expensive.

Swiss rifles have pretty much dried up.

For Mausers,
JG Has Yugo 24/47s (straight bolt) for $200-$220
SOG has the same rifle for $195, and Yugo M48 (bent bolt) for $270 and Czech VZ-24 7MM for 160. (looks kind of rough, may need stock repairs)

Samco has a few options in Yugo 24/47s, including one option with a bent bolt for $190-220, some Swedes and Persians, and Spanish Mausers converted to .308 (which I personally wouldn't own, it is a small ring action and marginal for .308)

Sarco had Yugo 24/47 and M48 for $145, and Yugo reworked German K98s for 160 in their Shotgun News ad from November, no idea if they still have them.

There are still some RC German Mausers around, but the prices have gone up. If you just want a Shooter, RGUNS sells a K98 Barreled action and stock for a little over $300. Some assembly required.
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Old January 5, 2012, 02:13 PM   #11
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A Yugo or Romanian SKS will also set you back around $250, about the same as the Chinese one.

IMHO these guns are a good buy right now because there's somewhat of an oversupply due to the aftermath of the 2009 election, when prices shot up by ~$150 overnight and the rifles were flying out the door as quick as dealers could get them. Some dealers seem to have overreacted and ordered too many, and are now dumping the remainder for pre-2009 prices. However, the supply of fresh ones seems to be drying up, so prices will probably go up from here.
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Old January 5, 2012, 02:13 PM   #12
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$100 91/30 mosin
$100 M95 steyr mannlicher
$200 M44 mosin
$175 turk mauser
$250 Chinese SKS
$200 model 1916 Spanish mauser
$250 Romanian Tokerev
$250 VZ 24 mauser
All great shooters, I have one or more of all but the VZ24. I guess it depends on what you consider "collectible" though. I just consider mine as shooters, and enjoy shooting all of them. My definition of a collectible would be something more rare that you wouldn't want to shoot. But then again comes the definition of reasonably priced.
BTW, all of my "collection" are shooters!
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Old January 5, 2012, 02:59 PM   #13
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IMO the most "collectable" and affordable rifles out there the Swiss K-31, and the Swedish Mausers M96 and M38. There are still a ton of K-31's out there for less than $350, they're extremely accurate and about 500,000 made. Simpson Ltd.has pages and pages of them on their site. Same with the Swede Mausers. The longer barreled 96's has a little over 700,000 made and shorter barrel M38 only had about 80,000 made. Both are also extremely accurate can be found in the $400-500 neighborhood, and the 6.5x55 round is a lot of fun.
It's going to really be a matter of what you have interest in and want. From a collectable stand point I don't rate Mosin's high on my list of collectables because there are millions and millions of them floating around. But for a personal collection, or WW2 collection, etc...no collection is complete without one. But for my money milsurps with the best combination of accuracy, high quality manufacture, lower production numbers and affordability are K31's and Swedish Mausers and post WW2 FN Mausers.
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Old January 5, 2012, 04:22 PM   #14
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Thanks yall. And When i said military guns i meant anything Vietnam and earlier
There were some Mosin Nagant rifles used in Vietnam, and there have also been some captured Chi-Com SKS rifles around. An authenticated example of either would certainly be collectible, but again, it may exceed what you mean by reasonably priced.
Possibly some more insight as to what you intend to do, and what your price range is may get you more detailed ideas.
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Old January 5, 2012, 04:48 PM   #15
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If you want a Garand, Swede, or K31, buy now. They aren't going to get any cheaper.
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Old January 5, 2012, 05:13 PM   #16
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If you want a Garand, Swede, or K31, buy now. They aren't going to get any cheaper.
I don't think any milsurps are going to get cheaper. The MNs might continue to hover around the hundred dollar mark for a while, but they will probably go up some in the future also.
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Old January 5, 2012, 06:09 PM   #17
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My take as a non-collector.

Collectible, affordable or useable?

In the first category are the rifles/pistols with the built-in gloss of real or imagined history: the lugers, the K98s, the G43s. Anything that's history begins with "There was my Grandad at Normandy..." On the Good-guy side, of course, this would be the war-era US-built Enfields, 1911s, Garands, M1s. Rare pieces like Japanese semi-auto type 4 (or 5?) rifles also. The price for these is generally always high.

Affordable are rifles and pistols that came out of storage at the end of the cold war. These are generally cheap to buy, especially as they first swamp the market or as their ammo dries up. Examples might include: Makarovs, Russian-captured Mausers, Mosin-Nagants, Tokarevs, VZ-52s, Ishapore Enfields, etc. Eventually, their prices will go up. World War 2 japanese rifles tend to be in this group or the one below it.

Useable: What do you like to shoot? People take SKS rifles and 70 year-old MNs pig and deer hunting every year. I used several varieties of C&R Mausers as my back-up hunting rifle for years. They are durable, accurate, hard-hitting and will continue to be used long after I'm dust.

If you're going into collecting to make money, look long and hard to find an item from the collectible group at a steal, so that you can make a decent percentage return in your lifetime, but for god's sake, don't shoot it! If you scuff it, it might become useable, not collectible! Just kidding. kinda. If nothing else, it will be a fun hobby to look.

appraised worth of this advice: less than 2c
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Old January 6, 2012, 07:28 PM   #18
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RGUNS sells a K98 Barreled action and stock for a little over $300.
If they're anything like the barreled actions that are appearing on Gunbroker lately, they are pretty much pitted junk.
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Old January 7, 2012, 02:29 PM   #19
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If you get a chance to obtain a Finnish M39 I would recomend one, they are really good shooters, and also very atractive with their artic birch stocks.
You can buy them fairly cheap from SOG, or WWW.Gunsnammo.com.
The one I have looks like it was really used, has alot of wear, and still shoots great.

Last edited by TX Hunter; January 8, 2012 at 08:52 AM.
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Old January 8, 2012, 07:50 AM   #20
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I have had 6 Finnish M39's (had to sell 2) and everyone of them was a great shooter (worst was 1.5 MOA). They are a bit heavier than the Russian refurbs and are generally pretty nice looking. I would rate them in the same league as the Swiss K31 in terms of getting the best firearms for the least price.
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Old January 9, 2012, 10:18 PM   #21
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I agree the desirable "blue chip" type milsurps aren't going to get any cheaper.

The exception of course would be if the economy continues to plummet and average collectors find themselves needing something to pay the mortgage rather than having huge, luxurious gun collections.

Even then, there are only so many prime examples of the really iconic milsurps still in rotation. I recall when getting a nice German K98 8mm was cheap and easy. Now matching guns are a fortune!

I have only recently developed an apprecation for Swiss K31s and the excellent rounds they fire. I have never had an addictive personality for substances, but I do have a severe problem with guns. Oh well, here I go again!
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