A few words on collecting surplus rifles

Collecting surplus rifles can be a very enjoyable hobby. Most collections are not very usable. I have a pop bottle collection that, while makes for fine decoration, serves no other purpose than to collect dust. Surplus rifles are one of the few antique collections that are workable and functional. Ammunition is often very cheap, making them economical to shoot. And they can make for very cheap hunting rifles. Try taking your stamp collection out hunting next time.

As hobbies go, this is one of the easiest and again economical hobbies to get into. There are several surplus rifles on the market right now for under $100, add $50 and that number doubles. Ammunition, even non surplus is fairly cheap, look hard and the most you should pay is .50 cents a round. Surplus runs about .08-.20 cents around. Still you are way under the $200 amount. Try buying a mountain bike or get into golf. You will find them much more expensive to start and maintain.  

There is also something for everyone. Most of us have heritage out side the US. Have Russian decent, then there are the Mosin Nagants, British, then you have the Enfieds, German, the Mauser. There are several variants of each, remember this was a world war, and every country had there own military rifle. You can, like me, collect a little of everything or focus on a certain country. Either way you have several choices on what direction you can go.

In between starting collecting surplus rifles I bought a new rifle. I took it out of the box, wiped it down and put it in the gun cabinet until I was ready to shoot it, kind of boring in a way. When you buy a surplus rifle, chances are you have a project. These rifle were stored in cosmoline and require a complete tier down and cleaning. Stocks will need to be refinished which is a project in itself. When finished you will know the rifle better than anybody, you will have the satisfaction of a finished project. And in the process you will get a chance to study and investigate all the proof marks that can tell you how old the rifle is, the maker and perhaps were it was issued. Its kind of fun while showing my collection to a friend and when I pull one out I can tell him what year it was made, where it was made/issued among other things, most of the time they just stare at you kind of puzzled at your knowledge of that gun.

An old gun collector once told me that if you take care of a gun it will take care of you. While a true collector never sells anything the longer you hang on to these rifles the value will raise. Before long you will be surprised at how much you have sitting in your gun cabinet. When talking to my father, he would always say how cheap he would be able to pick these rifles up. Those same rifles are valued in the hundreds.

Since I have been collecting I have learned, sometimes the hard way, curtain tips that come in handy. Here are some tips that will help make collecting enjoyable and not be taken to the cleaners.

1  Try to learn what the market value is on different surplus rifles. All of us have paid too much for a rifle and most of this is because we did not research enough. Remember these were built for a war, many were built. Some are flooding the market right now and are cheap. Others are rare or hard to find variants that may be worth the extra cash. Knowing the market values allows you to pounce on a good deal and walk away from the bad ones.

2  This kind of goes with above. Know what you are buying. This will determine if it’s worth the price that being asked. You never know someone could be selling a rare variant that they don’t even know. Plus you will not get suckered into buy a so called rare rifle that really isn’t.  

3  Be patient, unless I am 100% sure I will not rush into something. It will happen that you will drag your feet on something and it will be swiped up (Swedish M38 and it still burns). It sucks but that is not the only rifle of that kind ever built, more will come. If you have to do a little research on a rifle it may be worth it.  

4  Know your calibers. I have been exposed to calibers that I never knew existed (i.e. 8x56r Hungarian). Even if you do not reload a reloading manual can give you a good idea of ballistics, Cartridges of The World is another great reference. This can weight heavily on rather to buy a rifle or not, it’s good to know if the ammunition is rare or expensive.

5  Get a Curious and Relics License, it’s worth it. And no people in black suits will not come in the night and raid your house, unless you have a meth lab or something else illegal.

6 Remember, its always easier to ask for forgiveness than permision.