Are Milsurps Expensive?

cz52

cz52

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I don't think they are very expensive; think about it, many of them are in good condition and excellent shooters, specially the refurbs(but colector value affected); they are a good value for the money. If we compare them to rifles produced here for the civilian market(Winchesters, Brownings, etc) we notice that the biggest difference, is the price; of course your Mauser or Mosin is not going to have the nice finnish and deer and birds engraved all over the stock(which many hunters, farmes and even collectors like), but it still shoots accurate enough to compare. In a way it kinda' is like comparing oranges and apples, but if we looks at shooting qualities, milsurps can score quite high too. One can get a nice Mauser for about $250 or $300, while a civilian rifle of the same class and same (approximate) caliber would cost about twice to three times as much. I am not even talking about the cheaper Mosins, Carcanos or Mannlichers, which are mostly below $200.
In my opinion it is still a good time to collect milsurps; even if I know people who will say: "aahh I remeber the old days, when you could get a nice Lee Enfield from Canadian Tire for less that fourteen dollars".:)
 
cz52 said:
even if I know people who will say: "aahh I remeber the old days, when you could get a nice Lee Enfield from Canadian Tire for less that fourteen dollars".:)
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The way I think of it is that in 50 years, I will be able to say "aahh, I remember good old days when I could buy a refurbed k98 for $350 or a mosin for $130"
 
Value is relative to time, income, availability, collectibility. When I was a kid making 50 cents an hour washing dishes a .25 box of 22 Shorts to shoot out of my old Stebens heavy barrel target rifle ( that an old fellow gave me for mowing his lawn ) was a good deal. I bought my first cap and ball pistol ( RemingtonNMA 1858 with spare original cylinder, two cans of caps, a pound of black powder and a bullet mold for $65.00 ) in 1958 but I was stil making 50 cents an hour so my investment was quite large. Later I bought a new condition 71 Mauser for $15.00 and the shop tossed in a box of Kynoch ammo. I was making 75cents an hour then. I thought I was getting a good deal then and Ididn't squawk when I paid $235.00 on auction for a very fine Schmidt-Rubin 1889 rifle. I make more money now but I still think I got a good deal. Its the general availability of some items, the quantity of them and the ease with which they were purchased that I still think about. As an 18 year old I could walk into any gun shop and walk out that very hour with whatever surplus or commercial rifle I could afford Springfield rifles, WW1 Mausers and the like could be had very cheaply then but it was the ready availability fo them hat I remember the most. There was not internet, no canadiangunnutz or smilar sites, no major published resources. Importers came up witn some fantastic deals and you older folks can probably remember when there was less restriction on thepurchase of a pretty wide variety of surplus firearms. I am guessing that the cross border ability to obtain firearms was less restrictive say 50 years ago than it is now. In any case part of the value of what you find and get is based on what that item means to you. It may be overpriced to some but maybe not to you. Part of the price we pay is partially artifically enhanced by the internet auctions, the cost of administration of firearms control/taxation and import licenses and by the near crazy prices that people are willing to pay for some items. Still some good stuff to be found but for me there just arent enough Ross rifles in the US for sale to make me happy-and the ones that are for sale are mostly out of my reach. Its an interesting hobyy and military surplus still has some surprizes for us now and then. Best regards, Joe
 
Not too many mosins are selling for $130... where do you shop?

Most are $150-175 and go up from there. 2 years ago they cost $75. 4 years ago Marstar had M44's for $49.95.

Notice the trendline.

Also, you tend to buy alot MORE Milsurps due to collecting than you do commercial guns, so it that respect, they become expensive ;)
 
Three or four years ago milsurps were probably less expensive relative to income than they have ever been. Like Claven, I have seen a distinct rise in prices especially in the past 1-2 years, most likely due to on-line advertizing like on Gunnutz.

The days of mass imports from caches overseas are pretty much over, so the number is fixed - decreasing actually, as boneheads sporterize them or turn them in for destruction. :eek:

I consider them a good investment, from the mint safe queen to the character - laden shooter. I advise one to "accumulate". ;)
 
price of milsurps is going up while the price of sporters in general is going down

not a lot of new milsurps are comming in, while the sporting arms producers are struggling to stay in business and have dropped their prices. Winchester has folded allready so who is next ?

the anti-gun people must be loving it.
 
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Good grief, how time flies. I can remember buyig Mosins from Allan Lever for $150 per dozen, take your pick from the pile. The Finns went for $20 per dozen more. Maybe that's why that old guy keeps looking back at me in the mirror. I will admit that the rifles available today are in much better condition than those of 20 years ago. There were few if any laminated stocked rifles available and worn muzzles and pitted bores weren't uncommon. The nicest rifles and bores actually came from China back then, but didn't command any premium price as the mindset of that time wasn't really in favor of communist milsurps. I agree, everything is relavent to your individual circumstances, If you have the spare cash or can get as much overtime at work as you want, common milsurps are cheap. If you make minimum wage, they're very expensive and so is the ammo to feed them. bearhunter
 
woodchopper said:
price of milsurps is going up while the price of sporters in general is going down

not a lot of new milsurps are comming in, while the sporting arms producers are struggling to stay in business and have dropped their prices. Winchester has folded allready so who is next ?

the anti-gun people must be loving it.
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I doubt that, since I have LOTS of EVIL Enfields with BAYONETS.
I don't hunt so I really don't need a sporting rifle.
Winchester crapped out because of poor offshore management.
If I was a hunter I would certainly buy a sporting rifle.
What irks me is the constant proliferation of new cartridges that won't do any better than the current ones. It's getting as bad as the fashion industry.;)
 
Milsurps aren't expensive?

Only a superficial glance at the amount I've spent buying those "cheap" milsurps over the past year will say otherwise.

Course, yeah, they'd be cheap if I didn't feel the need to buy large amounts of them...


But that would be silly.
 
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