I was talking to someone today who told me they have 3 identical Enfields ‘same model obviously not the same serial number’. He also knows multiple other people that have a bunch of the same rifles stored away, and this got me thinking is there a hoarding issue in the milsurp community? I can understand having a bunch of different models/variants of a rifle but it almost seems greedy to have 3 or 4 of the same gun. It makes it harder for other people interested in milsurp to find something and drives up prices. Now I’m not looking to cast judgement or anything like that but I’d be interested in your opinions, what do you guys think?
Hoarding an issue in Milsurp?
- Thread starter Iceman18
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Well first off there can be vast differences in the exact same model of milsurp to a collector, country of origin etc.
Second off it's the milsurp collectors and "hoarders" that have kept so many firearms from being improved by bubba so the next generation can enjoy these valuable guns that used to be almost worthless.
Second off it's the milsurp collectors and "hoarders" that have kept so many firearms from being improved by bubba so the next generation can enjoy these valuable guns that used to be almost worthless.
some people 'hoard' cash ... they call it savings. Why not milsurp firearms? At least they - individually - have a tactile and visual quality, along with function resulting from thoughtful design and skillful artisanship that people can derive some personal pleasure from which cash does not.
Never has someone take the words out of my mouth like that before. I agree with the OP that hoarding may influence prices in an unsavory way but such is the facts of life when it comes to many other collecting hobbies as well. I would ask, do the conditions vary at all though of the individuals collections? that might make more sense if one rifle was a safe queen and another was gently used regularly.
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Like I tell my wife, it’s collector not hoarder hahaha.
Hate to break the news here, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Decent milsurps are like cash - people have the tendency to gather both. I recently sold a nice Polish M44 Mosin Nagant. I had an even nicer one I kept. Am I forgiven now? Here's how it works for a lot of us "hoarders": Joe Kaputski heads off to some $hithole country on a fancy holiday and shows all the peasants there just how rich and smart he is, while Harold Schmuck (hoarder) buys two Lee Enfields that look exactly the same, and heads off to the local range. Eventually, Schmuck gets old and either gives his identical LE's to someone who appreciates them or sells them, and the next generation gets to enjoy them. And so on...
maple_leaf_eh
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I met a fellow once who collected Japanese Arisakas. He was working on a construction project and I was visiting for some reason. We couldn't get away from the site, so we found mutual conversation points. He kept a paper list in his wallet - per arsenal, per model, per year, and high and low serial numbers within other criteria. He said he had several dozen on the rack at home. Was he hoarding? Nope. He knew exactly what he had and why.
Here is another example. Leo Drolet who "invented" the modern mass production Sher-wood hockey stick collected Winchester lever actions. He had one of every cartridge and model ever in the catalogue. When that got tiresome, he collected sequential pairs. Then he added the ephemera like shipping boxes and papers. It is all a matter of perspective and curiousity.
I collect M1 carbines and magazines
for the magazines for me to ever get 1 of each variation/manufacture I would need HUNDREDS of magazines im not even halfway there yet I probably more M1 carbine magazines then most have seen
for the rifles I would need over 80 for ww2 alone...….
for the magazines for me to ever get 1 of each variation/manufacture I would need HUNDREDS of magazines im not even halfway there yet I probably more M1 carbine magazines then most have seen
for the rifles I would need over 80 for ww2 alone...….
stencollector
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- shilo MB, the armpit of Canada
While bringing a somewhat large number of a certain Enfield part across the border, the customs guy asked me "how many Enfields do you have"?. I replied that it's not really the kind of thing a guy counts, so I had no idea. He accepted that answer.
There is something that is just right about having a rack of what appears to be identical weapons lined up. I am not a hoarder, I am a collector. The word "collector" kind of indicates more than one.
There is something that is just right about having a rack of what appears to be identical weapons lined up. I am not a hoarder, I am a collector. The word "collector" kind of indicates more than one.
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