Here's an ad from the 1909 issue of a long defunct Canadian publication.
$5 for an excellent Vetterli! Sounds good until you consider that in 1909 that was about a week's wages for your average shmuck. I wouldn't pay a week's wages for a Vetterli today.
It's all relative - overall, milsurps have never been cheaper than the past few years. What has changed is that the relatively recent and short-lived era of "fresh" milsurps is over. No more will enter the market, and bubba, wear and tear, and gun amnestys will reduce the number, so they will just change hands at ever increasing prices unless gun laws make that too difficult or impossible.
$5 for an excellent Vetterli! Sounds good until you consider that in 1909 that was about a week's wages for your average shmuck. I wouldn't pay a week's wages for a Vetterli today.
It's all relative - overall, milsurps have never been cheaper than the past few years. What has changed is that the relatively recent and short-lived era of "fresh" milsurps is over. No more will enter the market, and bubba, wear and tear, and gun amnestys will reduce the number, so they will just change hands at ever increasing prices unless gun laws make that too difficult or impossible.
