Sorting Milsurp

woodchopper

woodchopper

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So I was sorting out some of my rifles and looking for some to thin out.

thing is everytime I get a little pile together and think about selling them I always find some reasons that I have to keep all of them. But I know I really have to sell a few as I will never get around to restoring or using them all.

must be a milsurp sickness.

anyone else have this problem ?
 
Whenever I feel a need to sell one, I take it out to the range for one last shoot.
No matter how badly it performed in the past, the "last" time I shoot it, it behaves like a real gem.
So, needless to say, I haven't got rid of too many.
 
I have a hard time selling any of my guns... But milsurps are harder to sell than any other kind... I grow strangely attached to my sks's , mosins , enfields, mauser and every other one.
 
I can only sell my milsurps if there is a flaw with it that bothers me (import mark, mismatched component) and I know I can upgrade without much effort. Otherwise I'll probably never sell any of them.
 
Its a sickness , your a hoarder. You should list what you have. that way some of us might be temped to help you with your addiction.
 
If you found it once, you can find it again if you really miss it....sell'em.

I started thinking I needed to build/buy another rifle cabinet...instead I sold a bunch off...felt better about it too.
 
I had it when I was cleaning out much of my WW1 German rifles, it still pains me to think of the ones I sold but I always tell myself that I sold them for a reason.
 
I agree.

Selling milsurp kills me. I typically won't sell anything I feel I paid a premium for, but I have found sometimes to get what you're after, you need to buy multiples when you find what you want and sort out your desires based on the examples in front of you.

When it comes to modern commercial arms I have no qualms about selling, as they are much easier to replace quickly.
 
My problem is as soon as I list it on EE, I pull it out of my safe and immediately change my mind! It's a real sickness! Part of the problem is that they are, in some cases, irreplaceable.
 
And no matter how much you think you can, no matter how much you try or how hard you look..... there will always be the ones that you utterly can NOT replace.

I have a (very) few like that.....

my first rifle, beat-up AOI 1870/87/915 Vetterli-Vitali, built at Torre Annunziata in 1883.....

Miss Vetterli: prettiest VV you will run across, rebuilt as a Shorty in 1936 and just about pristine.....

Long Branch 1944 with Canadian-made British parts, mint, unfired, no serial.....

Martini-Henry Mark IV, unfired.....

1918 NRF SMLE all original, all matching, never messed with and shoots like a dream: honest 1.25MOA.....

LM-II rebuilt into a sporter by Alfred George Parker himself, serial number 0019.... not gonna find a PH much lower than that for 40 bucks.....

1940 Armaguerra Cremona Model 39 Armaguerra Fucile Semiautomatico, A series, 2-digit number. Not a lot of those floating around; less than 100 built.....

So you CAN'T replace them all.... especially not for a total investment of $1129, spread out over more than 50 years.

Anyone care to put a figure on that lot today?
 
Last edited:
smellie said:
And no matter how much you think you can, no matter how much you try or how hard you look..... there will always be the ones that you utterly can NOT replace.

I have a (very) few like that.....

my first rifle, beat-up AOI 1879/87/915 Vetterli-Vitali, built at Torre Annunziata in 1883.....

Miss Vetterli: prettiest VV you will run across, rebuilt as a Shorty in 1936 and just about pristine.....

Long Branch 1944 with Canadian-made British parts, mint, unfired, no serial.....

Martini-Henry Mark IV, unfired.....

1918 NRF SMLE all original, all matching, never messed with and shoots like a dream: honest 1.25MOA.....

LM-II rebuilt into a sporter by Alfred George Parker himself, serial number 0019.... not gonna find a PH much lower than that for 40 bucks.....

1940 Armaguerra Cremona Model 39 Armaguerra Fucile Semiautomatico, A series, 2-digit number. Not a lot of those floating around; less than 100 built.....

So you CAN'T replace them all.... especially not for a total investment of $1129, spread out over more than 50 years.

Anyone care to put a figure on that lot today?
Click to expand...

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard... I'll give you $1130 right now and you can say you made a profit :)
For sure, you couldn't replace those for nearly any cost, as for your first rifle- well, that one's priceless, many a man (or woman) would love to get back the one that got away, regardless whether it's a worn-out Cooey that grandpa gave you or a rare exotic, it will have value that can't have a pricetag attached. A fool is a man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
 
If I even think of selling one of my "inner circle" milsurps, I duck.:HR: Some are not easily replaced with anything like it, let alone any better. I have a way more luck than brains, but "due diligence" has played a small part in gathering my treasures.

All I have to do is go down to my gun room, fondle just a few rifles, and I'm okay again. :rockOn:

Many years ago, I learned a lesson about replacing a rifle with a better condition one. I saw an ad for a "mint" Swedish semi auto. Ooooh! I placed the order, by fax, and in the meantime, thinking I was pretty smart, offered the one I had to my collector friend. He bought it and took it home. The "mint" one arrived in the mail, but it had deteriorated somewhat during shipping...... Jeez, it wasn't in as good shape as the one I sold. I grovelled and got my old one back. (See what I meant by more luck than brains?)

Seems that even if I do buy a certain model in better shape than what I've got, I keep them both anyway. Seems all quite logical to me. :p

I have been buying guns for my collection for so long now, that I really don't care what anybody else thinks regarding my stuff. I like them all!!!!!:)
 
Well I'm happy to see I'm not the only one. There are ones I'll never sell as replaceing them will be difficult.

I think the last milsurp I sold was back in 2006 and it was a turk mauser and had no place in the collection.

funny thing when I was sorting I know I have a 1916 SSA (sporter) but it has eluded me, I was thinking of selling it but it must have been warned off but the other rifles and has gone into hiding. I did find its younger sister the 1918 SSA.
 
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