Top milsurps to purchase in the coming years?

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willywonka519

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Looking for some advice. I have a wide interest in many types of firearms but cash is tight until I finish school. Are there any suggestions as to which milsurps would be best to plan on purchasing over the next 4yrs or so? I have already managed to pick up a Savage "Lend Lease" Enfield, K31, and a sporterized No1 MkIII. Mostly interested in British/Commonwealth/German/Russian rifles and pistols in original configuration.

Thanks
 
Russians while they are cheap for sure. After that, anything that is a really good deal or something that you really really want bad, but the best examples of what you want always.
 
I'd say get a few SKS's before theyre dried out. Seems to have a lot of Mosin Snipers with PU too lately, definitely one of those. Any Long Branch No4's.

Swede Mauser too?
 
I would say a Mosin 91/30 PU Sniper. Durham Outdoors still has some for sale. We didn't see an import for ~4 years and this could likely be the last.

After that, grab a Non-refurbished SKS while they're still around. Looks like they're getting thin on both coasts.

Finally, the new batch of TT-33s that are coming in are full of ugly markings all over them, get one from the current batch while they're still around.
 
The 91/30 sniper is easily faked know what you are looking at before buying. Buy a crate of sks they seem to go up in value about $10 to $20 a year. Anything with low numbers like a m39 Mosin Nagant or a FR7 or FR8. M1 carbines have gone up in price around $250 at about $950 now. Even a crate of 91/30. They were $149 to $175 4 years ago now $200. Get a hex reciever Mosin they seem to have climbed up to $280.

I do think the Japanese arisaka rifles are going to go through the roof like samurai swords.

Now mausers are always priced high but the German stamps are easily faked so watch yourself.
 
Wormald1995 said:
Im sure k31s will continue to climb in price as well as svt40s
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This.

K-31's have a lot of inherent value. Such quality guns and good shooters - match accurate with GP-11 surplus. How can you go wrong?

The SVT's are already drying up and the price is starting to climb. I can see them hitting US level pricing in Canada within the next 10 years.
 
grelmar said:
This.
K-31's have a lot of inherent value. Such quality guns and good shooters - match accurate with GP-11 surplus. How can you go wrong?
The SVT's are already drying up and the price is starting to climb. I can see them hitting US level pricing in Canada within the next 10 years.
Click to expand...

I remember when I bought my SVT-40 about 5 years ago, and it cost me 450$. Then the prices went down to a low of 200$. Now they are getting back up to where I bought them, and higher.

OP you shouldn't look at collecting as a 'investment'. If you buy something and the value goes up, great. If it doesn't well that's life. The reality is, all it takes is a single pen stroke and all your firearms are worth nothing (ask the 12.x category people how much money they had invested before the laws changed).

As mentioned Russian firearms, hold the greatest potential, simply due to how cheap they are at the moment. K31s have been going up recently, which makes me happy that I collected them well they were cheaper. Excellent examples of any milsurp will likely see a value increase over the coming years. Examples include, all matching VZ-24s with crests, all matching Enfields, all matching Swiss firearms, all matching Swedish firearms, basically all matching anything, as they are the premium examples and that is what people generally want in a collectable.
 
From a financial point of view I would buy the Soviet stuff. It is still relatively cheap but the supply will dry up eventually. I remember when you could buy German K98k's and Lee Enfields for less than $100 apiece. For quality and value the pre WW1 German made South American contract mausers are VERY high quality and reasonably priced.
 
Best deals are the 91/30 if you can still find them around $210, Sks around $200 (Canadian tire) although the CT prices are apparently going up any day now. The Spanish mausers can still be had for 300$, thats a great deal on a rifle thats bound to appreciate. PU snipers at $700.
 
Buy what will be in the movies. In the 70's the movie A Bridge Too Far blew the top out of the paratroop collectibles market. Dennison smocks were avail for less than a hundred bucks. Now every reenactor has to fork over $$$ for a repro. The originals are too valuable to wear. Twenty years ago the movie Shaving Ryans Privates made everybody want a Garand. There were M1s on the shelves, getting dusty at $150 each. Then the movie came out. Prices have been going up up up since. The market in the US is very strong, and its prices colour the market value. A gunsmith I know used to turn a pretty penny selling veterans' bringback Broomhandles, Lugers and P38s to Germany. There is a market in repatriating a nation's guns. Maybe the Swiss will want their K-rifles back? Maybe the Swedes will want their Mausers? Maybe the Germans will want their bolt and semi-autos back?
 
I would agree with most of the posts here. Don't buy for investment because firearms are too easy a target. I had a massive collection of Lugers and European .32's in the 1980's that became worth their weight in scrap metal with the OIC bans. Having said that, I have a crate of SKS's sitting in the expectation they will appreciate over time. If I could go back in time I would tell my 1986 self to buy a bunch of Swedish Mausers at $45 each and sit on them rather than trading them off all the time like I did.

The South American Mausers are often in lovely condition and are pre-WWI works of art. They don't seem to be appreciating much though because they don't have a "cachet"--definitely agree with the Hollywood connection. I think even Russian stuff went up somewhat after the highly fanciful "Enemy at the Gates" came out.

At the end of the day, if things are fairly cheap you could try to buy for investment, but in general, buy what appeals to you. ALWAYS try to buy the best example you can. Even if there were only 5 of some particular gun left in the world, a rusty, beat-up example with a pitted bore would still to be worth little. For milsurps, none of this stuff is being made anymore, and with tightening international arms sales agreements (unless you are the government and have some armoured cars to sell) it is going to be very hard to see any more coming in from anywhere. Russian items have great potential to increase in value, are not expensive now, ammunition is available, they are fun to shoot, have a ton of history associated with them, so they are a good bet. Swiss K31's are not horribly expensive, will likely go up, and are beautiful works of art to look at, play with, and shoot. German stuff in my opinion is reaching its peak--decent actual VBB Mausers used to be about $300 and now it is $600+ for a Russian shellacked mismatch. Not sure how much more they will appreciate. Franken-Garands are ridiculous in price. Long Branch Lee Enfields are excellent quality, are definitely more expensive now, but are worth it because they are often in excellent condition.

My main concern with the rising prices in some areas like Long Branch Lees is whether or not new shooters and young collectors will be able to afford to buy any of these things in the future?

Ed
 
There are some things to watch for when collecting milsurps. First you have to establish your boundaries. One nation/specific time period/specific manufacturer etc. There was a time when Martinis used to bring premium dollars. Not so much anymore. When the ZULU movies came out there was a big interest in the rifles. The carbines have kept their value but the long rifles have leveled out and over the past five or so years have neither declined nor appreciated in interest or value. Sniders are similar. Ammo is tough to find and many want shooters as well as collectibles.

If 303BR ammo dried up they would lose a lot of their popularity. Same can be said for Mausers. One reason the South American Mausers are not highly sought after is the availability of 7.65x53. Fantastic cartridge that was developed before the turn of the twentieth century and on the same power levels as the 7.62x51 Nato.

The Swede Mausers didn't really get any respect until ammunition became available either but now they are established and there is a relatively good supply of commercial ammo.

Mosin Nagants are still cheap and there is still a relatively good supply of surplus ammo out there so they are popular. Some are very collectible but it will be another 20 years or so before they seriously appreciate in value. The Finn variants on the other hand just don't seem to know where a top is. Strange all around because the Mosins are steeped in history.

Arisakas have recently been rising. Decent collectible examples are very difficult to find. If you are interested in one and you find one in 90% or better condition be prepared to pay a hefty price but also consider the chances of finding another will be few and far between. Arisakas aren't scarce until you're looking for one. Most are worn and beaten with poor bores.

One very overlooked group of rifles IMHO are the Carcanos, Kropatscheks, Guedes etc.

Of course US black powder cartridge rifles are also collectible and some are quite valuable.

Lots to choose from. Time is your friend to a point. Long Lees with Canadian markings are worth a lot more than most No4 rifles.

The big thing, do your own due diligence and follow your own interests. All of the replies so far have shown the personal interest of the poster. That's where you personally come in.

Try the first one that appeals to your interests. If you like it, continue collecting. If you don't, sell/trade it for something else that appeals to you and continue on until you finally find a niche that suits you.

Then, if you are like myself, they will all appeal to your sensibilities. I love Mosins, SKSs, Kropatscheks, Martinis, Sniders, Mausers, Lee Enfields, Carcanos, Arisakas, Berdan IIs, Garands, P14/17 Enfields, Krags, 03 Springfields etc. Then come the handguns and accessories. Bayonets are another field in themselves as is ammunition collecting.

OP, are you sure you want to go down this path to an expensive addiction???
 
bearhunter said:
OP, are you sure you want to go down this path to an expensive addiction???
Click to expand...

It's not like one can choose when he has an addiction.

P.S. Have you seen many Guedes for sale? I saw only one in many several years and couple of parts were missing so I had to pass, as I think spare parts are made of unobtanium.
 
maple_leaf_eh said:
Buy what will be in the movies. In the 70's the movie A Bridge Too Far blew the top out of the paratroop collectibles market. Dennison smocks were avail for less than a hundred bucks. Now every reenactor has to fork over $$$ for a repro. The originals are too valuable to wear. Twenty years ago the movie Shaving Ryans Privates made everybody want a Garand. There were M1s on the shelves, getting dusty at $150 each. Then the movie came out. Prices have been going up up up since. The market in the US is very strong, and its prices colour the market value. A gunsmith I know used to turn a pretty penny selling veterans' bringback Broomhandles, Lugers and P38s to Germany. There is a market in repatriating a nation's guns. Maybe the Swiss will want their K-rifles back? Maybe the Swedes will want their Mausers? Maybe the Germans will want their bolt and semi-autos back?
Click to expand...

Shaving Ryan's privates? What is that ### ####?
 
boltaction said:
I would agree with most of the posts here. Don't buy for investment because firearms are too easy a target. I had a massive collection of Lugers and European .32's in the 1980's that became worth their weight in scrap metal with the OIC bans. Having said that, I have a crate of SKS's sitting in the expectation they will appreciate over time. If I could go back in time I would tell my 1986 self to buy a bunch of Swedish Mausers at $45 each and sit on them rather than trading them off all the time like I did.

The South American Mausers are often in lovely condition and are pre-WWI works of art. They don't seem to be appreciating much though because they don't have a "cachet"--definitely agree with the Hollywood connection. I think even Russian stuff went up somewhat after the highly fanciful "Enemy at the Gates" came out.

At the end of the day, if things are fairly cheap you could try to buy for investment, but in general, buy what appeals to you. ALWAYS try to buy the best example you can. Even if there were only 5 of some particular gun left in the world, a rusty, beat-up example with a pitted bore would still to be worth little. For milsurps, none of this stuff is being made anymore, and with tightening international arms sales agreements (unless you are the government and have some armoured cars to sell) it is going to be very hard to see any more coming in from anywhere. Russian items have great potential to increase in value, are not expensive now, ammunition is available, they are fun to shoot, have a ton of history associated with them, so they are a good bet. Swiss K31's are not horribly expensive, will likely go up, and are beautiful works of art to look at, play with, and shoot. German stuff in my opinion is reaching its peak--decent actual VBB Mausers used to be about $300 and now it is $600+ for a Russian shellacked mismatch. Not sure how much more they will appreciate. Franken-Garands are ridiculous in price. Long Branch Lee Enfields are excellent quality, are definitely more expensive now, but are worth it because they are often in excellent condition.

My main concern with the rising prices in some areas like Long Branch Lees is whether or not new shooters and young collectors will be able to afford to buy any of these things in the future?

Ed
Click to expand...

Everybody wanted a PU Sniper after that enemy at the gate movie he was the only guy to get a piece, typewriters were thrown out after that.
 
I collect 'em as I stumble across them..... I get one of something (be it an Enfield, a Mosin, whichever) and then I start learning about them. I have some beauties and I have some horrible mismatched examples. I like them all, and in the end that's all that matters... Collect the ones you will enjoy
 
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