What are the Right Questions?

L

Logan.Reese

Member
Rating - 100%
8   0   0
Location
Southern Alberta
I was just wondering what you guys thought would be the right questions to ask before buying a milsurp rifle at a store, over the net or on the EE. I know you should ask about bore condition and matching serial numbers, but do you guys have any other suggestions?
 
Logan.Reese said:
I was just wondering what you guys thought would be the right questions to ask before buying a milsurp rifle at a store, over the net or on the EE. I know you should ask about bore condition and matching serial numbers, but do you guys have any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Any cracks in the wood? any pitting, inside and out? Bore shiny , good rifling?
All original? and matching? anything come with? will you take 50 bucks?:D
 
Welcome to the forum! In addition to the things Levi said, I think it depends on what milsurp you are looking at buying. It pays to do research on each type before you buy so you know the common problems with each type. Just read, read, read....
 
If it's any Lee-Enfield, ask to have the headspace proven to be ok. Thousands have been assembled out of parts bins with zero QC. Plus you nor the shop have no idea what has been done to it over the last 50 plus years. Somebody may have changed the bolt head. A matching serial number is no guarantee either.
Oh and not all milsurps had matching serial numbers. M-1 rifles for instance. If the part numbers match the S/N, it's bogus. They didn't.
 
Last edited:
How many Tommies did it kill? :mad: Has it been reblued/refinished - it can hurt the value of a collectible.

In all seriousness, I think the bases have been covered. Find out as much as you can about the type of mil surp before you buy. There are often subtle things to watch out like the Enfield headspace issue.
 
One final thing that nobody said.

Buy the gun and not the story.

Markings, capture documents, aging etc can all be duplicated or changed. Remeber you always want to research something before you buy it. This way when someone tells you this it the Walther that Hilter shot himself with, you won't fork over your life savings.

Cam
 
Lots of knowledgeable collectors here on CGN, so if it's an expensive piece, I would tend to post a "What do you think?" in this forum.

The key to good feeback is to show us LOTS of pics, which will get you the most accurate and best quality feedback.

Regards,
Badger
 
I am always looking, but find myself wondering about ammunition supply. There is no sense letting a new comer buy a weird Italian Carcano or French Lebel (for examples) when there is little hope of ever finding ammunition. Yes - they can be reloaded, but this guy wants to shoot what he paid for, not go through the run around of now having to teach himself reloading too.

There are always exceptions, but here are my suggestions: of the new production Chinese rifles an SKS or an M14S are first rate choices. A British Lee Enfield is a really easy place to start. Then a German or Israeli Mauser. Maybe an American Garand or 1903 Springfield, or a Model 1917 or Pattern 1914. A Russian SVT will be easy to feed, but a Belgian FN49 or Swedish semiautomatic will be more difficult.

Ask questions. We are all here to learn and share. Besides, we like BS'ing on a cold evening.
 
"...Carcano or French Lebel..." Ammo for both can be had. Just not milsurp nor cheaply. However, I do agree with you. If the ammo has to come from the U.S.(OWS), pass.
 
Be careful of condition ratings. Sometimes seller will tell you "it's in very good condition" but what they really mean is "it's in very good condition for a 80 year old rifle that's been through a world war and seen corrosive ammo and questionable handling"

There's a big difference between the two, especially if you're a shooter and want to use it for more than a wall hanger.

You do have to keep in mind though that a lot of the rifles out there have been through all of that, so it won't look like a shiny new rifle unless it's been re-finished or re-arsenaled.
 
Depending upon whether you are primarily interested in a shooter or a collector might effect your choice of rifle as well. For instance, rifles that have been arsenal refurbished might be a better deal for a milsurp shooter, while a more serious collector will search harder and pay more for an unaltered original, even if it has a less attractive finish or more stamped parts from wartime production.

If you are after Enfields, an FTR (Factory Through Repair) rifle such as a #4mk1/2 or #4mk1/3 might have less appeal to a collector, but it would also have the benefit of the finest click adjustable sight available, stamped barrel bands replaced with milled ones, a possible refinish and perhaps having had the headspace checked and a new bolthead added during the rearsennalling (note the qualifiers that have been mentioned in previous posts).

OTHOH, while the rifles with the worst barrels might have been discarded or fitted with a new barrel, many factory refurbs among the Russian guns or Russian Capture Mausers will still show some effects of corrossive ammo use, so it is still worth asking about bore condition or the presence of a counter-bore. Even then your chances of a decent shooting gun should be a bit better with the refurbs.

Another point. Due to importing regulations many of the milsurps that come to us from the US will have importer's stamps on them. That might not be a problem for an arsenal refurbed MN 91/30 intended as a shooter, but it does not hurt to look for similar rifles from P&S, Tradeex, Marstar or other Canadian sources that lack such stampings. From a collector's standpoint they are undesirable.

Good Luck!

Frank
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom