Folks,
I stopped at a local gun shop on the way home to look at a Husqvarna sporter that did not suit me. I saw a few military arms in the gun shop safe an made some inquiries. The M1 Garand was sold, the Winchester U.S. 1917 was on hold, but the bnz 42 Kar98k was available. The shop owner and I haggled a bit and I bought the rifle.

It is NRA excellent with matching numbers and a mint bore. I did not need this arm, but I have seen original WWII Mausers sell for three times what this one cost me. All the best...
Gil

Hi Gil...great pickup of the Steyr,Daimler-Puch manufactured rifle.

Shootist

shootist,
I am very impressed that you correctly identified the manufacturer's code of this rifle. All the best...
Gil

Yeah I got a deal on my Oberndorf M98 made in '42 , paid $10 for it in 1971 , its no longer a 7x57 , but a 30-338 .. Love them 98's

Jack

Hi Gil...keep me in mind if you wish to sell the rifle. The reason I'm interested is that it was manufactured near my ancestors' home (50km).

Shootist

Gil Martin: I'm glad you are pleased with your purchase; its always nice to take a new addition home and fully clean and inspect it.

OTOH, all of us have probably experienced the waffle syndrome, wherein you spend way too much time trying hard to justify a purchase to yourself. I know I have and still do and I can spot the syndrome with many of our customers on a daily basis. The net result is going to be either satisfaction when a buying decision is made or high regret when the decision is put off until the next visit only to find that the firearm under consideration has found another buyer. I see it happen way too often. Seldom do we ever see buyer remorse and therein lies an important lesson.

That lesson is to abandon justifying any firearm purchase. Trying to justify something you really want is engaging a rational approach to what should be an emotional matter. Letting the heart rule and guide the buying decision appears to this casual observer to be a far more satisfactory aproach.

One of the best sales lines (because it is really true) is " . . . .because you deserve it." It is seldom about "needs" and mostly about "wants".

Man I think I need to come back where you live Gil and browse the shops there... cuz there is nothing like that out here in the west. 90% of guns I see in shops are trash... and they want a mint for them. A few years ago I went shopping for a gun with a reasonable action just to rebarrel into something else... trash BDL700's were in the $450 range... let alone find anything great like your finds.

My only and best "Pawn shop" find was a Norinco .22 semi-auto that was a copy of the Browning takedown.. it was obvious the owner never cleaned it and it was jamming like mad. I paid $75 for it and took it home for a good... GOOD cleaning (used carburator cleaner to get the gunk out lol). Been a great rifle I gave to my wife and has jammed maybe 5-6 times total in 7-8 years.

I'd love to see some of that military stuff up for sale but it just doesnt happen around here.


-DallanC

Dallan,
There are many decent gun shops around here and the used gun racks are full. Seems that a lot of older hunters and shooters have either quit hunting or died off. Anyway, their guns are showing up everywhere. I spent my entire tax refund on: a Husqvarna .270 for $250.00, a Remington Sportsman 58 20 gauge for $185.00, a Savage 99 .300 Savage for $225.00 and and the bnz 42 for $495.00 (haven't paid for this one yet). I wanted to enjoy my tax refund and will. All of these guns are in NRA excellent to mint condition.

handloader,
I never delay when it comes to buying a gun I really want. True, I am a bit selective, haggle about the price and always buy used guns. You can resell or trade a gun if you decide later that you do not want it. If you delay and go back later chances are very good that it will be gone. My brother used to make me ill with his "almost bought" gun stories. My answer is, if you really wanted to, you would. All the best...
Gil

I believe that as we see the advent of the centennial celebrations for both WWI and WWII approach, the prices on all artifacts used in those conflicts will sky rocket! The WWII K98k rifles came into the US in the millions, but many were hacked up into sporter configuation and will not greatly rise in value. Those that are left as battlefield pick-ups will be worth many times what we are paying for them today. Even after the 1986 law demanding that "import stamps" be on the firearms coming in, such marks will not long hold down the value. The numbers of WWI and WWII firearms are finite and through normal attrition, have dwindled. All one has to do is to check out what US Model 1898 "Krag" rifles are fetching. When I began collecting in the 1950s US Model 1884 Springfield Rifles were, many times, thrown into a gun deal/trade, as boot! Now one is hard to touch in any sort of original condition for under four figures and the pre-1876 "Trapdoor" pieces go much higher. I wager the same will take place with values on WWII firearms.

roysclockgun,

Glad to see you here and hope your post often. You are exactly right, prices for surplus military arms (especially handguns) are marching off the charts. I bought my first .303 Enfield No 1, Mark III WWI rifle in 1958 for $15.88 and still have the rifle. The prices of original M1 Garands, M1 carbines, Johnson Automatic rifles, Krags, Springfield, Lugers, Walthers, Mausers and 1911A1s give me chest pains. My advice, if you find one you like and can afford, grab it. Chances are it will cost much more later. All the best...
Gil

Thanks for the kind words, Gil. In terms of investments, I believe that the Swiss Model 31 and Turk Mausers are both sleepers. The Swiss rifles were made in relatively small numbers. The Model 1893 Turk Mausers were all made by the Oberndorf Mauser Werke and are "Antique" qualified by BATF, even though capable of firing the 8x57 Mauser "S" cartridge. These two have been sold very cheaply, but are bound to rise quickly, now that the large inventories of importers are about gone.
The big question mark is which of the Soviet long guns will increase in value. The Mosin-Nagant Model 1891 has taken a hefty jump in value, but the later WWII produced bolt rifles are still good pick-up pieces for bottom feeders, at very low prices.