I went to a favorite local gun shop today to look around. There were perhaps a half dozen surplus military bolt action rifles sitting in the used gun racks. The best were two Belgian .30-06 Mauser rifles priced at $600 each. Both rifle stocks had been heavily sanded and had acquired varnish finishes. One rifle had a Pachmayr recoil pad which hurt any collector value because the original stock had been shortened. There was a Swedish Model 1896 long rifle also with a sanded stock and had a hang tag price of $500. The remaining military rifles were in terrible condition and very much overpriced. I am glad for what I got when I got it at much better prices years ago. All the best...
Gil

Pretty high prices, would be interesting to watch and see if they sell. I've messed a lot with my x-military rifles, they were cheep and no real collector value, but I also kept the original parts (including stocks that I replaced). I don't think they'll ever be worth more than I bought them for, but if a pristine re-arsenal gets hard to find then I know a few rifles I have will shine like a star and might bring a higher price.

I sold an SKS a few years ago and a Hakim, making a few extra dollars on my original purchase, but they were in such good condition. Still I haven't found either rifle for sale that was as good as what I sold. Probably should have kept them.....oh well. People that are new to collecting might think those are bargain prices but time is your friend and waiting and searching is the game.

Suz