Is the C&R Savings Advantage Over ?

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Gun Master

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Buy a gun (usually at wholesale price), shipped (mailed) direct to your door, pay S&H costs, usually no tax (unless retailer is in state), and pay $30 every 3 years for license.

Sounds good, doesn't it ?:D

Or, does it ?:confused:

I got in on the last wave, in which I paid $100 for a Mosin-Nagant 91/30, after buying P-64, CZ-82, and a couple of 1895 Russian Nagant revolvers.

Now it appears all (or most of) the C&R bargains are gone!!!

Or are they? What do you think ? :)
 
What Tom said, and one never knows what comes in next week, month or year.

If you're only into mil surp then some of it may dry up with Russia embargoes and the fact that we're getting to the point in history when rifles went to select fire which means they will never be sold to us.

Yes, it's thinner pickings now than in the past for surplus but I'm not calling it any more dead than the housing market, stock market, or anything else which people like to predict.
 
It's not just old Russian/European guns you can get. The issue I'm bumping into
Is some gun dealers will not accept it. One of the largest LGS around me stopped
Honoring them. If I want an old gun from him gotta do it on a 4473. Cabelas still
Did last time I checked.
 
I find it a huge savings. I buy lots of old (60 to 100 year old) Smith & Wesson's at online auctions. Every one of them I save the $30 transfer fee. It saves me hundreds of dollars every year.
 
Mike OTDP said:
MILSURP is good, but a C&R will pay for itself with one purchase of a pre-1965 gun.
Click to expand...

Good point!

But, I'm a Military Surplus collector. To each his own.

Also, most of the older non-MilSurp guns are more expensive than the MilSurp C&R bargains of the recent past.
 
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I get that you are a military collector. So am I. Have bought some guns from the wholesaler's like you but as discussed that supply of large quantities of imported military guns marketed by the wholesalers has been slow for years. I bought most of mine, even years back, for individuals and dealers and GB. Those sources are still good and I find better guns there than from the big wholesalers anyway. I also collect a lot of non military C&R's. To me the $10 a year cost is not even relevant. Still a great thing.
 
Yep, it is still good. There are still good deals on firearms. The convienence is worth it alone. Some companies give dealer discounts on ammo and accessories if you send them a copy (cdnn, century, southern ohio guns, etc). Midway used to give a dealer discount on nonsale items that would trim a percent or two off but not allow you to use their coupons. No real loss that they discontinued. Some sites that will only sell to dealers will accept collectors with cnr into their exclusive club. All that said, there is no concensus in my family that i have saved any money at all since it opens doors to spend more than you might otherwise.
 
The savings is real, but how much is going to depend on the individual. But with the state of the C&R market having little that I'm interested in, I finally turned in the license. YMMV.
 
C&R is dead if you think of it in terms of buying cheap old Mausers, Schmidt-Rubins, Makarovs, Tokarevs, CZ-52s, Mosins, etc.
Used to be that you could live with the BS of the 07FFL including periodic BATFE "Inspections" because of the fact that you had a wonderful selection of historical guns you could get shipped to your door dirt cheap, and surplus ammo for them was easily available and also dirt cheap, cheaper than scrap.
Now the supply of those have pretty much dried up.
And the BATFE hasn't gotten any kinder or gentler.
 
At least none of you are in WA state. After I594 passed, the C&R is utterly useless, as now ALL transfers must go through an 01FFL for a background check..... I'm sure glad I let mine expire last year. :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead: As if holding an 03 FFL didnt already meet that requirement.... Grrr...
 
I see decent Tokarevs (the Yugo M57 is my personal favorite) regularly still for $200 plus/minus 10%. I bought a nice (not pristine, but good looking and a great shooter manufactured in 1958) C&R eligible S&W Model 15 for less than $300 delivered to my front door not too long ago. I keep eyeing up Swiss K31 and Yugo SKS rifles at reasonable prices, but have held off so far.

Is the C&R Savings Advantage Over? No, not entirely, although it takes more effort to find a good deal these days. Buy just one or two C&R firearms on the three year license and you come out ahead on the 01FFL transfer fees saved.
 
As to inspections, this is my 3d renewal and never been inspected. You do not have to have them come to your home, you can take your book to their office. Mostly a paperwork thing from what I understand and no big deal.
 
I let my long-held 03FFL lapse last year ... and subsequently, got a new one when I realized that it might, at a minimum, smooth a potential "shipping bump" with some clerks at USPS.

Also, it is only $30 over 3 years and some online companies still extend a minor break on pricing and/or access for C&Rs.

Although the Heyday of milsurps is probably over, some deals do periodically pop up (in addition to Over-50 items) and it doesn't take many to save that $30 in xfer fees & hassle.
 
As stated in other places, it's a mixed blessing. Yes, you can save on individual guns, and the shipping/transfer is usually easier, but how many guns have you bought that you would not have gotten if you didn't have the C&R?
Just got my "new" 03 yesterday. I'll keep going until the guns totally disappear or the political wind REALLY shift..........whichever comes first!
 
Mostly a paperwork thing from what I understand and no big deal.
Click to expand...

I've had one years back. Despite what some of the paranoids will say on some boards, it is nothing. The compliance inspector (not an ATF agent) visited and:

  1. Made sure my bound book matched the guns. He told me everything was in order.
  2. Went over the basics of the Federal regs.
  3. Gave me his card, thank me for my time, and left. End of story.

I didn't let my C&R lapse for fear of another inspection or anything like that. It is just there is next to nothing on the market I find interesting any more. Things requiring a tax stamp, on the other hand ... :D
 
Gun Master said:
Good point!

But, I'm a Military Surplus collector. To each his own.

Also, most of the older non-MilSurp guns are more expensive than the MilSurp C&R bargains of the recent past.
Click to expand...
Can you name ANY item, of which there is a fixed (or dropping) supply and rising demand that is less expensive than it was "in the past"?

Be glad you are not collecting classic cars! ;-)
 
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