Surplus rifles

You'll see 91/30s come through occasionally from dealers, but M44s aren't really common anymore at outlets or distributors. I'd check local classifieds if you're looking for a deal of any sort.

Never suspected that Soviet M44s would be priced the same as Finnish M39s, but here we are!

Basically, yes.

There are no large stocks of Mauser/Enfield/Carcano/Arisakas left overseas and the current geopolitical reality precludes any more Mosins or Norincos from being imported.

May depend on what features you are looking for, but some m44s go online in the 250+ range

On Gunbroker, there is a nice Romanian M44 for about $220.
Pretty cheap for what they normally go for.

Antihero said:

$220 is ok in my opinion $600 is stupid money for a surplus rifle

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Agreed. One of the main reasons I don't go to gunshows anymore.

MosinT53Hunter said:

Agreed. One of the main reasons I don't go to gunshows anymore.

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Not in any way trying to be argumentative because I enjoy guns and talking guns to much, but honestly. One should not give up on gun shows in total
sure there are some "bad ones" (crap how can anything that sells guns at it be bad????? ) But there are alot of good ones to.. And for every high priced guy there is several that are good joes... So I would not give up, find a few good shows they are out there. Adventure is out there....

indy1919a4 said:

Not in any way trying to be argumentative because I enjoy guns and talking guns to much, but honestly. One should not give up on gun shows in total
sure there are some "bad ones" (crap how can anything that sells guns at it be bad????? ) But there are alot of good ones to.. And for every high priced guy there is several that are good joes... So I would not give up, find a few good shows they are out there. Adventure is out there....

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Well, said!

In fact, if you are going to find deals on neat old stuff, its going to be at a show these days, rather than online. We always have a few private selller table, usually old school guys, who arent trying to get stoopid money for their old rifles. In fact, I would say the milsurp market is a little soft these days as the younger generation (with exceptions of course) doesnt seem to be in to them as much as mine was.

US militaria still holds its value pretty well, but I still find Turk, Swede, and South American Mausers for reasonable sums at shows. SKS are pretty high these days- but I think that is in part due to people finally realizing what a high quality gun it is and that they avoid many local feature bans.

At least Prvi is a reliable source for decent mmo. Yes, the milsurp market isnt dirt cheap as it once was, but all is not doom and gloom.

Happy collecting!

indy1919a4 said:

Not in any way trying to be argumentative because I enjoy guns and talking guns to much, but honestly. One should not give up on gun shows in total
sure there are some "bad ones" (crap how can anything that sells guns at it be bad????? ) But there are alot of good ones to.. And for every high priced guy there is several that are good joes... So I would not give up, find a few good shows they are out there. Adventure is out there....

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Granted, I used to love going to gun shows. But they are not like what they used to be now a days, least around me. The last one had security guards that eye balled you at every corner, tasers going off every 5 minutes, mil surp over priced three times over, the floor was marked so you could only go one way with ribbon stanchions, it felt more like a rat maze then a gun show. To top it off, at $10 entry fee, I would rather go over to Cabelas or my LGS and poke around at my leisure for free. Just my two cents.

MosinT53Hunter said:

Granted, I used to love going to gun shows. But they are not like what they used to be now a days, least around me. The last one had security guards that eye balled you at every corner, tasers going off every 5 minutes, mil surp over priced three times over, the floor was marked so you could only go one way with ribbon stanchions, it felt more like a rat maze then a gun show. To top it off, at $10 entry fee, I would rather go over to Cabelas or my LGS and poke around at my leisure for free. Just my two cents.

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Ugh, lame.

We have 2 travelling shows around here. One is the big, flashy one with tons of radio and billboard ads. That one is mokay, with mostly dealers hawking mile after mile of generic tupperware guns at regular store prices, though there are still a few private sellers with interesting old stuff.
I personally try to avoid this show because I think the owner is a tool, but I will sometimes go if the guys at work want to.

The other show is smaller, but always has many mom and pop tables with cool stuff- milsurps, swords, battle flags, barn and attic finds.

Last time I went they had a whole table covered in high-end guns that had been scorched in a house fire. Pythons, 27s, Winchester M52s.....it was sad, but fascinating.

You never know what youll find!

MosinT53Hunter said:

Granted, I used to love going to gun shows. But they are not like what they used to be now a days, least around me. The last one had security guards that eye balled you at every corner, tasers going off every 5 minutes, mil surp over priced three times over, the floor was marked so you could only go one way with ribbon stanchions, it felt more like a rat maze then a gun show. To top it off, at $10 entry fee, I would rather go over to Cabelas or my LGS and poke around at my leisure for free. Just my two cents.

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My Friend, I mean this is the nicest way.. Get the heck away from those shows and go to some others... I look at this as we are in the greatest country in the world, that pretty much allows us to get in a car and drive to guns shows all over the country.. Do so .. and forget those shows that do not deliver what you are looking for.. I do agree with you there are shows that are not for the Mil surp crowd anymore... But who knows in a few years they may come around. Each show is a different creature.. and it changes by the hour.. all you need to convert a bad show to a great show is someone walking in with something you want to buy at a price you want..

I actually saw a handful of M44 carbines last weekend at a gun show, each for a little south of $400. A couple of 91/30 rifles were at the same table for around $250-300, depending on whether or not they had a bayonet affixed. I really didn't look very closely, as my desire for a M44 has waned some in the last few years. Maybe I still should have considered one, as I ended up not buying anything, despite the plethora of reasonably-priced wares offered that day.

Antihero said:

$220 is ok in my opinion $600 is stupid money for a surplus rifle

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Hate to tell you but battered old SMLE's are bringing $400 in original trim and U.S/German WWII arms are about double that for originals in firing condition. Even the lowly Steyr 95 carbines are bringing about that and the ammo situation for them is not great.

Part of what has happened is that the parts for old milsurps has dried up so a lot of shooter grade firearms are being disassembled for parts sales on gunbroker and ebay and the big parts warehouses being raided by people reselling on the auction sites. Thus, at the low end, if a rifle is sold less than the value of its parts, people are buying them and parting them out. This reduces the supply for folks wanting to buy one. In addition, the U.S. is making ridiculous interpretations of the UN Arms Trade Treatyu regarding on importations of firearm related goods and exports for that matter. Thus, the large supplies of milsurp rifles and parts are not coming in and one large importer is no more (Samco Global) and one large reseller has closed (Springfield Sporters). Higher demand, lower supply, result in higher market prices.

Movies and popular culture can also make a firearm "hot" in the market and WWI and WWII retro fascination has boosted prices in these probably at the expense of older stuff before then.

That being said as others have noted, individual bargains on a particular rifle are still out there and there are still some pretty smoking deals on milsurp pistols at places like AIM Surplus for example. What you will have to do is look harder at individual sellers, check places like pawnshops (some are reasonable while some are ridiculous in list pricing), go to some gun shows even out of state, and maybe get your C&R license so you can jump on online deals. But, a smoking deal will be sold in short order if you do not grab them when you see them so do your budget beforehand.

And, of course, when the warehouse of surplus ammo has been shot, it's gone for good. Few people care to buy commercial ammo for their surplus gun, especially if they got it when they were cheap.
Probably why you don't see much plinking with Swedes and Switzers. Or even Mousers and Smellies.
The Iron Curtain factories are still making the same old same old to keep the Com-bloc guns shooting some.

Jim Watson said:

And, of course, when the warehouse of surplus ammo has been shot, it's gone for good. Few people care to buy commercial ammo for their surplus gun, especially if they got it when they were cheap.
Probably why you don't see much plinking with Swedes and Switzers. Or even Mousers and Smellies.
The Iron Curtain factories are still making the same old same old to keep the Com-bloc guns shooting some.

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That and probably due to the fact you can buy a cheapo Savage Axis, Ruger American, TC Center, etc. new rifle that will outshoot those old warhorses in modern cartridges for a lot less and it is already ready for scopes (or has one in a package deal). I suspect the number of folks that can shoot with iron sights and apply Kentucky windage as needed, just like those that can drive a stick, are waning.

Jim Watson said:

And, of course, when the warehouse of surplus ammo has been shot, it's gone for good. Few people care to buy commercial ammo for their surplus gun, especially if they got it when they were cheap.
.

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I have faith in PPU to keep the odd caliber ammo coming

It used to be that a milsurp was an inexpensive way to get a fair to middling hunting or plinking rifle, rather than going the retail route, for a Marlin, Savage, Ruger or Remington. Well, the worm has turned, and the prices of the standard bolt actions has dropped, while the accuracy has picked up. With what they are asking for a clean milsurp these days, you can get a hunting rifle rated at 1 MOA or better. So if there was a utility purpose in mind for the M44, you may want to have a look at the new Rugers and Savages.

Milsurps are a limited supply. When they are gone there are no more. You have to get in at the start to get real bargains.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

milsurp market isnt dirt cheap as it once was, but all is not doom and gloom.

Happy collecting!

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That right there is where its at. Your paying money for a "collectible", for the history as it were.
I went thru a milsurp phase, but I lucked into most of mine for way, WAY less than they were worth at the time...most expensive one was the SKS I traded an AR for...which I sold for the same it cost me to build that AR.

Better bangs, are available for less buck now. So unless you WANT the history etc. Go buy an modern over the counter rifle.

indy1919a4 said:

My Friend, I mean this is the nicest way.. Get the heck away from those shows and go to some others... I look at this as we are in the greatest country in the world, that pretty much allows us to get in a car and drive to guns shows all over the country.. Do so .. and forget those shows that do not deliver what you are looking for.. I do agree with you there are shows that are not for the Mil surp crowd anymore... But who knows in a few years they may come around. Each show is a different creature.. and it changes by the hour.. all you need to convert a bad show to a great show is someone walking in with something you want to buy at a price you want..

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Ive only been to the show here a couple times, and never bought anything gun related. Bought some web gear, and other random stuff for projects, but never any firearms. I DID have a great time just perusing, and playing with stuff.

I think that the milsurp market has just moved. The best deals are no longer in stacks of greasy rifles on sagging tables at the gun show.

Now, the deals are to be found in ones and twos; as estates are broken up, or as an older fellow realizes he can no longer shoot the rifles he enjoyed so much.

I recently purchased 2 Finnish M39s, a VKT and a B barrel, for $650 total. Both with original sling, both with vestiges of cosmoline still lingering in the bolts, chambers, and the corners of the sights.

Keep your ears out at the club matches, let it be known you are looking. Watch Armslist, there are deals, as well as fools, there.

I think the new "surplus deals" are police trade-in handguns.

FL-NC said:

I think the new "surplus deals" are police trade-in handguns.

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Yup- I picked-up a unissued 4006 CHP for $275. How can you get better than that on the current market?