Mosin Nagant 91/30 with Accessories $59.95 AIM flyer from 2004
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blarby
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Nope.
I'll be the second to say it, or the first to agree with you. Haven't bought a non C&R gun since mid 2010 since within a year to 1 1/2 years of buying my first gun I realized how expensive it is to make a habit out of shooting centerfire.
Outside of work, anymore I shoot 22LRs and collect centerfires. Well, I did shoot 22LR. I spent most of 2013 and early 2014 OCONUS, figured 22LR would be back in stock most places by the time I came back. I was wrong.
blarby
Member
Is it a point of price on projectiles ? Casting certainly drops the cost quite a bit, with a nominal investment if you need it for only a few defensive firearms' practice, not the all encompassing hobby some of us make it to be !
IF you are down to only 22lr, your pricepoint isn't getting any easier, or more readily available, anytime soon........unless you have a significant stockpile.
illinoisburt
Member
Everything is relative. Most people today think of super cheap was 90's and early 00's. Funny thing back then I listened to the old timers pine for the 50's and 60's. "Good guns" like GI Springfields and Lee-Enfields were so inexpensive that everyone chopped them. 30-06 AP and 45 FMJ surplus was almost free. I heard it and wished I had experienced it myself. (however some old magazine articles seems to kind of deride those military guns for sporting purposes... hmmm)
It is true that some things were cheap twenty years ago, but a lot wasn't. "Good" commercial hunting rifles (winchester 70, etc.) and handguns (S&W, Colt) were expensive and required work to get them accurate and jam free. Any scope that would hold zero and not fog was a couple c-notes. Most centerfire rifle ammo was $12 to $25 for 20 rounds. If anything the commercial hunting rifles and optics today are better made and cost less. Hunting ammo is vastly improved. Now that 2013 is behind us, ammo other than 22LR is back on shelves and prices are getting somewhat close to 2012 prices again. Russian 223 and 762x39 is back to $5 on sale.
Now if you are talking about military style guns and surplus, hindsight is a wonderful thing especially with rose colored glasses. Prices were low and quality perception often matched. No one said much of anything good about SKS or AK when they cost under $100 new from Norinco. Got a big time hi-point style scolding from the gun store and friends at the range after buying one of each, but dozens of $70 per 1000 russian 762x39 "made for hunting" 762x39 cases helped me ignore them and plink away for years. Wish had kept the NHM91 now that my son is interested in an AK :-(
The old saying of the more things change, the more they stay the same applies. The past ten years have been glory days of surplus. Many folks just didn't know it at the time. There were tons of com-bloc rifles and handguns to be had for under $150. $300 parts-kit AKM, CETME, and FN-FAL with Century receivers were plentiful. Spam cans of ammo was under $100 for just about every caliber. New commercial ammo from Russia was $3-$4/box for 762x39 and 223. There was even a bunch of Korean 30-06 M2 ball that flooded the market in 2012 with 400 round cases for $79 delivered and south african 308 ball wasn't much more. Once again the familiar theme arose which derided all of it as crap at the time (both the guns and the ammo). Those who partook were quite happy thank you very much.
Unfortunately most post-WWII rifles are full auto and thus not currently importable under NFA. But who knows what may happen. Maybe the next adminstration will allow reimportation of garands and 1911's? Maybe NATO will drop the 9mm and M9 and sell them off? Maybe China will play nice and be allowed to flood us with guns again? Maybe we'll just swap out for phasers? Time will tell.
Even more far fetched: one day the Mosin-Nagant may earn cool nostalgia status!
It is true that some things were cheap twenty years ago, but a lot wasn't. "Good" commercial hunting rifles (winchester 70, etc.) and handguns (S&W, Colt) were expensive and required work to get them accurate and jam free. Any scope that would hold zero and not fog was a couple c-notes. Most centerfire rifle ammo was $12 to $25 for 20 rounds. If anything the commercial hunting rifles and optics today are better made and cost less. Hunting ammo is vastly improved. Now that 2013 is behind us, ammo other than 22LR is back on shelves and prices are getting somewhat close to 2012 prices again. Russian 223 and 762x39 is back to $5 on sale.
Now if you are talking about military style guns and surplus, hindsight is a wonderful thing especially with rose colored glasses. Prices were low and quality perception often matched. No one said much of anything good about SKS or AK when they cost under $100 new from Norinco. Got a big time hi-point style scolding from the gun store and friends at the range after buying one of each, but dozens of $70 per 1000 russian 762x39 "made for hunting" 762x39 cases helped me ignore them and plink away for years. Wish had kept the NHM91 now that my son is interested in an AK :-(
The old saying of the more things change, the more they stay the same applies. The past ten years have been glory days of surplus. Many folks just didn't know it at the time. There were tons of com-bloc rifles and handguns to be had for under $150. $300 parts-kit AKM, CETME, and FN-FAL with Century receivers were plentiful. Spam cans of ammo was under $100 for just about every caliber. New commercial ammo from Russia was $3-$4/box for 762x39 and 223. There was even a bunch of Korean 30-06 M2 ball that flooded the market in 2012 with 400 round cases for $79 delivered and south african 308 ball wasn't much more. Once again the familiar theme arose which derided all of it as crap at the time (both the guns and the ammo). Those who partook were quite happy thank you very much.
Unfortunately most post-WWII rifles are full auto and thus not currently importable under NFA. But who knows what may happen. Maybe the next adminstration will allow reimportation of garands and 1911's? Maybe NATO will drop the 9mm and M9 and sell them off? Maybe China will play nice and be allowed to flood us with guns again? Maybe we'll just swap out for phasers? Time will tell.
Even more far fetched: one day the Mosin-Nagant may earn cool nostalgia status!
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