Two milsurp and gun show questions

[Malice]

First, and best, I went with my friend to buy his first gun today. We picked up a Norinco SKS, in nice shape. Good finish, *great* bore. A good buy, if I do say so myself. Since we always shoot together (him using my guns) I will get to play with this rifle a good bit. Yay!

We take it to my house, to clean it out and otherwise marvel over it.

I was under the impression that these rifles had folding spike bayonets... as in, when you want to use the bayonet, you fold it into place from under the stock and it locks into place. However, the only way we could get it to budge was to unscrew the thing and screw it back on after turning it around and fitting it over the barrel and putting the screw back in. What is up with this? Any info is much appreciated.

Also, I am going to the big gunshow (my first gun show) in Houston on the 22 & 23 and I want to pick up some form of Mosin Nagant rifle or carbine. All the gun shop has is the Finn M39 which is an incredible rifle. Saw it for the first time with my own eyes today. Man! Anyway, I dont want to spend the $400 on it, as college is expensive. I want to pick one up for under $100 from the gun show. What is a price I SHOULD be able to get someone at a booth to go down to one the M44, 38, and 91/30, respectively?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jefnvk]

Bayonet - try cleaning any cosmo out of it. It may look clean, but so did mine. I took it out the other day in the cold, and found that there was much cosmo still stuck to places.

Mosin - $400, even for a Finn, is way too much. IIRC, there is an online retailer with Finns for under $200. For a plain old Russian, don't pay any more than $100 for any of the three. Unless, of course, its pretty and you have to have it, and its not much more. I bought mine from Dunhams for $70, if it hlps.

Where you at? If there is a Dunhams around you, they have 91/30's for about $70-90 all the time, 44's for as low as $50 sometimes, and 38' usually around $80.

 

[Malice]

I keep hearing about this wonder-store. We have nothing like that down here in Texas. Is it a Midwest thing?

 

[GigaBuist]

Yeah, Dunham's is a midwest thing. Prices aren't always great but they're not bad either if you ask me. I think jefvnk is listing some of their better prices most of the time.

It's unique because it's a big sporting goods store, kinda of like an MC Sports or something, that has a decent riflle/shotgun selection. No handguns, I guess to remain somewhat "PC" but they've got WASR-10's, Saiga's, and plenty of mil-surp stuff (though they term them "vintage rifles."

Pain in the butt on the 4473 too. No abbreviations AT ALL on the form. I can't write XXX Dr. SE on their forms. It's gotta be XXX Drive South East! Apt #XX? Nope, Apartment #XX. I don't understand it, but it's nice to be able to walk into the local Dunhams and grab an Enfield, Mosin, K-31, etc off the shelf.

IIRC jefnvk is way up in dah UP der, eh? Dunham's probably has more competition up there than they do down here. I've seen M44's for $100 down here. Sale prices are better, but I'm not a frequent shopper and I don't keep tabs on that stuff. I bought a K-31 Swiss from them for about $150, maybe it was $130.

I paid $130 for an M44 at a gun show down here (maybe I was stupid, I dunno) but it is very nice looking and in great condition if you ask me. Perhaps I could have done better, but there it was. Don't spend more than that on a Russian, and figure $200 (maybe a bit more if you're impatient) on a Finn I suppose.

I recently paid $80 for an M38 (Christmas gift ) and $100 on a 91/30 for myself from a local gun show. However it's painfully obvious that this guy only sells guns (at LOW markups) to keep his Class III dealer license to play with Title II stuff, as that's the only way he can do it in Michigan.

I've seen a number of $50 Mosins, but they're all beat to hell and back.

 

[armoredman]

Big 5 is in Texas, I think, and they run Mosins for about $70-80. I got an M38 first, and it is a blast. I just got a 91/30, and it is longer, but just as much fun!

 

[dfaugh]

*Sob*

You guys are making me cry...They closed all the Dunham's in my area (without notice)...Got my best deals there:

Polish M-44 (unissued, rearsenalled) -$69
Yugo SKS, unissued - $129
Mosin 91/30 decent - $79
VZ-24 Mauser decent - $79
Mossberg 500 "Special Purpose", new $219

I really miss 'em!

 

[jefnvk]

IIRC jefnvk is way up in dah UP der, eh? Dunham's probably has more competition up there than they do down here. I've seen M44's for $100 down here. Sale prices are better, but I'm not a frequent shopper and I don't keep tabs on that stuff. I bought a K-31 Swiss from them for about $150, maybe it was $130.

I switch back and forth between Midland and Houghton. I'm only a part time Yooper

The Dunhams, you just have to find a good one. I was told by the manager that most of the sales are set by the stores, not the corporate office. The one in Midland always has some vintage guns (loosely termed, AR15's are 'vintage' guns) on sale. If I go to the one in Bay City or Saginaw (about 20 miles away), they hardly have any guns on sale. Also, they don't get guns from the same importers. The one in Midland usually has CAI import Mosins, and the one in Saginaw has Empire imports. It gets confusing.

The Swiss in Midland is always $150, except when they go on sale for $99 about every other month (dang not having money at that point ). Anyways, it is a good place to get milsurps if you don't have a C&R.

 

[cracked butt]

I have 4 Dunhams stores within an hour drive from my house. I've bought a lot of guns from them over the last 5 years or so.

 

[jobu07]

Don't spend $400 on an M39 Finn, they are great guns, but not $400 worth of great. Shop around and wait for a good deal to surface, it will eventually. I picked up an M39 at the same time as an M44, I got the M44 so he woudl deal with me on the price of them. So I ended up with both for $150. Not bad I thought. It dropped the price of the M39 from $100 to $75. But don't pull those dirty tricks too often, lest you end up with a massive armory of milsurp fire arms... God forbid that happens...

 

[Rexrider]

Malice,
To answer your question about the bayonet. The base of the bayonet is spring loaded. Grab the black part or what you might concider the handle of the baynet and pull it away from the mount. This will unlock it. Then just swing it out and it will lock in the unfolded position. Repeat as needed. The handle or locking collar can be very stiff to move. As jefnvk pointed out, there probably is cosmoline gunked up in it.

Enjoy the rifle. Tell your friend to buy lots of ammo. You'll need it.

 

[Malice]

Oops, one more question. Do I need to carry cash or should my credit/debit card work?

 

[homeka45]

If you're over 21 get a C&R license, you can pick-up sneak m-39s for around $260 at wholesalegunsandammo.com, these are in unissued condition, or you can get B Barreled M39 for about $225 bucks.

 

[kaferhaus]

cash

 

[jefnvk]

Cash, although many dealers will have a credit card thing, and there are usually ATM's.