It is a common topic of conversation with me, routine almost, that people ask: Why would you buy used guns? The truth is, there is no one reason. The simple fact for me is that I just love history and I love guns, so why not combine the two? Truthfully C&R guns provide an easy way to find high quality, high powered, historical guns with character…at an affordable price. The work you put into making your C&R gun fireable can make it that much more rewarding, after all removing cosmoline from an 80 year old gun is not that bad. So, lets go through some reasons that C&R firearms are a good choice for any type, level, income shooter.
1)Price. I hear lots of people talk about needing and looking for an affordable deer rifle, and them immediately jump to talks about the Remington 770 and 700, the new Ruger American, the Savage Axis, etc. I do not mean to disparage these peoples or these guns, they are all great guns, but how is $300+ on the same level as a $90 Mosin Nagant? Mosins are heavy, I suppose that could be a drawback for hunting, but there are options for synthetic stocks. Disclaimer: I DO NOT advocate throwing away a nice wood stock in favor of a lighter weight polymer stock, fire a Mosin and you might want all the weight you can get. The price of a Mosin ($89.95), Mauser ($299.95), or Enfield ($250-300) make them great entry guns for the younger shooter (12+). They are inexpensive, with relatively inexpensive ammo (roughly $9.99, $15.99 and $17.99) and are made to take a beating. They are great guns to take to the range, plink around with, or just shoot varmint. There is no better genre of gun to practice shooting with, after the .22LR, than surplus. This is due to the fact of large supplies of readily available surplus, steel case, and second tier rounds. Buy an SKS ($299-$399 depending on sales) and you can buy 20 rounds for $5, that is pretty nice for a round as well balanced as the 7.62×39. The point is, through retailers like Cabelas, Gunshows, and websites like aimsurplus.com; these great arms are some of the most affordable guns you can buy.
2)Investment/Collectability. As Americans, we are facing a period where the dollar is at a seemingly unprecedented low. With this people are looking for all sorts of ways to invest their money into something that will only gain value, from comic books to action figures. One of the largest growing areas for investment? Firearms. Guns just simply will not lose their value, unless you help it. This is especially relevant in the field of C&R firearms, because they have a historical tie. As we grow and years pass, we distance ourselves further and further from World Wars. The existing pools of unowned surplus weapons decreases, and those in great shape decrease even more drastically. I am not saying this to encourage everyone to go out and buy all the guns you can afford, that would just drive up prices. I say this because, in 10 years or so some guns just may not be commonly for sale. We have stopped importation of Soviet and Norinco model AKs and SKS’s. What does this mean, for you, the collector? The value of your guns are sure to increase. From a pure collector standpoint, what is better than having an actual piece of history? You could buy a Colt Python or some other hollywood-esque gun, or spend a fraction of the money and get a piece of history used to protect someone’s life in a trench.
3)Quality. Using the word quality in the same sentence as Soviet produced may sound weird, it does to me, but it is applicable when it comes to WWII weapons and even more-so to the Russian imperial era. I will not try to blow smoke and say that a Mosin or SKS is the best weapon on the earth in terms of quality…they are not. What I will say, is that I have had more issues with modern, American made, rimfires and centerfires anywhere near that price range. Even if made by the Soviets, these weapons were created for battle, to be used in the defense of one’s life and the country. Contrary to popular belief, it was not in any side’s best interest to lose more men. If you doubt this, just look at the history of military weaponry: one person makes an advance and within a year the rest of the world follows. How can I say quality when you can break a bolt by shooting it? Simple, you are shooting the wrong ammo. I mean it. Do not, DO NOT, take a modern hi-powered hunting round and stick it in a single lug rifle….that is how you break your gun. There have been huge advancements in the science of gunpowder and ballistics in the last 100 years. Stick to ammo that is not specified for power and hunting IE Prvi Partizan, Wolf, surplus, etc. Your SKS slamfired? Clean it. Treat all guns the same, just because you paid less for it does not mean that you should deem it a “Beater”.
4)Pride. C&R firearms give you something to be proud of. Yes you can be proud of any firearm, but when you buy a gun that is covered in cosmoline to the point the bolt is stuck and you can clean it all off…it is special. You wash away 50 years of neglect, you get to see the gun come to life. The dirty brown washes away and the natural color of the stock pops out, the chrome bolt is shiny, and the barrel is no longer greasy. You will put more time into making a C&R ready to fire than a new gun, sure, but at the same time it makes it more your gun. I have always taken pride in the work I do, a sentiment that was engrained in me at a young age, and it makes it that much more rewarding when you can show someone what a gun looked like before you cleaned it in comparison to how it looks after. This pride in your firearm also revolves around character. The small nicks and dents in a stock make it imperfect, but they also give it character. The patina and bluing on the metal pieces, the often heavy weights. These all give a gun character. A Nagant revolver may not be worth much, but you clean it up, find ammo for it, and take it to the range and I bet that people will look. The loud Rapport from Mausers and Mosins are sure to attract a look or two. Shoot a solid target with a surplus steel jacketed 8mm Mauser, and I guarantee you that you will grin. Moral: do not pass on a gun because it looks like an ugly duckling, you might find out you are wrong.
5) The Young Hunter. So you want to hunt, but cannot afford the Tikka T3 and a Zeiss scope? Buy surplus. I may be biased because I live in Texas, in the Hill Country, but you do not need all the fancy stuff. If you have alright eyes or glasses, I would wager that you could take most of your shots using Iron sights on a Mosin or Mauser. Even if you decide you need a scope, you can buy Mauser and Mosin barreled actions for pretty cheap and then can scope it. Why do that? The 7.62x54mmR and 7.92x55mm (commonly referred to as 8mm Mauser) incredibly potent cartridges and both have relatively cheap ammo. This means more practice rounds for a young hunter and, even for adults, the capability to bag just about any game in North America. If you insist on a scope, find an action and then look for a synthetic stock on a site such as MidwayUSA or cheaper than dirt. Be Warned, if you are committed to scoping either of these service rifles you are best served looking for an action with a bent bolt (allowing for easier scope mounting).
6)“Used” is such a loose term. Many of the C&R firearms that you can find are just like new. I have a Mosin Nagant 91/30 that has never been fired, a Nagant revolver that was never fired, and an SKS that was never fired. If you go into purchase a surplus gun and know what you are looking for, you can find guns in great shape. If you buy a gun that has pitting all over the barrel, a cracked stock, electrical tape to hold the cleaning rod in, and rust in places…you might regret it (yes this is a gun I saw for sale at Cabelas). Most of these guns sit in cosmoline which makes them dirty looking, but it prevents rust. So if you see a gun with rust and pitting, stay away from it. The rifling could be bad, there could be corrosion throughout, or it could be great. It is a great idea, as a rule of thumb, that if you see pitting (corrosion) on the outside; you will find it elsewhere. If you are buying to shoot, do not be afraid of armory refurbished guns, they will look great, have great barrels, and are still old (likely being touched up right at the end of the Second World War). Side note: if someone tries to sell you a “Sporterized” version of these for more money, unless in rare occasion, laugh at them and do not buy. Also, I will touch on how I look for C&R firearms in a later post.
So, I have laid out some reasons for why getting into C&R guns can be a good idea. This is not to say that this is a comprehensive or exhaustive list, but a list of things that came to me. Except one, which is that it is just fun to own C&R firearms. They are a blast to shoot, literally, and the biggest factor that makes them fun: inexpensive. It is a lot easier to have fun shooting when you are not spending a couple hundred dollars on ammo for an hour or two at the range. The history behind the guns can make it fun, as well as educational. It is hard to grasp why light-weight weapons rule the military until you feel how heavy a loaded long rifle is, and how different the rate of fire would be. You can see why a Mauser could take out an early tank while an M1a1 or M16 will not dent one. Whatever your reason is, if you have been hedging on buying one of these great arms, take the plunge. There is truly a surplus gun for everyone, from 22LR trainers to 9mm Mausers, from $90 Mosins to $2000 Springfields.
Until next time.
My Yugo Mauser
Around the Ammo Can 