Anyone else collecting vintage military surplus rifles?

I have been getting into old military rifles lately...Mosin Nagants, Mausers, that kind of stuff and I feel like I should've started this hobby years ago...the history is cool and they're still pretty affordable

Yep, I’ve been bitten by that bug too. There’s just something about running the bolt on a Mosin or shouldering a Mauser that feels like you’re holding a piece of history, not just a rifle. Prices have crept up compared to a decade ago, but you can still find some good shooters if you don’t mind a little cosmoline and character marks. Half the fun is cleaning them up, learning the story behind each one, and then putting a few rounds downrange knowing it once saw service somewhere in the world

Military small arms have been my "heartbeat" since I was 11 years old. That was when Woolworths, Western Auto, W.T. Grants, and many other stores like them had Italian Carcano rifles in barrels for under $15.00 each and British No.1 Mk. IV rifles were selling locally for under $40.00 each. As a result, my library of reference books on them, and their bayonets, slings, etc., has grown to be quite large. Those were the days!!

foxfirerodandgun said:

Military small arms have been my "heartbeat" since I was 11 years old. That was when Woolworths, Western Auto, W.T. Grants, and many other stores like them had Italian Carcano rifles in barrels for under $15.00 each and British No.1 Mk. IV rifles were selling locally for under $40.00 each. As a result, my library of reference books on them, and their bayonets, slings, etc., has grown to be quite large. Those were the days!!

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Yeah, I remember going into Woolworths with my dad and there was plastic 55-gallon barrels full of rifles of all sorts. We had a whole closet full of just about any kind of weapon known to man. He bought several 303 British Enfield's and when I got older, I cleaned one of them up and sporterized it. I loved that weapon and it shot better than any 30-06 I ever owned.
every now and then you could even find a 30 cal M1 carbine and there were always M1 Grands out there and none of them were ever more than $20. I kept 2 of the M1 carbines and there was never a sweeter shooting rifle than that. Prices have gone crazy on that weapon now. I've seen M1 carbines online for upward of $1500.00 I sure would like to have another one but not that much.
I kept those old guns for many years until some douche bag broke into my house and hauled them all away. That was before things like gun safes were out there but sometimes, they don't even work. My house got broken into again a few years later. I had a big safe that was bolted to the floor after that, and danged if they didn't rip it out of the floor and hauled the whole mess away. We had been gone away for 3 days and when we got back, we came home to the whole back door being busted out frame in all. It would have gone through the front door with not much trouble just take the door off its hinges, but I guess going out the front would have drawn too much attention from the neighbors.
I've always thought that these people were someone I knew but never could put a finger on who. Sometimes your friends or relatives can be your own worst enemies.