WW-2 military Firearm question?
April 10th, 2010 by eranio
Currently, I can see that all WW-2 guns are appreciating in price except Ex-Soviet ones. Nazi was enemy and their Guns like Mauser or Luger are through roof if it has Swastika. Japanese Ariska was junk quality but still they are appreciating. Rarity of 303 ammo doesn’t stop Enfield from appreciating but then how come Russian Mosin Nagant or Nagant M1895 revolver or Tokarev Pistol are actually loosing value? Only appreciating ones are SKS which were not even used in WW-2
Thanks
Posted in military firearms
April 10th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Most WWII weapons are rare.
If I recall correctly, most nations recycle their old weapons in some way (either as emergency stocks, sold, remade, etc). I recall in years past that the US would sell old weapons to the public, from the 1860s on, and they would be imported and sold also. The Spencer was sold even as late as 1902, at $3.00 each. After WWII, the .30 carbine was almost given away around here, as were .45 and other old weapons. In most cases, this flood of weapons were all put to use, not collected, and eventually destroyed by poor maintenance and natural hazards of weapons use. This included the Nazi weapons, even though the ammo wasn’t easy to get.
The Enfield was, perhaps, an exception. It stayed in use for a long time, and still seems to have no end in sight. The Springfield from WWI was out of production when the Garand came into use. The poor old Nagant was kept in production until the SKS took off, but was made in such numbers (and stored) that there are still reserves to be sold. These were the "last" of the serious battle rifles, as we know them today.
The M-14 was outstanding, but was only in production for a few years. In 1966, the M-16 came on the scene and was made in mass production. The SKS and AK series, just slightly older, are also mass production weapons, so simple that anyone can use them. The first of the M16 series are iffy, taking great care to keep working well, and suffered from the weather in Vietnam, which did not do much to the AK or SKS. The massive numbers of these weapons simply rule out any serious gains in prices except for whatever the US government pulls to "limit" them.
I "think" that two things that limit a weapon are the availability of parts, ammo, and quality of construction. Most of the older weapons can take the abuse, but if they do break the parts are hard to find. Thus, they tend to die off fairly quickly. If they are not collector grade weapons, then ammo is another factor.
There are still a LOT of weapons out there that could come into the US, but are banned. Almost all of the fully automatic weapons, STEN, Sterling, AK, MP40, etc, weapons are impossible to get today. Reagan signed the first ban on them, making only those made prior to 1985 legal here, and they have kept making it harder and harder to get them. Others, like the Thompson .45, are here, but restricted due to other laws. If you jump the hoops, you can own one, but the legal headaches are massive. Still others are "in use" in other nations. In El Salvador they pressed WWII weapons into service during the 1980s. Vietnam also saw a large number of obsolete weapons reused in the insurgency. I would not doubt that many of these weapons sit in shelters, unfound and unused, today. It is only the foolishness of the US government that prohibits them from entering the US (legally). A Ranger told me that, during the 1990s in Somalia, they had found large numbers of weapons from prior wars, and I suspect that he only saw a few caches.
April 10th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Not entirely sure, but probably because an over production of the firearm.
April 10th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
It all comes down to the marketplace. There are millions of Mosins out on the market, and that brings down the price. I own a German Mauser and a Turkish one, an Enfield, a Mosin, and a CZ-52 pistol. All of them are good, serviceable guns. The German Mauser is by far the best, operating smooth as glass, and more accurate that I can shoot it. The Mosin is a little rough, kind of clunky, but every time I pull the trigger, it goes boom. I would recommend buying the best example of each that you can afford, keep it in original condition, and think of it as an investment – it won’t be worth a lot more tomorrow, but in a few years, it will appreciate. In the meantime, take it to the range and poke some holes in paper, or out in the woods to go shopping for venison or pork. You can’t do that with any of the investments in your IRA.
If you want more info on old military guns, check out http://www.surplusrifle.com.
April 10th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
because lots of mosin nagants, m1895s and tokarevs are still coming into the market, being imported from Russia, where warehouses are still full of these surplus rifles and handguns which were being stockpiled by the soviet government and are now being released for export to other countries(the US being the biggest consumer), with this continuing influx of firearms coming from Russia, there’s more supply then demand, causing their prices to go down, while other firearms like the K98 and the Lee Enfield are going up due to the lower supply and higher demand in the market for them.
April 10th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
It is strictly supply and demand and there appears to be a good supply of Mosins since there are a lot of little countries that used to be part of the USSR that are trying to raise cash.
April 10th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
okay…no connection with reality here.
Part of the reason for price flux is availability. Before the Soviets started selling them in large numbers, Tokarevs, Makarovs, and even Mosin Nagants were a bit spendy compared to other surplus rifles.
Later, when the Soviets were duping them on the market in large numbers, prices went down compared to other surplus rifles.
NOW, Makarovs are getting hard to find, so they have definately gone up in price. Tokarevs are more common now while they used to be rare before, so they are still a good deal.
however, anyone buying russian surplus as an investment is a bit screwy.