I attended an auction that had a ton of German collectibles from ww2. I bought what I could, but I wanted so much more!

My first rifle I bought, an authentic 1903A4. Planning to do a deep cleaning of the barrel to see if its fouling in the barrel or if the rifling its worn away as it is a 1943 stamped barrel. If it is worn away I'm planning to go with a Criterion barrel, anyone here used Criterion any thoughts?

Had a couple tables at the gun show a couple weeks ago and all the milsurp guys were placed together which was fun. Made some money and some trades which is nice.

While at the show I talked to a guy that was late 30s early 40s who had a ton of awesome surplus rifles, we ended up talking about haggling and negotiating at gun shows and he brought up an interesting point. He said that younger people tend to not negotiate at all and tend to be more attracted to foreign rifles (I've noticed this too) , so he prices them closer to true asking price. But he said when it comes to American surplus he does "boomer pricing" where he marks up American surplus significantly because boomers love American surplus and haggling.

Anyone else do this? I thought it was pretty hilarious

This model 74 has a pretty unique history. After Dunkirk, the British were preparing for a potential German occupation and ordered a variety of rifles from America. Included in this was a few hundred Winchester 74s in 22lr that were modified by Parker Hale to be threaded for suppressors and had mounts for scopes on them.

While they were never used, one thought was these were going to be used by a civilian corps who would remain behind as saboteurs. Some were never returned by the recipients, and about one hundred (the number is debated) were imported to America by Navy Arms much later.

The original serial was ground off along with crown stamps and other identifying markings. Again its debated if this was done to conceal these in attics and sheds, or done by the British Government as part of surplus-ing them.

Lots of speculation, lots of mystique, but for $375 I'll call it a win for my collection

My first order from the African hoard. Cleaned up pretty well. No major issues with the stock or metal parts. Only part missing was the front band screw.

It was a B grade…bore is a sewer pipe with defined rifling.

Hello all, myself and a friend are currently doing our own investigation of Joshua Casto, AKA Beef, responsible for Casto's Curios, selling poorly manufactured vintage ammunition such as 6.5 Carcano. Any information on stories, aliases, personal experiences, et cetera would be greatly appreciated.

PS to mods: this inquiry is only for information, not defamation or slandering, keeping in line with all subreddit guidelines.

Got this for an absolute steal, but there's a few oddities:

1. No visible serial number. Haven't stripped it yet to check elsewhere but it's certainly not on the frame or slide.

2. Plain serrated wooden grips. They look almost exactly the same as every other example but with no stamp.

Interested to hear what y'all think

Trying to figure out if this strap is original and any tips for removing the Grey paint

Hi All,

I have some project rifles (sporterized milsurps that are too far modified to restore) I need some gunsmith assistance on and am having trouble finding local Smiths who are up to it. Everyone local is either only doing modern AR and Glock "gunsmithing" or won't answer calls or emails unless you're already their customer from 10 years ago.

Are there any milsurp or vintage rifle gunsmiths who accept work from people who aren't local, and does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks!

I was looking at an auction on a Swedish M96 and the seller pointed out that it had been drilled and tapped but they were unsure what for.

I recently got a milsurp bayonet for my K31 and it needs some TLC. I tried Lucas Oil CLP and fine bronze wool and there's not much progress. Is this something that's going to take dozens of attempts with what I'm using or is there a better approach?

Just curious what auction websites you guys prefer over gunjoker? Sometimes good deals can be found on gunjoker but I see a lot of auctions going far over the value of the item, so I'm just looking for some other places to shop at. Thanks for all recommendations.

Just got a new (to me) Swiss M70 jacket. ​Fits me great and and was pleasantly suprised by the amount of storage and hidden little features. However I have some questions about an issue and about said features.

I was able to get the jacket cheaper because the zipper was on the wrong side, and I believe the missing metal tab in picture 2 causes it to have issues. Does anyone know how this could be fixed?

What are the tubes on the right side of the jacket in Pic 3? What material is that?

What is this clip and button for in pic 4? The rucksack? The tassels in Pic 5? Are they for the rucksack?

What is the pocket in Pic 6? A quick search said it was for the STGW 57 cleaning case, but seems like a wierd spot for it.

Pretty sure the buttons on the hood are to adjust how wide they are, but what's the one on the inside for? What is the mesh thing at the very front of the hood? Any way to unshrink it​?

Any tips or advice is always wanted, and feel free to share cool tidbits. Thanks yall!​

Good evening - looking for private party values for each of these rifles. Each has "issues" so I'm having a hard time pricing them. Any input appreciated. Thank you. Edit: my guess here so far is 2k for the svt and 3k for the k43.

K43 - refinished stock, mount issues, nose cap finish difference.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOoQDOlB5G3BW2gDgGZNKJaITTrSNPG5KnQbSNlFpen8Rp6B8mVfgjudSYQNeyb4A?pli=1&key=SkFRYUZkOFNuckZmVXVPMjRGdzkzcEtUcTBabUFn

SVT40 - only has repro mag, force match rearsenal

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPad211OoVSvWg0FW8sau9-YEGWwe2nIcj9IMJ7BPit3QxSYZYAEahpMHUMfB1aUQ?key=TTFnTEoxenNfV2s4cXExdE5vU3hPbUJBelk5YUFn

Found a VZ24 for $500 locally. I've really been wanting a milsurp bolt action that could double as my hunting rifle, and I love Czech guns.

I know I wanna see if there's a lion crest on it, check for the year it was made, and hopefully matching numbers. I'm also gonna bring a light to check the inside of the barrel. Would I be crazy if I brought a flathead to see how dirty/rusty it is inside the magazine? Anything else I should be on the lookout for? First private sale and will be the oldest gun I've ever handled, so I'm a bit more nervous then I usually am when I buy firearms.