Anyone else like 'great war' arms ?.
- Thread starter gew98
- Start date
Volucris said:
French rifles (Lebels and Berthiers) will probably be the cheapest, but hard to find. It's not too hard to find Mosins with a receiver that has the proper date, but they were almost all modified by the Russkies or Finns and so it's hard to find one still in its Great War configuration.
WWI-vintage SMLEs and Gew.98's are easier to find, but a lot more expensive.
Unaltered WWI M1903 prices have become downright obscene.
Tam' I don't see 86/93 lebels for sale too often and they tend to be priced over $350 even with a mismatched bolt. Berthiers not terribly much different but they seem a bit hard to find in original trim.
turk used gew98's can usualy be found around the $200 mark and I have seen shooter grade SMLE with WW1 dated sockets about the same as well.
turk used gew98's can usualy be found around the $200 mark and I have seen shooter grade SMLE with WW1 dated sockets about the same as well.
If you're finding WWI SMLEs for three bills or less, well, good on you.
I come across them in that price range .. but I won't touch them as I don't collect mismatch and or import marked rifles . A matched great war SMLE pre 1916 w/volley & cutoff that is matching , unmolested post issue in any kind of decent shape will be a big ticket item... pretty much any great war rifle will in those conditions.
It's actually easier to find matched unmolested german rifles than it is to find those matched SMLE's or Lebels for obvious reasons.
I come across them in that price range .. but I won't touch them as I don't collect mismatch and or import marked rifles . A matched great war SMLE pre 1916 w/volley & cutoff that is matching , unmolested post issue in any kind of decent shape will be a big ticket item... pretty much any great war rifle will in those conditions.
It's actually easier to find matched unmolested german rifles than it is to find those matched SMLE's or Lebels for obvious reasons.
gew 98 said:
An import mark isn't necessarily a deal-killer for me, depending on how & where it's done, but I prefer unmarked guns.
I haven't seen a $300 SMLE in years at a show that wasn't a beat-to-death Ishapore or a wire-wrapped grenade rifle, but I stopped looking very hard once I got my BSA.
I still need an unmolested G98; mine is a postwar Weimar refit with the flat tangent sight and is a rare "No Numbers Matching" postwar re-arsenal. (Seriously, I have had the thing completely apart and I don't think any two parts on that gun started out on the same rifle, let alone the 1916 Spandau receiver to which they're currently screwed.)
My 98AZ will have to serve as "substitute standard" until I can get one of those sexy, sexy "lange vizier" rifles you seem to be hoarding. You should sell me one.
