Well, I guess my point is any collectible weapon should never be refinished if you want to retain the value. Now if you don't care about the sort of thing have at it. That being said for some of us Mosin Nagants are collectible. I understand it's not everyones thing but they will only go up in price.
This is why I don't walk into gun shops...
- Thread starter SC4006
- Start date
PlatinumCore16
New member
Huh, mine must've been in the country for a while then because I only bought it like 6 years ago. Unless someone sold it back to them.
While every time I walk into a gun shop I don't plan to buy a gun, if there is something in here calling to me there is a good possibility it will leave with me. Heck, if I avoided gun shops and gun shows there likely would be considerably fewer guns around here.
Enjoy the new to you rifle, may it bring many good times shooting it.
Ron
Regarding the GCA 1968 and the import marking. During the early 90s tens of thousands of M1 Garands were imported from Korea and be it Century, Blue Sky or whoever they were import stamped. Here is an example:
So, if I twist the barrel off the receiver and re-barrel the Garand is it still an import? If the rifle is bought and sold as a shooter does it matter that the rifle has an import stamp? Unless a rifle is correct for its year and date of manufacture I really don't see where it matters. During the early 90s tens of thousands of Mosin Nagant rifles poured into the US, they are hardly a rare or unusual rifle. They are, for the most part, shooters.
Just My Take....
Ron
So, if I twist the barrel off the receiver and re-barrel the Garand is it still an import? If the rifle is bought and sold as a shooter does it matter that the rifle has an import stamp? Unless a rifle is correct for its year and date of manufacture I really don't see where it matters. During the early 90s tens of thousands of Mosin Nagant rifles poured into the US, they are hardly a rare or unusual rifle. They are, for the most part, shooters.
Just My Take....
Ron
An import stamp is part of the guns history. Collectors are funny people to those who don't collect the same things. 
Most of us are more than happy with the correct model & year & mfg codes, etc, and the fact that is has since been imported doesn't matter. Some people want something that wasn't imported commercially. Something they can assume (or with the paperwork, prove) was a battlefield pick up, brought home as a war trophy. And some of those people will pay more, to get what they want.
Most of us are more than happy with the correct model & year & mfg codes, etc, and the fact that is has since been imported doesn't matter. Some people want something that wasn't imported commercially. Something they can assume (or with the paperwork, prove) was a battlefield pick up, brought home as a war trophy. And some of those people will pay more, to get what they want.
Just noticed that this thread is still going, haven't logged in for a little while. Since I first posted I've shot the rifle many times. It doesn't have the smoothest action nor is it a precision rifle, but it really doesn't need those qualities and I don't expect that from a mosin nagant this old.
As far as refinishing the stock I agree it would definitely hurt the value from a collector's standpoint, but I didn't buy this rifle to keep in untouched condition and hang in a display case; I wanted to have fun with it and shoot it. The stock finish was chipping badly so I wanted to fix that. I do collect guns, especially milsurps, but I still want to be able to shoot every gun in my collection. An ex-dragoon like this one is definitely much less common than a 91/30 or M44, but it's not exactly a super rare collectible rifle either.
The way I see it I got a $200 mosin nagant that's pretty darn old, with a hex receiver (I had always wanted a hex), that is in good condition, that I can plink around with.
As far as refinishing the stock I agree it would definitely hurt the value from a collector's standpoint, but I didn't buy this rifle to keep in untouched condition and hang in a display case; I wanted to have fun with it and shoot it. The stock finish was chipping badly so I wanted to fix that. I do collect guns, especially milsurps, but I still want to be able to shoot every gun in my collection. An ex-dragoon like this one is definitely much less common than a 91/30 or M44, but it's not exactly a super rare collectible rifle either.
The way I see it I got a $200 mosin nagant that's pretty darn old, with a hex receiver (I had always wanted a hex), that is in good condition, that I can plink around with.