I know as a veteran, you can't help but to think about the other soldiers that may have handled that rifle. American soldiers are glued to the rifle for long periods; in the cold, in the heat, in the snow, in the sand, in the mud, in the sleeping bag, in battle and many times at the moment of death. The final memorial service in the field is a rifle muzzle first with boots out front and a helmet on the butt of the weapon. But in the end the soldier always is separated from his rifle.
why so serious? Bubba?
- Thread starter tahunua001
- Start date
Put into an aftermarket stock, pillars installed and receiver bedded, aftermarket trigger, free-floated barrel...
Gets the full potential out of some of the older rifles. Why not? It's fun to see some of these "minute of barn door" rifles really shine when they're taken out of their crappy 100 year old furniture. And you can put her back into the original configuration if you feel like it. Good compromise sometimes.
Gets the full potential out of some of the older rifles. Why not? It's fun to see some of these "minute of barn door" rifles really shine when they're taken out of their crappy 100 year old furniture. And you can put her back into the original configuration if you feel like it. Good compromise sometimes.
Gunplummer
New member
I bought an MAS 36 for $15.00 at a gun show. The stock was snapped off, the barrel cut off, and it had it's share of rust. A Nam bring back. For real. That gun probably had more history than 5 Mausers put together. Why so cheap? By the way, it is now a 20 gauge rifled barrel shotgun that looks pretty spiffy. I would think that all you history buffs would have jumped on it for $15.00.
Actually, I think of it this way.
When you buy any gun you want to get a "GOOD" one at least. You want something worth the cash and you want it to hold value. Honestly, mil surplus guns do that well because their initialy so cheep anyway.
As far as tricking any gun out, I prefer to approach it in a nothing that cant be undone sort of way. I have several Mosin-Nagants and one is nicely sportierized but I have all the original stuff and it could be as it was in a few hours. However, I have a MN that totaly violates that rule because their SO CHEEP I went perminant with the changes.
Now, were I to buy say an M1A1 or an BAR as tempting as sporting one would be Id prolly do only reversable mods. However, If I could afford 2 well Id take the crappiest condition one and go to town.
I have a YUGO SKS, now thats a gun you can do what ever with but here is the thing, its likely never been issued. No dings, dents, scratches, etc. None of the usual wear and tear. The rubber but pad had the white film on it and the barrel inside looks like a mirror. So, will I sport it NO! Potentialy Unissued SKS that im likely to never be able to find one like it again, no way.
When you buy any gun you want to get a "GOOD" one at least. You want something worth the cash and you want it to hold value. Honestly, mil surplus guns do that well because their initialy so cheep anyway.
As far as tricking any gun out, I prefer to approach it in a nothing that cant be undone sort of way. I have several Mosin-Nagants and one is nicely sportierized but I have all the original stuff and it could be as it was in a few hours. However, I have a MN that totaly violates that rule because their SO CHEEP I went perminant with the changes.
Now, were I to buy say an M1A1 or an BAR as tempting as sporting one would be Id prolly do only reversable mods. However, If I could afford 2 well Id take the crappiest condition one and go to town.
I have a YUGO SKS, now thats a gun you can do what ever with but here is the thing, its likely never been issued. No dings, dents, scratches, etc. None of the usual wear and tear. The rubber but pad had the white film on it and the barrel inside looks like a mirror. So, will I sport it NO! Potentialy Unissued SKS that im likely to never be able to find one like it again, no way.
Last edited:
Kreyzhorse
New member
I buy mil surplus for what they are and enjoy their history. To me, I just can't see converting but that is just my opinion.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
In Europe at the end of WW II, there was paperwork to be filled out, but no real problem in bringing back foreign firearms. I guess officers had a bit more leeway, since my father brought his M1 Carbine back.
BigMikey76
New member
I guess I look at this from a little different perspecetive. A lot of guys are talking about resale value... that never enters into my thinking. I look at the value of a firearm in terms of usage, not resale. What do I get out of it? If altering it is going to make it so you get more or better use out of it, go ahead. If you do decide to sell it in the future, the money you get for it is gravy on top of the usage value you have already received. And who knows, the next owner might enjoy doing restoration projects, which means your alterations did him a favor 
Resale value never enters into my thinking either, but what does is acquisition cost. I just pointed out the the price doubling of rifles that aren't currently considered "collectible" by traditional standards means that those standards can change.
I see each rifle as the historical artifacts they are, and appreciate them as such.
My CMP M1 was made five months before Pearl Harbor, who knows what events it was involved in. It could have been carried ashore in Tunisia, Anzio, Normandy, Peleliu, or even Inchon. It could have been used to defend Bastogne, or the Chosin Reservoir. Or it could have been carried by a bored camp guard in Montana. I really don't know, but it could have been at any of those places. It was certainly well used, as it was rebuilt along the line to the point that no parts seems to be original.
The same goes for my K98, which was made in 1940, when the war was going very poorly for the allies. It could have been used in the invasion of France, or fighting in the Balkans, or the push toward Moscow. I will never know if was captured at Stalingrad, or Kursk, or if it sat unused in a warehouse for the entire war, but it could have been any of those. It could also have been used for unspeakable evil, which is quite sobering. It was later rebuilt by the Soviets to be used in the defense of the Motherland in the event of war with the Western Capitalist dogs, and ironically, was later sold to them.
My Mosin 91/30 was made in 1943, and could have been used at Kursk, or the liberation of Kiev, or any of a hundred other battles driving the Soviet drive to and eventual fall of Berlin. It has blonde stock, and is noticeably darker on the wrist of the stock, almost as if some oily handed Russian conscript spent a long time holding it there defending the Motherland from the fascist invaders.
And I shoot all of them, regularly.
I see each rifle as the historical artifacts they are, and appreciate them as such.
My CMP M1 was made five months before Pearl Harbor, who knows what events it was involved in. It could have been carried ashore in Tunisia, Anzio, Normandy, Peleliu, or even Inchon. It could have been used to defend Bastogne, or the Chosin Reservoir. Or it could have been carried by a bored camp guard in Montana. I really don't know, but it could have been at any of those places. It was certainly well used, as it was rebuilt along the line to the point that no parts seems to be original.
The same goes for my K98, which was made in 1940, when the war was going very poorly for the allies. It could have been used in the invasion of France, or fighting in the Balkans, or the push toward Moscow. I will never know if was captured at Stalingrad, or Kursk, or if it sat unused in a warehouse for the entire war, but it could have been any of those. It could also have been used for unspeakable evil, which is quite sobering. It was later rebuilt by the Soviets to be used in the defense of the Motherland in the event of war with the Western Capitalist dogs, and ironically, was later sold to them.
My Mosin 91/30 was made in 1943, and could have been used at Kursk, or the liberation of Kiev, or any of a hundred other battles driving the Soviet drive to and eventual fall of Berlin. It has blonde stock, and is noticeably darker on the wrist of the stock, almost as if some oily handed Russian conscript spent a long time holding it there defending the Motherland from the fascist invaders.
And I shoot all of them, regularly.
jhgreasemonkey
New member
I look at it this way, it's your rifle so do what you want with it. If someone doesn't like that then they can buy their own and do what they want with theirs. A few surplus rifles are rare and valuable and I personaly wouldn't hack up one of those. But there are loads of cheap military surplus rifles to play with. If someone gets snooty about it then that's their problem. It's not their rifle it's yours. They can buy their own. 
I kind of laugh a bit when someone talks about reworking an Moisin-Nagant because they made X number and they are nothing special etc, it is not because the rifle is not suited to it, but because the person in question doesn't know what they might have and in some cases has destroyed a rare rifle that collectors would pay some serious coin for.
I have several MN's and they are relatively rare due to markings and models and even 1 due to the fact that only a certain number were made in that year as the model was phased out.
I have a M91 with Russian Imperial markings that was captured by Imperial Germany in WW1 and was inspected stamped and issued for use by the German police and then later was sent by Nazi Germany to Finland as military aid against the Soviets and has a complete set of Finnish acceptance marks.
To find the a rifle that was captured and reissued by Imperial Germany isn't exactly common, but have been found, but to have Imperial Germany and Finnish marks is extremely rare.
A M38 carbine made in 1945 is scarce, but to also have been captured by the Finns and properly stamped and reissued is beyond rare.
Even when talking about the Soviet reworks, rare models have shown up and still have collectors value, because there just wasn't that many of them around.
So before you begin to hack, saw, weld do a little research. Your $80 dollar purchase may be a diamond in the rough.
I have several MN's and they are relatively rare due to markings and models and even 1 due to the fact that only a certain number were made in that year as the model was phased out.
I have a M91 with Russian Imperial markings that was captured by Imperial Germany in WW1 and was inspected stamped and issued for use by the German police and then later was sent by Nazi Germany to Finland as military aid against the Soviets and has a complete set of Finnish acceptance marks.
To find the a rifle that was captured and reissued by Imperial Germany isn't exactly common, but have been found, but to have Imperial Germany and Finnish marks is extremely rare.
A M38 carbine made in 1945 is scarce, but to also have been captured by the Finns and properly stamped and reissued is beyond rare.
Even when talking about the Soviet reworks, rare models have shown up and still have collectors value, because there just wasn't that many of them around.
So before you begin to hack, saw, weld do a little research. Your $80 dollar purchase may be a diamond in the rough.
I wouldn't sporterize any military rifle it just isn't worth it but I'll finish the job if I can find a good deal on a sporter!
My favorite pawn shop find an 1894 Springfield .30 U.S.
So far my only H&H magnum rifle a 1917 in .300, not bad for a $99 rifle.
8mm-06 on a VZ24 action, re-chambered military barrel. Sorry but I don’t have a better picture.
My favorite pawn shop find an 1894 Springfield .30 U.S.
So far my only H&H magnum rifle a 1917 in .300, not bad for a $99 rifle.
8mm-06 on a VZ24 action, re-chambered military barrel. Sorry but I don’t have a better picture.
My most current work in progress. . 300 Savage M93 Oviedo Mauser, bubba had got ahold of this one, hacksawed the original barrel off at 16" and couldn't get all the D&T done in a straigh line. Paid $50 for the rifle originally and so far I'm still under $500 total in the rifle, but just barely.
My 2 cents.
You said Milserp firearms. To me that means the SKS that I bought for $120 at a gun show, not a collector's item. Usually nice collectibles don't end up on the table at your local gun show.
Even though my Yugo SKS has all matching serial numbers, I put a Tapco stock on it in an effort to lighten it up and give it a collapsible stock on it to shorten it up when I wear a big coat in cold weather. Did I "Bubba" it? Sure. It has not other value to me other than that. There's folks on here that would string me up by my toes for doing that.
My dad put a scope on a 30-40 Krag cause he couldn't see the sights. Did he DE-value it? Yea. As far as I know it didn't belong to anybody famous. So what's the harm.
The point is...make your firearms your own. Forget about what others think.
You said Milserp firearms. To me that means the SKS that I bought for $120 at a gun show, not a collector's item. Usually nice collectibles don't end up on the table at your local gun show.
Even though my Yugo SKS has all matching serial numbers, I put a Tapco stock on it in an effort to lighten it up and give it a collapsible stock on it to shorten it up when I wear a big coat in cold weather. Did I "Bubba" it? Sure. It has not other value to me other than that. There's folks on here that would string me up by my toes for doing that.
My dad put a scope on a 30-40 Krag cause he couldn't see the sights. Did he DE-value it? Yea. As far as I know it didn't belong to anybody famous. So what's the harm.
The point is...make your firearms your own. Forget about what others think.
Not Bubba at all, it is easily reversible.
By the way, VG Yugo SKS are going for $329 wholesale these days. Century is selling them for $279 with a cracked stock.
Yea. I didn't do what another guy did. He took his and hacked off the grenade launcher sights and bayonet. Not well I may add. I think there was a Dremel and hacksaw involved. It looked awful.
I did keep the wood stock and plan on sanding it and putting a nice stain redwood finish on it eventually. Not too happy with the Tapco stock appearance. Pistol grip is a nice feature though.
I did keep the wood stock and plan on sanding it and putting a nice stain redwood finish on it eventually. Not too happy with the Tapco stock appearance. Pistol grip is a nice feature though.
