M39 Mosin-Nagant's for 350.00 at Classic Firearms

[Junk Yard Dog]

Picked up my 1942 VKT from the FFL today. I was not disappointed. It has a good looking war time stock with the rounded splice fingers, the blue looks pretty complete, bore is nice and shiny, and it has a D marked barrel. I paid the $20 hand select, glad I did. So far I have only had time to slide it out of the box a couple times to look it over, have not found a sling yet but there is a bit more packing paper in the bottom of the box. It will be a few days before I can get around to stripping it down and cleaning. Maybe between now and then I will figure out the email on my phone and I will be able to post a few pictures.

Size the pictures to at least 640x480 before posting them, larger pictures will not post unless linked to a photo hosting site like photobucket.

[JagdPanther]

I contacted them and all they had to say was we ran out of them and if we get anymore we will send you one. Ahhh ohh well whatever.

[willyj73]

I contacted them and all they had to say was we ran out of them and if we get anymore we will send you one. Ahhh ohh well whatever.

From what I've been seeing, you're probably not missing much by not buying from them. I have been seeing a lot of rifles with cracked stocks. I may have seen one that was actually in the condition that they advertised.

[JagdPanther]

I got a rifle from them an i'm good with it I was just bitching about not getting a sling.

[BuckeyeSgt]

Most of the new guys on Gunboards got nice ones. Everyone else got junk. Kind of funny about that.

[JagdPanther]

Mine had maybe around 10% blueing left on it if that.

[willyj73]

Gotcha. I bought one and it had a three inch crack running from the tang alongside the receiver. I would have had to repair it, which would have really reduced its value. I have been seeing a lot of rifles with cracks in the same spot. I've also seen some "hand picks" that are actually "B" grade. From what I've seen so far, Classic should have graded these as "B" grade, regular, and hand select. I honestly can't believe they described these as being good to excellent, then went on to say that the rifles they seen looked like the ones in the video. They also stated that the rifle's condition improved the further they dug into the gaylords. I have only seen one that looked "hand select" out of twenty or so.

[JagdPanther]

Willy I agree with you. Mine has a hairline crack very small near the tang. The handguard was trashed but I got a nos one coming for it. The bore was good on mine though.

[jungleking]

Just dissassembled mine, the metal looks real good! Only surface rust on the trigger. I'm just disappointed in the stock. Found a hairline crack on the inside near the splice. Any ideas on What glue was used? Want to try to inject it into the crack and open spots the original glue missed.











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[JagdPanther]

Your metal makes mine look like a rat but my stock is in way better shape. If you can post a bore pic would love to see it.

[djbuck1]

This has been a very interesting . . . circus?

Seriously, anyone just starting to collect milsurps should read the threads, look over the pics of the actual rifles that people are receiving, and visit the Classic site. It's a good, basic primer in many ways. And sincere thanks to those who are posting pics. You are helping others.

The speed (haste?) with which this was all done immediately sent up a red flag. You get that many rifles in, post a video, have them all sorted and graded, and then out the door in a few days? Nuh uh. Not buying it. And it sounds from the comments that I've read like corners were cut in grading and packing.

But I'll give Classic credit. They did warn people. And now they've posted negative as well as positive comments. However, I don't think they're doing themselves any favors when their response to a disappointed customer is to offer a refund . . . of the $20 "hand select" charge. Then again, anyone who watched the video was warned. I took the warning seriously and held off.

I've always been suspicious of "hand select," and "hand select fees." And here I have to give a big "attaboy" to one of this site's sponsors. Liberty Tree doesn't advertise/puff "hand select" for their parts (some sellers do), and they post lots of pics of the weapons they sell. I've stated my needs, and they have repeatedly met and exceeded my expectations-- at no extra charge. I've bought several rifles from them, and they have been exactly as described and shown.

And many, though certainly not all, GB sellers have a three day/no fire inspection and return period. That's my "hand select." To my mind, that's fair when you're buying on-line. Which is where some of us must shop. Without the internet, I'd have about a dozen rifles (not counting the M91/30 refurbs from Cabela's, whose numbers are legion).

The takeaways I see from all this are:

1. If you buy one of these M39s from Classic, it's definitely a crap shoot, "hand select" or not.

2. The only real "hand select," is that which you do yourself. Yes, I know. Self-obvious. But it looks like quite a few people placed too much faith in two little words.

3. You get what you pay for. You opt for a bargain, odds are that you get bargain quality goods.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Hand select...yea, that means I reach to the top of the stack and whatever rifle my hand touches you get. Only difference is your giving him a $20 tip.

[Remiel]

All this makes me glad I got mine from pat before all of this went down.

[JagdPanther]

I'll get pics up of mine here later on today. I didn't not do the hand select as I didn't want to pay 45$ extra for it.

[Junk Yard Dog]

$45 for hand select? Inflation I guess, but that's a hell of a tip to give, and then even if they actually do a hand select you have to worry if the one doing the selecting is a highly experienced milsurp collector or some FNG high school kid who was flipping burgers last week and wouldn't know one rifle from another. The larger the outfit the more business they do the less time they have, the larger the staff, and the chances are far greater that you are getting the kid.

[BuckeyeSgt]

All this makes me glad I got mine from pat before all of this went down.

These all came from Pat.

[Remiel]

All this makes me glad I got mine from pat before all of this went down.

These all came from Pat.

yes but i got to see pictures of what i ordered before i ordered it, so i knew about the hairline crack behind the bayonet and all the little things i call character in the rifle as a whole, yes i paid extra for a sling but got free shipping

[ParrotHead]

Agreed...I keep seeing more and more unhappy customers posting pictures on Facebook. At this price level, I prefer to see what I'm getting.

[JagdPanther]

Yeah it was 45$ extra for hand select Sakos when they first posted the rifles for sale. That's why i went with a standard. Hell just to get a standard Sako was 25$ extra I believe over a VKT which I should have gambled on that first.

[Lee-online]

I was at a local gun show this afternoon and there were a few m39s for sale. I guess there were more in the morning but the ones I saw were nice Sako, VKT and one B. Most were priced at $450, I bet cash and a C&R would have got one for $400.

I don't know if these came from Classic or if all this m39 talk brought them out. Either way, it good to seem them out on the tables.