Back in the day

[SA1911a1]

One of my favorite gun sellers was J&G Sales. They usually had a ton of military surplus firearms at good prices. I bought dozens of guns from them. I went to their site today and, boy how times have changed. ;) It is not my intention to cast shade on J&G, they are a good company, and have been good to me over the years, it is more a comment on the status of the surplus situation.

Here is the copy of a description:

Mauser K98k bolt action rifle chambered in 8x57mm (8mm Mauser, 7.92). These are Gunsmith Special Yugoslavian post-war rebuilds of WWII German manufactured K98k rifles. Has a Yugoslavian post-war crest and German "MOD 98" on the receiver. May have mix of stamped and milled parts. Gunsmith special in need of parts and repair, bluing may be quite worn thin, will have cracked stock, and will be missing the mag, and/or small parts such as firing pin, sights, bolt stop, action screws, safety, upper handguard, etc. Cool project guns. No cleaning rod or sight hood. C&R eligible. Used.

$599.00.....

[Tula44]

That's a lot of money for a gunsmith special with missing parts and a cracked stock. I remember back around 2017 picking up Yugo captured K98 rifles at a local shop for around $330.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I guess that would make my nice Yugo Mauser worth at least five grand.

[SA1911a1]

I guess that would make my nice Yugo Mauser worth at least five grand.

That is what I am saying. It sound like a well worn barreled receiver with a junk stock thrown in. I have a couple of Yugos around here somewhere, fairly nice ones, perhaps I could swap them to J&G for a new F-150. It wasn't that long ago that I thought a gun shop was nuts for trying to get $350.00 for a new looking M-24/47. Of course, my Father would have thought a man a damn fool to pay $50.00 for a nice Garand; the more old men change, the more they remain the same.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I guess that would make my nice Yugo Mauser worth at least five grand.

That is what I am saying. It sound like a well worn barreled receiver with a junk stock thrown in. I have a couple of Yugos around here somewhere, fairly nice ones, perhaps I could swap them to J&G for a new F-150. It wasn't that long ago that I thought a gun shop was nuts for trying to get $350.00 for a new looking M-24/47. Of course, my Father would have thought a man a damn fool to pay $50.00 for a nice Garand; the more old men change, the more they remain the same.

I just put a box of crap up in the barn, I could make a Mauser 98 from the parts inside that would match that JG Yugo. I have maybe ten bucks in the parts. If things have gotten that bad then maybe it's time to dig out that fully sporterized K98k I have stashed away. If a pile of Yugo damaged parts are worth 600 then I wonder what a real functional German 98 would be worth in it's weight reduced configuration. For that matter I wonder what Turk Mauser's are bringing now, I bought a lot of them once upon a time. I have a nice turk 98 short rifle with rare for Turk matching bolt, that has to be worth a couple of C notes by now.

[Darryl]

Wow.

High priced. I hope they keep going up ...... sorry new collectors!

Darryl

[SA1911a1]

I guess that would make my nice Yugo Mauser worth at least five grand.

That is what I am saying. It sound like a well worn barreled receiver with a junk stock thrown in. I have a couple of Yugos around here somewhere, fairly nice ones, perhaps I could swap them to J&G for a new F-150. It wasn't that long ago that I thought a gun shop was nuts for trying to get $350.00 for a new looking M-24/47. Of course, my Father would have thought a man a damn fool to pay $50.00 for a nice Garand; the more old men change, the more they remain the same.

I just put a box of crap up in the barn, I could make a Mauser 98 from the parts inside that would match that JG Yugo. I have maybe ten bucks in the parts. If things have gotten that bad then maybe it's time to dig out that fully sporterized K98k I have stashed away. If a pile of Yugo damaged parts are worth 600 then I wonder what a real functional German 98 would be worth in it's weight reduced configuration. For that matter I wonder what Turk Mauser's are bringing now, I bought a lot of them once upon a time. I have a nice turk 98 short rifle with rare for Turk matching bolt, that has to be worth a couple of C notes by now.

I have seen average type 38 Turkish Mauser priced at $400-$450 lately. Apparently they aren't "junk" any more.

[Junk Yard Dog]

I guess that would make my nice Yugo Mauser worth at least five grand.

That is what I am saying. It sound like a well worn barreled receiver with a junk stock thrown in. I have a couple of Yugos around here somewhere, fairly nice ones, perhaps I could swap them to J&G for a new F-150. It wasn't that long ago that I thought a gun shop was nuts for trying to get $350.00 for a new looking M-24/47. Of course, my Father would have thought a man a damn fool to pay $50.00 for a nice Garand; the more old men change, the more they remain the same.

I just put a box of crap up in the barn, I could make a Mauser 98 from the parts inside that would match that JG Yugo. I have maybe ten bucks in the parts. If things have gotten that bad then maybe it's time to dig out that fully sporterized K98k I have stashed away. If a pile of Yugo damaged parts are worth 600 then I wonder what a real functional German 98 would be worth in it's weight reduced configuration. For that matter I wonder what Turk Mauser's are bringing now, I bought a lot of them once upon a time. I have a nice turk 98 short rifle with rare for Turk matching bolt, that has to be worth a couple of C notes by now.

I have seen average type 38 Turkish Mauser priced at $400-$450 lately. Apparently they aren't "junk" any more.

I remember when they were $50 or so, I have one that is headspace challenged, I could let that go for $400. They all had crap headspace when I bought them, swapping bolt bodies around corrected all but that one. Ten or more bolts tried, and it still wouldn't pass, no outward reason why.

[Darryl]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

[Tula44]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

If a Yugo Mauser is going for that high of a price, especially for a gunsmith special I'd like to see what a Russian Captured goes for now.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

If a Yugo Mauser is going for that high of a price, especially for a gunsmith special I'd like to see what a Russian Captured goes for now.

How about a matching number 1939 ERMA K98k bringhome? 1906 Spandau GEW98 matching numbers with EWB marking on the stock?

[Tula44]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

If a Yugo Mauser is going for that high of a price, especially for a gunsmith special I'd like to see what a Russian Captured goes for now.

How about a matching number 1939 ERMA K98k bringhome? 1906 Spandau GEW98 matching numbers with EWB marking on the stock?

Definitely a lot of money!

My very first Mauser was a Gew 98 that had the EWB on the stock. The rifle had been cut down to a carbine length though.

Even though I started getting into collecting military surplus around 2013 / 2014, I'm glad that I was able to get most of the rifles that I wanted before prices took off. I remember that surplus was so plentiful, there was no real shortage of rifles or accessories. Now it's transitioning into a collector's market. Years ago this hobby could be enjoyed by pretty much anyone since things were affordable, having $150 - $200 could get you a nice rifle and some accessories.

[ffuries]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

If a Yugo Mauser is going for that high of a price, especially for a gunsmith special I'd like to see what a Russian Captured goes for now.

How about a matching number 1939 ERMA K98k bringhome? 1906 Spandau GEW98 matching numbers with EWB marking on the stock?

Definitely a lot of money!

My very first Mauser was a Gew 98 that had the EWB on the stock. The rifle had been cut down to a carbine length though.

Even though I started getting into collecting military surplus around 2013 / 2014, I'm glad that I was able to get most of the rifles that I wanted before prices took off. I remember that surplus was so plentiful, there was no real shortage of rifles or accessories. Now it's transitioning into a collector's market. Years ago this hobby could be enjoyed by pretty much anyone since things were affordable, having $150 - $200 could get you a nice rifle and some accessories.

When I got into Milsurps in Jan 2011, you could find whole tables of them at gunshows. Now milsurps are regulated to oddity status on a dealers table. Amazing how fast it changed in the short time you and I've been collecting.

[Tula44]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

If a Yugo Mauser is going for that high of a price, especially for a gunsmith special I'd like to see what a Russian Captured goes for now.

How about a matching number 1939 ERMA K98k bringhome? 1906 Spandau GEW98 matching numbers with EWB marking on the stock?

Definitely a lot of money!

My very first Mauser was a Gew 98 that had the EWB on the stock. The rifle had been cut down to a carbine length though.

Even though I started getting into collecting military surplus around 2013 / 2014, I'm glad that I was able to get most of the rifles that I wanted before prices took off. I remember that surplus was so plentiful, there was no real shortage of rifles or accessories. Now it's transitioning into a collector's market. Years ago this hobby could be enjoyed by pretty much anyone since things were affordable, having $150 - $200 could get you a nice rifle and some accessories.

When I got into Milsurps in Jan 2011, you could find whole tables of them at gunshows. Now milsurps are regulated to oddity status on a dealers table. Amazing how fast it changed in the short time you and I've been collecting.

Yeah it has changed a lot! One surplus rifle I’m glad I picked up is my Russian SKS. I’m happy to have one because I wouldn’t want to pay the price they’re going for now.

[SA1911a1]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

If a Yugo Mauser is going for that high of a price, especially for a gunsmith special I'd like to see what a Russian Captured goes for now.

How about a matching number 1939 ERMA K98k bringhome? 1906 Spandau GEW98 matching numbers with EWB marking on the stock?

Definitely a lot of money!

My very first Mauser was a Gew 98 that had the EWB on the stock. The rifle had been cut down to a carbine length though.

Even though I started getting into collecting military surplus around 2013 / 2014, I'm glad that I was able to get most of the rifles that I wanted before prices took off. I remember that surplus was so plentiful, there was no real shortage of rifles or accessories. Now it's transitioning into a collector's market. Years ago this hobby could be enjoyed by pretty much anyone since things were affordable, having $150 - $200 could get you a nice rifle and some accessories.

When I got into Milsurps in Jan 2011, you could find whole tables of them at gunshows. Now milsurps are regulated to oddity status on a dealers table. Amazing how fast it changed in the short time you and I've been collecting.

Yeah it has changed a lot! One surplus rifle I’m glad I picked up is my Russian SKS. I’m happy to have one because I wouldn’t want to pay the price they’re going for now.

What are they going for?

[Junk Yard Dog]

Looks like a Soviet SKS is around 800-1200 on GB these days. Don't know if they are actually selling at that price, but with so many sellers listing them in that range they probably are. Yea, happy I got mine 400 years ago also.

[Tula44]

Yeah, at some point I will make my "first sell" and start selling my collection.
I had no idea that they would be at these prices.

Darryl

If a Yugo Mauser is going for that high of a price, especially for a gunsmith special I'd like to see what a Russian Captured goes for now.

How about a matching number 1939 ERMA K98k bringhome? 1906 Spandau GEW98 matching numbers with EWB marking on the stock?

Definitely a lot of money!

My very first Mauser was a Gew 98 that had the EWB on the stock. The rifle had been cut down to a carbine length though.

Even though I started getting into collecting military surplus around 2013 / 2014, I'm glad that I was able to get most of the rifles that I wanted before prices took off. I remember that surplus was so plentiful, there was no real shortage of rifles or accessories. Now it's transitioning into a collector's market. Years ago this hobby could be enjoyed by pretty much anyone since things were affordable, having $150 - $200 could get you a nice rifle and some accessories.

When I got into Milsurps in Jan 2011, you could find whole tables of them at gunshows. Now milsurps are regulated to oddity status on a dealers table. Amazing how fast it changed in the short time you and I've been collecting.

Yeah it has changed a lot! One surplus rifle I’m glad I picked up is my Russian SKS. I’m happy to have one because I wouldn’t want to pay the price they’re going for now.

What are they going for?

From what I've seen they're pushing $800 and up. I just saw a listing for a refurbished Russian one listed at $1,295 and a Yugo SKS for $1,100.

[ffuries]

Did a quick search of completed auctions with sales between 29 May 2022 and 18 July 2022 and came up with this price range. These are SKS's with no Bubba Refinements.

The lowest was $495.00 for a 1956 Tula, Russian SKS on 19 June 2022, item number 936061043.

The highest was $1195.00 for a 1953 Tula, Russian SKS numbers matching on 23 June 2022, item number 934275341.

Basically a $700.00 difference in sale prices......So depending on the year, matching versus non-matching, will determine the final sale price, but in looking the prices are all over the place.

[Tula44]

$495 for a Russian SKS in today's market isn't too bad considering that 91/30s are coming in around $400-$450.