Mosins going sky high in price

[SA1911a1]

Grinder:

That makes me real glad I got my Mosins when I did!

That is a heck of a nice list of rifles. I wonder though, as a percentage, have the Finns done as good as the '42 Izhevsk 91/30?

Considering the prices I've seen for M39's, M28's, M28/30's etc, recently. Considering I got my first M39 for under $300, I would say pretty much yeah!

What does a nice M-39 sell for now days?

[Darryl]

Grinder:

That makes me real glad I got my Mosins when I did!

That is a heck of a nice list of rifles. I wonder though, as a percentage, have the Finns done as good as the '42 Izhevsk 91/30?

From what I can see, the Finn's have gone up a lot more % wise then the Russians.
Some of those M28-30 are going for over $1000!!!

I'll sell any one of mine for $3000 ----- not really!

all_Finns_800.jpg

[SA1911a1]

Grinder:

That makes me real glad I got my Mosins when I did!

That is a heck of a nice list of rifles. I wonder though, as a percentage, have the Finns done as good as the '42 Izhevsk 91/30?

From what I can see, the Finn's have gone up a lot more % wise then the Russians.
Some of those M28-30 are going for over $1000!!!

I'll sell any one of mine for $3000 ----- not really!
all_Finns_800.jpg

D, I think you ought to send me an M28/30 'cause I am such a damn nice guy.

[Darryl]

Grinder:

That makes me real glad I got my Mosins when I did!

That is a heck of a nice list of rifles. I wonder though, as a percentage, have the Finns done as good as the '42 Izhevsk 91/30?

From what I can see, the Finn's have gone up a lot more % wise then the Russians.
Some of those M28-30 are going for over $1000!!!

I'll sell any one of mine for $3000 ----- not really!
all_Finns_800.jpg

D, I think you ought to send me an M28/30 'cause I am such a damn nice guy.

You are a DAMN nice guy, but, not that nice!

Darryl

[Junk Yard Dog]

While I do have a 28/30 I would never refuse the gift of another one, refusing it would be rude!

[Darryl]

Jim, You are not getting one of mine either!

Darryl

[SA1911a1]

Jim, You are not getting one of mine either!

Darryl

I bet when you were in school the teachers marked, "Does not work play well with others" on your report card.

I never saw a 28/30 in the wild. I was damn lucky to find an M-27, and that was out of state. All of my M-39s came from Jim's neighbor, Patricia.

[selfedya]

Last week I walked into a gun shop in New York...

$1250 for a Tula Mosin from the 30s, $1000 for a WWII era Tula. Condition was middle of the road, didn't do the bullet test with the bore.

I don't know if that makes the original poster feel better, or worse. Just look on Gun Broker. I can't find a Mosin for under $400 unless it's non Soviet with un-matched numbers and stock beaten to crap. Add to that shipping, FFL, and mandatory state tax in all 50 states.

And this is with the Russian ammo ban in force.

If you look at this article from Rock Island Auction, something apparently happened in 2016 that just sent prices through the ceiling: https://www.rockislandauction.com/riac- ... lue-trends

[Junk Yard Dog]

Happens with any import after the initial glut has been absorbed by the collecting community and no more imports come in. There is nothing to be done about it now, if you want one you have to pay.

The RI article does a good job of explaining how the deteriorating situation between Ukraine and Russia with attendant western sanctions against the Soviets has caused imports of Mosins to slack, then stop and prices to rise. Now they are at all out war with each other and apparently using some of the Mosins they didn't sell us to kill each other. Eastern Europe has long since run dry of the smaller number they had on hand. China and North Korea likely have thousands but good luck waiting for them to be imported here.

New York gun store prices are high, just like the price on everything else here, but I would do some shopping around before paying a G for a more common date 91/30. Tula took a couple years off making Mosins during the war to resume in 1944. This means 1941 and 1944 Tula dates will command higher prices than the same dates from Izhevsk who produced millions of them.

[Darryl]

Hell, I think anything over $49 is high!
These prices are making me twitch a little.
I'm thinking of maybe selling a few????

Darryl

[selfedya]

The sad reality is that collectors buy to collect, lol. I think the only time mine are going on the market is during my estate sale.

Maybe we can strike a deal with Kim Jong Un to release his arsenal of Mosins?

[Tula44]

I recently saw a post elsewhere from around 7 years ago and people were saying how $150 for a Mosin was a lot. Well, fast forward to the present time and we all would be happy to spend $150 for one!

[selfedya]

I've been looking at Gunbroker a lot recently, and I have come to the following conclusion: a lot of people are NOT getting their asking prices and are forced to relist. Mosin 91/30s that are pricing toward $1000 are not getting hit. Starting bids at $500 are just getting ignored.

I was just recently at an antique gun show and almost everything was priced at or over $1000. It didn't seem they were moving significant inventory. I've been told that a lot of guys like to put out their stuff and show it, without looking to really move it unless someone hits their bid. They're in no rush to sell.

I doubt we'll see a significant retreat from the current prices, barring some new miracle batch, but I think the insane climb we've been seeing might just be loosing steam. At these prices those into shooting guns are better off getting a new 308. Now it's all about the collectors.

Many people here got into MNs when they were cheap, including myself. Going forward it's going to be a different market and that may ultimately mean less buyers. Though quite frankly, I think many people who collect are like me: their guns are only going on their estate sale, or some force majeure. Preferrably we'd pass them on down the generations, if we're good gun owners and we evangelize the cause.

The one Mosin item I do see continuing to get hit at high prices is the M44. I just pulled the trigger on an Izhevsk 1945 early bayonet model in excellent condition, rearsenaled with a 1" counterbore, for $525 plus fees. FFL guy told me that was a good price. Post-purchase validation aside, he's probably right based on what I'm seeing at the moment.

[Junk Yard Dog]

$150 is a lot of money to those of us who paid $45 for a 91/30 once upon a time. Pricing can also be regional, dealers heading to shows within 100 miles of the NY metro area jack the prices 50-60% over what they might ask in rural Georgia, or Oklahoma. They do this on every price, not just Mosins. People here and in other heavily populated areas are used to paying high prices for absolutely everything, so most don't bat an eye at a 91/30 for $650

[steelbuttplate]

I was just reading a post from 8 years ago, 91/30's were $175-250, M-44's $225-$325. If prices keep on at that rate a 91/30 should be over $1000 by 2030.

[selfedya]

If prices keep on at that rate a 91/30 should be over $1000 by 2030.

I've already seen in-store prices like that in New York. I have no idea if the guns are moving at that price or not, but if Gunbroker is any indication it appears there aren't many takers at that price level.

From everything I've read the bulk of the most recent price surge has been at the hands of those who wanted guns - period. New, old, they wanted one as long as it had ammo available for it, and the supply chain issues with covid made that difficult. That market appears to be nearing satiety as supply chains have been catching up.

Just yesterday I walked into a shop and tried out a $500 Ruger 308 bolt action, with synthetic stock. 5 round capacity like a Mosin, weighs much less though and I'm sure it's more accurate. From now on anyone who's primarily focused on getting a well functioning firearm is going to pick that over a Mosin/Mauser/Enfield/etc, and Ruger I'm sure is glad to keep making as many as will sell.

So that leaves collectors. I've heard that the big surge in gaming that features old military bolt action rifles may have been partly responsible for a part of the price surge. But how much can that keep going up by?

Finally on the supply side Russia has had every conceivable sanctions applied to arms and ammo export, it's impossible to go further here.

Unless congress passes an 'assault weapons ban' or any other law or event that triggers more panic buying, it's hard to imagine that prices will keep rising so fast. At least that's my humble opinion. Otherwise I'd be out buying them in droves.

[Junk Yard Dog]

We weren't getting all that many rifles out of Russia anyway until the last part of the Mosin import flood. By that time prices had gone up and the flood was a trickle. The bulk of the Mosins here came out of first Spain back in the late 1950's, these being Soviet military aid rifles sent to Republican Spanish forced during the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War. The victorious nationalists eventually sold the captured rifles as surplus. Second wave was Finland in the late 1980's, third was the former Soviet buffer states unloading Mosins for hard cash after the USSR went away in 1992. Fourth and largest was the Ukrainian hoard in the 1990's and into the first 14 years of the 21st century. Smaller numbers came in from China in the 80's ( type 53's) and later from the Balkans after the war ended there. Russia not so much, and the small number that did escape quickly got cut off by the sanctions once the current unpleasantness got going.

[selfedya]

Thanks Junk Yard Dog, really enjoying your insights into the history of imports!