The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

So my friend bought the mosin that I screwed up. (See the new members thread.)
He gave me 140.00 for it, so I think I made out on that deal. Now I'm on the prowl for a piece to put in the display that will actually be worth something one day.

So now, here's where I need help from you mosin yodas.

I think I am armed with enough knowledge from here to be able to spot something in a rack. But gun shows and shops other than the big 5 SG stores are far a few between.

I see buds has some "m38s". Now what exactly they have i wont know until I get hands on it. i dont want to get it in and wind up with something worthless. I hear bud is fairly reputable, but just wanted to check with you cats first before I pulled the trigger.

What should I do?

Keep in mind that this gun will rarely if ever be fired, I'll probably not even clean the cosmoline off since that's what got me in trouble last time.

What's your location?

For what its worth the M 38s at buds are likely to be molots. Now I have not been paying attention to the molot thread and am not sure if the molot carbines are holding value like the non molot carbines. I am fairly sure it will be a nice rifle but maybe some of the guys that are paying attention to the molot value will let you know. The m38 would be a nice rifle to consider for value in the whole though. Good luck in your hunt.

desdem12 wrote:For what its worth the M 38s at buds are likely to be molots. Now I have not been paying attention to the molot thread and am not sure if the molot carbines are holding value like the non molot carbines. I am fairly sure it will be a nice rifle but maybe some of the guys that are paying attention to the molot value will let you know. The m38 would be a nice rifle to consider for value in the whole though. Good luck in your hunt.

I believe you may be right about it being a molot. It is showing PW Arms as the importer for the M38 at Buds and, correct me if i'm wrong, the molot sections shows that PW Arms are molots.

You might want to check some other sites before making a purchase. Gunbroker and Armslist seem to have had quite a bit of Mosins for sale recently. You might get lucky and find one cheaper.

Find a local gun shop that will order you a M39 from Pat Burns, and anyone else you can find that has one. The M39 is the highest form of Mosin infantry rifle, however it's expensive, expect $400 plus transfer fees, and shipping , more if it's a special date or arsenal, or one of the unissued M39's. Worth every penny.

Junk Yard Dog wrote:Find a local gun shop that will order you a M39 from Pat Burns, and anyone else you can find that has one. The M39 is the highest form of Mosin infantry rifle, however it's expensive, expect $400 plus transfer fees, and shipping , more if it's a special date or arsenal, or one of the unissued M39's. Worth every penny.

I might just do that. Would make a great piece to have.

If you are wanting a piece that has value then a finn is the way to go for sure. M27, M28 or M39. Even a m91 finn would be a good choice.

Tackett wrote:

I see buds has some "m38s". Now what exactly they have i wont know until I get hands on it. i dont want to get it in and wind up with something worthless. I hear bud is fairly reputable, but just wanted to check with you cats first before I pulled the trigger.

What should I do?

The M38 I just recieved from Bud's two weeks back was a Molot. It's a beautiful rifle (post is under Molot sub-section) but most definately a Molot. Reading the reviews on Buds site, I am not sure if all of them are or just a part of what they offer. I am willing to bet their M44's are the same way.

Junk Yard Dog wrote:Find a local gun shop that will order you a M39 from Pat Burns, and anyone else you can find that has one. The M39 is the highest form of Mosin infantry rifle, however it's expensive, expect $400 plus transfer fees, and shipping , more if it's a special date or arsenal, or one of the unissued M39's. Worth every penny.

+1 Although I did look through my local Armslist last night and was surprised to see two M38's locally for $200 & $220. I couldn't tell from the pics if they were Molots or not. I do have a couple of M39's and you can't go wrong with them. Best of luck on whatever you decide to do. Post pics.

Trinity Arms may still have a few M39's
Click the link at the top of the page and see what he has. Almost all their rifle are good to go as far as being collectors.

Do like I normally do. Buy up a bunch of crap, then thin the herd until you're left with one you really like. Buy high - sell low, that's my motto! It's just money. Hell, I could be dead next month.

Seriously though, save your rubles and buy something you would never part with. It's worth it in the long run.

I checked pat burns and it seems like she has.... "Burned" through all the m38s. (See what I did thar?)

I am keeping my eyes peeled for a finn!

I'm thinking that the bigger online retailers M-44's and M-38's are mostly Molots. Do they hold value? Well I've seen them go for a hefty price on GB. Retaining value doesn't seem to be the issue. This issue right now is more towards collectability. Anyway, as Des said, jump into the Finn arena. Trinity has some M-39's and you will see a few on GB and per a recent post on Armslist. The finest M-39's you can get for the price are from Pat Burns. There is always some sort of a Finn on GB whether it is M-39, M-91, M-28 or M-28/30 or a capture 9130. Deals can be had and for the most part they are very nice rifles. Learn how to ID the Finns so you are armed with that knowledge if you hit a gun show or spot an on line ad. You can always PM one of the senior members here for advice should you spot something that speaks to you. For me, every Mosin guy needs an M-39 in their collection. 'Course that may spawn more and more of them

Tackett wrote:I checked pat burns and it seems like she has.... "Burned" through all the m38s. (See what I did thar?)

I am keeping my eyes peeled for a finn!

Pat doesn't sell M-38's. Check with Dennis at Empire. I know he has one now. If you get on his mailing list he will let you know early of new stuff he has got.

I saw a nice other country m38 on gb the other day. Starting price was a nice 300 or so. Havent checked on it lately though.

buy a bunch

Thanks for the great responses guys!

I'm absolutely on the prowl now.

Tackett wrote:I checked pat burns and it seems like she has.... "Burned" through all the m38s. (See what I did thar?)

I am keeping my eyes peeled for a finn!

M38's or M39's? Two entirely different types of Mosin, if Pat is out of M39's then the value of my M39's just doubled, last I heard she still had them, more expensive all the time, but they were there. She hasn't had any M38 carbines that I know of since I bought my 1939, and 1945 M38's from her in 2007.

She has a pretty good list there. Some are high and some are under 400. No more antiques it looks like though.

The M44 I got from Buds last month turned out to be a Molot.