WEAPON TIER LIST: Top Rifle For The Money?

[@shiddyangler]

Unfortunately the only way to get affordable milsurp these days is through private parties who didn’t take the time to research market value. Gone are the days of “cheap” milsurp.

[@RetroRetrieverSurplus]

I’d agree but there are still deals to be had. CFS has Swiss rifles for under $400, RTI has the same & M91’s for cheap price, & CMP has decently priced M1’s & 1903’s.

[@shiddyangler]

@@RetroRetrieverSurplus definitely. But even CMP prices have gone up markedly. 5 years ago Garands could be had for $700-800. Now their lowest starting point is $1,400.

[@TheMilsurpMan]

​@shiddyangler is not true. Rack grades are still 700 and go up from there.

[@treborkroy5280]

​@@shiddyanglerFive years ago they were absolutely not that low. Maybe 10+ years ago.

[@donwyoming1936]

I feel sorry for new collectors today. Quality surplus rifles have dried up. Most of what is coming in are wall hangers. Private party sales are the only way to go. Know exactly what you're getting.

[@bertofehr]

If you live on the West or East coast. Add $200 to everything you just said.

[@ericschneider3521]

Ahhh that'd be why I kept wondering how he kept giving these prices

[@cowerdnerddespacito9518]

I live in the Midwest, every rifle he mentioned is 800 dollars here.

[@loganhorne4310]

Yeah I wish I knew where he was getting these prices

[@daved4120]

Completely agree. I just left Virginia, yes, at least $200 more than every price he said, but I'm in Ohio now, and have found some incredible deals on collectable guns. Just got a 1952 CMP M1 Garand locally (not from CMP) for $1100, and a 7MM Serbian Mauser for $300, the little gun shop near me has a very nice 91/30 Mosin for $400, and a 1878/81 Bern Vetterli (.41 swiss) for $600, I may go pick those up this weekend.

[@goarmysinknavy]

For New York State, Add in 8% Sales tax on everything, $30/$40 Background check fee for the rifle and ammo. PLUS the cost of a Semi-Auto Permit (SKS). Looking easily at $2k.

[@theblindsniper9130]

Im literally watching this from the filming room at royal tiger imports I agree with your list completely lmao

[@Wicked505]

Can’t wait to see the video

[@davidkohler7454]

What the heck are you up to there my guy ?? I'm looking forward to that footage.

[@shiddyangler]

@@davidkohler7454 likely filming royal tigers

[@throwawayaccount12]

Royal Tiger is trash I heard. Heard they give you the worst bottom of the barrel and keep the best for themselves or sell them for way higher.

[@markrosen7600]

​@throwawayaccount12 but RTI does have 1 guarantee tho! Any weapon ((even bayonets i got 2 akm 6x5's)) you purchase from them will be absolutely jam packed with goat shit in any nook n cranny. Not even a joke lol i was wondering wtf was squished into the scabbards and lug grooves, the buttons...i researched and theres a whole bunch of buyers exp this.

[@85Sirex]

I got into the milsurp game about 2008ish, so not when it was really cheap, but not as expensive as it is now. I streamlined my gun to only a few mainstream calibers. Mosins in 7.62x54r, mainly loving the Finnish guns. I bought a ton of ammo when it was affordable, and plentiful. My other main battle rifle caliber is 7.62x51/.308. My only current Mauser, a Spanish 1916, and my 2A1 Ishapore Enfield shoot .308, and my M1 Garand is a .308 gun. I bought a ton of 7.62x51 milsurp ammo, and cheap Russian steel case .308. I also bought a ton of the plastic blue training 7.62x51 ammo for my kids to blast away with. I have enough to hand down with the rifles. I love my SKS, but yeah, prices of ammo has doubled since I got into collecting them. Still fun to shoot, and the kids like them a lot.

[@johnlabree6286]

I haven't seen a Mosin with a good bore for less than 650 in a very long time.

[@donwyoming1936]

The vast majority of them don't have good bores. I fell lucky to have 4 with like new, bores. Not what guys now days consider good. Actually bright & shiny, like new.

[@ForniteJeffReal]

Got mine for 300 with ammo.

[@dobridjordje]

​@@donwyoming1936I saw a type 53 Chinese with a crossed GI helmet carved into its stock indicating it killed a US serviceman in Vietnam for 500 bucks, absolute rip off for prices nowadays.

[@andrewgrant2948]

@@donwyoming1936 curious as to the point of having 4 Mosins. They are pretty sheet rifles…

[@wrathofthelion1234]

I picked up one with an excellent bore for less than 500, but it was an M44 with a missing barrel band, so I needed to pick up a cheap band and work with a friend at his machine/welding shop to get the new band on.

[@JacobsTrash]

The fun of military surplus for me was finding great deals once they started becoming more expensive than modern weapons I lost interest.

[@curtrn]

I could not agree more. As the prices of the Military surplus sored the AR15 market crashed. I sold the surplus and reallocated those resources to the more affordable modern firearms. No regrets enjoyed both times of my life. Now that I'm older the lighter guns with less recoil are more enjoyable.

[@jakejudson8578]

Poppycock! Do you know the joy of cafooey?

[@carsonl.8788]

I bought all my military surplus rifles and ammo in the 70's. Still have them all.

[@kingfatiusiii4744]

Make the rest of us cry, why dontcha ;_;

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Even that stuff goeds bad after a time depending on what you bought and when. 70's ammo portugese 8mm mauser is eleccentstuff but a little hot. Turksih and someYugo is very scary. You might be beter off taking out he heads, getting new primers, brass and powder. Reloading that stuff is probably your best option. I've seen WW2 1930's German stuff that despite being dirty, always goes bang. You have to do your research on Milsurp ammo.

[@marksheen4873]

@@carsonl.8788 I got into it in 2013 and I remember hearing from everyone how expensive rifles had gotten even then. Some guy thought I was an idiot when I bought a like-new ‘37 Mosin91/30 for $175 lol. Steyr 8x56R Nazi surplus ammo was still going for .50c. Schimdts, enfields, Mas36s all around $300. You could even get a gewehr 43 or SVT for a $1000

[@jakejudson8578]

​@@karlheinzvonkroemann2217just shutup

[@vdubber252k]

be cool to see a list for pistols too :)

[@Wicked505]

I agree

[@Cloudstrife112233]

100% agree.

[@goonko2715]

CZ82 gonna be s tier

[@shiddyangler]

@@vdubber252k 100%! Love this channel but it’s mostly geared towards long guns.

[@blueduck9409]

Learning to reload your own ammo and finding reloadable brass is the way to go.

[@neverendingmods]

54R still the best caliber for a firearm using full strength rifle caliber. Intermediate caljber is a toss between AR or AK/SKS. $15 a magazine of ammo. Crazy remembering how I got into 7.62x39 and 54r because of their $0.10 a round availability.

[@kondrik3777]

As a European I always cry a little when I hear the prices in the US... most of these rifles would cost double here, some even more.

[@CTCAC2000]

All I know is that when I first started getting into guns 20+ years ago, I missed so many opportunities to get these rifles for dirt cheap. I would see them in the store and think they were lame. What a moron I was.

[@petercollingwood522]

Me too. Word for word.

[@bradm1998]

Just for putting holes in paper then sure your list hits the mark. However my 700 dollar rack grade garands shoot accurate and 06 ammo comes in a plethora of bullet types vs mainly fmj and the occasional soft point of other calibers. I own most of your list and reload for all so there's that. Keep up the great videos!

[@johnschofield9496]

Good Job ! I started getting into mil-surps hardcore in the late 80's. I know this will make people cry, but I remember 1440 round cases ( 2 spam cans) of Chinese steel core copper washed 7.62x39 going for $69.95. YES, I bought several, and yes,... I sold them,..... for a LOT less than they cost today !

[@ryanroggenbuck942]

As a 16 year old just getting into surplus, I am crying right now 😭😭😭

[@robosoldier11]

@@ryanroggenbuck942 feel bad for ya to be sure. i got into it in my early 20s not too long ago and I got frankly lucky in my local area via private sellers and the occasional pawn shop. Its a shame really that scalpers and other obnoxious practices were used to artificially inflate prices and ruined alot of the fun for people. I more or less managed to fill out my collection before everything went awful. But I ain't gonna lie and say I wish I had more flex to either get better examples of certain rifles. Or more utilize some of the ones I have because of the price and supply restriction of ammunition.

[@thomasseidler3561]

Good video. My Garand has a .308 tube on it which makes it super affordable for me to shoot

[@JohnB-le2pi]

Just got a $200 Carcano Cav, 1937 Gardone, on Monday from J&G. Good condition grade, its complete and should be a good shooter once I clean out the cosmoline. Picked up a Chinese Factory 26 SKS dated 1964 and a 91/30 Tula 1943 from a private party a couple months ago for $500 for both (seller set the price). A year and a half ago bought a Swedish Mauser 1907 M96 from a co-worker for $400, with 4 boxes of Norma ammo. The deals are still out there!

[@ForniteJeffReal]

Just gotta look!

[@lanceppfeiffer6441]

I was a gun dealer in the early nineties and I bought a bunch of Norinco SKS and lorenco m90s couple years ago I sold some of them and made over $10,000

[@craighansen7594]

Early 90s SKS Norincos, brand new for 69.95. I still have a few 20rnd boxes of Norinco 7.63x39 with under $2 price stickers. I did buy some really cheap Chinese SKS rifles a few years ago, cosmoline, ugly grey stocks but mechanically very good shape. Think I paid around $145 each.

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

As long as were bragging. In 2003 I bought 10 Romanian SAR2s (better qualty than the WASRs) 5.45 x 39.5mm from AIM surplus for $209 each. Over the years I also had a very good SAR1 and 2 very good SAR3's which I'm naturally sorry I sold. The SAR2s I sold them off little by little, made money each one. I still have the best one of the lot which I had refinished, put in a new adjustable Red Star trigger, a real Romy Brake. I'm very happy with that rifle. At that time new production Wolf 7.62 ammo was dirt cheap. $79 for a 1000 rds. and the 5.45 was even cheaper that that. Those were the days of very cheap shooting.

[@SteveStiverson]

Super job! I was kinda hoping to see the 30-40 Krag. Thank you!

[@joshuaswinarton3274]

My granddad has an original Krag. Unfortunately it’s not a shooter rifle, but it’s still a sweet piece of history.

[@reddmutt1916]

I own a Turkish Mauser Model 38 chambered in 7.92X57mm. It was made in 1944, in Ankara, Tukiye. It is a full length rifle with a 29, and a half inch barrel.

[@neverendingmods]

This is a fantastic tutorial on what to look at regarding military surplus rifles, their past vs present values and rate at which they are increasing and most importantly.... Ammo cost and availability. I also shoot all my guns A LOT. So any round, aside from a novelty firearm for giggles, must have ammo under $1 a round.

[@Justoneperson-hu3nh]

I would include accuracy and the "fun factor" in the shooting experience. Something like blasting away with an M1 Carbine or SKS!

[@T62vair]

While the pricing for 30-06 is high for the firearm, I believe that they should be bumped up higher due to availability of the ammunition. It is available in every box store that sells ammunition. Where others must be from a gunshop or ordered online.

[@patrickgjorven7832]

Yugoslavian M48 mauser rifles are excellent shooters! They look like junk, but many have barrels that are near new. If you reload, they love the Hornady 170gr SST.

[@JustinLaFleur1990]

My M48 looks damned near brand new and she shoots great!

[@markboyles8019]

Yep, my M48 is beautiful.

[@keystonecop2005]

Missed seeing an M1 Carbine. Lots are around, but the ammo is not cheap. Same thing goes for the Yugo VZ 51 rifle, lots were sold here, but the ammo is unobtanium. Military trainers in .22 are still around from various countries, but not as many as there used to be.

[@dobridjordje]

Not Yugo, those are Czechoslovakian VZ 52.

[@keystonecop2005]

@@dobridjordje Yes, Don't know why I got it wrong on both Country and Model. Guess I was sleepy. I own enough of them.

[@cammobunker]

Despite growing on trees, M1 carbines are in the tier below F. Prices are quite frankly ridiculous for a rifle that is normally made from mixed parts and was surplused out by the literal millions to US shooters. The cheapest I've seen a typical Carbine is well over $1K and "correct" versions will sometimes double that. Well out of reach of the typical broke collector.

[@marksheen4873]

If you want a Schmidt Rubin you will be very happy with edelweiss arms. Great company, great prices. Got 2 from them and I love them

[@ryanroggenbuck942]

Where in the actual heel can you find a mas 49/56 for 800. The cheapest I’ve seen was 1100.

[@jakeallgeier4503]

Great video and I agree for the most part. My caveat is in regards to handloading ammo, which can really change the cost equation on some of these more exotic cartridges.

[@donwyoming1936]

If you shoot milsurps, you really need to reload. The components are readily available. No need to spend a fortune to shoot your milsurps using factory ammo.

[@VoAI_Voice_of_AI]

​@donwyoming1936 depending on the milsurp might not even be able to shoot factory ammo

[@Memberberry211]

Crazy how the markets gone after they killed imports i remember in the 90s picking half of these up for under 200 especially the mausers and nagants they use to have barrels full of shooter grade rifles for $20 a piece God how i miss those days

[@melektaus2906]

While I agree they’ve gotten more expensive, it’s useful to put these numbers through an inflation calculator A $200 rifle in 1994 would be priced (all things being equal) at $424 today. So many of these rifles have essentially gone up $125-$175 in modern dollars. Mosins, SKS’s, and AKs will never go back to being as ridiculously cheap as they were but it’s most other rifles haven’t 4-6x’d like they have The biggest shift has been milsurp ammo prices, all the import bans have totally rekt the market with that

[@Memberberry211]

@melektaus2906 so why are those 200$ rifles costing average 600-1000 even a nagant $20 for a shooter in the late 90s 500 today

[@shawnoandrew]

Yeah, miss is an understatement.

[@DwarSel]

Picked up a Yugo SKS last year for a little over $500. Aftermarket stock, and still gunked with cosmoline. Definitely glad I rescued it. Also, nice shirt.

[@tubeguy4066]

Lol you got played

[@robosoldier11]

@@tubeguy4066 Idk about that. If its gunked in cosmoline the mechanics of the gun are probably still held up well. Problem is yugos dont from my understanding have Chrome barrels so they dont last as long.

[@propdoctor21564]

I started collecting surplus in 2005 and for about 10 years I feel most were good deals... At the current prices today I would not be buying hardly anything if I was just starting out as it has turned into a rich man's hobby... The only things I have seen that I would consider reasonable are the Italian Carcano carbines.. unfortunately the ammunition is either scarce or too expensive when I do find some.

[@Frenchie1886]

8mm Lebel used to be actually pretty comparable price wise when it came to ammo to most other milsurp rounds. Even during covid I was able to find it pretty easy online, and by 2021/22 it got down to $22 a box for new PPU. Rifles themselves are expensive obviously. 8mm Lebel is in a drought right now, brought on by panic buying last July due to Serbian's 30 day export ban cause by rising tensions with Kosovo. Hopefully we'll start seeing some pop back up soon.

[@vernonfindlay1314]

My son in law has one,what a beast,he had hard time finding shells,and pricey. Hell, 90 bucks for a box of .303 enfield at Canadian tire, when I worked there 20 years ago,25 a box.

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Kosovo is on the State Dept citt list because it dosn't recognize (the US creation called) "Kosovo" as a separate country. So they can't get export liscenses

[@Kildar2009]

Thanks, nice video and love how your room is arranged. I still get sick for not picking up the inexpensive SKS rifles (most still in cosmoline) for $80 each back in the mid '90s.

[@Anomaly188]

I bought an Austrian Steyr Mauser from Chile for $400 at a gun show once. It was converted to .308 and used as a training rifle when Chile joined NATO in the 60s.

[@noapologizes2018]

A very informative video. I think you were spot on. Times have certainly changed. I remember going to a gun store in the 70s and seeing Military surplus rifles of all sorts shoved in trash cans with prices of 69.99 per gun. And even in the 90s, surplus rifles flooded the market and were insanely cheap including the ammo. But those days are long gone.

[@jjhead431]

Moved to Kuwait in 2014 for q job. Came back 2020, prices had exploded . Glad I got relatively cheap ammo.

[@donwyoming1936]

The 1990s were the golden years of surplus. Every country was dumping their old surplus rifles. Surplus ammo was cheaper than scrap. It was a great time to be alive.

[@danielkantor5693]

@@donwyoming1936 I think because the USSR had just collapsed and all those new countries can export their surplus guns to the outside world.

[@xlerb2286]

You used to see cases of Swiss surplus ammo. It was packed with the same attention to detail as you'd expect from the Swiss. It came in a waterproofed plywood case, inside that there were a couple waterproof sealed plastic packs. Inside those were a set of 10rd boxes - also waterproof, or at least water resistant. And when you get to the ammo itself each round was lacquered where the bullet was seated in the casing and where the primer was seated in the casing. I've still got a couple cases, I almost hate to open them, they're works of art. I love the French rifles but I'd stay away from those NATO conversions though. They're more trouble than the savings on ammo is worth.

[@fox579]

Good video. I pretty much agree with most of your assessments. The only thing I would add/suggest is that if people like shooting old guns (and who doesn't!), consider getting into reloading. To me, it's a fun hobby in and of itself. But the best benefit is that if you have guns that shoot hard to find or expensive ammo, you can make it yourself. Is it cheaper? I'd say usually. It depends on how much you shoot. For me, it definitely is (but I shoot a lot). If you have an old rifle that you put 20 rds through every few years, it may not be worth it. But if you buy components in bulk, it's definitely cheaper. And you will find that some components work for multiple cartridges. For example, .308 bullets work for .308 Win (obviously), 30-06, .300 Blackout, 30-40 Krag, 7.5x55 Swiss (to name just a few). A .311 bullet works for both .303 British (all your Lee Enfields), as well as 7.7 Japanese. Most milsurp rifles use large rifle primers, so if you get a bunch of those, you're set. Then, all you need to do is to collect 100-200 pieces of brass for the cartridge you reload, and you can be set for life! Reloading components have gone up in price (like everything else). But it's still cheaper than factory new ammo and more available than surplus ammo (which has mostly dried up). And, as of now, components (primers, bullets, powder) are mostly available (although they're not always, so I grab them when they are). Now, I'm off to load up some 8mm Lebel for my Berthier Mle 1907/15!

[@TheHippieGunner]

I got a Brazilian Mauser last year cheaper than what mosins go for today. Brazil changed many of their rifles to 3006, which is convenient. Got my Arisaka for 140, both my mosins under 120, a Mauser for 300, and a Garand for 650 (CMP), and an 1897 Trench for 200, but that’s a long story (I did a video on it’s restoration lol) I buy when the price is right, taken many years, but if it’s right, buy it. They don’t go down in price. I started about 10 years ago.

[@ratdaddy7774]

I do so love surplus rifles but the cost has negated me from buy them anymore unless I can find a good deal, all ammo is expensive much if it is hard to find and super expensive, for what there asking I'm better off going with modern rifles and ammo

[@shawnoandrew]

The hunters lodge amd RTI cheaper stiff is worth it. Look into it.

[@notagooglesimp8722]

So glad that someone is making carcaon ammo again. I don't care if its the best thing or not. Just cool to have some Italian stuff coming in that is range capable.

[@samadams9557]

I’m glad to have both an sks and a Tula mosin. Both shoot great, zero issues.

[@MaxMinXX]

I’m really glad I started collecting back in the late ‘90s-prices have skyrocketed since then and will probably never return to those 2001-2010 levels, the last affordable decade. At this point, I’ve given up on buying more. I’m just holding onto what I’ve got and focusing on saving for retirement. The only items I’m still keeping an eye out for are a C9 Mauser and a Karabiner 43, but finding those without breaking the bank or risking a divorce feels almost impossible!

[@jordanch68]

The only thing I would add is ammo availability. Some ammo may be cheap but vendors are sold out of it so not really available. That was one of the factors I considered when I bought my MAS 49/56 in 7.5 French. It's more expensive but I've had no trouble getting it from multiple vendors. I do have a .308 MAS 49/56 but in my area cheap .308 is nearly always sold out so I'm stuck buying premium grate .308 whish is more expensive than PPU 7.5 French.

[@Baltimoreed]

A dollar plus per round is why I have always cast my own lead boolits and reloaded. My milsurp rifle collecting started in 2016. Bought martial Webleys, Colts, Smiths forever.

[@Keith-rk4td]

Got my Swedish Mauser and my Mosin for under 100$ each in the 90s. Still have both!

[@bikingchannel804]

Love my SKS, that was new old stock from China, fairly easy to clean, love the cost of ammo and yes you have to clean after shooting but I kind of like doing it

[@alexhenderson3436]

I picked up a half way done sweedish mauser sporter, it was to far gone but for 80$ and just finishing up the process its a amazing hunting rifle that now belongs to my son.

[@brian770]

love the list, and i like your honesty about them, but is also all about perspective, most of the weapons in my gun safes on average cost $1200 on the low end and more than a few were $3000+, and thats just the gun, with no ammo. i have at least 500 rnds for each of them. so everything you are showing is what i would consider cheap. and now thanks to your excellent vid i am thinking about getting a few of them.

[@RockIsland1913]

Back in the day I bought 15,000 rounds of Turk 8mm, shot it in over a dozen Mauser bolt rifles with no problems for years. I had maybe two failures to fire, no case failures, used all but five thousand rounds of it (hoarded the rest) Dates ranged from 1935-1945. I agree with the Mosin assessment as being the cheapest to own and shoot still, I bought large numbers of these rifles both Finn, and Soviet, and stacked the ammo crates deep back during the happy time for milsurp collecting. Shot the hell out of them for years, never bought 8mm Lebel ammo, loaded it myself for the Berthier and Lebel rifles and carbines, I still have all the works packed away to load more should I need it.

[@brightargyle8950]

The only rifle I've been eyeballing is the Enfield. Classy looking rifle!

[@milkmanchoppers]

Great video! I wish I hadn't sold my m44, years ago. And my norinco sks was stolen.

[@stevezio99]

Great list. Adding the cost of ammo into the equation was perfect.

[@nebelwerfer199]

you should do a video on reloading for milsurps, like component availability, dies, casting and such. That is what keeps those fed by longtime shooters and collectors.

[@shayman3041]

I'd like to see another list based on enjoyability and ease of shooting. Considering categories such as ease of finding ammunition, shooting enjoyability (for example the trigger on a mosin is like pulling a piano across a gravel driveway).

[@josephcornwell8198]

Thanks for covering the MAS 36. Still trying to justify it in my collection.

[@aaronbresnick2367]

I purchased my brand new in the cosmoline Yugo Mauser. Numbers matching. Cost me 350, and it was made on German tooling post WW2. Yugoslav/Serbian made match grade surplus ammo is available and decently cheap.

[@vernonfindlay1314]

I take it you are talking American dollars,a lee enfield up here in Canada one time you grab one,100 bucks. Late 1990s I bought me one,and inheritance received another. No idea what they are going for now,I am seeking a ww1 bolt rifle. Thanks bud for the video, very impressive and informative. Blessings. 🇨🇦

[@hemaneatspizza9111]

Recently got a smle mark 3*, and lord they got expensive since 2016. 300-400 back then, and that was still expensive. got this beautiful 1916 model for only the low low price of 900 dollars, plus 30 for only 20 rounds of ammo, but hey thats what ya get for modern milsurp. (totally not complaining about my smle though, in great condition, and the bolt is as smooth as ever. love me some .303 brit.)

[@Easy-Eight]

You know what you're talking about... good show. BTW, "Gun Jesus" was the guy who tipped over the price on French rifles.

[@williampotts4404]

Yes we do have him to thank for many things don’t we 😊

[@mykalaraki9435]

Wow 450 for a mosin. Picked up a m44 from cabels a few months ago for 3 something. Was kidding the rear sight but that not hard to replace.

[@ScottyBennitone]

m1 carbine for me. lightweight , short, fun to shoot, accurate out to around 150. Ammo can be found cheap, sucks that rifle prices have skyrocketed so much tho,

[@dillonc7955]

I'd put Ishapore 2As down 1 tier due to some sketchy build quality. My friend's friend sold me his Ishy and its basically a musket since the magazine gets displaced after every shot. Unfortunately Ishapores have a bad reputation of magazines falling out if they're not given their original magazine the gun was manufactured with similar to why the SVT38 had problems in the Soviet Union.

[@willriley1619]

I bought a bunch of Mosins years ago and gave them all away as Christmas presents. I felt that I could go to any pawn shop and get one for under $200 but times changed. Probably going to end up trying to get some Swedish M96 rifles. Husqvarna or Carl Gustaf 6.5 Swedish. Not as many good deals in America but some good deals in Canada.

[@paulhare662]

M1 .30 Carbine. $300 some years ago. Korean ammo $500/1000 on strippers in bandoleers in an original steel box.

[@Cloudstrife112233]

If you split out the Turkish Mauser from the rest of the 8mm rifles, i believe that one becomes S-tier as well. I regularly see them for less than 400 bucks, sometimes even under 300. That, with the cost of ammo, puts them up into S.

[@jamesbernat4233]

What a novel approach. I think that both Enfield and 8mm Mauser ammo and rifles are everywhere. With just a little effort you can easily get both much cheaper so, I think they should go up on the chart. With that said I just loved this video!!

[@baneofbanes]

I’ve not seen them.

[@fintherebel5000]

I've been looking around at flea markets and private sales in the local news papers and the cheapest rifle i've seen was a bubba'd sks with a cheap walmart scope welded to it and what looked to be some kind of cheap airsoft pistol grip/stock on it and the seller wanted around $500 for it

[@IhaveaDoghouse]

SKS is the go to in Canada, on sale for 450 Canadian (about 330$ us) from cabellas or bass pro and 7.62 corrosive ammo is about .30$ a round (.22$ us) Got one with 1100 rounds for 800$ ish Canadian. One of the few wins we have when it comes to guns over the states lol.

[@andrewgrant2948]

Of note for the new shooters getting into milsurp. The ammo prices quoted for each rifle are typically milsurp ammo and steel core or at the very least will attract a magnet. Meaning none of it is range safe. Double all of those prices for range safe ammunition which is typically modern era manufacturered.

[@John-uy4jx]

I got a Chinese type 53 Mosin, Swiss K11 and a Chilean Mauser all for under $500. The Mauser was the most expensive with the Mosin being $350 and the K11 coming unused at around $450

[@mikebaird6788]

With the Moses also the price depends on whether they're round receivers or hex receivers in a hex receiver Tula will bring more than most other makers also there is the m44 which is the carbine version of mosin

[@campuscab]

That is crazy. SKS was so cheap they were almost free and you could get ammo by the case. I bought an unissued sks for under 200 and a whole case of ammo when they first got popular. Shot it till I got bored and made a profit selling it. Now i shoot an AR. And a 9mm. Days of cheap foreign stuff are over.

[@jackdickenson5313]

I got my first Mosin for 89 dollars plus tax and a create 880 rounds 2 spam cans in wood box for 80 dollars. I got it home and spent 3 hours getting the cosmoline out of it. Then I had to clean it. And it looked like it was in unfired condition. You couldn't do that now! I still have it.

[@stejac133]

picked up a mosin last week for $350. guess I got lucky

[@jakerulesgaming1124]

I was lucky as hell snagging a G1888 a K88 and my Lebel R35 Carbine when I did. All for WELL under market about 2 years ago. My only problem is ammo for all 3 😅

[@ajgurney5811]

The best part of the K31 is it is able to be rechambered to 308 which is what mine has had done so ammo is very cheap like the Lee enfield

[@lifeofmike556]

I just bought a Mosin 1943 model in almost perfect condition at my local gun store for $360 plus tax. According to the barrel it looks like it’s never been shot. I find buying online to be very hit or miss. But if you want old military surplus stuff it’s an arm and a leg buying online. It’s better to buy cash in person.

[@cocolikesmoney]

Love that the 2 S tier are the only milsuplus rifles I got 😎

[@Moxie-Smith]

Very good presentation. Very good information, loved it.

[@edmorganjr.3604]

You forgot the Belgium FN mausers in 30-06. I bought one 4 years ago for $200, shoots nice, I put a new extractor because the original was chipped.

[@eldamari79]

I remember my local sporting goods store was selling mosans for $39 back when I was in high school (2005), kinda wish I bought one

[@RichardNear-bn5dp]

I have a sporterized 1898 Springfield 30/40 Krag I reload for I still get some factory ammo for it when i see it. I deer hunt with it also

[@dwightlooi]

If ammo cost matters that much to you, just get a Lee Handpress, a set of dies and reload the darn cases. No need to worry about length or tumbling, just dust off the case and reload it fast and dirty. It'll still work just fine for 3~5 reloadings.

[@camgibbs316]

I was able to find an excellent condition Finnish M1891 for $500 like 2 weeks ago. Was a phenomenal value

[@Tonto117]

I was going to buy an SKS as my first larger caliber rifle, but all the ones at my local gun store were right around 600 and locally are 762 ammo is more expensive so I got an AR. I want one so bad

[@Circa88]

Recently (within the last 6 months) bought 2 Mosins. 1st was a 44 Tula M38 + 20 rounds of ammunition (Ammo was bought in store not online so it was a tad expensive) , bought for $550 after taxes. Second was a 43 Tula M91/30, bought for $280 after taxes. I pay an average of $16 for a box of 20 rounds. Cheap ass gun, cheap ass ammo. All hail the garbage rod, king of affordable milsurp.

[@davidkohler7454]

I have to agree with your lust completely. Luckily i will never run out of ammo for any of these rifles because i bought tons way back whenbit was cheap. Like .20 cents a pop cheap . Some only .14 and .16 cents.

[@karlhayes1600]

I was really hoping that the Krag rifle would be in this. The ammo cost of that thing is nuts.

[@oxtristynxo583]

Enfields are my favorite got a No. 1 MKIII , No 4 MK1 , and a No. 2 revolver

[@tafino]

You forgot the Werndl….. j/k.. great review. I agree with the rankings, though 48 yo me shuddered each time you said “only $…” having enjoyed the days for $30/440 tins of 7.62x54 and Century’s 3fers

[@cokdnlokd1238]

I agree about the moisin for folks that dont reload.

[@USAFACorey]

Would be interesting to see where the Finnish Mosins fit on your rank. You'll pay a bit more up front (worth every penny for the improvement in quality and accuracy, in my opinion) but still get the benefit of the 7.62x54R ammo.

[@AUGBAR454]

Honestly for picking up surplus rifles I find local auction houses are best I regularly buy odd ball caliber rifles for around the $150-$350 mark heck last auction I got an all matching swedish Mauser for 300 and a mint non import marked carcano for 150 and Enfield mk4 no1 for 250

[@petercollingwood522]

Where the hell are you living?

[@AUGBAR454]

@@petercollingwood522 Kentucky

[@joshuaswinarton3274]

I wish I was born 5 or 6 years earlier; because coming to age when milsurp guns are so expensive was a heart breaking moment for me. It’s wild seeing milsurp rifles in dubious condition being sold for the same, and often more than a mid-tier AK or AR. Truly a shame.

[@smokeymountains837]

Got my Caranco 2 days ago for 300 with 60 rounds, cleaned and oiled her up and she shot well at 200 yards. Get em while they last yall

[@maxpeck7382]

These prices are crazy especially for ammo. I am glad I don't shoot mil surplus. You can get a semi auto AR for 999 with tax included and then get Winchester 5.56 military grade practice and target ammo on sale for 344 Dollars for 500 rounds. Did use to have a Chinese SKS that I bought for 100 dollars when I was 18 but didn't end up keeping it, when have been a good investment if had it to sell today.

[@ianmoore5066]

Bro where do you get your 6.5 carcano rounds? I bought one of the carbines in high school a few years ago but have been unable to find any ammunition.

[@kevinbarry6552]

I got 2 91/30 1942 89 bucks and 1930 hex for 99 bucks in 2012 in shops in Massachusetts and a chinese variant short mosin with side folding bayonet for 59 bucks in NH shop back in 2012 but the chinese one was pile of crap with splinter stock I put the hex reciever 91/30 in an archangel stock and it takes 5 or 10 round pmags now

[@dapperdangerous-l9i]

Mosin Nagant / sks fan boys here. nice video!

[@thetoneknob4493]

even sporterized milsurp has gone crazy considering they wer practically worthless a while back.ive got a custom hunting rifle built on a Remington made mod 1917 action. it was converted to mod 30 specs and sports a med heavy barrel in 30-06 with a fancy figured black walnut stock and weighs 12 pounds lol. its got a custom weaver k4 that it came with that's the nicest scope ive ever owned and the rifle only cost 199$. it was between a mod 70 and a ruger mod m77, and from a few feet they all look like Mauser action rifles! the mod 70 was a pre 64 featherweight in 270 and was over a thousand dollars more than the mod 1917 and the ruger m77 was around 900$ and my mom asked why the prices wer so different for basically the same design rifle. i explained it to her and she said something i thought ide never hear come out her mouth..she said you should get that one! i nodded told her i needed to go home to get some cash and she said no i got this and bought it for me, that was a huge thing as my mom didn't love guns, and it's remained my fav bolt gun still after all the years. as for the prices gone crazy ive seen sporters with 500-700$ tags on them and not nice 1903s or m1917s stuff that had relatively zero value or interest to anyone 20 yrs ago.