...just like it bit me but with me it was a long time ago and with him it was a bit more recently. You know that bug don't you - like when you go to a gun store and just gotta have that newest whatever they have in stock or when you go to a gun auction and wind up bidding more than you had planned because you just have to have this one you have always wanted so badly or when a buddy is selling that revolver you have lusted after for years and you pay whatever he is asking or when you go to a gun show and aren't about to leave before plunking down your hard earned cash on an old but classic milsurp rifle at a decent price even if it is a bit of a clunker.
Now, when I say the gun buying bug bit HIM, the him to whom I refer is Brendan, my son. He went to a local gun show down his way yesterday. He called me and told me he was at a really small gun show and he was considering buying a rifle and wanted to know if I thought it was a good deal. I had a sneaking suspicion he had bought it already and was trying to get my approval because maybe he was having second thoughts. That was just a guess but I based it in part on him telling me it was "hoopty" and him wanting to know if the price being asked was a good one and his tone of voice. I could have been wrong, maybe he actually was asking his old man's advice before plunking down his hard earned cash.
What he had been considering buying was a Mosin Nagant M44 of Russian manufacture. I think he said it was dated 1944 but I'll be damned if I am sure of that. Anyway - I told him to make sure it had matching serial numbers and he said they matched on the receiver, the bolt, the butt plate and the magazine. Good so far. I also said to look for rust and pitting - he did not see any. Told him to check the bore, his description was not what I had hoped to hear and it may have some rust or maybe it's just dark. He did say he could see the rifling and that was a good thing. I asked him if the wood had any cracks, chips or gouges and he said 'no but it looked like a lousy finish job on the wood and it had scratches - as he described it, the wood is what was "hoopty". I asked him how much and he told me a decent amount was being asked and by decent I mean less than what they normally go for. Then I told him send me a picture of both sides of it.
Now either he had already bought it by then, or he bought it between that phone call conversation with me and when he sent me the photo a short time later because the photo was of it leaning against his car.
He said got the seller to come down $25 in price from the asking price. He only sent one photo of it and if the other side is the same or better as the side I have seen, he did okay for himself - hoopty wood or not. The piece was complete with cleaning rod and attached folding bayonet and also came with a sling, and ammo pouches. I could not really make out the condition of the metal but what I could see looked fair to good. The wood finish, as he said looked a bit hoopty but really not all that bad - just cosmetically so. No problem there. In fact, I think he could sell it for maybe $50 to $75 more than he paid for it. Of course, if he wants to keep it I could refinish the wood (or just do a repair on the scratches) for him if he wants, or he could keep it as is and still have lots of fun with it. Whatever he wants but I hope he keeps and shoots it at least long enough for both of us to get a chance to have some fun with it together; I like old guns and am happy he has an eye for some of them too.
Whatever becomes of it - I think he got a good deal; had I seen it at the price that was being asked and if it is in as good a condition as Brendan described to me, I would have bought it myself. Sorry I am not saying how much he paid, the price is his business, but as I said I think he did well. Happy to see him following in my footsteps at least when it comes to guns.
All the best,
Glenn B
Now, when I say the gun buying bug bit HIM, the him to whom I refer is Brendan, my son. He went to a local gun show down his way yesterday. He called me and told me he was at a really small gun show and he was considering buying a rifle and wanted to know if I thought it was a good deal. I had a sneaking suspicion he had bought it already and was trying to get my approval because maybe he was having second thoughts. That was just a guess but I based it in part on him telling me it was "hoopty" and him wanting to know if the price being asked was a good one and his tone of voice. I could have been wrong, maybe he actually was asking his old man's advice before plunking down his hard earned cash.
What he had been considering buying was a Mosin Nagant M44 of Russian manufacture. I think he said it was dated 1944 but I'll be damned if I am sure of that. Anyway - I told him to make sure it had matching serial numbers and he said they matched on the receiver, the bolt, the butt plate and the magazine. Good so far. I also said to look for rust and pitting - he did not see any. Told him to check the bore, his description was not what I had hoped to hear and it may have some rust or maybe it's just dark. He did say he could see the rifling and that was a good thing. I asked him if the wood had any cracks, chips or gouges and he said 'no but it looked like a lousy finish job on the wood and it had scratches - as he described it, the wood is what was "hoopty". I asked him how much and he told me a decent amount was being asked and by decent I mean less than what they normally go for. Then I told him send me a picture of both sides of it.
Now either he had already bought it by then, or he bought it between that phone call conversation with me and when he sent me the photo a short time later because the photo was of it leaning against his car. He said got the seller to come down $25 in price from the asking price. He only sent one photo of it and if the other side is the same or better as the side I have seen, he did okay for himself - hoopty wood or not. The piece was complete with cleaning rod and attached folding bayonet and also came with a sling, and ammo pouches. I could not really make out the condition of the metal but what I could see looked fair to good. The wood finish, as he said looked a bit hoopty but really not all that bad - just cosmetically so. No problem there. In fact, I think he could sell it for maybe $50 to $75 more than he paid for it. Of course, if he wants to keep it I could refinish the wood (or just do a repair on the scratches) for him if he wants, or he could keep it as is and still have lots of fun with it. Whatever he wants but I hope he keeps and shoots it at least long enough for both of us to get a chance to have some fun with it together; I like old guns and am happy he has an eye for some of them too.
Whatever becomes of it - I think he got a good deal; had I seen it at the price that was being asked and if it is in as good a condition as Brendan described to me, I would have bought it myself. Sorry I am not saying how much he paid, the price is his business, but as I said I think he did well. Happy to see him following in my footsteps at least when it comes to guns.
All the best,
Glenn B
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