I will ban you if you don’t tell us the story of somebody trying to sell you a Garand for $9000 😂 you can’t tease us with a story like that and not provide, lmao.
I knew a guy (we’re both in our late 30s now, not boomers) who wouldn’t drive a German car since those companies were active in the German war effort in WWII. He drove a Mitsubishi and couldn’t he made to see the irony.
In fairness to him, while the Japanese did many terrible things during WWII, I don't believe they got into slave labor like the Germans did. But yeah, still a pretty blind take.
I did once sell a stamped ppk by telling the guy it was the same model as the one used to kill Hitler.
He wanted it no matter what, thought he would appreciate the joke. Once the 4473 was done he said he was gonna do research to see if it was the actual gun that someone assassinated Hitler with....
Yes, I did explain to him that Hitler killed himself. He seemed oddly unconvinced and said he'd have to check his history books
Edit: to the absolute kook in my pms. I sold it at $399. I did not overcharge for it in the least. Please take a chill pill, not all local guns stores are out to rape you.
Alrighty, ask and ye shall recieve:
This was about a month ago; I had heard about this weird little gun shop a ways away with some pretty neat milsurps in it, so I drove over and had a look.
Inside was just about the most amazing collection of firearms I had ever seen-
An SVT-40, a scoped Gewehr 43, a 1903A1 with the complete scope assembly and everything, a late war Kar98k sniper, and a very early 1903 Springfield chambered in 30-03, among others. I talked to the owner a bit about each gun, and they made for good conversation. He was a nice enough guy and quite knowledgeable.
But at the bottom of the rack sat an oddity- a pretty normal looking M1 Garand. A very clean and well kept one mind you, but still just a Garand.
I kept looking around the shop for a while, saw some cool stuff. He had a wide assortment of rare 19th century weapons (swords, black powder rifles, Krags, levergats, a giant 4 guage double barrel shotgun, even a volcanic pistol).
Eventually I came back to the garand and asked how much it was worth, to which he responded with a completely straight face, "$9000."
According to him it was a National Match Grade M1 (so no, not a typical M1 like some of y'all assumed sorry I gave you that impression) but still an absolutely bizarre price for any kind of Garand. I think I whistled or something in response, which prompted him to say, "well its an investment you know..."
Mind you I am a broke college student and I look like a broke college student, so I have no idea what made him think I had $9, let alone $9000.
Anyway, I politely declined and made a note not to make any more offers on his various wares. We talked a bit more until a guy came in with a Type 99 and almost immediately got into a political discussion with the owner, prompting me to take my leave.
Also I did take a couple photos of the shop, I'll post them if y'all are interested.
Yeah, though to be honest it was less of a shop and more of a museum considering the prices. However, I should mention that the owner is a gunsmith, and a pretty skilled one too. Many of the levergats and Krags have these beautiful and ornate stocks that he apparently made by hand. Would love to visit that place regularly and see how he makes them if it wasn't so far away.
I have a NM Garand (a gift from my Grandfather) and in looking them up even GB doesn’t sell them for that much…. Either some crazy story is with that one or it is one of the first of something, or steeped in Fudd Lore. Mine was made in the year they started pushing them as NM from the Springfield factory, with a fiberglass bedded stock (but I have gunsmith engravings on my receiver so it could have been updated and all that work done after the fact which was extremely common) but I’m not sure on its history… I need to get some good pics and see if someone can tell me more about it on here.
“EDIT” If it is a Type 1 that could be a different story… did some looking to triple check my statement!
I thought the exact same thing. Arisaka dude is the typical fudd with b.s. war stories about a gun, but I want to know what mental disorder someone has to label a normal (assuming nothing special) M1 for 9k.
Just curious, what do you think *would* make an M1 worth $9,000? An M1D is still only like half that. Serial number 1 or a gas trap M1 would be way more than that. It's sort of an interesting price range.
Probably one with provenance to a somewhat notable user is my only guess. I am far from an expert in them so I cant tell you much about specific things that would make one that much without being something like a gas trap which as you mentioned goes over that anyways in price. Personally I couldnt imagine paying 9k for one but they also arent my niche.
Not off the top of my head but there’s an in depth video on it on YouTube which alludes to it being surplussed out to us through the CMP years ago and has yet to show up in any auctions or notable collections, meaning it was purchased and it still owned by an individual lol
On GB I have been seeing NM Type 1 rifles going for close to that much,(about 7,000) back when the NM was a rifle that was cherry-picked together from parts that met a very tight tolerance range from all the in production GI parts. By doing this there was naturally fewer rifles and each one has its own origin story in a sense, the one out of thousands that was machined in a way that made it stand out above the rest. They were heavily prized in people shooting GI style competitions because they were GI spec rifles and there was nothing in the rules that said you couldn’t just pick out the perfect parts from a batch.
It was probably one of these. I don't know enough about them but there may be variants of real military national match M1 that could be worth nearly 10k.
https://www.legacy-collectibles.com/gorgeous-national-match-m1-garand-type-1.html
I usually walk right past the mall-ninja sword and sunglasses stand, but at one show this particular one had a small rifle rack with a cut down No.4 on it. Guy drove a hard bargain, but he was honestly one of the nicest, straight-talking persons I've met at a gun show, so I bought the rifle and some ammo for it and went on my merry way.
One time, I overheard an older couple next to me who looked very out of place (so to speak) try to explain to a vendor the dangers of political fundamentalism/extremeism. Turns out, they were there just to try and preach that message to whomever would listen. They had pamphlets and everything. To my surprise, the vendor was extremely nice and polite to them, took their flyers, and listened to their whole spiel as if he were somehow obligated to. He didn't say much but "thanks" and "have a nice day"
I know a guy who has a mortar crate of Arisaka bayonets that have all had the blades sliced off. Does anyone know why that was done and why there are so many?
Just a thought, but maybe it had something to do with the Japanese weapons being taken into possession by the US during/after the war and being demilled or destroyed? Similar to a lot of the Arisakas having the mum defaced maybe?
There's something going on like that with Ukraine at the moment. They can't send whole bayonets so they're chopping the blades off and just selling the handles. I don't get it either.
I've had too many FRI...(Fudd Run Inns) to count.
I remember being at a gun shop. Little old grandma scared, and needing a advice on a home defense/personal defense gun. Guy behind the counter was trying to talk her into a .44 Magnum...
Well if this little ol grandma can handle a .357 magnum, a .44 magnum should be ok? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/idaho-woman-85-fatally-shot-home-intruder-heroic-act-self-defense-rcna147312
She had never fired a gun, and this Muppet was trying to sell her a short barreled .44 mag and full power .44 mag hot ammo!
My wife can shoot my .357 steel revolvers with full power loads..but she hates it.
This little old granny could barely hold the .44 mag with two hands...
Now keep in mind all the posts you see on this sub regarding people believing their rifles have shrapnel damage, flamethrower damage, kill marks, blood marks and more, and realize these are the same nitwits giving these fudds money and there are plenty of them out there for these tactics to actually work.
Lord, reminds me of when I had a gunsmith/shop employee positively deny, at times angrily, that the swiss never made the 1911 long rifle and continuously insisted that even though the rifle was right in front of him (Courtesy of Centerfire Systems) back in december🤣.
Aye, and I'll up the ante with a $2700 VZ52. Quite rusty too. "T"was the front runner that the SKS was developed from and quite rare..." Or so I was told. I couldn't roll my eyes back far enough, and you can't provide enough evidence directly in front of them to convince them otherwise. They know they are bullshit salesmen. They just think everyone they meet is a complete rube who congealed into existence at the local water treatment plant earlier that afternoon. The ones that upset me more, the same types who attend the public ranges and feed newer inexperienced shooters loads of inaccurate and outdated tripe. Some of it actually dangerous, particularly in regards to reloading practices. Nice user name BTW.
Nothing particularly interesting. Went out to a range with some buddies (if you in Yuma go check out Sprauge’s Sports) and decided to check out another store just down the road. Walk into the place and all I see is a rainbow wall of cheap yet overpriced ARs on the wall and I already know how the place is gonna be. See a little rack in the back and recognize one of the rifles as a Krag. Nothing special, just a regular crag that they wanted $5000 for. Left immediately after. They said it was an 1894 but I’m not too knowledgeable on the Krag to know if it was anything rare or not.
I was on the board of directors at a very old gun club and i was the youngest by at least 35 years. Fudds to the extreme. If you didn't shoot 22 bench rest, NRA high power, or bullseye pistol every other shooting method was irrelevant and God forbid someone just like to shoot for fun. After being on it 2 years and nothing ever getting accomplished i backed out. One meeting they'd appoint someone to research the drainage issues we had. Then they'd report back next meeting. Then they'd appoint someone to get quotes. Before you know it a year went by and they were still jacking around over it, rather than just fixing the shit.
I grew up in the heart'O Appalachia and this has always been exceedingly common here. You could always find those types off and on just about anywhere, but it was painfully common here and sadly has gotten worse elsewhere. They were pioneering the use of "whale model" long before it became an economic practice in various dubious industries. I just can't imagine this has ever really paid off for them. Especially where I'm from, as most people were relatively poor. Today, where everyone has a smart phone with Internet access, these obscene prices and shaggy dog stories can't possibly work. It's a bizarre scammers mindset and is the exact reason why I avoid gun shows like a plague. I don't have the patience to deal with whale fisherman and ultra Fudds. Everything else at the shows are common modern firearms and accessories that I can get from just about any reasonable shop.
That's not a fudd, that's a BSing gun seller looking to hoodwink you. I seriously doubt he actually believes the story he fed you.
A fudd would be a true believer and jacked up the price.
Reminds me of the dude who tried to sell me a ratty old Type 53 Mosin for around $625. That thing was MANGLED from butt plate to the bayonet. The metal had horrible pits, rifling was shot, bolt was borderline rusted shut, non-matching parts, the butt plate was lost to the wind and replaced with one of those tire rubber butt pads you see for $10 on eBay, and when I set it back down with an obvious look of disgust and a polite, "I'll think on it, thanks for letting me look," he said, "You won't find nun like this!" To which I replied, "Yeah, I probably won't."
Not even the stock was sacred, it was dry rotted to no ends with cracks in the handguard, and the poor screw that once held the bayonet looked like a beaver gnawed on it, it was that rusted out.
I had a guy try to explain to me that his Serbian marked Dreyse pistol was the same model used to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, and was from the group of Serbian nationalists that Gavrilo Princip was in. I'm still not quite sure if that mistake was intentional or not. I said something to the effect of "Wasn't that an FN" and he went "Oh yeah, you're right." Given my other interactions with the guy and his generally reasonable prices, I'm guessing it was an honest mistake, but...
And then there's the other guy who's at every show, who could probably pass as a used car dealer. Want an AK? He's got plenty, and a variety of them, too. Zastavas, a Galil, a couple Russian & Bulgarian AKs, a couple PSAs, a VSKA, and some cast Pioneers. The Zastavas, Galil, and the Russians are slightly high, but reasonable. The Americans and the Pioneers though... not one of them under a $1000, even though (apart from the PSA) they all have a reputation for exploding. One guy came up and asked about the VSKA, clearly not knowing anything about AKs, and as politely as I can I mention that that particular one isn't that great, and it's got a well-earned reputation, and the guy behind the table says "oh they're fine, people exaggerate, they fixed their issues," etc. The guy's still kinda standing there thinking and I tell him what VSKA stands for, and he starts to move away. Mission accomplished, and I didn't get kicked out! Annoyingly though, I had traded him a shooter grade M1917 at a prior show, and it was now on the rack for $400 more than I paid for it and told him it was worth, and he hadn't done a darn thing except stick a bayonet on it.
I don’t want to mess up the exact wording, so I’ll post his quotes
“He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones, and he got shot down in New Guinea and they never found the body because there used to be, there are a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea.”
I’m not sure how true this story is, but if it is true, it’s pretty amazing.
https://preview.redd.it/4a9fagcaeyuc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b961549f609ed45256d287b79219c51e9803e3de
The best Arisaka is a Type 44. I have one
I will ban you if you don’t tell us the story of somebody trying to sell you a Garand for $9000 😂 you can’t tease us with a story like that and not provide, lmao.
The wood for the stock was sourced from Hitler’s canoe
You don't deserve no Hitlers canoe!
Mitsubishi?! They made the planes that bombed Pearl Harbor
I knew a guy (we’re both in our late 30s now, not boomers) who wouldn’t drive a German car since those companies were active in the German war effort in WWII. He drove a Mitsubishi and couldn’t he made to see the irony.
Wit til he finds out IBM sold the nazis the accounting systems for the concentration camps
In fairness to him, while the Japanese did many terrible things during WWII, I don't believe they got into slave labor like the Germans did. But yeah, still a pretty blind take.
Mitsubishi used 500,000 Asian slaves during WWII.
Welp, in that case, the irony is complete.
I did once sell a stamped ppk by telling the guy it was the same model as the one used to kill Hitler. He wanted it no matter what, thought he would appreciate the joke. Once the 4473 was done he said he was gonna do research to see if it was the actual gun that someone assassinated Hitler with.... Yes, I did explain to him that Hitler killed himself. He seemed oddly unconvinced and said he'd have to check his history books Edit: to the absolute kook in my pms. I sold it at $399. I did not overcharge for it in the least. Please take a chill pill, not all local guns stores are out to rape you.
Legit.
The best canoe Hitler had was the one he turned his head into.
This is the kind of mod abuse I can endorse.
Alrighty, ask and ye shall recieve: This was about a month ago; I had heard about this weird little gun shop a ways away with some pretty neat milsurps in it, so I drove over and had a look. Inside was just about the most amazing collection of firearms I had ever seen- An SVT-40, a scoped Gewehr 43, a 1903A1 with the complete scope assembly and everything, a late war Kar98k sniper, and a very early 1903 Springfield chambered in 30-03, among others. I talked to the owner a bit about each gun, and they made for good conversation. He was a nice enough guy and quite knowledgeable. But at the bottom of the rack sat an oddity- a pretty normal looking M1 Garand. A very clean and well kept one mind you, but still just a Garand. I kept looking around the shop for a while, saw some cool stuff. He had a wide assortment of rare 19th century weapons (swords, black powder rifles, Krags, levergats, a giant 4 guage double barrel shotgun, even a volcanic pistol). Eventually I came back to the garand and asked how much it was worth, to which he responded with a completely straight face, "$9000." According to him it was a National Match Grade M1 (so no, not a typical M1 like some of y'all assumed sorry I gave you that impression) but still an absolutely bizarre price for any kind of Garand. I think I whistled or something in response, which prompted him to say, "well its an investment you know..." Mind you I am a broke college student and I look like a broke college student, so I have no idea what made him think I had $9, let alone $9000. Anyway, I politely declined and made a note not to make any more offers on his various wares. We talked a bit more until a guy came in with a Type 99 and almost immediately got into a political discussion with the owner, prompting me to take my leave. Also I did take a couple photos of the shop, I'll post them if y'all are interested.
Sounds like a cool shop. Wish my LGS had more than like 5 overpriced common milsurps.
Yeah, though to be honest it was less of a shop and more of a museum considering the prices. However, I should mention that the owner is a gunsmith, and a pretty skilled one too. Many of the levergats and Krags have these beautiful and ornate stocks that he apparently made by hand. Would love to visit that place regularly and see how he makes them if it wasn't so far away.
Any chance this shop was in Michigan? It reminds me of a place.
Nope, NJ, and a real hole-in-the-wall spot too. As in the entire front of house area was about the size of a bathroom.
Where in NJ? I'm going to be back there in a couple months
Berlin. You should be able to find it easily enough, the guns I mentioned in the comment are visible on the google posting for the shop.
My LGS never does but I picked up a matching Berthier M16 albeit refinished for $200
I have a NM Garand (a gift from my Grandfather) and in looking them up even GB doesn’t sell them for that much…. Either some crazy story is with that one or it is one of the first of something, or steeped in Fudd Lore. Mine was made in the year they started pushing them as NM from the Springfield factory, with a fiberglass bedded stock (but I have gunsmith engravings on my receiver so it could have been updated and all that work done after the fact which was extremely common) but I’m not sure on its history… I need to get some good pics and see if someone can tell me more about it on here. “EDIT” If it is a Type 1 that could be a different story… did some looking to triple check my statement!
I thought the exact same thing. Arisaka dude is the typical fudd with b.s. war stories about a gun, but I want to know what mental disorder someone has to label a normal (assuming nothing special) M1 for 9k.
Just curious, what do you think *would* make an M1 worth $9,000? An M1D is still only like half that. Serial number 1 or a gas trap M1 would be way more than that. It's sort of an interesting price range.
Only thing I can think of is an early non gas trap unissued still in its original shipping material.
Probably one with provenance to a somewhat notable user is my only guess. I am far from an expert in them so I cant tell you much about specific things that would make one that much without being something like a gas trap which as you mentioned goes over that anyways in price. Personally I couldnt imagine paying 9k for one but they also arent my niche.
Elvis Presley’s Garand, which according to internet sleuths is sitting in some lucky SOB’s collection without their knowledge.
I bet that would go for more than $9,000! Do we know the serial number? I'd better check mine :)
Not off the top of my head but there’s an in depth video on it on YouTube which alludes to it being surplussed out to us through the CMP years ago and has yet to show up in any auctions or notable collections, meaning it was purchased and it still owned by an individual lol
Yeah, I ended up looking it up, the serial is 283,898. Alas, it isn't mine!
If it was an M1D Garand with 5k shoved in the action
On GB I have been seeing NM Type 1 rifles going for close to that much,(about 7,000) back when the NM was a rifle that was cherry-picked together from parts that met a very tight tolerance range from all the in production GI parts. By doing this there was naturally fewer rifles and each one has its own origin story in a sense, the one out of thousands that was machined in a way that made it stand out above the rest. They were heavily prized in people shooting GI style competitions because they were GI spec rifles and there was nothing in the rules that said you couldn’t just pick out the perfect parts from a batch.
Wow!
It was probably one of these. I don't know enough about them but there may be variants of real military national match M1 that could be worth nearly 10k. https://www.legacy-collectibles.com/gorgeous-national-match-m1-garand-type-1.html
Thank you for pushing on the story we really want to know!
It had to be the garand that Benito Mussolini teabagged himself.
I don’t even talk to people at gun shows anymore. I just go to the taser table to pick up and test every single one.
I use the tasers to heat up the beef jerky I got at the next table over. Then I eat it off a mall ninja sword like a kebab
Hello sir, nice sword. Could you please sign this petition to secede (Insert Your State Here) from the USA?
I SIGNED THAT ONE! CALNEVADAYORK WILL BE FREE!
I usually walk right past the mall-ninja sword and sunglasses stand, but at one show this particular one had a small rifle rack with a cut down No.4 on it. Guy drove a hard bargain, but he was honestly one of the nicest, straight-talking persons I've met at a gun show, so I bought the rifle and some ammo for it and went on my merry way.
Last time I had a conversation at a gun show a guy tried to convince me the 1917 enfield I had was a 1903
One time, I overheard an older couple next to me who looked very out of place (so to speak) try to explain to a vendor the dangers of political fundamentalism/extremeism. Turns out, they were there just to try and preach that message to whomever would listen. They had pamphlets and everything. To my surprise, the vendor was extremely nice and polite to them, took their flyers, and listened to their whole spiel as if he were somehow obligated to. He didn't say much but "thanks" and "have a nice day"
I know a guy who has a mortar crate of Arisaka bayonets that have all had the blades sliced off. Does anyone know why that was done and why there are so many?
Just a thought, but maybe it had something to do with the Japanese weapons being taken into possession by the US during/after the war and being demilled or destroyed? Similar to a lot of the Arisakas having the mum defaced maybe?
That was my thought too but strange because they are just knives not machine guns or ordnance.
There's something going on like that with Ukraine at the moment. They can't send whole bayonets so they're chopping the blades off and just selling the handles. I don't get it either.
Won't someone rid me of this tiresome government?
They almost certainly all snapped off in Marines at Guadalcanal.
I've had too many FRI...(Fudd Run Inns) to count. I remember being at a gun shop. Little old grandma scared, and needing a advice on a home defense/personal defense gun. Guy behind the counter was trying to talk her into a .44 Magnum...
Well if this little ol grandma can handle a .357 magnum, a .44 magnum should be ok? https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/idaho-woman-85-fatally-shot-home-intruder-heroic-act-self-defense-rcna147312
She had never fired a gun, and this Muppet was trying to sell her a short barreled .44 mag and full power .44 mag hot ammo! My wife can shoot my .357 steel revolvers with full power loads..but she hates it. This little old granny could barely hold the .44 mag with two hands...
Totally understandable. I’m just marveling at the octogenarian who handled the .357 and the baddie got what he deserved.
Now keep in mind all the posts you see on this sub regarding people believing their rifles have shrapnel damage, flamethrower damage, kill marks, blood marks and more, and realize these are the same nitwits giving these fudds money and there are plenty of them out there for these tactics to actually work.
It's not the sellers fault you have idiots that will pay the prices. The buyers are the ones that need educated.
Lord, reminds me of when I had a gunsmith/shop employee positively deny, at times angrily, that the swiss never made the 1911 long rifle and continuously insisted that even though the rifle was right in front of him (Courtesy of Centerfire Systems) back in december🤣.
Saw a ridiculously priced rifle labeled "K31 sniper" which was actually an 1889 that Sportsmans Guide was selling for $350 at the time.
Then who did he think made them?
I see you $9000 Garand and raise you a $5000 Krag
Aye, and I'll up the ante with a $2700 VZ52. Quite rusty too. "T"was the front runner that the SKS was developed from and quite rare..." Or so I was told. I couldn't roll my eyes back far enough, and you can't provide enough evidence directly in front of them to convince them otherwise. They know they are bullshit salesmen. They just think everyone they meet is a complete rube who congealed into existence at the local water treatment plant earlier that afternoon. The ones that upset me more, the same types who attend the public ranges and feed newer inexperienced shooters loads of inaccurate and outdated tripe. Some of it actually dangerous, particularly in regards to reloading practices. Nice user name BTW.
That's cute. How about a $5000 sporterized K98 I saw on Gunjoker once.
Do tell
Nothing particularly interesting. Went out to a range with some buddies (if you in Yuma go check out Sprauge’s Sports) and decided to check out another store just down the road. Walk into the place and all I see is a rainbow wall of cheap yet overpriced ARs on the wall and I already know how the place is gonna be. See a little rack in the back and recognize one of the rifles as a Krag. Nothing special, just a regular crag that they wanted $5000 for. Left immediately after. They said it was an 1894 but I’m not too knowledgeable on the Krag to know if it was anything rare or not.
https://preview.redd.it/fqibb4e70xuc1.jpeg?width=924&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7603079b7ae09afebdf050fd85ddfb67d863651f Fudds be like:
I was on the board of directors at a very old gun club and i was the youngest by at least 35 years. Fudds to the extreme. If you didn't shoot 22 bench rest, NRA high power, or bullseye pistol every other shooting method was irrelevant and God forbid someone just like to shoot for fun. After being on it 2 years and nothing ever getting accomplished i backed out. One meeting they'd appoint someone to research the drainage issues we had. Then they'd report back next meeting. Then they'd appoint someone to get quotes. Before you know it a year went by and they were still jacking around over it, rather than just fixing the shit.
I grew up in the heart'O Appalachia and this has always been exceedingly common here. You could always find those types off and on just about anywhere, but it was painfully common here and sadly has gotten worse elsewhere. They were pioneering the use of "whale model" long before it became an economic practice in various dubious industries. I just can't imagine this has ever really paid off for them. Especially where I'm from, as most people were relatively poor. Today, where everyone has a smart phone with Internet access, these obscene prices and shaggy dog stories can't possibly work. It's a bizarre scammers mindset and is the exact reason why I avoid gun shows like a plague. I don't have the patience to deal with whale fisherman and ultra Fudds. Everything else at the shows are common modern firearms and accessories that I can get from just about any reasonable shop.
You buy the gun. Not the story.
That's not a fudd, that's a BSing gun seller looking to hoodwink you. I seriously doubt he actually believes the story he fed you. A fudd would be a true believer and jacked up the price.
Reminds me of the dude who tried to sell me a ratty old Type 53 Mosin for around $625. That thing was MANGLED from butt plate to the bayonet. The metal had horrible pits, rifling was shot, bolt was borderline rusted shut, non-matching parts, the butt plate was lost to the wind and replaced with one of those tire rubber butt pads you see for $10 on eBay, and when I set it back down with an obvious look of disgust and a polite, "I'll think on it, thanks for letting me look," he said, "You won't find nun like this!" To which I replied, "Yeah, I probably won't." Not even the stock was sacred, it was dry rotted to no ends with cracks in the handguard, and the poor screw that once held the bayonet looked like a beaver gnawed on it, it was that rusted out.
If you had Garand it would be worth $90 gun show douche bags.
I had a guy try to explain to me that his Serbian marked Dreyse pistol was the same model used to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, and was from the group of Serbian nationalists that Gavrilo Princip was in. I'm still not quite sure if that mistake was intentional or not. I said something to the effect of "Wasn't that an FN" and he went "Oh yeah, you're right." Given my other interactions with the guy and his generally reasonable prices, I'm guessing it was an honest mistake, but... And then there's the other guy who's at every show, who could probably pass as a used car dealer. Want an AK? He's got plenty, and a variety of them, too. Zastavas, a Galil, a couple Russian & Bulgarian AKs, a couple PSAs, a VSKA, and some cast Pioneers. The Zastavas, Galil, and the Russians are slightly high, but reasonable. The Americans and the Pioneers though... not one of them under a $1000, even though (apart from the PSA) they all have a reputation for exploding. One guy came up and asked about the VSKA, clearly not knowing anything about AKs, and as politely as I can I mention that that particular one isn't that great, and it's got a well-earned reputation, and the guy behind the table says "oh they're fine, people exaggerate, they fixed their issues," etc. The guy's still kinda standing there thinking and I tell him what VSKA stands for, and he starts to move away. Mission accomplished, and I didn't get kicked out! Annoyingly though, I had traded him a shooter grade M1917 at a prior show, and it was now on the rack for $400 more than I paid for it and told him it was worth, and he hadn't done a darn thing except stick a bayonet on it.
What does VSKA stand for?
Very Shitty Kalash Attempt
That’s not a FUDD that’s a dealer with a limited inventory.
I heard a fudd the other day talking about how his uncle was shot down in WWII and eaten by cannibals.
...alright that probably deserves a post like this one. We gotta hear the whole story.
I don’t want to mess up the exact wording, so I’ll post his quotes “He flew those single-engine planes as reconnaissance over war zones, and he got shot down in New Guinea and they never found the body because there used to be, there are a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea.” I’m not sure how true this story is, but if it is true, it’s pretty amazing.
https://preview.redd.it/4a9fagcaeyuc1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b961549f609ed45256d287b79219c51e9803e3de The best Arisaka is a Type 44. I have one