What should be my next WWII era firearm?

[cherokee]

Look for them all, set your standards and when one comes along that comes up to those standards grab it.

It took me about 5 years to find the type 99 that I finally ended up with.....I wanted all the gadgets still on the rifle, I wanted an intact mum, I even got an original sling with the rifle. Anymore these guys are hard to find....any of them.

One thing is so true however....none of this stuff is going to get any more inexpensive.....with the american and german stuff leading the way with england not far behind.

If you do go carcano....about the best buy now that 91/30's have gone up, be sure you get a couple clips for it....having a single shot rifle is not a great deal of fun.

[Frederick303]

I would mention the following, being way past the era of building up a collection. Looking back 30 years to when I was, I recall the arms I still treasure were the ones that when I found seemed to "speak" to me. I would suggest putting together a list of the main 5 or 10 arms you want to eventually put in the collection and then keep your eyes open for them, while carefully adding to the pile of money reserved for such purchases. When you see one that has a decent price and just looks good to you, pounce.

Research the arms and figure out which arms will fit in your collection and the prices. Keep your eyes open and the collection will build itself.

Also in this day and age, there is an aspect of collection that was not available back pre internet: build up a set of the manuals for your guns, all of which are available for free (cost of printing), many on these manuals are available on this site. Then you can not only collect the arms but learn the more subtle aspect of making them shoot, which generally means making sure all of the fits on the metal/wood interface are correct.

The other aspect to consider is all of the ancillary items that you can add. The slings, cleaning kits, mag pouches and bayonets. These you find in folks tables at smaller gun shows. lots of fun to get a full set of equipment for your rifles.

[garrettbragg12]

I did the same as you when I started collecting: add one of each major battle rifle from each major nation involved.

So far I have:

USA: Garand, Carbine, 1903A3
Japan: Type 99
Russia: Mosin Nagant PU
Germany: K43


And then the retro M16 bug took over so I stepped away for a few seconds.

My advice is: buy the best condition you can of each. You can always go back later and get cheaper mixmasters as shooters.

Arisakas, Lee Enfield's, and the rest of the bolt actions tend to be cheaper than the semi autos of WWII (garand, carbine, SVT40, K43) so focus on the semis first.

Personally I think you can't call it a WWII collection without a Garand.

[I.H.1989]

Well, I went to my normal place for classic firearms and I looked at their Japanese Empire sections. They had 4 Type 99s and 4 Type 38s.

There was one Type 99 that was pointed out to me. This one was was pretty good shape, though there were dings on the stock, not really surprised on that part, and the back end of the bolt showed some wear as well.

It did have mostly matching numbers, minus the bolt, and there was no bolt cover and the mum was gone. However, it did have the anti-air sights and an original sling. They were asking for $399 for it though. I am kind of on the fence for this one, especially since i also saw Italian Carcanos for a little over $200 a Belgian Mauser for $650, and a Czech contracted Chinese Nationalist Mauser for around $250.

Since there are people here who have more experience in purchasing classic firearms like this, I would be open on what would be the better one to get.

[Eaglelord17]

What type of Belgian Mauser? FN made them under contract for many nations, and odds are it isn't a Belgium issued and used rifle rather a foreign contract. Without more specifics on the exact type of Mauser, I would rule that one out.

If it was me I would likely go for a Carcano, and the Chinese Nationalist Mauser as a group buy (around the same prices as just the Arisaka). Not saying the Arisaka is a bad decision, I just like having quantity, which gives me more to research (as now you can try and learn the individual history of two rifles instead of one).

That being said the Arisaka is likely the better decision if you intend to shoot the rifle, so that is also part of it too.

[I.H.1989]

Unfortunately, i didn't take that good of a look at the Belgian Mauser, but the store has a habit of putting what nations have used used a particular firearm on the info cards. The Chinese one for example, has a Czech, ROC, and Japanese Empire flag on the description, which detailed some of the information on the firearm. From what i saw, there was only the Belgian flag on the Mauser, so I am only assuming. I'll probably take a closer look at it when i head back.

You make a point on having the two for the price of one, and I will keep that in mind

[Aragorn243]

I'd be looking very hard at the Belgian Mauser. As Eaglelord pointed out you need to figure out the specifics of that one. Belgian service rifles are almost non-existent. Contract rifles for other nations, not so much. So it depends on what it is and what condition it's in. I spent I think 5 years looking for a Belgian Mauser without even seeing one and had one (an 1889) fall into my lap about two months ago for $95, a "fixer-upper" At $650, it should be in pretty decent shape, not mint but pretty nice. I'd say without seeing it that the Arisaka is a bit overpriced. I'd also look hard at the Chinese Mauser. What condition is it in. Worn out like most are, that's too high. The key thing with these is the bore condition. It's not enough to have rifling you can see. I can see rifling in mine. But an 8mm bullet will drop right through it. These things went through a civil war, 9 years of WWII and then another civil war and possibly Vietnam. If it has strong rifling, despite what the exterior looks like I'd snap that one up for $250. The Carcano needs to be complete. So many of these were chopped up that is is about the most common variation. $200 wouldn't be bad for that one depending on the model and condition.

[I.H.1989]

unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures of the any of the firearms that i was looking at. The Belgian Mauser, I did not take a good look at, but I remember the stock looking kind of rough.

The Chinese Mauser was a vz.24. There was a "K" carved into the stock and it looked banged up Nothing too deep or damaging, just well worn. There was still a good amount of bluing on the bolt and receiver. I think it was faded on the front band, but i believe that was the only thing i saw wrong with it. I didn't take a closer look at the barrel, rifling, or any other type of wearing, though i will make sure to do that when I head back out there

The Carcano was a Model 1891/38, with markings showing that it had been in Finland during the Winter War. They also had the folding bayonet in the store that can go with it, but that would cost as much as the rifle itself.

[Eaglelord17]

The Carcano will be in 7.35x51 then, which is pretty much a reloading only round. Basically Italy came up with this cartridge which was better than 6.5 Carcano. However due to wartime constraints it was decided it would be better to ditch the 7.35 and stick with 6.5 for logistical reasons (more rifles were in 6.5, and they didn't want to have two standard issue calibers on the go at the same time). As such many 7.35 rifles went to Finland to assist the Finnish in fighting the Russians.

[I.H.1989]

The Carcano will be in 7.35x51 then, which is pretty much a reloading only round. Basically Italy came up with this cartridge which was better than 6.5 Carcano. However due to wartime constraints it was decided it would be better to ditch the 7.35 and stick with 6.5 for logistical reasons (more rifles were in 6.5, and they didn't want to have two standard issue calibers on the go at the same time). As such many 7.35 rifles went to Finland to assist the Finnish in fighting the Russians.

Thanks for hte info. I know that the had one for each type of ammo so I know which one i need to keep an eye out for.

Also, I think i found a picture that i think is pretty close to what the Chinese Mauser looked like.



The only difference was that it had more blueing and the nut was missing where you would grip to pull the trigger. Not sure how much that would affect the price.

Also, I was thinking trying to convince them to lower the price of the Arisaka for me. I know that it was mentioned to me before that 300 would be a good price for a Arisaka without the mum, but since this one seems to be in goo condition, and still have the anti-air sights, what would be a decent price?