For a long time I just grabbed Chinese SKS carbines when funds would allow. I still retain two, one from 1967, the other from 1980--last year of production. As a Finnishicon American, I knew all about the Winter War and Continuation War, so in 1987 I bought a like-new m/91 for 72 dollars. Still have it, although with additional Finnish Mosin-Nagants.

Once I got a DCM M1icon Garand for $165, of which the "unit cost was 94 dollars , and a Blue Star import Korean-used winchester M1 carbine, I entertained ideas about getting examples of weapons used by U.S. foes: Japaneseicon mostly. I got a beat up old Izhevsk M44 and a new, out of the wrap 1946 Izhevsk M44 to serve as a representative sample of KPA and Chi-com PLA service rifles, and also NLF/PAVN/Viet Nam too.

That phase ended, and the collection, such as it was, got frittered away during a long hiatus from collecting. I entered phase 2 in the early 200s, and so now I have a small collection of Finnish, Sovieticon (up to 1941), U.S., Frenchicon, and even 19th century arms. I reload .43 Spanish for a Remington Modelo 1879 Argentino Patria and I skirmish with a M1841 Mississippi rifle.