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Was up to Gander yesterday to check out the 91/30's on sale for $99. They had none on the floor but said there were some in the back. All the guys were busy so I waited. Another fella comes over & asked if I needed help. I asked to see a Mosin from in the back & he said sure. I asked him if they had them separated by year to save digging through the rough ones. He stopped, smiled & said; "I think we can find something". Comes back out with a real nice 31' Izhevsk, Nice post war stock refurb with accessories, Very good bore & deep blue. It even had a little import mark... Not the big billboard you normally see. He said the rest were war expedient ones except for a 40' Izhevsk that's not as nice.
He proceeds to tell me they usually get them in weekly on ----Day & he is usually in on -----day night sorting them. He said stop in or call each week & he will let me know what came in & could even hold it for me. He mentioned the 42' Sako M39 that came in with the last batch. He already claimed it but said if another comes in it was free game. Can't complain about a $99 M39!! He also stated they price match... Which is good since Fleet Farm sells them at $99 all the time. It's nice to find a really knowledgable collector working at a chain store that looks out for other collectors.
So I took the 31' Izhevsk & promised to stop in or call each week to see what comes in.
I'll get some pics of my 91/30 from my new "honey hole".
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it". Mark Twain
We have 3 Big 5's around me close. Within 10 min drive. One of them has a "collector" working there and he buy up anything that is good for himself and his friends. There is never anything but junk left at that store. Well, not junk but you get what I'm saying.
They do the same thing. Unpack a few at a time and the others are in the back. I know them good enough now that they will bring out a half dozen and let me look at them.
But, my favorite Honey Hole is Kari's old stomping grounds. An entire shop of C&Rs and if the guys are in a good mood, it is a slice of heaven! Good prices too.
Hey Ron, just think of the stuff the guy sets aside for himself that never makes it near the sales floor I knew a guy years back who had a similar arrangement with one of the importers, he hand selected his own M24 from who knows how many pallets full of them. He said as he was pulling them out he would set one aside that was nice, then replace it with another that was nicer, and so on until he had sorted them all and he took the best. Thanks to his epically messy divorce that M24 became mine along with some other nice rifles some years ago. Good catch on that '31
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
One of the coolest things I ever ran into at a store was a Dunhams here in Michigan. The Gal behind the counter was helping a guy look at M95 Carbines and he asked if they had someone who could show him how to take the bolt out. She promptly showed him while explaining how much of a pain in the -ss it was to put it back in. Then when he didn't buy it she sat it asides to show him another rifle and proceeded to demonstrate she knew more than this character ever would. Man if I had been a few years younger and single I would have proposed right there!
She waited on me and ended up selling me a K31 and we B.S'd the whole time, she was also a certified NRA instructor and was teaching CPL class on the week-ends. This was one very well informed young lady and a pleasure to talk to and look at. I should have dragged one of my sons past her and maybe I would have been sat for life on the Mil-Surplus end of things. But of all places Dunhams here in Michigan. Oh well you never know.
On the other end of the spectrum I have ran into guys behind the counters that don't know anything about what they are selling. It's "You can see the price tag" and I just walk away.
One bad thing about living in the sticks is that it is at least 250 miles to a national chain that carries firearms. I really envy you guys being close enough to check on anything weekly.
Bloody Hell about sums it up, you can get the same or better deals with the C&R, you just don't get to play with them first before paying .
Leave it as it is. The ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.
Don't hit at all if it is honorably possible to avoid hitting; but never hit soft.
Theodore Roosevelt
Junk Yard Dog wrote:Bloody Hell about sums it up, you can get the same or better deals with the C&R, you just don't get to play with them first before paying .
Actually, a Hex 91/30 cost's $89 online + shipping costs. This one came to about the same with tax. Can't complain. Cleaning it up tonight.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it". Mark Twain
I can't go in a shop that has Mosin's without handling at least one. Now that is bad because I will want to buy any of them I handle. The Boss has made this observation many times. I am lucky that my favorite place has them in the rack with a plastic coated cable ran through the trigger guards other wise I'd have the whole used rack in lay away. The shop where I shoot (Williams Gunsight) has 5 in the rack right now and I have to control myself every time I go to the range, not an easy thing for an addict.
Women and shoes or chocolate, me and Mosins.
I knew a guy years back who had a similar arrangement with one of the importers, he hand selected his own M24 from who knows how many pallets full of them. He said as he was pulling them out he would set one aside that was nice, then replace it with another that was nicer, and so on until he had sorted them all and he took the best. Thanks to his epically messy divorce that M24 became mine along with some other nice rifles some years ago. Good catch on that '31 
But of all places Dunhams here in Michigan. Oh well you never know.
