Re: what kind of PU could I get for around 3k

[srtjeeplover95]

Hello All,

I'm just curious what kind of PU sniper can I get for around 3k? I would prefer a bringback or one that is lightly refurbed with all the markings on the stock as well as the original stock it was issued with. A samco global one would be awesome too!

Thanks alot

[Miller Tyme]

For 3k you can get a very nice PU, heck if you look you can probably do it for 1/2 that. The problem is getting people to turn loose of them. For years R-Guns had nice ones @ $800 and they certainly didn't fly of the shelves like hot cakes, then the last couple of waves of imports came in about 8-10 years ago and they where selling for $450/500 and people still held back. Mean while collectors like myself enjoyed this "Golden Age' to fill out our collections. Then the spigot got turned off and the prices started to climb and people realized that they better move quick to get the last real bargain left in a WW2 sniper. So now we are where we are today, and the demand has outpaced the supply. A lot of the people that snapped these up for there collections are 10-20 years out from divesting there collections, by which time 3k for a run of the mill refurbed PU will be the new norm. So my advice is to befriend other collectors that share your interests, listen to there advice & learn, and have cash in hand and be ready to jump when a good one comes up.

Regards

MT

P.S. if the whole WW2 thing isn't a major hang up look for a Hungarian M52. These can be had , original matching for between $1500/2000 a lot of times and to me are the bargains of the PU family.

[srtjeeplover95]

Okay I have been checking online alot but no luck. I would like a world war 2 one, as it peaks my interest. I had a really nice one at the first of the year and sold it, as I thought I was leaving the hobby... Long story . I contacted the buyer and her won't let it go for almost double what he paid. Must be a nice gun

[srtjeeplover95]

Also is there a for sale section on this forum! Would be awesome

[SA1911a1]

Also is there a for sale section on this forum! Would be awesome

Except, almost no one here ever sells their stuff..... We are hoarders!

[SA1911a1]

For 3k you can get a very nice PU, heck if you look you can probably do it for 1/2 that. The problem is getting people to turn loose of them. For years R-Guns had nice ones @ $800 and they certainly didn't fly of the shelves like hot cakes, then the last couple of waves of imports came in about 8-10 years ago and they where selling for $450/500 and people still held back. Mean while collectors like myself enjoyed this "Golden Age' to fill out our collections. Then the spigot got turned off and the prices started to climb and people realized that they better move quick to get the last real bargain left in a WW2 sniper. So now we are where we are today, and the demand has outpaced the supply. A lot of the people that snapped these up for there collections are 10-20 years out from divesting there collections, by which time 3k for a run of the mill refurbed PU will be the new norm. So my advice is to befriend other collectors that share your interests, listen to there advice & learn, and have cash in hand and be ready to jump when a good one comes up.

Regards

MT

P.S. if the whole WW2 thing isn't a major hang up look for a Hungarian M52. These can be had , original matching for between $1500/2000 a lot of times and to me are the bargains of the PU family.

So what is a standard PU going for now days, $1500.00? I haven't been paying attention.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Collectors will sell, trick is you have to meet the not for sale price. That's the price we all have on our stuff that we are still playing with, we are not destitute yet, the wife isn't nagging about thinning the collection. Problem is this price can be very high, I have an M52 Vietnam bringhome, $1500-$2000 isn't going to do it, $15,000. and I think about it. Everything I own has a not for sale price, I am not married to any of this shit, and I can always get another later on if I miss it too much. Somebody asked about buying my M37 truck yesterday, I said sure, $30,000 cash and I hand you the papers . That's maybe ten to twelve grand over average restored M37 selling price, but that's because it's still useful to me ( as a truck) and I am not done playing with it, but I will sell it if you meet the not for sale price.

[Miller Tyme]

For 3k you can get a very nice PU, heck if you look you can probably do it for 1/2 that. The problem is getting people to turn loose of them. For years R-Guns had nice ones @ $800 and they certainly didn't fly of the shelves like hot cakes, then the last couple of waves of imports came in about 8-10 years ago and they where selling for $450/500 and people still held back. Mean while collectors like myself enjoyed this "Golden Age' to fill out our collections. Then the spigot got turned off and the prices started to climb and people realized that they better move quick to get the last real bargain left in a WW2 sniper. So now we are where we are today, and the demand has outpaced the supply. A lot of the people that snapped these up for there collections are 10-20 years out from divesting there collections, by which time 3k for a run of the mill refurbed PU will be the new norm. So my advice is to befriend other collectors that share your interests, listen to there advice & learn, and have cash in hand and be ready to jump when a good one comes up.

Regards

MT

P.S. if the whole WW2 thing isn't a major hang up look for a Hungarian M52. These can be had , original matching for between $1500/2000 a lot of times and to me are the bargains of the PU family.

So what is a standard PU going for now days, $1500.00? I haven't been paying attention.

For an average 43 or 44 Tula, $1500 easy, real nice Izhevsk are pulling $1200 now with out breaking a sweat. 42 Izhevsk or Tula PU's 2k and up.

[Junk Yard Dog]

Here's a story about collectors and selling the precious. Back in the early 90's I found out a dealer I did a lot of business with had a Harrington & Richardson trapdoor carbine. These were made by H&R in the early 1970's for a limited time, and are somewhat hard to find today, just a beautiful piece of work. Right away I asked the selling price, but no, it wasn't part of his business inventory because the wife liked at and didn't want them to part with it. Months later I called him about some new Enfields he had gotten in and during the conversation he started bitching about eating supper out of cans because his wife had left town for that week to visit family. Right away I saw the opportunity and made the offer, JT, you still got that H&R? I will give you 11 hundred dollar bills for that rifle tomorrow, no layaway, cash on the barrelhead. That was maybe $400 more than average retail for that carbine at the time, but they were very thin on the ground, and like with the PU, owners didn't like to part with them. In todays money that's near two grand. I could hear over the phone as the little wheels in his head went round and round, calculating how long it would take the old lady to realize the carbine was gone, and he could just walk out of the house with it. After a bit he said yes, he would have it at the shop in the morning. Now the next morning I was due at the funeral of a friends father, I was a pallbearer. I had a twenty minute window between his reaching the shop and when I had to carry the box, but I knew this opportunity was a one shot deal before he changed his mind. Broke a few traffic laws that day, got the rifle, just made the church in time, Vince would have understood, he was a gun guy like me. There we were giving him his last ride and I have the H&R wrapped in my overcoat in the back seat, I froze my ass without it at the cemetery. I never asked what happened when the wife found out the carbine was missing from the vault, she never shot it much, just thought it was " cute", maybe she never missed it. I still have it, I still like it, and the not for sale price would be much higher than JT accepted. Most of the time I hunted for the cheap price on milsurps I collected, but when I truly wanted something badly I went all in.

[AMCHornet]

You have to be really careful buying PU rifles because they are faked so much. You should do lots of research before you are serious about buying. "Faked" has different meanings to different people, but generally as far as we're concerned here, a fake PU is:

1. A rifle that started out as a standard 91/30 that somebody mounted a PU scope on.

2. A rifle that started out as a PU, was de-snipered by the USSR, then somebody remounted a PU scope on it.

3. Any rifle with an aftermarket, new reproduction PU scope and/or mount.

The scope serial number and the rifle serial number must be engraved on the scope mount. It's ok if the scope serial number doesn't match the original scope serial number stamped on the barrel shank. That means the original scope is gone and was replaced with the current one. It's still considered a real PU because the USSR often swapped around scopes and mounts during refurbishment. Most PU's are refurbished and parts like the stock or bolt may have been swapped between rifles. All that is ok so long as all the parts are original PU parts even if they came from another PU.

It's a spectrum of originality. A fake PU can be a fun shooting rifle that gives you all the experience of a real PU, can be just as accurate, and you can get it for cheaper than a real one....but know what you are buying and don't overpay. Lots of people would love to sell you a fake PU for the price of a real one.

Your typical refurbished "real" PU like I described might have parts of other PU rifles on it, but they are real, authentic, of the era USSR PU rifle parts of hopefully about the same year and arsenal. A rifle like that is about $1500, plus or minus a couple hundred depending on originality, condition, importer, etc. They're not hard to find.

A non-refurbished real PU with all it's original parts including the scope, mount, and bolt, is really hard to find. I think one of those would easily be $3000.