Considering $50 or so dollars from eastern states and going prices. The Claremont Mosins are still pretty good value.
They are arsenal refurbished round recievers. They are however in very good condition and they also throw in a few goodies like oil bottles, original takedown tool and I’m pretty sure a bayonet (well they did for me). Perhaps not considered as desirable and fairly low in collector pecking order. They are however a good start for any Milsurp collection. They shoot and cycle as well as a 75 odd year old rifle can be expected.
Some things I can offer that I have learnt since collecting Milsurps.
Lower your expectations.
Milsurp rifles just don’t perform like new rifles.
They often have heavy cludgy triggers.
Sights not conducive to precision shooting.
Heavy
Steel Buttplate
If you don’t use good technique they can be quite brutal to shoot.
Not always particularly accurate.
Master shooting a Milsurp however and you will improve across all shooting .
Great fun and a good money sink. They do hold their value or appreciate slowly.
Like an old car , they need to be handled with a bit of care and need a bit of caressing to make them run well.
Some guys buy milsurps then want to drop tons of money into them to make them more accurate or drill scope mounts into them. Please don’t. Just enjoy them for what they are.
Good luck
I think you are wrong. I mean, what number system are we using here? Minute of angle? Minute of German? Minute of slow flying aircraft (quiz time: which rifle am I referring to here?). I think with the right scale they are very precise
I had given up on Owen’s when Ron emailed me saying he had been through all his T53s and found one that was complete except for bayonet. No pitting, just rust and dirt. Offered me it for $220 and I just thought stuff it and said yes.
I should have tried to talk him down but he did me a solid by going out of his way to find me one that wasn’t just a parts gun.
I’ll have it next week. Buying it sight unseen was dumb but I figure it’s a project so whatever, let’s have an adventure.
I have much scrubbing in my future! Hopefully I’ll learn some stuff from it, even if it is just not to buy an old rifle sight unseen from an Englishman in Queensland.
Funny, that’s exactly what my local gun dealer said when I went to see him this arvo! He also helpfully pointed out that if I’m going to be reloading now, I may as well buy the Carcano he’s got for sale too…
I paid the same for a T53 a few years ago it had a pretty average looking bore but it cleaned up well and shoots good. So even if it looks bad on first impressions don’t panic!
+1 for getting the Carcano as well
Well done, a lot of fun and knowledge to be had when getting into Milsurps.
I also recommend ‘milsurps.com’ if you haven’t been already. A forum dedicated to Milsurps only. Quite a wealth of crusty old gun guy knowledge there too.
Congratulations on your new adopted child. Carcano is worth it, but you’ll need to start casting for it. Jacketed bullets are almost non existent these days, but casting is definitely a go or buy cast. Anyway, carcano I think is iconic and a must have in a milsurp collection.
Went and saw my new baby in the store today. Won’t be able to take it home until Friday next week when I pick it up and take it to Ballarat. Will post plenty of pics then, probably in a separate thread about how horrible the cleaning process is.
Overall, super happy with it. Wayyyy better than I was expecting. Stock is beaten but not bad compared to some I’ve seen and no cracks. Metal is missing some blueing and very little bit of rust but no pitting (not sure about under the stock). Bore is dark AF but no obvious issues. Seems cleanable. Sights are good. Everything there except the bayonet which I’ve found is available from the US.
Rifle is a 1953 and, strangely, seems to be all matching which is rare for these guns. Happy for $220!
