Need some advice...
 

Ok, I'm looking to pick up a mosin nagant, and honestly I'd rather not order online, pay a FFL, then hope and pray it shows up in decent condition in a decent timeframe so I called around locally for a dealer and found 1 in stock.. heres my problem, when I asked him what type of mosin it was he said "uhh, its a rifle"... ok... and when I asked what quality he said "thats in the eye of the beholder". so... basically I need to know what I should be looking for to tell if this rifle is decent. this will be my first gun purchase so I have no idea how to tell if the bore is in good shape or not. The guy is charging $175 for it so I want to make sure its worth it over a "select" $99 rifle from one of the online dealers.

any input?

Re: Need some advice...
 

You are setting yourself to get ripped off.

Buy one online for way less, even with shipping and FFL fees, and you can get one in excellent condition.

Re: Need some advice...
 

$175 is outrageous. I would not turn my back on this dealer he may try to shank you. Unless maybe it has the down turned bolt handle. On the vast majority of these rifles the bolt handle sticks straight out to the side when the bolt is closed.

I bought a nice one with all the accessories at my local shop about a month ago for $95.

Dealers are paying around $70-80 for these wholesale. There are plenty of nice ones around for about $100.

There should be no rust, no cracks in the wood and the bore should be clean, no pits. Most come with a sling, oil bottles, bayonet and a little tool kit. Not sure exactly why but the hex receivers are considered preferable to round receivers but either is fine. This refers to the top of the receiver just forward of the bolt. If it is hex you'll notice it.

Re: Need some advice...
 

Alright, thats kinda what I figured!

http://www.jgsales.com/product_info....oducts_id/3076

This seems to be the best choice for a shot at a high quality 91/30. I'm gonna pick a different gun shop to ship to than the guy I called earlier :ok:

Re: Need some advice...
 

$175...WOW! Sounds like a VERY greedy dealer, putting a huge markup on a run-of-the-mill firearm.

If this is truly your first firearm, you might want a knowledgeable friend to go with you if you visit any gun shops.

Gunbroker.com lists transfer dealers by zip code. Most of them charge ~$25-$35 to receive a firearm for you. If all else fails, check on that website for a dealer willing to xfer the rifle for a reasonable price.

In addition to J&G Sales, I like www.aimsurplus.com. They are local to me, they're good folks, and have proven honest over the last 10 years or so I've been buying stuff from them.

Re: Need some advice...
 

TKidd,
My experience was a bit of a surprise re. buying from J&G.
I bought two pistols at their advertised price, but found out when I went to pick them up from my dealer that they transfer the piece to your dealer...not you.

So, you end up paying a bit more in addition to transfer fee (maybe not transfer fee) and tax.
Can't remember exactly, but seems like my dealer tacked on his markup and then added tax.

Someone with more recent experience might want to expound on this a little more, but just wanted you to be aware re. their gun sales.

At first, I was a bit PO'd because I didn't see that in their ad.
Still not sure if they explain that little technicality completely re. their firearm sales.

Re: Need some advice...
 

I think you will probably find this to be the case with ANY firearm you purchase from a distant dealer. By law, as a FFL holder, they are required to transfer it to either a FFL holder, or sell to a "civilian" after 4473/NICS check. 4473 & NICS has to be done face-to-face, not via fax or over the phone from 3 states away. J&G could not xfer the weapon to you. They xfer it to your dealer, who will then xfer it to you.

In some cases, it is possible to avoid getting raped on taxes & fees by seeing if the originating dealer (in this case, J&G) will allow you to pay for the weapon directly (rather than you paying your dealer, you pay J&G). This way, you only pay your dealer for their xfer fees. Not all originating dealers will allow this, and some require that you (the buyer) send them a copy of the receiving dealer's FFL along with your payment.

See - clear as mud!