Stopped in at my local shop, and they are selling off the estate guns and accessories of a local collector. The gent had my kind of taste in firearms, but definitely NOT my budget! Tons of interesting rifles all in very very nice condition, including a few really cool ones; SIG AMT, an original (not CAI) semi auto Sterling, and a ton of military surplus, 1917s, 1903s, Swiss K31 and 1911 carbines, M1s, etc, etc. Parts (a whole BOX of 1903 bolts, etc) and.... ammo. Lots of ammo. I was looking for 30-06 for the M1, and made a deal on a couple of cans. But while sorting through everything, I came across this little belt. Turns out it was stuffed full of 30-40, head stamped 1930 and 1931. Could not say no to that!


Also grabbed three boxes of .30 Match “just because”!

Anyone reasonably close to Covington WA, it’s Rehv Arms near the Costco. The estate stuff is cash only, as they are selling direct for the widow, not through the store. It’s well worth a look in if you like the “non black plastic” in your rifles!

Bill R

Nice catch

I always thought the Krag Jorgenson was an underrated rifle and ahead of its time. A couple of years ago, I was fondling a nicely sporterized Krag. I passed on it due to ammo cost.

there is a guy on Gunboards posting some stuff in various forums looking for pricing
he is in WA, and helping out the widow (all guns are at a small LGS,,

wondering if it is the same stuff?

Good catch! What were the m1’s And the Carbines going for? Just curious if you remember.

quote:

Originally posted by m1009:
Good catch! What were the m1’s And the Carbines going for? Just curious if you remember.

I’m going back in tomorrow, I will check.

Bill R

I looked over a friend's Krag rifle probably 6 or 8 years ago, and went and fired it with him. We grabbed a box of ammo from Cabela's at the time. pricy, but in-stock. they seemed to have plenty. The next time I looked, a year or so later, it was gone; after some looking, I realized it had essentially become an obsolete caliber??

It was definitely a cool rifle. Family heirloom for the friend, regardless of ammo availability. I think he said he still had a few hundred rounds for it, though.

quote:

Originally posted by PorterN:
I realized it had essentially become an obsolete caliber??

Yep. It's been obsolete for decades, but there are enough older rifles in .30-40 out there that a few ammo companies make small runs of ammo every so often.

Was still popular enough as a deer gun where I lived in NY with some older hunters. I nearly bought a Krag when I was in high school in the late 90’s, but concerns about finding ammo kept my wallet in my pocket.

Headed over to Rehv now to take my time and sort through what’s left. I was there last week and... did very well on some of that estate stuff. Didn’t even look at what was on the wall, just poked through some bins and came up with all the treasures I could afford in about fifteen minutes of sorting. Nearly bought that cartridge belt until I saw what it was loaded up with and thought “nah, someone wanting Krag ammo will want that.” Glad you got it!

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Was still popular enough as a deer gun where I lived in NY with some older hunters.

Krag rifles were very popular hunting rifles during the period between WW1 and WW2, when hundreds of thousands of them were surplused by the government and sold extremely cheaply to civilians. They offered an inexpensive way to put meat on the table during the Depression. Most were sporterized to make them more suitable as hunting rifles, and many were handed down to later generations who continued to hunt with them in smaller numbers.

For those with some more scratch, there were also a few commercial hunting rifles offered in .30-40, like the Winchester 1895 lever rifles. Same story, with them being handed down and continuing in use in small numbers.

Then you have folks who like to collect and shoot military Krag rifles and carbines.

Hence the small but ongoing demand for .30-40 ammo, despite its obsolescence.

Well, all the rifles mentioned in the OP are gone. The only ones I saw that had the estate sale tag were a fixed stock Century VZ 2008, an SKS with a folding bayonet (didn't look closer, don't have the knowledge to tell you more than that), and an HK G36 built up off a civilian model. No milsurps left, definitely no AMT or Sterling, those must have gone quick. There was half as much stuff left on the floor and in bins as when I was there a week ago, and I talked to another customer who was there and picked up some H&K parts and seemed quite pleased.

There's parts bins filled with 1903 parts, about a dozen complete bolt assemblies, and miscellaneous small parts. The bin of wooden GI furniture is well-picked over but I saw a 1903A3 stock, a set of 1928 Thompson furniture, and various handguards. There's still two bins full of OD GI web gear, including sacks, packs, pouches, belts, bandoliers, you name it. There's a gallon ziplok bag filled with H&K 30rd AR mags that says "$15 EA" on it. That may catch someone's interest.

I picked up a gorgeous early two rivet shallow sight groove M1 carbine handguard to go with my high wood stocked Inland last week, among other things. Today, I brought home an ammo can of M2 ball loaded on clips and in bandoliers. Going to fight the urge to go back tomorrow, I really can't afford it, lol.

Go! Bring cash, get nice milsurp stuff. Plenty of M2 ball and loaded M1 clips left, ammo cans filled with bandoliers, match ammo, etc.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

Sorting through the couple of cans of 30 I grabbed, and it’s all very nice surplus.



Went back today and grabbed a few bits of 1903 stuff I had been looking for. Plus an FAL stock, just cause the wood looked pretty nice, and you never know....



Bill R

Nicely done. That can on the right was the one I should have grabbed last week, and was sorely tempted to. How fast it's all going prompted me to grab the one I did today.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Nicely done. That can on the right was the one I should have grabbed last week, and was sorely tempted to. How fast it's all going prompted me to grab the one I did today.

I was torn between that one and getting some of the stuff on M1 clips. Once I got home and researched, I found that Talon did remanufacture on surplus ammunition for the CMP, and it’s generally regarded as good stuff. The other can is all Lake City 69. I figured this way, the 03, the 1917, and the M1 will all be happy!

Bill R

I wasn’t really deep on clips or ammo, so I opted for a combined tin. Seemed to make the most sense to me, given what’s left. There was one other tin that seemed to be all M2 when I left.

I wish the best for the widow, and it has reinforced the notion that I need to put together a valuation table of what I own in case of my passing first, which is likely. I paid the asking price on the items I bought, but it was far, far below market value. I don’t want that for my son.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
I wasn’t really deep on clips or ammo, so I opted for a combined tin. Seemed to make the most sense to me, given what’s left. There was one other tin that seemed to be all M2 when I left.

I wish the best for the widow, and it has reinforced the notion that I need to put together a valuation table of what I own in case of my passing first, which is likely. I paid the asking price on the items I bought, but it was far, far below market value. I don’t want that for my son.

Exact same thought I left with... Time to make sure the spreadsheet is updated, and to make sure everything has what I really paid for it, not what I told her I paid!

Bill R