I'm tired of buying ARs and I need something different.  Is now a terrible time to start buying?  I have read that ammo is harder to find and more expensive.  Is this a peak?  I just bought a mosin for $180 shipped to my door, which I didn't think was bad, but what do I know.  

Anything I should stay away from?
Good/ bad vendors?

Thanks!

There is NEVER a bad time to start.  I stay away from Classic, they are a little on the shady side.  AIM surplus, gunbroker, EE, gunboards EE, and SOG are good sites to watch.  I would start with a Garand from the CMP and keep my eyes open for other interesting rifles.  Do yourself a favor and get a K31 and an M39, both are great shooters.

+1 on everything. Not only is Classic shady, but their staff is run entirely by assholes.

Empire Arms usually has a decent selection of less common milsurps.

simpson ltd is a good place to find oddballs, and you can view the actual item for sale.

as someone else said get a K31, and maybe a few of its older siblings as well. Great shooters and really well made, can't be beat for the money

I too had a bad deal with classic, they did make it right for me but it was a big hassle. I did find them to be polite and even paid return shipping for  the bad pistol they sent me. The one they sent in its replacement is ad good as they advertised.
G&J has got lot of my money and southern Ohio got some too

Get into hand loading.  Buy a few simple tools and you can keep your classic rifles talking.


Here in Northern Alberta, there are lots of rich oil workers who shoot .30-06.  These guys leave their spent brass on the ground at the range and I pick it up.

I have six or seven hundred once fired .30-06 brass casings and trust me my Garand family is not short of food.

Family, Firearms and Finishes - hand picked quality, and a wide stock of C&R

Just in 100% correct (SA parts) M1 Garand, very nice gun $1500

just in 2 M1917's. First is a 8-18 eddystone with all correct eddystone parts in VG condition $550

Remington M1917 with a nice Winchester stock AAI cartouche also 8-18 dated very nice gun $550


1 Tula 1895 Nagant revolver with holster and tools for $225

A few new Hex receiver M91/30's in stock. Mostly exdragoons for $260.

Unissued M48 from back in the day. These came in a box with a excellent bayonet with frog, cleaning kit with oiler (2 sided brass bottle, pull through, muzzle protector) and unissued sling. Beautiful gun and set for $400.

k31 beech nice metal, sling, decent stock with a couple small gouges in the stock $235.

Nice Bulgarian Makarov, 2 mags and holster (not recent import) $225

K98 bayonet with frog good condition $125

Normal hand picked guns in stock at the moment:
Browning "Baby Browning" .25 ACP vest pocket excellent with original pouch $525
Browning High Powers VG+ matching, one plastic one wood grips $450 each
Browning High power adjustable rear sight missing left side Barrel screw other wise very nice gun
$450
Ruger single six 3 screw with same year 1967 holster very nice set $475
BYF 44 P38 black grips non import marked from a GI estate $890
Jap Type I "Carcano action" very nice rifle
Excellent M48's $350
M44 Tula, izzy's and 1943 trials rifle
m91-30 hex receiver, exdragoon, round receivers, M/O dual dates, pre wars, ex snipers and I have hand picked B grade guns (yes I know kind of a oxymoron but they have nice pipes and are all matching
VEPR 23" barrel gun $950 each (hand picked for wood grain and sights)
M69 Romie trainers $145
Really nice Remington rolling block in 7mm $750

Thanks for the replies.  Looks like I will go for a K31 next.

Also keep in mind that C&R, besides milsurp, includes "firearms over 50 years old."  That's 1965 right now.  Plenty of commercial stuff qualifies.

FPNI

its never a bad time to start collecting C&R stuff, especially if we're talking about CMP Garands. I got my C&R FFL a few years ago and have bought/sold maybe a dozen rifles. I've since developed a specific interest in Garands and British No 4 rifles, specifically Canadian manufactured Long Branch models. They're great to shoot, easy to work on. Finding correct parts, improving accuracy, reloading small batches of ammo etc is a very enjoyable distraction from my other shooting interests.




 

Some are nice.. And it's nice they hire handicap people.. I just wish they didn't make the blind people do the hand picking.

But enough bashing classic. They are too easy a target.

Regarding C&R.. Get it.

Get discounts at so many places (Brownells, Graf's, etc).

Get guns shipped right to your door...

Get guns shipped right to your door... (deserves a double post).

It can be used as a way requirement for CMP application (although I think most have that category already?).

Since I was the first to recommend the K31, let me also state that I like the feel of my K11 better.  I also enjoy shooting/collecting M39's more than both and Garands the most of all.  Also, keep your eyes open for a nice 03-A3.

It is difficult to go wrong with Empire Arms.  Dennis Kroh is a straight up guy.

+1

I've gone down another rabbit hole as far as shooting milsurps.

Shooting surplus that is corrosive to me is a nuisance, I avoid it.  Your alternative is cheaper non corrosive import ammo like PRVI or rolling your own.  With the help of an older friend and gunsmith I got into casting my own lead bullets for the milsups.  I buy a box or two of PRVI or buy brass and roll my own, shoot for pennies, custom load the charge for fun and enjoyment, even for kids.  A lead 170 grain bullet with some trailboss or other suitable powder is a pussy cat to shoot for the young.   Hell I'm seldom shooting at anything other than a 100 yards with these, sometimes 50 and sometimes 200.   They do a great job with that.  

I do it for the K31, M1903, M39, No4mk1, and the Krag so far.   I bought a mold for the k98 but have yet to get casting with the mold.  

I like that I don't have to run these old guns at full military power for every range trip.  Of course you can download to a lessor degree with jacketed bullets.

For plinking rounds for your mosin if you wanted to try cast, I'd slug the throat and bore of your mosin because they vary diameters.  You want your bullet a couple thousandths fatter than your throat major diameter.   They run around .310-311 but could be fatter.  A .312-.314 cast bullet generally works.  A set of basic lee dies, a lyman M die for setting up the necks for the lead bullet, maybe a push through lee sizer, some Alox, a basic press.

This is a rabbit hole I want to try out the first opportunity I have time.  I last had some time in 1998, which is a sad statement.

I got in a year ago. I've already purchased tons of items. The key is patience. Every now an then the major retailers release a gem (ex. AIM with the ceremonial SKS). But my biggest scores have come from the auction sites and local exchange groups. The license just makes you want to hunt more online.

Can't go wrong with Simpson.

No license yet.  I figure i'll buy a handful or so first just to get my feet wet, then see where it goes.  My checking account is going to be hurting the day i can buy online and ship to my house.

Yes, but at the same time it's such a nice feeling when the brown truck of love is bringing goodies straight to your front door