Where do you find surplus arms?

[Gil Martin]

This morning I drove to a military surplus dealer a few towns away. He has a vintage shop with probably 200 or 300 surplus arms and maybe 100 sporting arms. There are piles of surplus equipment from shovels and mess kits to canteens and backpacks. I spent an hour and a half going over his racks. A lot of the stuff was in rough condition (like the Russian captured '98 Mausers) or very expensive ( such as some 1903 and 1903A3 Springfields). I concluded my visit with a Carcano 1938 7.35mm rifle in one hand and a Russian 91/30 with bayonet, sling and ammo puch in the other. I got a significant discount on two excellent rifles.

The Carcano 7.35mm is marked "SA" denoting its service in Finland during WWII. The Russian rifle had a hang tag marked "hand picked" and someone did a great job. I have been cleaning and handling these specimens and am thrilled. All the best...
Gil

P.S. If you want to know the name of the dealer, send a PM to me.