How would you describe your C&R Collection?

[skeleman63]

i only have two oldies....a 1942 Mosin Nagant 91/30 and a 1902 Swedish Mauser M96

[CGZ]

Mostly things tied to the World Wars.

Mosin Nagant 91/30 X 2 (one sporterized one original)
Mosin Nagan 44
Lee Enfield No 4 Mk 1
Yugo M24/47 Mauser
Arisaka Type 99
M41 Carcano
Swiss K31
French MAS 36
M1 Carbine
M1 Garrand
M1903 A3
M1917 American Enfield

[Springfield45]

I did not see a option for need more money to buy more C&R's.

[2761377]

as a general category, C&R's have the most collectible guns.

within that general category, I collect Garands, S&W revolvers and Winchester rifles.

in terms of value and historical importance, my Garands top the list.

having said that, there is a 1st year .44 Magnum that highlights my Smith collection. I have very affectionate feelings towards that pistol.

[rdfact]

Mine is kind of all over. I'm now thinking about unloading a few that I have duplicates of to make some room.

[Crunch130]

3 Mausers. 1 Finn Mosin. 1 M1 Garand. A couple 22's. In other words, too small.

Crunch

[VegasND]

I started out frantically buying anything that caught my attention. I posted about my first year here:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=442309

After that first crazy year I slowed down and focused more on what really interested me instead of just buying everything I saw.

I've moved to less milsurp and more non-military guns.

I like the change.

[81turbota]

Mine is fairly focused with a few outliers. My collection is a broad representation of WW1/WW2/Cold War from the European theater.

Garands, M1 carbine, K98, Enfields, Russian and Finn Mosins, Swiss rifles.
Quite a few Axis pistols.

My outliers are:
Singapore Police Webley Mk4
Persian 98/29
Colt Army Special 38
Swedish Lahti M40

Although they are excellent guns IMO, South American Mausers and Japanese stuff don't have a spot in my collection. Maybe in the future.

[highpower]

I have a few.

[land locked]

From about 2000-2008 my collection was focused on mausers, Mosins and sks rifles. I had almost every variation of yugo mauser available and a few Russian capture k98s. Then that branched into Czech and turk mausers of czech origin. Most eastern European M44 mosins including several Polish, Hungarian, Romanian and Russian. Several finns, 91/30 sniper, the various hex, round, tula, izzy 91/30s. I at one time had about a dozen sks rifles, chinese, russian, albanian, yugo 59, 59/66, 59/66a and romanian. Everything was x2, you know in case something happened to one. Most were in new and unissued condition with a few beaters to go shoot.
Then one day I looked at what I had aquired, realized I didn't shoot most of them, and decided to simplify my life. I got rid of them all.
I miss some of them, but having stuff to have stuff doesn't work for me.
I still have one Yugo M48a and just picked up an excellent condition M48. I liked the Yugo mausers the best. Thats it for my C&Rs. Everything else I own is modern.

[pitfighter]

Fairly specific - German pre-1945 self-loading.
Firearms, period correct ammunition, accessories and paperwork.
Magazine pouches, uniforms and field gear.

[Enfield47]

My humble collection is all over the place. I only have Enfields, Mosins, a few American guns, a Swiss, and an SKS, someday I'm sure I'll get a Mauser.

[1bulletBarney]

Mine is small but growing. The last purchase was a Walther P1/P38 with a alloy frame. Nothing spetacular as far as C&R's go, but dang that pistol is a awesome shooter. My next C&R will be a Yugo SKS...

My others are a Chinese SKS, a Swiss K31, Yugo M48 Mauser and a Mosin M44 flame thrower...

Something about Euro-Comblock C&R's that for me is sooo addicting, I am hooked...

[Jet Setter]

Lacking is best to describe my collection. I always want more. I am on the hunt for an Enfield for nostalgia.

[Discogodfather]

It's really hard not to specialize in very specific firearms and makes in the C&R world. Most tell you to focus on quality and not quantity, which I totally agree with in theory.

Then comes the reality- you see something that looks fantastic but have no idea what it is without some heavy research. For me research is looking online but ultimately you have to buy the books, because no one can relay that level of information in a forum. That narrows me down to knowing only a few rifles well.

There is another dimension in paying attention to the market. The real experts look at estate sales, military shows, and they are not afraid to drive around of even fly to see something. That's totally undoable by me for family and job reasons, so unless I can get it on GB or through some selected sources its not going to happen. The SF gun show is always disappointing, at least for the last 15 years as far as C&R. Only have 2 purchases in the last 5 years.

I guess you got to stick to some basics and form a quality collection from there. Patience is the key and quality not quantity. Don't be afraid to pay for something that is very nice. The value always goes up so paying slightly beyond what it is worth is only temporary.

The worst thing you can do is buy everything knowing nothing and basically end up with a lot of poor condition stuff that cannot appreciate.