Journal · Beginner’s Guide Buying Your First Milsurp Rifle Military surplus rifles — “milsurp” — are one of the most rewarding ways to start collecting firearms. They’re history you can hold, often at a fraction of the price of a modern collectible. Here’s what a Plano gun shop that lives and breathes this stuff wants…

If you are looking at a Japanese Arisaka rifle, one marking matters more than almost any other to collectors: the chrysanthemum, or “mum.” Whether it is intact, partially visible, or ground off tells a story about the rifle’s history and has a real effect on its value. Here is what the mum means and how…

The SKS is one of the most recognizable Cold War rifles in the world. Designed in the Soviet Union and adopted in 1949, it was produced by the millions across the Eastern Bloc and beyond, which means “an SKS” can be any of several quite different rifles. Here is how to tell the main variants…

Finland built some of the finest Mosin-Nagant rifles ever made. Working from captured and surplus Russian receivers, Finnish makers fitted heavier barrels, better sights, and improved stocks, producing rifles with a reputation for accuracy that the original Russian arms rarely matched. If you are shopping for a Finnish Mosin, here is how to tell the…

Pick up almost any wartime Mauser K98k and you will find a short cluster of letters and two digits stamped on the receiver and barrel — something like byf 41 or dot 44. That is the maker code and year, and once you can read it you know who built the rifle and when. Here…

Journal · FFL Guide How FFL Transfers Work in Texas Bought a rifle online, won an auction, or arranged a private sale from out of state? In almost every case it can’t ship straight to your door — it has to go through a licensed FFL dealer. Here’s how it works in Texas, and how…