Value guide

What is my military surplus rifles worth?

Almost every estate that holds guns at all holds at least one military rifle, usually described as something a relative brought back. They are the category where value varies most wildly and where the difference is decided by details that mean nothing to somebody outside the subject.

No page can price your gun, and any page that offers to is guessing. What this one does is show you the things that decide the number, so you can look at what you have and know whether you are holding something ordinary or something worth a proper look.

Matching numbers, and whether it has been sporterized

Military rifles were assembled with serial numbers applied to several parts — receiver, bolt, barrel, stock, sometimes the magazine floorplate. Rifles that still carry the same number on all of them are called 'all matching' and are worth substantially more than rifles assembled from mixed parts, which is what most surplus became after decades of arsenal rebuilds. The second question is whether somebody has cut the stock down, drilled the receiver for a scope or otherwise turned it into a hunting rifle. That was normal and sensible in 1955, and it removes most of the collector value today.

The models that turn up, and what they mean

Model	Made	What it means for value
M1 Garand	1936–1957	American service rifle. Maker, serial range and whether parts are correct for the period all matter.
M1903 / 1903A3 Springfield	1903–1940s	Early low-serial-number receivers are a known subject and need identifying carefully.
Mauser K98k and variants	1935–1945	German wartime production, with maker codes and dates stamped on the receiver that determine a great deal.
Mosin-Nagant	1891–1960s	Made in enormous numbers and mostly modest money — with specific factories, dates and configurations as exceptions.
Lee-Enfield	1895–1950s	British service rifles across many marks. Matching and unaltered examples are increasingly uncommon.
M1 Carbine	1942–1945	Several wartime manufacturers, and correct-for-period parts matter a great deal to collectors.

What to check before anybody makes you an offer

Whether the serial numbers on the receiver, bolt, barrel and stock match one another.
Whether the stock is full-length military or has been cut down, and whether the receiver has been drilled and tapped.
Any maker marks, arsenal stamps, cartouches or acceptance marks on the receiver and stock.
Import marks, usually stamped on the barrel, which affect value on some rifles.

And the two rules that apply to every gun on this page:do not clean it, and keep the box and papers. Removing original finish is permanent, and on the right gun the packaging is a real fraction of the total.

"Grandad brought it back from the war, so it's valuable"

It is true of an enormous number of rifles and it adds nothing on its own. A story is not provenance. What does add value is documentation — capture papers, unit paperwork, a photograph of the person with the rifle — and what determines the number in the absence of that is condition, matching parts and whether the rifle is still configured as it was issued.

It has been sporterized. Is it worth anything at all?

Yes, usually as a hunting rifle rather than as a collectible, and that is a real number rather than nothing. The important thing is not to spend money trying to return it to military configuration — reproduction parts rarely recover the value, and it is generally worth more sold honestly as what it now is.

Getting an actual number

Condition, originality and configuration decide it, and none of the three can be judged from a description. We appraise firearms, collections and estates across Michigan and the Great Lakes region, free and with no obligation — you get a written list with a value against each firearm and it is yours to keep whether you sell to us or not.

Other makers

Winchester, Remington, Colt, Smith & Wesson, Marlin, Browning and Ruger.