It is the Grail!

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Johnnyreb
Posts: 471
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:02 am

It is the Grail!

Post by Johnnyreb »

Okay, A grail, not THE Grail. The Grail is currently an FG42 that shoot 7.62 NATO. (no pics, no cell phone).

I went to the gun show today with a cool grand in cash telling myself I would get a .22 pistol with a threaded barrel, or an AR, or just maybe there would be a Colt Python around (there never is one around). That or the money would just go back in the bank if nothing simply demanded to be bought.

Things didn't look good from the start, it isn't a large show and I could see that there wasn't near as many firearms as usual. I Guess everyone is buying them or so I've heard. And I could see not one wooden rack of old military bolt actions. I have 3 K31s,and 3 Mosin, and a Swiss 1911, but I could have another just fine. But not to be this time. Most of the long arms were either a shotgun, or one of many, many ARs. Though there was a Sig Saur AR looking rifle that shoots 7.62 NATO, but I had a thousand dollars not 2100 dollars.

So I'm looking at an AR, half the rifles here are ARs, and thinking I'm finally going to own one if I find a nice one that is, what do you call it, piston impingment? The one that uses a rod instead of gas to send back the bolt and thus can be fired a lot more without melting it.

I'd only worked my way halfway across the room at the time, and then I heard.... "Comrade! Why do you want silly American Barbie Gun?" Why, when you can have stout Soviet weapon! Weapon that saved Leningrad! Shoots Russian bullet, shoots holes in kevlar helmets! Why would you want a plastic gun comrade?"

I looked around... no, that wasn't the $1200 dollar Remington Nylon saying that. The poor Nylon was just sobbing and lonely because no one was going to touch it. No, that was coming from over in the corner, next to the hot dog sellers. That was no shotgun, not with a Russian accent, so skip the three dozen shotguns for the ducks I don't hunt.

...And there it was! a PPsh 43 shooting the tokarov round, what I've wanted for years, but didn't buy back when Military Gun Supply was doing them because of not enough fun money at the time. 4 35 round mags, and the mag release isn't stiff as hell like on an AK. The bolt lockback is a bit tricky, but I can figure that out. The folding stock is locked in the open position and doesn't fold up, but I don't care. And most of a surplus spam can of ammo, maybe a thousand rounds. $525 private sale. Back when they were online they sold for 7-800 with 1 mag as I recall.

It was a little embarrassed, being a Soviet weapon caught up in a capitalist exchange of evil American dollars. But now that is in stored in the middle of a number of other Soviet weapons, it is feeling better about things.

A matched pair with the CZ52 pistol I bought last year.

And lucky me, the guy at the next table had himself 2 spam cans of Russian 7.62x39 for $150 each. 23 cents a round, both mine now. My last spam can is no longer alone.

And I still have about 200 bucks even.

Oh yes, does anyone out there have a VZ58? Cause that guy with the spam cans has a whole cardboard box full of VZ58 mags, $25 each. The show is today and tomorrow, I can go back and give him someone's phone number if need be.
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Darrell
Posts: 6586
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:12 pm

Re: It is the Grail!

Post by Darrell »

If you want a piston AR, check over at Bud's Gun Shop. They often have Adams Arms blems for sale, I got one for ~$600 a while back. It has been faultless.

I.O. used to import the PPs 43s, modified to fire from a closed bolt. I'd thought about getting one, but the cheap 7.62x25 surplus dried up. Good luck.
Eppur si muove--Galileo
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Netpackrat
Posts: 13983
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Re: It is the Grail!

Post by Netpackrat »

Nice. Pics or it doesn't exist.
Cognosce teipsum et disce pati

"People come and go in our lives, especially the online ones. Some leave a fond memory, and some a bad taste." -Aesop
Johnnyreb
Posts: 471
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 2:02 am

Re: It is the Grail!

Post by Johnnyreb »

It's the I.O. one. Been doing some webfu on it. One of the reasons I was so pleased to snag it is because it came with the ammo. All those nice metal surplus tokarov boxes of ammo went away apparently the day before I got that CZ52 pistol.

And no pic. I once had a cell phone. But for all the use I put the thing to, I long ago decided I'd rather have the 60 bucks a month instead.
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AndytheAxe
Posts: 235
Joined: Mon Aug 18, 2008 10:29 pm

Re: It is the Grail!

Post by AndytheAxe »

Sweet!
"Of All the gin joints in All the Towns in All the World... she walks into mine" ~ Rick (Humphrey Bogart)
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Gunnuts
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2008 5:13 pm

Re: It is the Grail!

Post by Gunnuts »

In these trying times, its stories like this that put a smile on my face. :D
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Weetabix
Posts: 6106
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Re: It is the Grail!

Post by Weetabix »

Congratulations on finding a lower case grail!

I don't know the Colt snake revolvers or their values, but these may be near enough to you:

6" Colt King Cobra .357Magnum

4" Colt King Cobra .357Magnum
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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Weetabix
Posts: 6106
Joined: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:04 pm

Re: It is the Grail!

Post by Weetabix »

Is this it? Do you have the hat? :)
Note to self: start reading sig lines. They're actually quite amusing. :D
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