I just bought a 77 p64. Gotta wait for the 48 hour mark to be up and she's mine.
I own a 1923 AND a 1943 Mosin/Nagant 91/30.
I've been on many forum sites for these guns. Many of the sites have a bad attitude towards "modernizing" Mosins I.e. sythentic stock upgrade or even adding a scope not manufactered from the same era as the gun. I would never mod my 23. But the 43 maybe. Since so many were produced.
My question is this: since the P-64 is more rare than a Mosin, do many people look down on painting or modernizing a P64?
There are SOME EXCEPTIONS OF COURSE that I would not touch, however for many guns the average shooter has or can afford I see no problem in doing what YOU want to Your gun. I know there are many purists out there who cringe at that statement but I also feel that if you have a very common gun and You own it it is your right to get as much use or enjoyment from it. as far as the purists you have the same right to do the same( of course the upside if the argument is you ruin the over all value then more sporterised the more valuable the purists gain value.. If a common gun looks rode hard and put away wet I don't want to show it off.. anyway the value in my lifetime or my heirs the sporterised will go up in value.. I would rather have a factory redone gun then one that has just left in the condition found in an old warehouse, or straight from the battle field condition.... Can we compare this to say a 65 mustang that is found rusting in an old barn and redone and sold in the 20 to 30 k range and is drivable .collectors don't seem to mind at all in that case.
It's up to you. However keep in mind you will not get your money back from anything you do. Just satisfaction value.
I.E. If you ever decide to sell it; It will always hold value as a P-64. Any mod you do you will have to find the right buy that wants that mod. Even if you find that right buyer, they probably still won't pay for the whole cost of the mod you came out of pocket for. If you have a buyer that wants to return it to original, they would pay even less.
I like to keep all original parts for everything I change. That way I can easily return it to that original configuration.
Weasel
When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force my friends is violence.
i'm always trying to make my guns better. i was even thinking of buying mosin just to modernize it. looked into it to find out the total it would cost to do. it wouldn't be a cheap project.
I have a 1974 P64 that I have put on some camo grips. Although, I must say I really prefer the original plastic grips (which I still have). But I think " Do your thing" for what you prefer to have with your firearms.
I also own 7 Mosin Nagants and would not dream of modifying any one of them They speak of history. Two of them are very rare or uncommon Finns that would be "sacrilege" to deface. That is just me.
I have a thought about guns and fixing them to the way you want them. It's really simple.
If you married a beautiful woman, would you save her for the next guy?
Bfly
Unless you have a particularly pristine P64, I'd say go for it and let us see the results. I've considered doing some things to the P64 that I carry. I have two; one has bluing so terrible and worn, that it must have been screwed up from the factory, because the internals were still like new when i got it. the other is in pretty good condition all around.
the one with the worn bluing i shoot some and carry a lot. she's never failed me, and she's shamed newer guns that cost me 3x her price. got a shiny new pm9, decided to do a "shoot it as i've been carrying it" test between the pm9 and the p64. that means not unchambering the round or anything, just shooting it as it's been sitting for carry use.
p64 passed with flying colors. pm9.. one shot, then a stovepipe. nice. it has also done this with a sig 938, which is a rather expensive gun.
so i'm considering some marschal grips.. maybe find a way to paint the front site in something that glows in the dark. i already have done the spring swaps. any more sugggestions?
