hello, i recently got a Johnson 1941 30-06 rifle from my grandfather and i have a few questions about it. From what i know it is an original made by cranston arms and the serial # is 9307. I looked in his belongings for the bayonet lug but i can not find it. The bore is in great shape with no pit and no corrosion but the outside of the gun does have a little surface rust in some places. Of the johnsons i have seen online my guns seems to have better wood with only a few military scratches and no big cracks. Is this type of gun in this condition worth selling or should i keep it, because i really have no use for it. I am a college student so keep that in mind. Thanks for any replies.
i have a Johnson 1941 30-06!!!! what should I do with it?
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First, congrads on the Johnson. They are few and far between. It sounds like it may be on of the sporterized ones that were sold in the 50's if the lug is missing. Does it have the metal butt plate or one of the plastic or recoil pads? Even so, it is still worth a fair amount to some collectors that want to find parts to restore it. I read a post on the boards in the last day or so about finding one for $1500. If it is org. military config. the price increases several times. Some at auction recently have sold for $7000. The bayonet alone have been selling for around $500. I do have one in very good org. condition that I got for a good price but is still one of the most expensive guns I've ever bought. I have the bayonet and scabbard with mine. It will turn heads at the range. Only you can say keep or sell. As a former starving collage student I'm sure while the cost of keeping it is nothing and the moneys from selling it will come in very handy, it was your grandfathers gun and that comes into play.
In today's market, easily a $4,500 rifle. A lot more if enough people are interested in it at an auction. You have a pretty rare collectible there. Only about 10,000 were made during WWII. I would keep it and take care of it. It will only go up in value. Sell it if only absolutely necessary.
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786 Posts
If you have "no use" for it, definately sell it. If you decide to sell it, consider a few options.
1) You could go to a local FFL (federal firearms licensee) at your local gun store. However, that would NOT maximize the value you are looking for. Unfortunately, while I try to support my local shops, they usually don't have the customer base that would maximize your sale price. Sure, you might find a collector who knows that they are all about and might give you a fair price for it, but you really need to broaden your exposre.
2) You should have someone who is very knowledgable about military rifles (thousands of here at this forum) provide you an honest appraisal of that rifle. They will point out the deficiencies and assest it has. You should pay for that written appraisal, too. You're taking advange of the collector's knowledge. A fair collector, knowing that you are not selling it to them, will set a price range that the market dictates for these rifles today. As the other poster said, these are very rare and super desirable. It will generate a LOT of interst. Trust me.
3) Then, after knowing what it's all about, you could simply sell it here at the FOR SALE board. Take lots of good photos, put together an honest description (based on the appraisal), and simply set a price that you are comfortable with. Since you are not experienced with miliary rifles, having someone who is look at it for you is critical.
4) Or, as an alternative, you can put it up for auction. There are a few good sites for that. There is one that is followed pretty religiously here:
http://www.gunrunnerauctions.com/index.cfm
They've recently handled other Johnsons and they have always produced fantastic prices. There are other auction sites, too, (AuctionArms and GunBroker.com) but they are a bit more complicated to deal with, I think, and if I were to want to sell somthing of that caliber, I'd check them out first. The Gun Runner auctions get good exposure.
Selling it will require that you obtain a copy of the buyer's FFL license or Collector's license and there are rules for shipping a rifle that you'll have to follow. If you need directions about that, post here again and we'll walk you through it. Hopefully your buyer will be up on all the paperwork necessary. This is a firearm and there are strict laws about how one ships and to whom it is shipped.
That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
The Johnson is one of the "holy grail" of collector rifles to us and even finding one to buy is near impossible. So, when they do come up, they get a lot of attention.
Finally don't do ONE THING to that rifle. Don't polish it or clean it. Don't scrub the bore, don't turn a screw. Don't even cock the charging handle. Let it stay just as you have it. Nothing you do to it will help the value and could easily harm it. Knowing collectors look beyond all of that stuff.
You're a lucky guy and I'm sure a college student like yourself could use a nice piece of change in your bank account. So, putting it up for auction to the world will both help a collector fill a big void in their collection and put money in your bank. And, probably most importantly, the rifle will be preserved for the future.
Good luck!
Rome
1) You could go to a local FFL (federal firearms licensee) at your local gun store. However, that would NOT maximize the value you are looking for. Unfortunately, while I try to support my local shops, they usually don't have the customer base that would maximize your sale price. Sure, you might find a collector who knows that they are all about and might give you a fair price for it, but you really need to broaden your exposre.
2) You should have someone who is very knowledgable about military rifles (thousands of here at this forum) provide you an honest appraisal of that rifle. They will point out the deficiencies and assest it has. You should pay for that written appraisal, too. You're taking advange of the collector's knowledge. A fair collector, knowing that you are not selling it to them, will set a price range that the market dictates for these rifles today. As the other poster said, these are very rare and super desirable. It will generate a LOT of interst. Trust me.
3) Then, after knowing what it's all about, you could simply sell it here at the FOR SALE board. Take lots of good photos, put together an honest description (based on the appraisal), and simply set a price that you are comfortable with. Since you are not experienced with miliary rifles, having someone who is look at it for you is critical.
4) Or, as an alternative, you can put it up for auction. There are a few good sites for that. There is one that is followed pretty religiously here:
http://www.gunrunnerauctions.com/index.cfm
They've recently handled other Johnsons and they have always produced fantastic prices. There are other auction sites, too, (AuctionArms and GunBroker.com) but they are a bit more complicated to deal with, I think, and if I were to want to sell somthing of that caliber, I'd check them out first. The Gun Runner auctions get good exposure.
Selling it will require that you obtain a copy of the buyer's FFL license or Collector's license and there are rules for shipping a rifle that you'll have to follow. If you need directions about that, post here again and we'll walk you through it. Hopefully your buyer will be up on all the paperwork necessary. This is a firearm and there are strict laws about how one ships and to whom it is shipped.
That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
The Johnson is one of the "holy grail" of collector rifles to us and even finding one to buy is near impossible. So, when they do come up, they get a lot of attention.
Finally don't do ONE THING to that rifle. Don't polish it or clean it. Don't scrub the bore, don't turn a screw. Don't even cock the charging handle. Let it stay just as you have it. Nothing you do to it will help the value and could easily harm it. Knowing collectors look beyond all of that stuff.
You're a lucky guy and I'm sure a college student like yourself could use a nice piece of change in your bank account. So, putting it up for auction to the world will both help a collector fill a big void in their collection and put money in your bank. And, probably most importantly, the rifle will be preserved for the future.
Good luck!
Rome
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4,064 Posts
These may not be steller target grade capable rifles due to the design of the barrel mounting system. I am the one who found a sporter for $1500, I test shot mine this weekend and I have shot about 15 rounds through mine, it operates flawless but I need to recrown/refresh the muzzle crown rifling for alot better accuracy, and it shoots too low at 50 meters, I actually had to put it on 400 meters setting to shoot under the bullseye at 50 yards, I have a scary feeling it or all these shoot too high, maybe after I recrown the muzzle I will be okay.
The bore on mine is seemingly excellent, just that the muzzle crown is uneven, maybe too much fresh parkerizing is screwing something up too.
I don't know if the shooting style was supposed to be "aim at the feet of oncoming enemy", I doubt it but I am beginning to wonder, I had a similar problem with an 03A3 and needed a taller front sight blade.
Ya know, I may be one fo the few people across the country who will even jack a round into a "rare" johnson, if mine was worth more money I would not do so, frankly, I can just see myself someday breaking a firing pin or extractor and trying to make a firing pin myself or welding one up/etc.
The bore on mine is seemingly excellent, just that the muzzle crown is uneven, maybe too much fresh parkerizing is screwing something up too.
I don't know if the shooting style was supposed to be "aim at the feet of oncoming enemy", I doubt it but I am beginning to wonder, I had a similar problem with an 03A3 and needed a taller front sight blade.
Ya know, I may be one fo the few people across the country who will even jack a round into a "rare" johnson, if mine was worth more money I would not do so, frankly, I can just see myself someday breaking a firing pin or extractor and trying to make a firing pin myself or welding one up/etc.
This rifle does have a metal butt plate and i have had a few people look at it and tell me it is very valuable. I have not tried to clean it or anything like that so i will take the advice and stay away from that stuff to further enhance the value.
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