A lot of people will whinge and whine that the surplus market is empty and what’s left is too expensive. It’s true that M1 Garand prices have skyrocketed, Mosin Nagant prices have skyrocketed, and so have most German, British, and Japanese surplus rifles and pistols. While the traditional surplus market is dry(ish), there are still lots of affordable treasures left for those willing to look.
I’m going to bring you a mix of surplus suggestions from both police and military forces from around the world. Some are direct suggestions, others are more or less genre suggestions that have more than a few options. Let’s figure out where we can still get an affordable surplus.
Surplus Deals Worth Taking Advantage Of
Police Trade-in Shotguns
It seems like at least once a month, the market gets hit with surplus shotguns. Sometimes they are standard shotguns, other times they are short-barreled shotguns. Sometimes they are plain, other times they come with Surefire lights and tactical stocks. It can be a mixed bag, but police trade-in shotguns represent an excellent value.
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These shotguns are typically variants of the Mossberg 500/590 and Remington 870, but I’ve seen a few Benelli Novas on the market. What’s great is that these are law enforcement models, so it’s Police Magnums and 590A1s. These are tough-as-nails guns that will last forever.
These trade-in surplus shotguns are cheap, or at least cheap when you factor in the Police Magnum and A1 factor. I was able to pick up an Ohio National Guard Remington 870 Wingmaster for $250ish a few years ago, and the prices on those guns have exploded.
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Star 30M
The Star 30M is a 9mm wonder nine that’s recently hit the market and hit it hard, with some of these guns retailing for less than $300. You’re getting a robust piece of Spanish steel that mixes inverse slide rails, a DA/SA hammer-fired design with modern magazine capacities. The mags are S&W Model 59 compatible, so you don’t have to find rare Spanish magazines.
The Star 30M has been one of my favorite guns this year. It’s incredibly easy to shoot with hardly any recoil. The combination of an all-metal design with a lightweight slide and inverse rails makes the gun easy to control. The trigger is surprisingly nice, and the gun runs extremely well.
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Sure, the sights are small, the gun’s heavy, and the grips wide, but get some machismo! It’s a fantastic value and such a fun gun to shoot. I have a bias for Spanish pistols, but this gun is exceptionally nice.
Trainer Rifles
Trainer rifles are a fairly large genre of military surplus rifles that chamber .22LR. These rifles were often used to teach marksmanship on the cheap to various military forces. The Romanians have the M69, which is a beautiful and fun-to-shoot little rifle.
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Mossberg produced a ton of training rifles during World War II, including my favorite, the 44 US, which features a beautiful wooden stock, great sights, but a terrible trigger guard. The trigger guard deforms over time and is a major hassle.
There are lots of these trainer carbines out there, and they sell for a low price point. They aren’t infantry rifles and don’t have that prestige, but they are fascinating guns that are cheap and even cheaper to shoot.
VZ 50/70
The VZ 50 and 70 series are Walther-based direct blowback .32 ACP pistols. They don’t look like Walthers, but they use the same design technique. The barrel is fixed and acts as the recoil guide rod. They are compact, DA/SA guns with a very stiff and unpleasant double-action trigger.
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The safety is frame-mounted instead of slide-mounted, and they are bigger than the Walther series. They have that Eastern European heavy steel design. They are reliable guns, and the differences between the 50 and 70 are fairly minor.
These guns were fielded by Czechoslovakian police and military forces. While they aren’t fancy, they are a great way to get into the world’s best cartridge, the .32 ACP. Plus, they tend to be fairly cheap and robust handguns.
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Carcano Cavalry Carbine
The Carcano Cavalry Carbine is the new Mosin Nagant. It’s still cheap and widely available. The Carcano Cavalry Carbines come with an underfolding bayonet and fire the 6.5x52mm cartridge. These aren’t pretty guns, but they are fairly small for the era with their 17.7-inch barrels.
As you’d expect, these are iron sight-equipped bolt-action guns with wood stocks and internal magazines. These guns are selling for less than $250 and are fine rifles. They aren’t an M1 Garand or M1903, but they are functional surplus rifles.
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The big downside is the odd ammo. Unlike the Mosin, you can’t buy spam cans for practically nothing. The ammo is still made, but expensive and not something you’ll find in every gun store. It’ll take some online shopping.
Tokarev TT-33
The Tokarev TT-33 is an awesome gun. It spread across Communist countries in and out of the Soviet Bloc like crazy. They were everywhere, and the chickens have come to roost. Finding TT-33s isn’t hard, and they are coming from China, Yugoslavia, and Romania.
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These semi-auto, hammer-fired, single-action-only pistols fire the hot and fun 7.62x25mm Tokarev round but can be easily converted to 9mm with a little effort. They are stout guns and are a ton of fun to shoot. They might not look nice, but they are a blast to shoot and are robust and reliable surplus pistols.
Prices vary depending on condition, and they can range from $300 to $400. Some of the Norinco copies aren’t surplus but still tend to be affordable.
Beretta 84BB
If you were to jump on one surplus pistol right now, I’d grab the 84BB. The Beretta 84BB pistols are part of the original Cheetah series and are direct blowback .380 ACPs. These guns have the Beretta quality you expect and are Italian Law Enforcement trade-ins.
They’ve only recently hit the market and won’t be on that market for long. They retail for $299ish, and that’s an absolute steal for such a solid gun. PSA lists these guns as Very Good Condition. They are compact enough and modern enough to be concealed carry pistols.
The Beretta 84BB is the surplus gun to jump on in 2025.
Surplus for All
The Surplus market isn’t as great as it once was, but there is still plenty of value to be found. The various guns still on the market are flying under the radar, are affordable, and are a ton of fun. If you’re just getting into the surplus market, you can probably buy everything on this list for well under $2,000.
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