Were they Swedish Mausers, M1 Garands, No5Mk1 Jungle Carbines, etc? I'd love to find a gun show that offers such a wide assortment in that good a condition, and at reasonable prices reminiscent of even 5-10 years ago.
There's a false belief that today's butt-ugly milsurp couldn't possibly be anything worth collecting or keeping in one piece, they're never going to amount to much. I disagree with that false premise.
Off the top of my head, the last gun show I hit had one sporterized Mexican Mauser, bubba-style. I thought about buying it, but the fellow wanted too much ($145). I won't pay more than $100 for bubba'd mausers. I could not find any other sporterized milsurps. There was the usual assortment of folks selling milsurps at 2x retail as well as a few guys selling them what they were worth. Like I said, lots more unmodified milsurps than bubba specials.
'Round here, there is a decent gun show every two weeks or so.
A similar ratio occurs at the gunshops I frequent. 3 or 4 bubbas over 5 years at 3 gunshops (to include consignments). Two of them were worth buying, but I did not have the cash. Oh, also a well-done sporterized Swede 96 rebarrel job. I was able to "sell" it to a young fellow working behind the counter at that gunshop. Gave him a little Swede mauser primer & moaned about how I didn't have the funds to buy it myself. He bought it next payday & loves it to this day. Wish I could have picked it up, but at least it has found a good home. He hunts everything from groundhogs to black bear with it. 6.5x55 is a fine round, IMO.
I never said that I saw a bunch old milsurps in "a wide assortment...at reasonable prices reminiscent of even 5-10 years ago." YOUR words, not mine. There was a wide assortment around current prices.
Oh, I believe you when you say that, in a few years, the Yugo SKS may be worth more than it can now command. Today, however, I would enjoy the utility it has to offer. The utility it provides today is worth more to me than its possible value 10 years from now. If I could find a Chinese SKS for a similar price, I would more than gladly purchase it over the Yugo SKS. Key terms: "similar" and "price."
Patriotism is a wonderful thing. I espouse it wholeheartedly, as long as it's not applied selectively.
"Selective patriotism?" Huh? Please elaborate. This ought to be interesting (if not especially rifle-oriented).