reconditioned JSAR

[woody 0]

I'm looking at a Johnson from a private party. The rifle is in beautiful condition. No scratches, dings, or anything. It looks brand new. He says he bought it from a company called Miltech over 20 years ago. I did a search on them and they look like a legit firm that sells reconditioned arms. Does the fact that it is reconditioned detract from the value, and is $4500 a reasonable price?

[walt 0]

Woody,

Having talked with Ed Silva for a number of years and having two Miltech rifles in my collection. I find nothing wrong with their rifles or the folks who work for them. They produce a very good restored rifle which looks good and is very safe to shoot if you so desire. They stand behind their product. If you look at current prices for unrestored military JRs, the Miltech rifles is not a bad deal for something you want to go the range with and exercise. There are still allot of folks out there who have only seen pictures of JRs let alone actually see one operate. When I go to the range with one I've worked on I usually allow folks who come by to see it to crack off a few rounds.

walt

[ArtR 0]

Miltech is a reputable company that specializes in "firearm restorations", particularly, military arms of WWII. They usually take guns, check all parts for tolerance, and then parkerize/blue the metal, add new stocks, slings, and a nice shipping crate.

I quote from the 30th Edition, Blue Book of Gun Values by S.P. Fjestad, under listing for Johnson Automatics, Inc.,

"Miltech offers a restored version of this model. Inspect this model carefully for originality before considering a possible purchase. Values are somewhat lower for restored guns."

[woody 0]

Thanks, Walt and Art. Glad to hear Miltech has a good reputation. The first time I saw a Johnson was back in the mid-50's at Winfield Arms in downtown Los Angeles. The had a few of them and I don't recall the price but it wasn't much by todays standards, probably not much over $100. That was out of my price range then so I settled for an British Enfield .303 as my first center fire. Wish I'd bought several Johnsons now, though.

[slapdogg 0]

I was up at he Ventura gun show today and saw a JSAR on a table that I believe was a miltech restoration.... was rushing through though and did not have time to get all the particulars.