Nagant 1895 - buy in person or online?
 

I put down a bit of money on a good, clean Nagant 1895 at a local shop. We agreed on $170. I am purchasing a few items from him, so I assume he'll be fine if I cancel and use that cash on something. I found the same gun, I believe, on J&G sales for $79, or hand-selected for $89. Add $22 for shipping and $10 FFL, and i've still got the same gun, I think, for $121, no tax.

Should I do J&G, or is there any reason, other than being able to inspect it in person (and being a newbie, I'm not all too sure what I'm looking for aside from "play" and wear), to buy it at the local shop? Yes, I intend you use it, in either case.

I have bought quite a few of my guns online, through gun broker. (used & new) If J&G seems like a reputable dealer, you probably shouldn't have any problems. While you don't get to look at the gun in question in person, if you're looking to be cheap it's the way to go. The reason I like gun broker is the number of choices of any given gun. Unlike a dealer who may have only one or two to choose from.

Gunbroker is great, but sometimes shipping is a little expensive. You gotta assume to add 25-30 for shipping and 10-25 for your FFL, if you don't have one. That gets pretty pricey.

No reason not to buy online. Unless you're a serious collector and care about date / markings or ugly import marks, one Nagant is going to be in as good condition as another. They were all refurbed before being put into storage.