As has been already said, if you have unaltered military arms, keep them intact, as they will be worth more that way. There is nothing wrong with acquiring a surplus action that has already been partially butchered or salvaged and converting it into a useful sporting arm, but be advised, it will take much work, some machining talent, and will cost you, although the cost can be spread out over time. The last one I did involved a mauser barrelled action (mostly complete) that had no stock. After altering the bolt knob, safety, trigger, re-barrelling and stocking it, I have a nice 22-250 that will drive tacks. I also have about $550.00 into it and about 80 hours of labor. As this is a hobby, I find it fun and relaxing, and as I have the machine tools to do the work, I don't have to farm it out. But if you examine it in the cold light of reality, I could certainly have bought a commercial gun for about the same, or less if used, and in a lot less time.