Buying a used gun...what do you look for?

[James H]

I'm wondering what sort of checklist you all go through when you're buying a used gun to make sure it's decent. Do you check the rifling? The action? What's your protocol when looking at something used?

I stopped at some of the big impersonal box stores like Cabelas and Bass Pro on my journey through Nebraska and Iowa to visit my folks in Wisconsin and was looking at some of the used rifles in their collections. Some of the used rifles and shotguns I looked at on the racks were just plain dirty. Some barrels looked full of lint and grease. I would never buy something looking that dirty, but, who knows, maybe after a good cleaning, these would have perfect bores. How do you know? Especially at the bigger stores where you don't know the guy behind the counter and aren't sure if he's just trying to sell you a piece of crap.

At Bass Pro outside of Des Moines, I looked at a Single Six (I know I couldn't buy it 'cause I'm not a resident of the state but I just wanted to price things) and the kid helping me couldn't even tell me if it came with both the .22 lr and .22 mag cylinders or just the .22 lr cylinder. He even asked someone that appeared to have more authority, and THAT guy didn't even know. How do you wade through all the BS? Maybe skip the big box stores altogether for used guns?

[Iron Man]

1. Buy used guns you are familiar with or from a trusted dealer
2. Have the clerk teach you how to break the gun down before you buy it
3. Learn what ammunition it uses, the availability and price
4. Don't be afraid to let a slide slam home on a used empty gun, it is designed to have explosions go off in it. If you can hurt it there is something wrong.
5. If shopping for a .22 take a fresh snap cap to the store with you. Have the clerk put it in the firearm and pull the trigger. Examine the snap cap for a good primer dent. Don't dry fire any rimfire cartridge weapon.
6. Look for pits, discoloration, or scratches.
7. Look for nicks at the end of the barrel
8. Check the rifling in the barrel for rust
9. Ask the dealer to remove (and replace) the grips so you can inspect the frame under them.
10. Inspect the front and rear sights to make sure they are tight and undamaged

I could go on and on, but will refrain.

[Buzzcook]

First I check to see that the chamber or cylinder is clear both by sight and touch. If applicable I make sure the safety is on.

A surface check for rust. check for oil or grease in inappropriate places. (oil shouldn't have soaked into the stock.) Then after rechecking the chamber, use a bore light to check the barrel. Check the various screw for idiot marks. Check inside the chamber for scraps or burs or evidence of home gun smithing.

Work the action to see if it is smooth and doesn't have a lot of play. Get permission to dry fire the gun and check the trigger pull.

At this point you should be able to determine if any gun except a revolver is worth buying.

For a revolver refer to the sticky on top of the revolver forum.

Basically you have three questions. Is the gun rust free. Do the action and trigger work well and smoothly. Was the gun a quality product when it was new.

How close to new in the box is up to you. A little surface rust isn't that hard to clean up. A 1911 that rattles like a maraca might be great just as it is. Sometimes an off brand gun is fine and dandy.

[raftman]

3. Learn what ammunition it uses, the availability and price

That's a good one. Wonder how many people go for those cool $90 Steyr straight pull bolt action rifles or those super-cool Nagant revolvers only to find 8x56R and 7.62x38R would exceed the cost of the gun after going through 4 or 5 boxes of ammo.

[James H]

Thanks guys...

My experience at Bass Pro kinda disheartened me. The kid behind the counter (I say kid not because he looked like he was 20, but because he acted like he was 15) didn't seem to have a clue.

Iron Man...Good advice about having the clerk show me how to break the gun down even if I know how to do it myself. It shows knowledge on the part of the salesman. And, yep, if I were buying a .22, I'd definitely take a snap cap to test the trigger (don't want to get accused of breaking a firing pin from dry firing). BUT...Your #1 rule seems half right...I'd buy from a trusted dealer if I had one. Otherwise, I like to acquire new guns to me, so that means I'm not familiar with that particular firearm.

BTW Iron Man...you should go on and on...I'm interested in a long story.

Buzzcook, thanks...I always check before handling. I'm done with crappy brands, so you're right on about quality products. (I won't mention what brands right now). I'd never buy something that I couldn't test the trigger first. I'm not too worried about surface rust either. That's relatively easy to fix. I'll look at the revolver sticky too.

So do you guys take a bore light with you? I don't have one and I've never used one...I use white patches against a light when I'm looking at my own guns' bores. Do they magnify and allow you to see any aberrations in the grooves/lands?

[silentargus]

Adding on to what Iron man said about snap caps and .22s... take several. That way, you can check the extractor as well by cycling a few times. I found that out the hard way with a used AR-7... I thought everything checked out at the store, but once I got to the range with it I was having FTEs almost every single round. A fresh spring made that problem go away, but it could easily have been something requiring more serious work.

Basically, if it's a rimfire give it the extra double special whammy inspection. There may be things wrong with it that you'd never catch just by doing a basic function check. People really beat the heck out of their .22s, especially the less expensive ones.

Don't take that to be a horror story, though... that AR-7 is still running fine and is one of my favorite plinkers. Don't immediately turn a gun down just because you find something amiss; take the time to try and figure out if it's something you can fix. If I'd known to give that gun a more thorough going-over I'd probably have still bought it after finding out the extractor was messed up; the price was right and that was really the only issue aside from a few dings and scrapes.

I wouldn't consider superficial dings and scrapes to be deal-breakers. I think I'd be a bit leery of something that was overly dirty though; to me the fact that it hasn't been cleaned says that the dealer hasn't bothered to check out their merchandise before shelving it. I wouldn't expect every single speck of crud to be scoured away, but if the gun is so dirty that you can't perform a proper inspection of its condition then you're gambling if you lay down money on it.

I'd ask the dealer if it would be possible to have the gun looked over by their in-house gunsmith if it were that dirty... if they say no, you can always walk. No need to be rude about it, or to demand perfection, but you should be able to know what you're buying before you're expected to pay for it.

[James H]

Hey Buzzcook...Thanks again...I just did the sticky test with a used .357 Tracker that I have...I've never done that before. My revolver performed flawlessly. (And it should...I've put about 500 rds through it since I bought it a year ago with no problems.).

silentargus,

I don't mind superficial dings or rust either. But one used .270 CZ that I put to my shoulder and one 20 O/U Stoeger at the Cabelas in Omaha (I really don't like to name names, but here it goes) had the bores coated in what looked like a combination of pocket lint and axle grease. Yeah...It definitely makes me want to stay away from any dealer that would allow that stuff on their shelf, even if it's used.

Sorry Cabelas...I generally like you, but I need to call you out on this.

[DiscoRacing]

Most of the time I buy... I have already researched the gun and have a short list of used ones that Im looking for.... IF I see one of them then I get it.

[gaseousclay]

i'll echo what everyone here has said, although, when I bought my first rifle a couple of months ago I purchased it via gunbroker.com and didn't have the luxury of inspecting it in person - I only had the seller's word and the pics he posted. with that said, I got a used Browning A-Bolt in pristine condition for $425. I still need to clean it a little since it's been sitting in someone's gunsafe for the past 20 years, but it looked a helluva lot better than most used rifles I come across in stores. I will say that the majority of nicer looking rifles i've seen used were being sold at smaller gun shops. there's one that I check out every now and again by my in-laws and they frequently sell used rifles that are technically new, because the person that brought it in probably won it at some raffle

[mes227]

It's interesting how often I find used guns in stores, even very professional ones and especially the Big Box guys, that are horribly filthy! One of the clerks at Cabela's in Reno, who really seemed to know his stuff, told me that they never clean a used gun other than to run a cloth over it. When selling something for $500 why wouldn't you take 10 mins to make it shine?

In any event, looking past the dirt is usually easy, though it does make checking the bore and cylinder for damage tricky.

[Tuzo]

These are a few of the flaws I have noticed while shopping for used firearms:

1. Dirty condition.
2. Bulged barrel.
3. Bungled trigger jobs.
4. No cylinder lock up - free spinning cylinder.
5. Abused grips/stock.
6. Out of time revolvers.
7. Broken internal parts.
8. Excessive wear and tear.

A bulged barrel and excessive wear and tear are big turn offs. The other flaws can be repaired or remedied. Some of my best buys are firearms that required a bit of gunsmithing. These were purchased at very low prices and, with the added cost of repair, resulted in fine shooting firearms that cost 50% to 75% of actual value.

[Iron Man]

Okay, here goes...

11. Know what you want to buy before you go (rifle, revolver, autoloader, CCDW, full size, compact, car gun, collector, etc.) and don't go with any pre-determined notion that one caliber is better than another. You might miss a gem. I always recommend shooters that can double as investment guns.
12. Check the outside of the barrel for any strange bulges. If any exist the gun should not leave with you.
13. If extra magazines come with an autoloader ensure all are the same caliber.
14. Revolvers that have been shot will have circular burn tattoos on the front of the cylinder around each chamber. It is very hard to remove those. The revolver will also have a round bronze shaded tattoo around the firing pin.
15. Autoloaders will have a bronze shaded tattoo around the firing pin on the slide.
16. In an autoloader, seat the magazine as you would if it were loaded (with a little force) and then bounce the heal of your hand against the bottom of the magazine. If the slide releases on its own there are one of two issues...bad slide release or dirty magazine and magazine release lever movement and spring. If all of the connecting edges look sharp the problem is the latter. Most gun stores do not clean up their used guns. This gives you some negotiation room. Buy it, take it home, and clean it up.
17. Get a Blue Book. It will tell you if a gun has options or additional parts (extra cylinders, sights, etc.). If these, manuals, boxes, or magazines are missing this also gives great room for negotiation. A $5.00 cardboard box can increase or decrease the value sometimes hundreds of dollars. Also, use the blue book and your smart phone to jump on the web to validate the pricing. It also tells you when to firearm was made (by serial number) and any issues that weapon may have.
18. Get a bore light. They cost about $3.00 and will make your inspection easier. Pits in the bore are always bad.
19. Don't get distracted by dirt or grease. They all come off (and clean it a little in the store). Just don't buy one online that looks dirty or greasy. I have bought some treasures that were dirty in the gun store.
20. Make sure everything is straight. Hammer, sights, barrel, trigger guard, etc. Look for indications of a dropped weapon.

Good luck. Like I said, I could go on and on. Oh, and if you are looking at buying a Ruger Mark I or Mark II don't get discouraged if the clerk doesn't want to break it down. They are not difficult to break down, but a pain to put back together. They are wonderful pistols and some of the most accurate made.

[Buzzcook]

So do you guys take a bore light with you? I don't have one and I've never used one...I use white patches against a light when I'm looking at my own guns' bores. Do they magnify and allow you to see any aberrations in the grooves/lands?

A bore light is just a pen light. Every gun shop I know of will have one behind the counter.

Besides dirt, you are looking for signs of corrosion and damage from improper cleaning. Pits in the lands and grooves and scraps or dents.

I forgot to mention, check the barrel crown.

[B.N.Real]

a used gun.

[vytoland]

this will get you started...................

http://www.chuckhawks.com/used_handgun.htm

[Capt. Charlie]

And for revolvers, you probably should take a look at this, contributed by our own Jim March.

[Smokey Joe]

James H--First and foremost, I look for a seller who gives off honest vibes; who isn't trying to sell me a pig in a poke. He may or may not be very gun-knowledgeable, but he MUST level with me.

Absent that, I walk away regardless.