[geetarman]

Just from the tone of your post, I think you may be worried about nothing.

Many gun stores, large and small, do not have multiple copies of anything.

Not all do, but most have a display piece that may have been there a while and handled by a few people or it may have just come into the shop and put up for sale.

You never know how someone is going to treat a gun. You may find one you like that has been handled and abused or one that has been handled properly.

A lot of times when you indicate you want to buy a gun, the shop will tell you if they have another in stock or if the display gun is the only one in the house.

Sometimes you can get a break on the price if they only have the one display piece. Depending on the gun, you might not get a break at all.

If the bluing along the sharp edges is nice and clean and there are no dings in the metal or the stock, you can probably rest easy.

I know it is a bummer to think about the first ding in a new gun, but that is how those guns begin collecting the stories they could tell if they could talk.

You will remember most every one of those dings and will be able to relate those stories to others years down the road.

My advice is to not get wrapped around the axle.

Hope this helps, my friend.