[fivepaknh]

My brother is fairly new with firearms and he just bought a S&W m686 from a shop in Amherst ,NH called The Sportsman's Trading Company. He was told it was brand new, after closer examination at home, he suspected it was used.
1. I know it's test fired at the factory and he was given the casing from the test round, but the pistol seems to have a bit of carbon residue in all the chambers, the end of the muzzle, and in a few other places that you might expect to see in a used gun.

2.The gun was also bone dry with only a bit of oil coming out down the trigger from the trigger mechanism. Doesn't S&W put any packing lubricant on new guns?

3. The hammer and trigger are very tarnished, which also seems odd for a new gun.

To me it's clearly not new. If the owner of the shop tries to deny it's used, what recourse do I have?

Thanks in advance for any input.

[burrhead]

Gun manufacturers don't clean guns after test firing.

S&W doesn't pack guns with lube. New guns are often dry.

Are you sure that "tarnish" isn't color case hardening?

If it's really a used gun, and you can prove it, small claims court may be your only option.

Good luck.

[fivepaknh]

Thanks for the reply. I just got off the phone with S&W and they basically confirmed everything you said.

That's the reason I go to "THR", I always learn something new...

[4v50 Gary]

Shouldn't it have a warranty card that you send in? Not that that means much b/c a former owner may never have sent it him/herself. A check through the dealer's book to show who sold it to him (private or distributor) would also help - but you won't see that.

[usnavymasterchief]

E-mail the factory, ask them to check for any warentee submissions on that particular model and serial number. If it's been previously registered you'll know it was "previously owned."

[shermacman]

Ditto usnavymasterchief. S&W will have the original sale. I bought a S&W .22 revolver new. The hammer looked like it had been found on the ground outside the plant after the snow melted in the Spring. There was ammo residue in all ten chambers and the barrel. I called S&W, they confirmed that it was new and named the wholesaler. So, I cleaned it up and it is a great gun. If I worked at the S&W plant and got to test fire new guns, well, I guess I would blow a whole lotta ammo through every one!
Just testing this one, sir!:D

[Mike Irwin]

The "casehardening" on the hammer has for a long time looked more like a production mistake than a feature.