[FROGO207]

I just bought a used SS Ruger Vaquero in 45 Colt. Got a great deal It looks sharp and as NIB---BUT has a trigger guard and hammer from a Super Blackhawk transplanted on it. I tried it out after being warned by the previous owner that it had a hair trigger. The first thing that I did was to reattach the spring that was unhooked to lighten up the trigger pull. Now it has a 1# pull that will go off if the revolver is jarred slightly when cocked. Some more work to do before it is usable I am afraid.:banghead: Now that "deal" is not so good, might even need to send it back to Ruger to be put back to original. This is not the first used firearm that I have had to fix to make safe before I could use it. I have bought 4 or 5 others. At least this guy warned me that it had a light trigger when I purchased it. :scrutiny:

Have you ever purchased a used firearm that was found to be unsafe due to someone previously modifying it to make it "better"?

[ColtPythonElite]

Not me, but my dad bought a 700 someone had done some home trigger tuning on. Sometimes it would go off when you closed the bolt. Sometimes it would go off when you flicked the safety to fire.

[Drail]

Never bought one but I have "fixed" a lot of them.

[alsaqr]

Bought a Mosin the seller had scoped. First time i fired that gun the case had a nice round hole in the side. The idiot drilled into the chamber. Was surprised the mount screw was not blown out. The guy did take the gun back: He probably sold it another unsuspecting sucker.

[longhair75]

This is what keeps me from buying a used 1911.

[The Lone Haranguer]

Except under very narrow circumstances, I won't buy a gun that has been modified.

This is what keeps me from buying a used 1911.
This gun suffers disproportionately from Bubba. :rolleyes:

[Paris]

So far all my firearms have been purchased new with the exception of a hand me down shotgun, which as far as I can tell, is factory original.

I don't think I would feel comfortable buying a modified gun but to speak honestly, I may not know off hand if a gun has been modified by simply inspecting it visually. It's hard to tell if parts have been changed unless you have specific, detailed experience with that particular make and model.

For those reasons I think for the time being I will stick to NIB firearms. :)

[WardenWolf]

Not me, but my dad bought a 700 someone had done some home trigger tuning on. Sometimes it would go off when you closed the bolt. Sometimes it would go off when you flicked the safety to fire.
The problem with the safety is a fairly well-known Remington defect. Remington has denied it over the years, and has only recently begun acknowledging it. You should never trust a 700's safety.

[montanaoffroader]

Had a couple of handguns that were messed up by a guy who thought he was a gunsmith. Made a deal for the guns he had left when he was shipped out overseas. Wound up with a .45 Government model that had a trigger that was so unreliable the original owner had accidentally shot himself in the foot with it, and another guy tore the sole off of his boot when it went off while he was drawing it. No wonder he had trouble getting rid of them! It turned out he had messed with the safeties as well as the trigger system. He also had a S&W model 39 that he tried to turn into an ASP by throwing a handful of parts at it, didn't turn out so well.

The Mossberg 500 shotgun included in the deal was salvageable, but the handguns were pretty much write offs, sold them off as parts guns. Lucky for me I picked them up cheap enough, so I didn't really lose any money on the deal.

[Warp]

I have never actually purchased a used gun. Sold 4, but never bought. I think I am missing out.

Some of the above stories are scary.

[montanaoffroader]

I knew going in that there were problems with these guns. I checked them out very thoroughly before making a decision whether or not to keep them. I had a gunsmith check the .45, it would have cost more than the gun was worth to set it right. Didn't have the money at the time to rebuild it, so down the road it went. The S&W 39 just wasn't worth spending much money on at the time.

[FROGO207]

Took the thing apart last night. There are file marks on the hammer where it was modified to fit the pistol and where it engages. I will start with a factory new hammer and plunger first off and fit it as needed.

[searcher451]

Certainly not knowingly, but I did once end up with a Bubba'd Walther PP from a private party in an online deal. It took a local gunsmith's magic and some parts purchases to return the doggone thing to its natural state. The seller, bless his hide, was heading south with two sailors when last we spoke. :mad:

[Sheepdog1968]

I tend to be on the cautious side of things when it comes to safety in general. As such, I am not a fan of buying used guns for the exact reasons you mention (what did bubba or the person bubba bought it from do to it). I'd rather pay more and get a new gun and not worry about this. My approach if buying used would likely to be to send it back to the factory for an overhaul of springs and to have the trigger parts examined to make sure nothing unsafe has been done to them. Typically given the costs invovled in doing this, I often just opt to buy new. It costs more and I end up owning less becuase of this.

[ColtPythonElite]

The problem with the safety is a fairly well-known Remington defect. Remington has denied it over the years, and has only recently begun acknowledging it. You should never trust a 700's safety.


Yes, I've seen the "news story".

My dad's gun had been improperly adjusted. A qualified gunsmith with 50 years of experience corrected the problems. He said he saw two things that cause malfunctions with the Rem 700 trigger/safety. 1.) Improper adjustment 2.) Lack of maintenance.

[oldgold]

Bought a M-1 carbine off my father-in-law. When I took it apart to clean it, I noticed a hole drilled through the trigger group for 'the switch'. I ordered a new trigger group and torched the modified part. I'm not a fan of full auto ,,,,or prison.

[Strykervet]

I haven't, but I've heard a story. I try real hard to buy new or very slightly used, and I only will buy used if I can strip it down first.

This guy was shooting at a gravel pit, and he ran into another guy selling an MP5 (this was awhile back, pretty sure it was an MP5, pretty sure it was HK too). It was a 9mm but had a .45 conversion?

Now maybe the ATF was watching the guy selling it, I don't know. But they approached the buyer, the new owner, and they were real interested in it. They got the seller down the road and were holding him. They thought it was full auto. They wanted to try it out. Try as they might, they couldn't get it to fire auto. They let both of them go.

The guy gets it home and finds out that it was converted, would fire full auto if the 9mm parts were put in. I don't know the rest of the story, as in what he did with it, I heard it from someone else.

I don't know much about HK's other than I don't like the G3 for a list of reasons, so I don't know the validity of the story, but the moral is to be very cautious when buying used firearms.

I also remember seeing LOTS of OBVIOUSLY modified stuff during the ban. Like no stock pistol grip post ban AK's. I even pointed out one to a shop owner, one he had for sale back in '96 or '97, who seemed very uninterested. Yes sir, buyer beware.

[Sheepdog1968]

Thanks Strykervet for pointing this out. I hadn't even though of illegal conversions like you mentioned. In all honesty, I wouldn't even be able to spot the difference. More reasons for me to just buy new.

[Dnaltrop]

Nope, till a few years ago had a family member with 50+ years of gunsmithing under his belt exchanging oxygen. Short of guns needing a good stay in a crucible and a nap in an ingot mold, he could fix nearly anything.

Sadly, now with my great uncle gone, I find myself less willing to buy non-C&R guns used, and even have that tiny twinge at the back of my head even looking at fresh-from-the-arsenal/cache-old-guns... now that the onus is on me to fix them.

[longdayjake]

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee232/longdayjake/CIMG2427.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee232/longdayjake/CIMG2428.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee232/longdayjake/CIMG2420.jpg

http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee232/longdayjake/CIMG2419.jpg

[Onward Allusion]

FROGO207
Ever buy a gun that was dangerous because of modifications by BUBBA?

Dunno if Bubba was to blame, but I picked up a Marlin Model 81DL a while back and the trigger was so light that it was at something just shy of 1 lb!!! :eek: Pretty accurate though. It hasn't been shot since its first trip to the club.

[WardenWolf]

I haven't, but I've heard a story. I try real hard to buy new or very slightly used, and I only will buy used if I can strip it down first.

This guy was shooting at a gravel pit, and he ran into another guy selling an MP5 (this was awhile back, pretty sure it was an MP5, pretty sure it was HK too). It was a 9mm but had a .45 conversion?

Now maybe the ATF was watching the guy selling it, I don't know. But they approached the buyer, the new owner, and they were real interested in it. They got the seller down the road and were holding him. They thought it was full auto. They wanted to try it out. Try as they might, they couldn't get it to fire auto. They let both of them go.

The guy gets it home and finds out that it was converted, would fire full auto if the 9mm parts were put in. I don't know the rest of the story, as in what he did with it, I heard it from someone else.

I don't know much about HK's other than I don't like the G3 for a list of reasons, so I don't know the validity of the story, but the moral is to be very cautious when buying used firearms.

I also remember seeing LOTS of OBVIOUSLY modified stuff during the ban. Like no stock pistol grip post ban AK's. I even pointed out one to a shop owner, one he had for sale back in '96 or '97, who seemed very uninterested. Yes sir, buyer beware.
Well, that's not that uncommon. Almost any semi-auto can go full-auto if the wrong parts are put in. Most likely the conversion opened up some of the parts spacing, resulting in the 9mm sear not catching. So while it wasn't unsafe or illegal with the right parts, if you put the wrong parts in it could be. You could say the same about a lot of guns.

[centurion94]

Yup. Bought my first 1911, a '70 Series Colt Gov't a number of years back and carried it on-duty under a suit coat. After a while I was shooting a qualification course and to my dismay, it started doing double-taps all by itself. After each one, the hammer would follow. Re-cocking and firing resulted in another double-tap. The fun wore off pretty quick and the weapon removed from the line.

I have the good fortune to live about an hour from Fremont, NE and took Mr. Colt to a little gunshop called, what was the name? Oh yeah, "Cylinder and Slide". The gentleman who took care of me, the owner, put aside everything he was doing to take care of me. They really like law enforcement! He let me watch while he disassembled it and replaced the Bubbified "custom" trigger and replace it with something more appropriate. He also installed a Wilson beavertail grip safety, three-dot Wilson sights, an ambidextrous safety and extended slide release. I don't remember the cost as this occurred back in the late 80's, but I remember having the impression that he charged me a lot less than he could have.

I don't remember the owner's name, but if he frequents this site, I hope he reads about how I value the memory of that encounter. If I ever had to grab one weapon and leave everything else behind forever, it would be that 1911. Here's to Cylinder and Slide!

[Oxide]

The stuff about a Remington 700's safety is mostly hype.

[bgr2014]

I had forgoten about the 300wm that a friend (who worked at a sporting goods store) bought the rifle from some guy that came into the store. He took it to the range to check it out, called me and wanted me to check it out for him because the case was hard to extract and had a pimple on the side. After seeing his case I pulled the scope and found a bunch of little round pieces of brass in the base screw hole, somebody had drilled the screw hole through and into the chamber. I advised him to re-barrel, just wonder if possible for the base screw to have eventually been blown out. Re- barreled and no more problems. Other mention of the same thing above made me rembember that one.

[bgr2014]

If you purchase a used Rem. first thing you want to do is check the trigger, the older ones came from the factory with a coating on them that would turn into a varnish like substance. It caused a lot of problems, especially in cold weather. It would make them fire when the safety was moved to the fire position and other things. They are good triggers if maintained properly, unless Bubba has fooled with them.

[silverking]

Recently bought a beautiful S&W mod 66 no dash that Bubba must have Dremmeled which resulted in hammer "push off". In terms of cosmetics, the gun is flawless and the price was right for this neck of the woods so I'll hold on to it and get it fixed right.

[LeonCarr]

I have seen more than one 1911 with suspected bubba trigger work go full auto, and several in the hands of law enforcement and competition shooters. Thankfully they were all pointed downrange during qualification or competition.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[Flame Red]

Once bought a Colt Delta Elite from GB (before Colt re-released them) and it was Bubba'ed. Turned out that it would drop the hammer whenever the safety was released.

Worse still, I took it to the usual place to have it fixed and the smith that was there for years had quit. The new smith messed it up even worse! Finally fixed it myself and replaced the hammer, sear and thumb safety. Should have done it myself to start with.

[ball3006]

I bought a 03A3 that bubba had started to sporterize. None of metal had been touched. It took me 9 months of negotiating to finally buy the rifle. I gathered all the stock military parts and restored the rifle. The only thing is that the rifle had a Redfield receiver sight mounted at some time in the past. I filled the holes and refinished the repair. The rifle is a great shooter. I have a Rem 700 that I bought around 1980. I have never had a problem with the trigger. I don't use the mechanical safety on the rifle, I use the one between my ears. Since I will never sell the rifle, I don't worry about it.....chris3

[Threeband]

Many years ago I picked up an 03A3 at the Dallas gun show. Turned out Bubba had tried to rechamber it to .308 Norma Magnum. Anyway, that was the gunsmith's best guess at what Bubba had tried to do,but the chamber wasn't quite right even for the Norma cartridge.

I had him rebarrel it (and replace the bolt body).

[Archaic]

Fortunately, nothing really 'unsafe' but I picked up a Colt 1917 Army off of a guy that literally would not print on a refrigerator at 30 feet. It looked perfect and had original leather so it got cleaned and closeted.

The saddest one was the pre-64 Winchester 94 (32 Special) that some knucklehead had taken the front sight off with a grinder and scarred the barrel up really bad. I picked it up pretty cheap and did not look it over at all. Its a shooter, but its historic value was ruined.

[Vaarok]

The number of 8mm-06 converted Mausers that've passed through my hands has to be at least a half-dozen or more. Plus the .300 Winmag M1917s and 6.5/.257AI Japanese T38s.

There was a great deal, though, because of idiot smithing. Some guy had a Speedmaster that wouldn't cycle right. So he chainsaw-filed open the inside of the ejection port heinously, thinking that was the problem. Outside finish was fine, and strangest damn thing, it cycles fine with shorts and standard-velocity ammo, and I got it for $75 cash-and-carry because it wouldn't eat CCI minimags despite his work.

[Krogen]

Never bought one that had been bubba-ized. But (confession here) I bubba-ized my own Super Blackhawk. I had this hair-brained idea that I could do a trigger job on it. Afterwards, I found that I could drop the hammer simply by pushing on it. Gack! I really need to send it to Ruger and beg forgiveness. I sure has heck won't sell it in it's present condition.

Oh, my name isn't Bubba....

[BlackMagic308]

I have an Italian Carcano Cav gun that no one knows what "Bubba" actually did to it. But it is not safe to fire. I adopted the rifle to keep it from being cut in half, but it is a wall hanger.

[Skribs]

I buy all my guns new, because that way I know the only person who screwed with it is the people at the factory. I read reviews on the guns to see what the QC is on the brand, and only pick brands known to have good QC.

[Archaic]

^
|

What fun is that?

[Skribs]

I'm the kind of guy who has fun using stuff, not fixing it.

[chhodge69]

I bought a Winchester 1890 chambered in .22 short that had been modified to accept .22 LR. Took me quite a while to discover why .22 short would not feed with more than 1 round in the magazine. I guess Bubba did an ok job tho because it functions fine with .22LR. Not really a safety issue but it did affect the function and value.

[dirtyjim]

this 1903 has a hole drilled into the chamber from a side scope mount.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v36/dirtyjim/sporters/22hornetproject.jpg
the hole was filled with a set screw when i got it. it also has four holes for the receiver sight because one of the previous owners stripped out one of them.

i haven't decided exactly what i'm going to do with it yet but i'll probably install a 22 lr liner and put in a spare 1922 bolt i have making a cheap 1922 out of it or i might just rebarrel it to 22 hornet since i have the sedgley 22 hornet magazine parts.
i only paid $145 for it so i'm still ahead on parts value even with a ruined barrel.

[Kiln]

My buddy didn't like the trigger on his Browning .25 so he decided to do an amateur polish job on the sear because he heard it would lighten up the trigger pull. It did but the gun goes full auto randomly. This should be common sense but DON'T MODIFY THE SEAR!

[artbrownsr]

Warden Wolf this is a post I posted on another thread regarding Remingtons
Yeah I was hunting with my son and some buddies. I saw a moose on a roadside stopped the Blazer got the gun out, chambered a round, on examination through the scope declined to shoot as not enough brow tines to be legal, put the safety on handed the gun back to the passenger in the middle in back, he put the gun down and I got a hole dead center about where I would put a CB antenna! Moral: clear the chamber also had the gun worked on (Rem. 721) evidently not unheard of in that model.
Basically setting it down solidly set it off!