Dings and Dents

i suppose that would depend on the size and location of the scratch/ding....


if i dropped a 1911 on concrete and got a 4" gouge down the side......ide be pretty upset.


but small scratches, blemishes and dings from use......i dont mind one bit....adds character.

The first scratch or scuff only bothers me if it's brand new and I haven't shot it yet. After shooting, I don't really care. Either it shoots good, puts a smile on my face and hits where I want to, or it gets sold. I can't afford guns just for looks, so how they function is what makes me like a gun, not aesthetics. Nicks and dents that don't affect functionality don't bother me.

Rust? Whole different story. It's like cancer for guns.

doesnt bother me a bit. my guns all get used, and a ding or dent is inevitable

I try to treat my firearms with respect, but dings and dents are just part of their story. I consider it making my mark on the firearm, not a negative thing.

I've got a Remington BDL Custom Deluxe in .270 that I hunted with through out most of the U.S. The first few dings really upset me, then I took into account all the different places I've taken that gun and all the game that I took with it, I viewed it more as a tool and learned to live with it.

lizziedog1 said:

So, how bothered are you when you discover a new scratch or nick on one of your firearms?

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It's like finding out there is no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny.
Bummer for a little while, but life goes on.

A couple of years ago I decided to clean out and rearrange my gunsafe. I had a then brand-new Sig 556 Patrol stacked nearby and placed my M-1 carbine next to it. Unfortunatly the carbine slid, fell over, and one of the front sight ears drew a nice shiny silver scratch down the nice matte black surface of the Sig.

Fortunatly a little bit of that liquid bluing compound meant for touch-ups worked very well and the scratch is barely visible.
Now, that was annoying to me.
I have other guns that are older and I've put a few dings in the wood on them and just counted it as use.
And that nefarious M-1 Carbine? Hey, end of WW2.... Korea (my father brought it back from that war)...yea it has battlescars!

As long as it still goes bang a ding or a scratch doesn't bother me but my guns are tools that get used like my snap-on wrenches not safe queens. With that being said I guess scratches and dings are more the norm and to be expected for me

Same as a car, the first one hurts, after that you tend to forget about it.

I use my guns, so they'll collect character marks.

A 4" scratch on 99% antique winchester lever 401-G safe queen is a thousand dollar scratch, I'm upset.

I now buy stainless synthetic guns for deer hunting and they're so butt ugly to start with that I honestly haven't looked. I only hunt with guns I'm willing to ding up without getting upset.

Firing guns at the range, some of which are semi-collectible, I'm careful and a 4" scratch would bother me.

Guns are tools to me, I don't get upset over a scratch in my cordless drill. That being said, I try to keep my tools nice

I don't care who you are...an "Idiot" mark on a 1911 will forever bother you. Nothing like a good crescent shaped scratch to remind you every time you look at it.

I have no safe queens, they're all working guns. I do take reasonable care of them but stuff happens. And so far I've avoided the idiot scratch on my 1911.

Everything I own becomes a "scratch 'n' dent" eventually. I always hate putting that first one on it, though. Especially when I did something stupid, like putting an "idiot mark" on both the frame and the slide of a 1911.

I see all the perfect guns guys sell or post pictures of and they're just making it obvious they've never really used that gun.

The first one hurts. 8)

But all my guns are shooters so the others are a sign of usage and fine by me.

Walkalong said:

I hate anything besides honest wear on most guns. By honest wear I do not mean scratches, dings, dents, etc. I mean wear from holsters or hands. I try to keep my guns in the same shape I bought them. Carry gun? Sure, it is going to get wear from holsters etc, that I do not mind. A gun used for a shooting game? Sure, it will get wear, maybe even slight "damage". I still won't like it.

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I'm the same way with most of my guns, I hate to add any dings or dents. I'm careful so it doesn't happen but rarely. However, on my military target rifles, the brass is flying and bouncing off the gun, it's no big deal. I don't want to have them get beat up but it's a working gun and it's going to show it's being used.

Over the years I have come to expect the dings and scrapes associated with using my guns. I touch up and fix what I can but they're inevitable and my most used comment is "I just can't have anything nice!" It doesn't matter how hard I try, my efforts always seem to be thwarted by "Mr. Murphy". As stated previously, it just adds character and a story to the gun.

I get bent when I buy a firearm online that's listed as "mint" an comes in far from it.

I picked up a S&W 27-2, 3 1/2" that was adverstised as mint. The right sideplate had a 2" scratch thru the finish. After confronting the guy on the forum I bought it from, he responds that I "should be happy with it anyway since it was a good deal". I paid $850 for it. He never refunded my money.

With care, it is not that hard. 85% of my guns never see a holster. They get carried in a soft gun rug, and are laid on that or a towel at the range. I keep them clean and oiled. Just not that hard to keep them as is for a long time.

Besides, I do not take new pictures of them after awhile. I use the ones I took when I got it.

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Right, like I said, you never really use those guns besides the range. I mean as long as you have fun only at the range, that's cool though.

My guns get used. I am more suspicious when I have one that looks too clean.