Can one tell if a gun has been fired..???

Well , I suppose that a person with really well developed powers of observation could detect the slight differences resultant of cleaning after a test shot violation , product residue and the like , but for the most part it comes down to -

"Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching..."
C S Lewis

I would hope most modern firearms are test fired at the factory too.....

You might be able to do a GSR test. I would think it would be nearly impossible to remove all traces without dunking the entire gun in solvent. Other than that, I cant think of a definitive way.
https://shop.opticsplanet.com/armor...AYEEzEQ04_PeFCb0jOESguHj2ejMdQKwaAq4kEALw_wcB


The test kits are pretty cheap.

That might be one of the best questions asked on this forum in a long time and there is no real answer that would cover every gun you run across. I can speak from many years of experience with S&W and Colt. There is no such thing as unfired. They are all fired before they leave the factory and I'm sure that almost every manufacturer does the same. A "new" or what most would call unfired would actually be more accurately described as factory fired only. It is fairly easy to see on a nickel or stainless gun. The face of the cylinder will normally have a very light burn area around every other cylinder. Most are fired 3 times. Also there is a little bit of evidence around the forcing cone and most will have a tiny bit of residue in the barrel. Blue guns can be a little more difficult to see the evidence but it can normally bee seen if you look carefully. What scares me is a gun that is spotless. That usually points to someone cleaning all evidence of firing and sends off warning bells to me. A lot of people also try and go by the turn line on a revolver. While no turn line is great and that is a great sign for a factory fired only gun, just because a revolver has a noticeable turn line, that does not mean its been fired outside the factory like some think. We had a dealer here years ago that insisted that you dry fire any gun you were interested in buying. He would put in empty shells and have you dry fire single and double action. Just wanted his customers to have a feel for the gun. Most every "new" revolver he sold had been dry fired and some probably a 100 times or more. I have a Model 27 that is brand new in the box with the original paperwork and tools that came from him and it has a very noticeable turn line. I am the 2nd owner and knew the original owner very well. I know this gun was never fired after it left the shop and there are some collectors out there that would pass on this gun because of the turn line. After all my babbling, you asked a great question and there is no real 100% sure way to tell unless you watch the gun being unpacked from the factory and take immediate possession. Then you would know the history perfectly.

It depends on the gun but most firearms will start to exhibit at least a little noticeable wear after having a box of ammo through them. Most guns are fires at the factory with at least a 1 or 2 rounds so it would certainly be possible to fire a couple rounds and claim it was not fired.

However most firearm auctions have a number of phots so they might be able to prove it was fired if there was more wear on the gun than in the photos.

Your supposed to wear underwear if trying on swimming suits... How does a company prove you that? Sometimes they just expect people to be honest.

One thing to look at is the auction business or site reputation. Do they offer any kind of buyers inspection time with return? How does their customer satisfaction hold up?
How well does the sellers description hold water? The number of detailed photos showing the maximum condition possible for photos.
I look at a lot of things on auction sites but have only made one purchase. Happy to say that the sellers discription was just a bit less that what I saw in the photos. They didn't say it was unfired or even had it been fired. But the pixs were excellent. Clear, sharp focused and covered the item in very good detail. Needless to say that when it arrived I was beyond pleased.
As with any purchase always approach it keeping in mind, buyer beware.

Several years ago, when the internet was just beginning to be used for such things, a fellow was offering to sell several items and stated that returning them within a few days was acceptable as long as they were "unfired". Well, I bought one of the items and discovered that this fellow put a small capsule with his name and address in the barrel and then poured melted bees' wax in to seal it from both ends of the barrel. He included instructions that explained this "thing" in the barrel and how to remove it -- if you wanted to keep the item -- or remove it, if you were going to keep it. I kept it and it's still there for the next owner to find after I'm gone along with the explanation, instructions and sales receipt. Only saw this done once and even then, it seem like a lot of work. However, since then I've been ripped off so many times by on-line sellers and understand that sellers have also been ripped off (which is why I've never been brave enough to sell sometime on-line), that I sort of understand why he was trying to protect himself.

I was looking for a good 9mm for my wife's first gun, and I was in the LGS and I found a used full-size XD for $300. I looked at all the contact surfaces, and I couldn't find any wear at all. If it had ever been fired, I couldn't tell. No history at all, I can only guess why someone would buy a gun and then sell it without shooting it, but it was a fantastic deal for me.

For me "Factory Fired" or "Unfired" isn't an absolute, but it is a standard. I recently purchased a carbine which was "NIB". Now, one would assume that this would mean it was "unfired", being sold in New Condition. Long story short, I took this rifle home, and it was filthy. Had at least two, probably more boxes of ammo thru it. After a careful cleaning, it was still LNIB, and I bought it for shooting purposes, anyway, but it did clue me in that the store where I bought it has a tendency to play fast and loose with gun condition descriptions, and they aren't at all above taking a new gun to the range, and giving it a workout, then returning it to the box, uncleaned, and calling it NIB.

This sort of sales condition is a "backstop" for the seller in case of heavy use or damage by the buyer. One or two test shots would not only be undetectable, but they would be irrelevant to the transaction. The key thing is that the firearm be returned in the same condition in which it went out.

Like a new car. Check out the new ones on the lot, most all will have a few miles on them. Still sold as new.
I have a 4” nickel Python, bought from the original owners son. I could not find a trace of carbon on it after extensive cleaning. No turn line either.
However, if I were to sell it I could not place my hand on the Bible and swear it was unfired.

indy1919a4 said:

One sees firearms auctions and sales where the seller allows the buyer a set number of days inspection period to return the firearm in unfired condition. But how can one tell that the weapon was in fact not fired. ??

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I believe that the OP question was in reference to detection of a violation of the commonly offered "non-firing inspection policy" , rather than whether a gun was ever discharged since it was built.

NIGHTLORD40K said:

I would hope most modern firearms are test fired at the factory too.....

You might be able to do a GSR test. I would think it would be nearly impossible to remove all traces without dunking the entire gun in solvent. Other than that, I cant think of a definitive way.
https://shop.opticsplanet.com/armor...AYEEzEQ04_PeFCb0jOESguHj2ejMdQKwaAq4kEALw_wcB


The test kits are pretty cheap.

Click to expand...

I sold a pistol online and received an email from the buyer questioning the condition of the gun. He claimed that it had been fired. Evidently the factory didn't clean it well after test firing because I received the gun from a large, well-known distributor i in a factory sealed box. I told him as much.

If you can't tell if it has been fired or not, then it does not matter.

indy1919a4 said:

One sees firearms auctions and sales where the seller allows the buyer a set number of days inspection period to return the firearm in unfired condition. But how can one tell that the weapon was in fact not fired. ??

Barring some damage to the weapon from say faulty ammo, or heavy use. It would seem a gun could be cleaned so that no one would know that a shot or two was made with it. So (other then ones honor & truthfulness) it would be almost impossible to prove a weapon was fired a few times and then cleaned????

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Pretty much you can't tell. Unless you made an invisible mark somewhere on the gun, glued a piece of hair in the barrel, or other secret squirrel sort of thing. Or unless it is a revolver with no turn marks or no scratches on the sides of the hammer, etc. A Luger with all serial numbered parts identical numbers that returns with a different serail number on the toggle, etc. A gun lightly oiled but returns heavily greased, etc.

If a person sells a gun online to another person and offers them a 5 day inspection period after pick up then the seller can place limits on that inspection. The seller can ask that the gun not be fired, they can ask that only a few rounds be fired for test purposes, or other limitations. They can also ask that if the buyer does not want the gun that it be returned in the same condition that it arrived in. It's up to the buyer to honor those requests. The buyer pledges to do that when they buy the gun, they agree to those terms by buying the gun. But can you tell if they strictly did it? No, usually not.

With most used guns it makes no difference if they did. Well, except that the seller won't want to deal with that buyer again and has the right to say so, and why, publicly.

The seller is selling a gun and not lending it out for people to test and then return if they don't like it.

drk1 said:

Several years ago, when the internet was just beginning to be used for such things, a fellow was offering to sell several items and stated that returning them within a few days was acceptable as long as they were "unfired". Well, I bought one of the items and discovered that this fellow put a small capsule with his name and address in the barrel and then poured melted bees' wax in to seal it from both ends of the barrel. He included instructions that explained this "thing" in the barrel and how to remove it -- if you wanted to keep the item -- or remove it, if you were going to keep it. I kept it and it's still there for the next owner to find after I'm gone along with the explanation, instructions and sales receipt. Only saw this done once and even then, it seem like a lot of work. However, since then I've been ripped off so many times by on-line sellers and understand that sellers have also been ripped off (which is why I've never been brave enough to sell sometime on-line), that I sort of understand why he was trying to protect himself.

Click to expand...

I keep waiting to get ripped off, but it never happens. Every time I get nervous, I almost am always surprised in a good way. The latest one was when I bought a well used Jericho 941, sold with two mags.
A friend had bought one recently from the same seller and was disappointed in the looks of it. I would have passed on it, as it looked pretty bad in the pics, so I don't know why he was crying about it, but he got me thinking and worrying. The gun was in great mechanical condition, and it came with FOUR mags! Two were used 10 round ones, the other two were new 16 round. The seller just tossed them in at the last minute as he was packing it up to ship it. Great deal for $310+ $15 shipping. I did have to replace the recoil spring, but I was going to anyway.

If after a visual inspection the gun still looks new, I don't worry myself about whether it's actually new or not f it's been fired , carried, etc by the previous owner.

I once purchased a used Mini 14 SS Ranch rifle that the LGS sad had been fired for a great price. Took it apatr at home and if it was fired even once outside the factory I would be surprised. A previous one had burned marks inside the stalk after one round when I fired it. This one was clean and had no residue at all

If I determine a gun is in good condition after I give it a good inspection and it works well. Then I don't care if it's been fired or not.

Waveski said:

I believe that the OP question was in reference to detection of a violation of the commonly offered "non-firing inspection policy" , rather than whether a gun was ever discharged since it was built.

Click to expand...

Exactly. Some folks are off on a tangent without reading the original post

"the seller allows the buyer a set number of days inspection period to return the firearm in unfired condition"

There is no way to really tell. I can clean a gun pretty darn well you wouldn't know.