Round Count and Gun Sales

I'm a super newbie, so forgive the potentially silly question. Isn't it worse to have a gun that was rarely used and stored for a long time, than one that has a lot of rounds through it? I would imagine that the one that has a lot of rounds through has been kept in reasonable shape?

No. Guns are not like a car. Nothing goes bad if it just sits unused. Obviously if someone put a steel gun in a box in a damp basement and didn't look at it for an extended period it could rust. But a frequently used gun can rust as well.

NuShootr said:

I'm a super newbie, so forgive the potentially silly question. Isn't it worse to have a gun that was rarely used and stored for a long time, than one that has a lot of rounds through it? I would imagine that the one that has a lot of rounds through has been kept in reasonable shape?

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I have never kept track of the number of rounds fired. I have several filled ammo cans, when I head to the range I fill a baggie and when I get home the empties go into a bucket until there's enough to tumble.

bsparker said:

A buddy and I were talking, as he's in the market for a new gun, that every used gun sale states "low round count" or "less than 100 rounds through it". For once I want someone to say, I carried this and have at least a thousand rounds through it. Same for pre-pandemic used market.

I'll state up front, my carry pistol I've fired at least a thousand through it 2 years to get comfortable and accurate with it. Just picked up a .357, and even with ammo shortage, I've put 200rds down range. And so on.

Are there that many people with low round counts selling or is it the new way of say condition is 90%? How much stock to put in "low round count" claims?

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Regardless of "round count" I always examine a firearm to determine its overall condition. Usually what you see on the outside reflects the care given to the inside. Most of these guns have the potential to outlive us plus a few following generations of shooters. If I have any suspicious or "gut check" as they say, I will consult an expert or more likely just pass on the deal. I am a little picky about who I buy from although I have purchased guns from strangers for who are on known sites to me (like the High Road) and with whom I have established some rapport and/or have read positive recommendations.

I take great care of mine. They get regular inspections and are kept cool and dry. Twice a year they get a good cleaning.

Some people only shoot a few rounds a year from their hunting guns.

Initial sight in, then a few rounds each year, hopefully, to show it’s still there. Then a round or two to take game.

So now your 50 year old gun may have less than 200 rounds through it.

And then you get someone like me who loves clay targets and shoots a LOT - hundreds of thousands of targets over the last 3+ decades; one gun has ~350K and has been retired to a back up to the back up; my hunting rifles haven't been fired since I moved to Florida in 2003. That's mostly because where I used to live, shotgun clubs were plentiful but safe rifle ranges were not; and I am not paying major money to hunt a scrawny FL deer..............

What matters is the condition of the gun. That should always be the main consideration. You are buying the gun and not what the seller says about it.

I have quite a few that I have never fired YET. They all will get fired one of these days.

my EDC has over 14,000 flawless through it and counting.

This is pretty simple, and the gun will tell you.

Not many......



A LOT.....

I purchased a 2'nd owner Bersa Firestorm that appeared to be in the low round count category...when I asked the seller how many rounds he surmised had been shot thru it I appreciated this answer. "Personally I have less than one box of ammo thru it because I don't like it...I can't vouch for the guy that owned it before me, but he sold it to me because he needed money so I can only assume he hadn't shot it much."

I usually head to the range with a minimal of 4 guns. I'll shoot each gun until I know I can do my part with it. I may only shoot a few magazine or cylinder full. Other times I use may shoot a hundred rounds of a new load.

I couldn't say honestly how many rounds have gone through any of my guns. Nor do I desire to keep count. It would probably take some of the fun out of a range trip.

The first AR I owned I shot less than 100 rounds through it before I traded it off. The second AR had less than 50 rounds fired. I bought a .38 S&W revolver from a friend that he had bought for his now deceased father 20 years ago. His dad had kept it in a nightstand and had maybe shot a box of ammo through it. I've know a number of people who have done the same thing with a HD gun, stored it in the nightstand or sock drawer and forgot about it. I'm sure there are sellers that make claims of low round count but not all sellers are liars.

My experience there are a lot of guns that have seen less than 250 rounds both rifle and pistol out there on the used market.

bsparker said:

How much stock to put in "low round count" claims?

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As much as you would "highway miles" on a used car.

Some people are honest, many aren't. Do your best to be a good judge of character.

In the end, though, unless you're talking a barrel burner cartridge, the overall condition and functionality is what matters. If I were buying a used .220 Swift, I'd probably factor rechambering or rebarreling into the price. But buying a used quality semi auto pistol? Doesn't really matter if it's 1,000 or 10,000 if the gun is tight, clean and in good working order.

AK103K said:

This is pretty simple, and the gun will tell you.

Not many......

View attachment 972215

A LOT.....

View attachment 972216

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Not necessarily.

I've seen guns with many thousands of rounds look like the top image, guns with only a few mags look like the bottom. Just depends on clearances, contact points, type of finish. The Glock barrels are nitrided, which is going to take one helluva lot longer to show any wear than a blued barrel. Nitrided steel has a hardness in excess of 67 Rc, which is harder than high speed steel used for cutting tools like end mills and lathe bits, while a 4140 barrel with a "normal" temper is gonna be about half that. Go after a nitrided barrel with a hacksaw or bandsaw, you'll wreck your blade and likely not even leave a mark. When I have to cut them, I get through the nitride layer with abrasive discs before using the bandsaw.

This is another Glock that has 150K plus on the barrel and slide. Kind of hard to see the whole thing in the pic, but the wear is kind of similar to the SIG, just lighter. Its also on the bottom of the barrel as well.



And its not just visual, you can actually feel the wear on the barrel as you run your fingernail against it. Theres a ledge at the lock up. The SIG above doesnt have that feel, its more just finish wear.

The Glock barrel shown with the SIG above only has a couple of thousand rounds through it, by me anyway. I got it used, but there was basically nothing on it when I got it.

I got the SIG used as well, and it looked more like the second Glock when I got it, and Ive shot it a good bit since Ive had it. More than just a few thousand rounds too, but no idea as to how many rounds are through it.

Like cars, firearms with rounds is important information for buyers and sellers. A car with 500,000 miles can still run fine if it has been maintained. Breaks, ATF changing, maybe a new transmission etc. A Glock for example with 500,000 rounds might need a new recoil spring, and if cleaned often and stored well will run just as fine.

Now I can't tell how many miles are on a car by looking under the hood but if I pick a firearm that has no rifling left but told "less than 100 rounds" I know better. Similarities end around there for me.

To me a handgun is either 1) new in box, 2) lightly used and looks very good, or 3) is heavily used. The price of a used gun is typically the same whether it has shot 1 or 2000 rounds. Even if the seller lies and says he only shot 50 rounds but really shot 1000 it doesn't really matter because the gun still has about 95 percent of its live left. Not until the condition really starts to look rough does the price drop significantly.

I log every round shot on a sheet of paper that is stapled to owners manual or taped inside the original box.
I also record day/date plus location and a brief range memo. Lastly, I also write cumulative total of rounds fired.

While I am a collector and not a seller, I do like to occasionally view the old logs and reminisce.
There are some clean guns with very few rounds. Life is busy and sometimes we don't get out enough.

I always advertise why I am getting rid of a gun. Some I shoot a few hundred rounds and find out I don't like it and other times I never send a round through it.

But if you are an avid gun shooter shouldn't you be able to tell when a gun has several thousand rounds worth of wear? My two highest round count firearms are my XD9 and SP101. Both have 10k plus through them and even when well cleaned you can tell.