Used guns - do you trust them?

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There can be issues with a new or a used gun, and I've personally experienced that.

Far more important to me is how does the company support it's products? What is their warranty and customer service like?

Anything mechanical can fail.

You can hedge your bets by going with mainline service handguns.

I feel pretty safe buying used flagship sigs Berettas Glocks Smith and wessons etc.

It helps to have at least a vague idea of known issues to look out for. There's a famous used revolver sticky, another for the 1911.

Guns are durable goods. Sometimes they run better after a few rounds have been down the tubes. Never hurts to have someone else buy the ammo for a nice break in period. Saves you some money!
 
I don't blindly trust used guns OR new guns. Since almost every gun I'm interested in owning was built between about 1940 and 1990 (except for some CZ rifles and handguns that are newer than that), I'm going to be buying used. The biggest disappointments I've had with guns or vehicles have been from a couple of the few new ones I've bought, not the many used ones. (I've had 47 vehicles so far in my life, and a lot more guns.)
 
Idahou said:
How much do you trust to used gun?
Would you carry, grab it in case of apocalypse or its just range toy for you or test before you buy new one?
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Like with anything else, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Range time usually tells the tale.

Most of my firearms were bought used. Now, a significant portion of those were milsurp, so "new" was not an option.
 
Half of all the firearms I own were purchased used. With advent of manufacturers offering refurbishing services, "certified pre-owned" guns, etc., life is good. And, if you cultivate relationships with gun shops that have seasoned employees or skilled gunsmithing services, even better.

After a while (in my case, 50 years of owning and shooting gun), one learns how to examine, inspect, maintain and repair used firearms, as well as how to easily discern clues to the current state of, or potential for, broken or ill-fitting parts and the prospect of further breakage or catastrophic failure.

Yes, I trust my used firearms implicitly.
 
I would much rather buy a used gun than a used car. Guns are simple machines and most issues can either be seen or felt with a careful inspection.

From my own experience almost all of the guns I have traded away or sold have been perfectly fine, I just wanted something different. On the receiving end of the dozens I’ve bought/traded for only three weren’t functional, and in each case I knew I was taking a gamble. I bought a Kahr auto at a too-low price so I suspected it had a problem. It misfired every 4-5 shots just like I predicted it would. A good cleaning of the striker channel fixed that right up.
 
I only trust used guns :D

But it depends on condition, I don't even blink when I buy a used glock because you can very easily tell how used it is and the same goes for many other guns. I bought a used wingmaster that has been excellent and was a lil leery of buying an older shotgun that I planned to put a few thousand rounds a year out of without knowing or being able to really tell how many rounds had been fired from it. For all I know it could have 1000rds or 100,000 rds through it. I wish I had some way to ballpark it but I don't.

Often times, if you're buying from the original owner it's pretty easy to get an idea of just how used it is, alot of people buy a gun and shoot a box or two and stow it away and any cosmetic flaws are from sitting a while unprotected, or police trade-ins can look like hell because they're carried daily but shot very lil and you can get a very sound gun for about half price.

But generally speaking, as others have stated, once I have been able to inspect the gun and/or shoot it a bit, I won't bat an eye about carrying it once it's been proven......
 
I have purchased quite a few second-hand guns over the years and only two have been a disappointment. It wasn't that they didn't work. They just didn't deliver the accuracy they were know for. I have had the same happen with a few brand spankin' new guns too. I don't buy worn out guns.
 
I would trust a used gun if it was directly from a military org, LEO, or similar agency. If it had been taken apart and serviced, it was likely done by the armorer at the agency (hopefully). But if a used gun was privately owned, who knows what the owner did or tried to do to it. I don’t have the experience to completely disassemble a gun and know what I’m looking at in trigger assemblies and such.
 
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I've bought a lot of used guns over the last 70 yrs. The only ones I regret are the few "Off Brands" that had no parts available for repairs. If the main components of the used gun (barrel/receiver/slide/bolt/lower/frame) are not damaged and the small parts are available, I can fix it. I'll negotiate the price accordingly. Of course I'd test it before considering using it for any social application.
 
Zendude said:
I would trust a used gun if it was directly from a military org, LEO, or similar agency. If it had been taken apart and serviced, it was likely done by the armorer at the agency (hopefully). But if a used gun was privately owned, who knows what the owner did or tried to do to it. I don’t have the experience to completely disassemble a gun and know what I’m looking at.
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Here's a scary- I once bought a Beretta M92 recently surplussed from the Prince George's County Sheriff's Dept. Looked good on the outside, clean bore.....
Took it to the range and no fire, indeed no primer dents at all.
Had to detail strip the slide to determine that the firing pin was gummed up solid with some sort of dried cosmoline-like substance. Took a half hour of scrubbing with degreaser to free it up.
I shudder to think some poor LEO was carrying it like that for God-only-knows how long.:eek::confused:

All that said, Ive bought exactly ONE new gun in the last 20 years, and it did have issues- trigger wouldn't reset. Got it fixed now, but the moral of the story is I don't trust any gun until Ive disassembled, cleaned, lubed, and tested it.

Shoot, several of my guns are past the century mark and Id trust carrying them into battle completely.
 
I've bought a lot of used guns, so I guess so, been burned a couple of times.
 
Idahou said:
As always, im thinking about my next gun - this time Beretta 92 compact - and deciding between new and surplus.

So just for curiosity - assuming you chceked the gun, there are no red flags, round count is for reassobla numbers and you bought it from decent source: How much do you trust to used gun?
Would you carry, grab it in case of apocalypse or its just range toy for you or test before you buy new one?

I do have surplus Beretta M71 in 22LR, bought just for fun time at range but now i actually sometimes carry it when i cant/dont want carry my 9mm APX. I do believe it will shoot, so far it was reliable, yet im not that comfortbale to carry one in chamber - i would say thats little bit silly in this case, because its singla action only and with manual safety

My Vz 58 is also surplus and it fail me once (trigger group pin got loose and internals jammed bolt to upper while shooting), the stock and front handguard were wobly and overal i "upgraded" it with duck tape, anti slip plate, some junk metal and nickle wire. Still i do believe it will not blow in my face and its my primary rifle - mostly because i still dindt find rifle what would suit me better and this one was cheap

So how about you?
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About as much as I trust a used car and I've never bought a new car in my entire life.
 
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