Used guns - do you trust them?

wiscoaster said:

I'd say that's pretty much 100% of the time. And a junky gun stays a junky gun for its lifetime.

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It is possible- just not highly likely- to find a new gun at such a discounted price that it could be resold at a profit. (Walmart Savage Axis and Rem 700's of early 2020 anyone?). That's why I said 90%.

I completely agree that junk is junk, and something that was junk 50 years ago still is. I have zero interest in owning junk whether it's antique or modern. I'd much rather buy a used gun with a proven track record and let all these other folks be the beta testers.

hey if it wasn't for used guns I would not be shooting.

Otto said:

^^ In other words, never buy a used gun you can't hold, inspect and fire. Who would buy a used car without driving it first?

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Coyote3855 said:

I'm glad that works for you. I would not have many of the fine used and milsurp guns in my collection had I insisted on holding, inspecting, and firing them before purchase. And I did buy a classic used car sight unseen and undriven. It's in my garage at the moment, no regrets.

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I tend to agree with Mr. Coyote . . .

I check them out, and most of the more used ones get a recoil spring and sometimes new mag followers. I got a Police trade in S&W 4506 in great shape, but the mag followers were falling apart. I'm guessing some sort of cleaner was used on them that wasn't compatible. I haven't had a problem with any gun, new or used in some time. Back in the late '70's, I couldn't buy a new gun that actually worked, but all my used guns had no issues or something simple, like a spring needed replacing.

I put new guns through the same testing as used guns. Clean and lube when I get them. Look for obvious damage such as cracks where they should not be. Shoot them a bunch and see how they perform. Any problems I run into are either solved by me using third party parts, sold off, or fixed by a return to the mothership if the manufacturer offers any kind of warranty.

Some of the best guns are no longer produced, they were made by craftsman. The only recent 'new' rifle a I bought, came with issues from day one. I expect older firearms may need some attention, some simple fix; you are not paying exorbitant new prices for something CNC machined, and then put together buy a labourer, not a craftsman! A new rifle that requires the rear sight to be cranked over HARD against the stops?? How does that happen?

Australian410hunter said:

A new rifle that requires the rear sight to be cranked over HARD against the stops?? How does that happen?

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Tolerance stacks.

I buy mostly used. Only been burned on a used one once. A smith&wesson sigma. Thing was a turd. Reckon that’s why the guy sold it.

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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I do if I buy it from my LGS where they have the gunsmith check it. They also will let you shoot it first. But, if any red flags no. So far I’ve been lucky. I’ve had good luck with used, and 80% luck with new

Meeks36 said:

I buy mostly used. Only been burned on a used one once. A smith&wesson sigma. Thing was a turd. Reckon that’s why the guy sold it.

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But also, Sigmas arn’t very good

Sure, the majority of my firearms have been “pre owned “. For rifles I check the headspace. For handguns/ shotguns I give a deep cleaning and change springs as needed.

reddog81 said:

I generally trust them assuming the condition looks acceptable. There are lots of used guns out there with a few boxes or less of ammo through them. Usually you can tell if a gun was cared for and how much use it has seen with a few decent pictures. It is always kind of a crap shoot since a gun can look OK but have many hidden problems, but that is generally the exception.

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Right. It seems like a majority of used guns haven’t been shot a lot, except military and police. But, a lot just got shot a few times then stuck in a closet.

AK Hunter said:

Used gun are like used cars you got to have a good eye for seeing the good ones. I guess I don't have that eye because I've gotten burned a few times & had to sell them off for less than I paid for them, the same goes for cars. LOL

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Just like used cars, buying from a reputable dealer that inspects them, certifies them, and sells them for an fair price is ideal. That’s why I prefer to buy from my LGS as so far the used guns, which they inspect, have all been fair for the price.

bangswitch said:

I only own two handguns that I bought new, and 2/3 of the handguns I own are over 40 years old. I trust them all, because I won't buy any firearm I can't handle and inspect before I purchase. It's next to impossible to buy a gun from a dealer and get to shoot it before you buy it, new or used. If you know how to check them out, you really don't need to fire them before buying them. Accuracy would be the only unknown, but you can reasonably guess how it will be from the condition and type.

Like was stated in a previous post, it's the newer guns I don't trust so much.

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I’ve never bought a gun I didn’t hold first, for this reason. However, I would if I simply can’t find it elsewhere, which frequently happens.

Short answer yes, but I've mainly been trying to find revolvers for target shooting and the best ones are the old ones.

If it was for self defence, I can't say I wouldn't buy a used gun, but this far I have only bought new. Only gun I own that I don't trust is the one with a cracked frame. Only keeping it because it was my 21st birthday present and I keep thinking I'll get it fixed...10yrs of that now.

I've owned well over 100 guns over the years.
Five were bought new... .

Idahou said:

Some tips how to check revolver? I have zero experiences with them, but as i understand it can be beaten that at some point chamber and barrell dont align properly, or am i wrong?

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That is not wrong.
If it's a swing-out crane, look at the closed fit where it sits in the frame.
Check for longitudinal wobble while you are at it.
You want to check for the amount of fore-and-aft "play" in the cylinder, too.
And, of course, you want to check how well the bolt locks up the cylinder, too. There should be little play with the hammer back.

You want to examine the bolt for rounded edges where there should be crisp edges to engage the cylinder. Good idea to watch how the hand works with the cylinder swung open, too. Look at the engagement points on the cylinder for both bolt and hand. They ought be uniform right the way around, no "unique" polished bits or scratches.

The face of the cylinder can tell some tales, too. The fire rings ought to be near identical in each bore.

The forcing cone can be informative, but it can lie, too.

Now, the cation of the trigger and hammer are a whole basket of things. Some revolvers just feel like the insides are full of metal shavings, even when brand new. Some as smooth as silk. That's more model-dependent. Your best bet is to locate some one familiar with a particular model, and use their opinion to inform.

I'm a C&R guy, I'd say only 10-15% of my guns were bought new. For buying so many old and well-used guns,
I've been remarkably lucky, very, very few issues over the years. I had a Turkish Mauser that had a weak firing pin spring.
Paired that with some old surplus 8mm and very few of the primers would ignite. But that was some REALLY old surplus ammo too
that was known for having very hard primers.

My main CCW I bought new because it was a new model at the time.

I have found that most used guns, unless they are vintage, haven't had a ton of rounds through them. I recently bought a 1981 Walther P1
that was BNIB and unfired after 41 years. I also scored a BNIB unfired BRNO ZKM-458 single shot .22 rifle from 1952. Those
are the ones I get a kick out of shooting the most, the brand new, never shot 40-70 year old guns, always fun.

We are seeing more and more recalls on brand new guns these days it seems like? I had a recall notice on my new Smith & Wesson M&P 12 bullpup
shotgun (mine was unaffected as it was built after they did the fix) but many early adopters had to send their M&P 12s back to Smith for a new receiver.
I also saw a recall on the new Kimber R7 Mako subcompact pistol.

I agree with the posters. Any gun can be stone cold reliable. Any gun can break. Evaluate each gun for your needs, regardless of if it is new or used. Being new
is no guarantee that it will be bulletproof and being used is no guarantee that the gun won't be stone cold reliable. Caveat Emptor.

Meeks36 said:

I buy mostly used. Only been burned on a used one once. A smith&wesson sigma. Thing was a turd. Reckon that’s why the guy sold it.

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That coulda easily enough happened with a new one of those. Seems a common theme with Sigmas.

Quality is quality, regardless of new or used...but new doesn't always equal quality.

I have had surprisingly good luck with used.
As stated, you have to know what to look for.
I'm a lot better at it now than I was as a younger man.

I have actually had my fair share of problems with brand-new guns too.
About as much as used; maybe 2 or 3 total per category.
So there's that.

I have some friends that won't buy used.
I can respect and understand that.
You never quite know why a gun is used...
But you can make some educated guesses.
Helps to ask the vendor about any backstory too if available.


What I haven't done any of is buying sight unseen, or getting into bidding wars and winning a mystery prize.

I like people who don’t buy used firearms… More deals for those of us who know there is nothing wrong with used firearms. Particularly if you intend to shoot them.

amd6547 said:

I like people who don’t buy used firearms… More deals for those of us who know there is nothing wrong with used firearms. Particularly if you intend to shoot them.

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That's a good way of looking at it IMO. The problem is, I don't personally know anyone who doesn't buy a used firearm occationally.
Oh, I guess that's not exactly true - I do know a few people who never buy any firearms at all - neither new NOR used. But I guess that doesn't count.