Ever get hosed on a used gun?

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Action_Can_Do

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Hello everyone. I've noticed in quite a few threads that whenever someone mentions a gun they want to buy, someone will chime in and suggest that they instead buy "used". This tells me that quite a few people do in fact buy used guns. I've done it and was glad that I did. There are, however, some guns floating around in the used market that belong in the scrap pile, rather then the used market. I want to hear about all of the used pieces of junk that the unlucky have managed to purchase. If you have a horror story that involves a used gun, I want to hear it.
 
Well, my "I got hosed on a used gun" stories result from trusting a dirtbag on Thefiringline with what he said about a gun. I did a cash/stuff trade with a dirtbag on a .22 rifle on TFL. He sent a few pics and said the gun had "ceramic" coating on it. Yea, he had spray painted the darn thing! Fine, paint your gun, but who paints a bolt and everything? Not to mention the huge crack all the way down the middle of the stock. I PM'd him a bunch of times after that, but he never answered any of them. I see him online all the time. I never left him bad feedback on the forum because he did send the gun. I should have known better. I had a bad feeling from the start with that turd! Now ya went and got me all charged up!!! :cuss::cuss::cuss:
 
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i traded my 22a with custom work for a makarov that my fiance NEEDED....the guy said ITS PERFECT! the gun was greased with car grease so bad it wouldnt function properly till i cleaned it in brake cleaner. finished that and it locks the slide open after every shot! now the guy wont return my calls! grr...
 
I bought a lemon of a rifle on Gunbroker; the scope arrived broken in two; the rifle wouldn't feed properly, etc. etc. Seller didn't reply to emails, and Gunbroker was no help, either.

Not my first Gunbroker purchase, but definitely my last.
 
Fellas. I understand the idea here, and can agree that bad deals happen. However, two issues immediately come to my attention: 1) unprofessional language "dirtbag" and 2) degrading discussion of some other" forum. Either of these is considered conduct unbecoming a "THR" member. It just isn't high road.

If the thread is to survive, keep it high road.

Geno
 
I've actually always had really good luck with used guns. Only once did I get a real POS. It was a 20 guage double barrel side by side shotgun made by Sloan. The first time I opened it and put two shells in her, everything seemed alright until I closed the action. BOOM!!!!! The literally just went off! Both shells too! I just about crapped my pants because several of my idiot friends were standing around acting not to concerned about it. I was afraid somebody might have caught some of that. Thankfully, nobody got hurt. I took her down to the gunsmith and found that the fire pins were going off the moment the action was closed. Also, after the gun fired the shells, they would get stuck and it became nearly impossible to open it in order to extract the fired shells. After 2 years and several different gunsmiths telling me that it was "the shells" I gave up and sold it.
 
I try not to used auto's because I tend to get rid of lemons and figure
others do the same. But I have never gotten 'hosed' buying a used gun.
 
After 2 years and several different gunsmiths telling me that it was "the shells" I gave up and sold it.
Click to expand...

Surely you disclosed this defect to the buyer, RIGHT???
 
I bought a couple of bad guns before. Be sure to check the feedback of the seller and it doesn't hurt to stick with a manufacturer that will stand behind their products.

I once bought a used Springfield 9mm officer 1911 that had a bunch of incorrectly installed .45ACP parts replaced into it. Springfield fixed it and paid shipping both ways. Smith and Wesson is another company that's supposed to have great customer service.

Nowadays, I won't buy a used gun unless it's from a manufacturer that would fix it and pay shipping both ways in case someone is less than truthful about it.
 
Not the gun's fault, but I bought a used HiPoint carbine at a gun show. Took it home, cleaned/oiled and took it to the range. Malf after malf, couldn't get through half a mag without jamming.

I took it apart and discovered the receiver metal was ground down to nearly nothing as the PO hadn't lubed it.

$120 for the gun, $150 for shipping fees...8 mags "for your trouble"...priceless.
 
Geno, I did not degrade any other forum, just saying when I got toasted it was on a different forum, nobodys fault but mine. I think I eluded to that in the OP.
 
I have never bought a gun that I didn't first examine in person. With that said, I have bought used guns that appeared fine (not like you can chamber rounds or shoot them in the store) and wouldn't work worth a damn later. I've also had a brand new revolver that didn't work right out of the box (again, cycled fine in the store with no ammo).

Suffice it to say that learning how guns work will help you greatly in many regards, but it will not always guarantee you won't get stuck with something that doesn't work.

The two guns listed above were a High Standard B model (Super-Matic my ass, more like Problem-atic) and a Taurus 92 4". This shows you that you can't always trust brands either, each design is different as is every gun.

I bought a Hi Point 995 carbine that was so dirty when I got it, it looked like somebody had been shooting black powder through the thing. Bought it expecting it to be junk, but thought it would be fun to work up some hot 9mm loads in the 16" barrel. Hundreds of rounds later, I have yet to clean it, just sprayed it full of oil and kept shooting to see how much longer it would keep up. I got bored long before it quit.
 
(1) A Cody Thunderbird .22 revolver that fired about every eighth time. ('60s)

(2) Like new Colt Python that spit lead, and after a piece hit me in the forehead it went back to the repair facility where it stayed for a year. When I got it back, it hit me in the forehead again, only this time the lead broke my skin. ('70s)

(3) New Ruger Standard that was a jam-o-matic. ('70s)

(4) Some cheap German single action revolver in .44 magnum that also spit lead so bad it bound the cylinder up completely after about 3 shots. ('80s) (Although that one was a gift from a well meaning friend who didn't know any better.)

(4) New Browning Buckmark that couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. ('80s)

(5) New Smith & Wesson Model 48 that wouldn't extract shells after 12 or so rounds. It got sent back to the repair facility and got stolen in transit.:D ('80s)

(6) New Springfield Armory "Linkless .40" 1911 that had a small but discernible gouge in the bore, which I didn't notice in the shop because the lighting was crappy. ('90s)

(7) Swedish Lahti Model 1940 9mm pistol that had a hairline crack in the locking block housing portion of the upper receiver. Same store as #6. ('90s)

And the latest:

(8) Italian Glisenti Model 1910 9mm pistol advertised by a seller on Gunbroker as "95%, with mint bore, all original." Gun was reblued over old light pitting, grips were repros and bore had light frosting. Seller refused to accept returns. Got really nasty negative feedback from me. ('07) (Anyone who would like the guy's name and GB handle, just PM me.)

On the whole, though, 8 guns in 47 years ain't too bad.:D
 
(1) A Cody Thunderbird .22 revolver that fired about every eighth time. ('60s)

(2) Like new Colt Python that spit lead, and after a piece hit me in the forehead it went back to the repair facility where it stayed for a year. When I got it back, it hit me in the forehead again, only this time the lead broke my skin. ('70s)

(3) New Ruger Standard that was a jam-o-matic. ('70s)

(4) Some cheap German single action revolver in .44 magnum that also spit lead so bad it bound the cylinder up completely after about 3 shots. ('80s) (Although that one was a gift from a well meaning friend who didn't know any better.)

(4) New Browning Buckmark that couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. ('80s)

(5) New Smith & Wesson Model 48 that wouldn't extract shells after 12 or so rounds. It got sent back to the repair facility and got stolen in transit. ('80s)

(6) New Springfield Armory "Linkless .40" 1911 that had a small but discernible gouge in the bore, which I didn't notice in the shop because the lighting was crappy. ('90s)

(7) Swedish Lahti Model 1940 9mm pistol that had a hairline crack in the locking block housing portion of the upper receiver. Same store as #6. ('90s)

And the latest:

(8) Italian Glisenti Model 1910 9mm pistol advertised by a seller on Gunbroker as "95%, with mint bore, all original." Gun was reblued over old light pitting, grips were repros and bore had light frosting. Seller refused to accept returns. Got really nasty negative feedback from me. ('07) (Anyone who would like the guy's name and GB handle, just PM me.)

On the whole, though, 8 guns in 47 years ain't too

WOW, makes my bad deal look like a walk in the park! :)
 
Bought a Colt revolver on Gunbroker. From the pictures it looked rough but was advertised as binding, rough action, timing off. Price was screaming cheap. Shipping & transfer fees cost as much as the gun did.
Sure 'nuff, it was rusty, the action bound, and it did not time well.
After soaking in a tub of used motor oil for a month (I forgot about it, intending to only be a day or two) I cleaned it, put it back together, and it now has a smooth trigger and times perfect. Under the dust and crud and dried oil was a clean bore and tight mechanicals. The grips were junk, however.
 
I almost prefer to buy used. Seems to me that with a proper pre-buy inspection (I"m primarily a wheel gunner) you're almost guaranteed a good buy as any issues the gun had out of the box (new) have probably been resolved by the seller before they got rid of it.

I know a lot of people sell off guns that don't work properly, but this method's been fail safe for me so far.
 
From experience: check the sellers posts and feedback BEFORE dealing with them. In recent months I have had 2 sellers either welch on a deal or outright LIE!!!! I'm not out any money but how these people are allowed to continue to be members of the board is beyond me.
 
Seecamp 25 auto

Bought a BRAND NEW (specially-ordered) Seecamp 25 Auto back around 1983. The salesman tried to talk me into a Beretta at about half the price. No, I had to have the NEW GUN in town.

So much for that idea. I read the instructions meticulously to make sure I was going to treat this gun right! I bought the ammo suggested in the owner's manual (or on a slip of paper that came with it) and it was the KING of Jam-O-Matics! I tried every kind of ammo possible, still, jam, jam, jam.

Sent it in for repairs (back to the factory) and after about six weeks got it back! Boy, I was EXCITED! Now the gun will shoot like a charm!

WRONG. Same thing. Exactly. They stated that they "Milled the Feed Ramp" -- however it SHOT EXACTLY LIKE IT DID BEFORE I SENT IT IN! The slide not closing and a cartridge either partially-fed or somehow jammed in there.

Finally sold it to a relative. He told me the second day he had it, the firing pin broke. I never dry-fired that gun, so, for the FIRING PIN TO BREAK was really something!

It was absolutely the WORST gun I have EVER PURCHASED, BAR NONE!:cuss:
 
I'm not a gunsmith, if they don't work 95% of the time, I get rid of them. That said, it has not happened often. But I have sold quite a few guns used that I had not shot. So, I would not know one way or the other on most. Generally speaking, I don't buy the cheaply made stuff which reduces your odds of a dud.
 
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