Is it just me, or...

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kb58

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... is it "okay" to receive a gun you just bought and find that it's dirty? It speaks volumes to me about the seller, how he not only didn't care enough to clean it when it sold, but also that it he was apparently okay with putting obviously dirty firearms in his safe.

Oh well, in the overall scheme of things it's not a big deal; I just scratch my head, wondering why some people feel that's okay to do.
 
Some people don't clean their firearms as often as I do (every range trip). If it still works, then it still works.
 
Yeah I get that, I guess I somehow thought that it would be a sign of mutual... what? respect? to at least clean the darn thing before selling it. Kind of like cleaning a car before selling it, but I guess in these days of Interweb anonimity, our standards have slipped because we know that the seller will never meet us face-to-face. Said another way, I suspect the seller would have cleaned it if selling it at a gun show...

What's that saying, "Integrity: doing the right thing even when you know that no one's watching."
 
Honestly? I don't clean my guns all that often. If they are noticeably dirty that's one thing, but I don't sweat it every range trip.

Some of it is laziness, but mostly it's just a case of knowing that it just isn't necessary for function or accuracy to scrub them after every trip. One time as an experiment, I shot my P90 without cleaning it well into a couple thousand rounds over the course of a couple of years. It functioned exactly the same that whole time, and it looked just fine.

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Well to be honest, neither do I. I guess I somehow got it in my head that something that's being sold should be cleaned before it's shipped. What was I thinking....
 
Dirty means different things to different people. Some are ok with a little grime, and think that is how a gun should look.
 
I like my guns clean, I clean them after every range trip, I don't order guns off line, so that I can't say, but I love when a seller has a dirty gun in a face to face, its gotten me a small price drop a couple of times, never that much but money is money!:D
 
Took some new people shooting. We get back to the house and the guy starts shoving a cleaning brush in thru the muzzle of his pistol.

"Whoa! What are you doin?"

He told me it was a family gun and he wanted to clean it before he took it back. I told him its better to clean from the chamber side.

He didnt know how to take it apart, so we looked it up online. As we took it apart, he told me his uncle gave it to his dad, his dad lent it to him.

The breakdown hit a snag when the slide wouldnt come off. After fiddling with it for a bit, it finally gave.

The slide and slide rails were bare metal, covered in new and old shavings. TONS of carbon buildup all over the internals. Not a spot of oil anywhere. I'm surprised it even functioned.

Apparently, he was the first person in 14 years to disassemble the gun. I found this out later when he asked his dad and uncle how often they cleaned it.

He told me his dad had a huge collection of firearms, I wondered if they all looked like this one.
 
I generally shop the consignment cases. Amazing how dirty some of those are.

I bought a S&W M66 no dash that had been a LEO gun. The thing was so dirty it actually tightened up noticably after cleaning.
 
One time as an experiment, I shot my P90 without cleaning it well into a couple thousand rounds over the course of a couple of years. It functioned exactly the same that whole time, and it looked just fine.
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My 10/22 is currently doing this experiment, it will be cleaned when it jams for the first time (ever).
 
I guess I should say I'm with you OP, it should be cleaned before selling it. But some people don't keep em clean 100%.

Timbo, I clean mine every range trip because I don't get to the range that often. So they're due for a cleaning for lint and crud and new lubricants by the time I go.

ETA: I have gotten lazy though. Instead of breaking my shotguns down when I take them, I'll just run a bore snake through the barrel and rub the chamber with a rag.
 
Well, I do clean them before selling them, and when I shoot corrosive ammo I have been known to run a rod down at the range.

For whatever it's worth, my 10/22 hasn't been cleaned in like 30 years and bazillions of rounds. It functions perfectly, though I have had to degrease some magazines.

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my 10/22 hasn't been cleaned in like 30 years and bazillions of rounds
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:what: Ok, I'll change it to "first jam or a year, whichever comes first." I dont know if I could wait 30 years to clean it, I'm a bit OCD about cleaning.
 
Most of my guns were bought on gun auctions, and almost all of them came at least somewhat dirty. Some were amazingly bad. The worst of them all was a Dan Wesson Model 15 that was full of a mix of burned and unburned powder that had mixed with a lot of oil and turned into a sort of sludge. The gun still functioned, barely. A good cleaning and it was back to being nice and smooth. I got it cheap, so I didn't mind it being dirty.
 
If it's a F2F sale, and the gun is particularly dirty, you could just say 'no thanks'. To me a dirty gun is a sign that ranges from 'just didn't care to clean it' to misuse and other problems could be present.
If it's an internet sale, yea, that's the risk with the internet.
The one time I sold a gun, I scrubbed it shinier than I do for myself. Just seems like the right thing to do.
B
 
My guns haven't been manufactured for decades (mostly from WW2-1955), and other than the Norinco SKS, the bores/actions are cleaned either each time or within a week.

Why not preserve Garands, Enfields and other historic examples as well as we can, no matter who might have carried or trained with them? Many of my heroes fought to their death with these types. In "D Day" by S. Ambrose, he mentions one 82nd (?) trooper who died alone (there were many others), found with his gun's stock broken apart, but took about nine enemy soldiers with him.

If I have time to watch tv or surf the Internut, then there is time to clean the bore/bolt for three minutes, and can wipe the oil or gun grease on a few Kleenex or extra patches before grabbing the remote control.
 
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I actually enjoy taking down and cleaning my guns after i use them. I did notice that a LGS/range here puts rental guns up for sale after a few hundred rounds and they never clean them between rentals or before they go in the for sale case. If it had been cleaned up I would have bought a m&p 360 they had but couldn't tell if it had marks and scuffs on it or if it was just that dirty, but they did say it had under 100 rounds through it. Weather that was true or not who knows but the guys there are pretty good and honest as far as i know.

This thread also reminds me of the time a few years ago i found a guy on the internet who was willing to trade his 2002 honda crotch rocket for my 2006 honda 450 dirtbike. I drove only 30 min to meet him and he drove over 4 hours (his choice) so we were able to take a look at eachothers bikes and decide if we want to trade. I took 2 hours cleaning every crevice I could get to on my bike better than I usually do and when i took a look at his, besides the fact it was in way worse shape than he had me believe, he didn't even clean the years of grime, grease and dirt off it. Didn't even try to make it look decent. Needless to say i decided to keep my dirtbike and he got mad of course so i had to explain to him that although I'm young I'm not stupid and don't appreciate being lied to about what was done to the bike and its maintenance (or lack thereof) and that he may have better luck with someone else if he actually washed the jalopy.
 
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What's that saying, "Integrity: doing the right thing even when you know that no one's watching."

KB, you answered your question. It is an observation that applies to many facets of our lives. You just got to experience it in a gun sale. I agree that it allows you to understand an element of the character of the seller.....
 
Most rifles don't shoot nearly as accurately with a clean barrel. I my wipe off the exterior and clean crud from the action area, but never touch the barrel until accuracy starts to fall off. Once clean I need to fire 20-30 rounds through the barrel before I get it back to peak accuracy. It is usually good for 200-300 rounds before it needs to be cleaned again.
 
Over cleaning wastes time and materials. Clean them when they show signs of needing it, which could be many things.

If I were selling one, I'd sell it as is, but I'd have cleaning supplies available. That way the buyer can examine the gun in as offered condition and can then see the bore clean.

Ever buy what you think is a very "clean" used car and discover paint issues the first time you wash it?
 
JMR,
Interesting comment, not my experience though. My AR's will shoot the same dirty as clean. My groups open up significantly when I shoot my bolt action rifles dirty. I normally try to clean them after each shooting.
I understand that the OP's question/comment was not about our firearms cleaning habits, but rather if we would sell/buy a dirty gun. Sorry for the thread drift.
 
You would probably hate trading with me then. I have a habit of stopping on the way to trade or sell a gun for one last goodbye shoot. Sure I give up a dirty gun but at least I can gurantee function of the weapon at the time of selling it. The bad part of doing this is it reminds me of how much I liked to shoot the gun and makes me consider calling the deal off. It's yet to happen but I've come close a time or two. Buying off the used rack at my LGS can be as dirty as it gets. The guy that owns the place doesn't inspect, clean or repair any of the used stuff. It goes straight to the rack as soon as the paper work is done and you buy them just like they came in. The upside is his prices reflect his practice and the rare occasion I've bought a busted gun he has told me to just go pick out another and has never charged a price difference even when I picked up an obiviously higher priced gun. All in all dirty can mean a deal on a gun that works well once in a while.
 
kb58 said:
... is it "okay" to receive a gun you just bought and find that it's dirty? It speaks volumes to me about the seller, how he not only didn't care enough to clean it when it sold, but also that it he was apparently okay with putting obviously dirty firearms in his safe.

Oh well, in the overall scheme of things it's not a big deal; I just scratch my head, wondering why some people feel that's okay to do.
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It`s just you.................LOL
 
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