Who buys all the new guns?

[DeepSouth]

I'm probably at about 50/50 Half were bought new, the other half used. I don't buy used semi auto's unless I really have to, but everything else is fair game.

 

[oldfool]

I dunno,
for me, it's a 5 to 7 year cycle, something like
buy 4 or 5 or 6 in one year, then skip 4 or 5 or 6 years
the "good news" is that I haven't sold/traded in any of 'em in the last 30 years
(except one, but that one was a trade, not a loss)

 

[Onward Allusion]

80% of mine were bought used. They're usually police trade-in, surplus, or older guns. I don't care too much about how a gun looks more than how it functions. I've had a couple of really good looking lemons...

 

[RETG]

Only new here; and in the past three months, two new Berettas.

 

[noskilz]

I keep wondering who buys all the new cars?

 

[Tinpig]

I'm 66 and never bought a new gun in my life...never wanted one. Most of my guns are older than I am.
I enjoy finding them, cleaning them up, chasing down parts, and keeping the old beauties shooting well.


Blued (or Parked) Steel and Walnut Forever!


Tinpig

 

[MMCSRET]

Someone asked where we find used guns. I keep several 100$ bills in my pocket at all times and I watch everywhere I go. I got a nice one from a truck driver in a lumber yard while I was repairing a fork lift. I go to gun shows, last week end I stumbled on a S&W Regulation Police 38 S&W, really nice gun, 1935/36 with a S.D. Myres holster. I made an offer and it was accepted, later I found one like it on the internet for twice the price.
Moral: have cash in hand and be ever vigilant.

 

[maroast]

Moral: have cash in hand and be ever vigilant.

Good advice. Anytime I visit a pawn shop I carefully watch what people are bringing in/ out. Only one time have I seen someone bringing in guns. I approached the couple as they were about to enter the shop (with several guns in hand!!!) and asked if they wanted to sell any. Told them I had cash and would give them much more than the shop was.... but they were adamant about only pawning the guns, not selling.... oh well.

 

[postalnut25]

I'm about 75% new/ 25% used. It's hard to find good used guns at good prices unless you are lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time.

 

[shockwave]

I buy new because I typically will never sell it. I want it to be right the first time.

Same here. Might be different if I were a collector. But I'm not a collector - the guns I buy are for self-defense and I want to be the sole owner of them. The real issue for me is maintenance.

Even if I only fire a single round, I clean the firearm, wipe it down, and return it to like-new condition. With a used firearm, who knows what the PO did with it? And, for some weird reason, used guns don't seem to get cheaper so unlike an automobile, it's not like you can go out and get some great bargain on a used gun. You can't. With S&W, a pre-lock model might even command a premium. So I always buy NIB.

 

[kurt1305]

I buy both. I think some people are willing to pay near new prices to avoid the 4473 form. Not that they are bad people, they just don't like the idea of the form. Add sales tax to the price of new, and there can be an attractive difference in price.

 

[CajunBass]

I buy both. Mostly used I suppose, but not always. I recently bought a new 9mm Sigma. Before that a Marlin 30/30 and a Mossberg 20 ga.

 

[JoeMal]

New. As mentioned, warranties and peace of mind.

It's like buying a new car and you are the only owner. You know exactly what it's been through, exactly how it's maintained, it's ups, it's downs, etc

 

[danprkr]

I primarily buy used, but am not above buying new if there is something I want that I can't find used at a decent price. And like some have mentioned most of my carry guns have been new. There are a few exceptions to that, but by and large the carry guns are new.

 

[OkieOFT]

I buy new unless I get a good deal on the used one, or the used older model is better than the new gun (Ruger 10/22's)

 

[ArmedBear]

I buy new unless I get a good deal on the used one, or the used older model is better than the new gun

Ditto.

Contra the curmudgeons, there are some new guns that are superior for some purpose or other, to anything older (e.g. autoloading shotguns and pistols have come a long way). But there are also guns that are better (and sometimes cheaper) to buy used. And there are some guns that have been plentiful for a long time, so they can be had used, in like-new condition, for a good price.

 

[hexidismal]

Thinking about it now, I would guess only about 25% of the guns I've purchased in my life were bought new. In some cases this was no doubt purely based on financial constraints. In others though, such as in the case of S&W revolvers for example, new guns of models desirable to me are either not produced or are produced in a configuration I don't want.

 

[52grain]

Around here, good deals on used guns are very hard to come by. Gun shops have some used guns but they are either not much cheaper than a new gun of comparable quantity or in bad shape. Gun Broker has some good deals, but I won't buy it without seeing it. Prices at gun shows are typically high. I usually end up buying new guns when they go on sale, but I'm not really a collector, almost all of my guns have specific purposes.

 

[Hatterasguy]

Unless its a collector piece I buy new because every used gun I buy has issues. Its like buying a used car. Plus if I'm putting out good money I want a warranty.

My FN49 that I paid good money for is still broke...need to fix it someday.

 

[quackslayer]

Buying

Have bought several new guns but I am a vintage shotgun nut; I buy mostly used winchester single barrel shotguns; have one in every guage in the 37 models; I love hunting with single barrels both in rifle and shotguns; I like to hunt like my grandfather did years ago;

The old guns were built to last and most were made here in the USA; that alone draws me to buy them; the old remingtons and winchesters are my favorites to find; like stated above, keep money handy and you can get some really good deals;

 

[03Shadowbob]

I just got a NIB Ruger Mark III 60th anniversary edition yesterday. Beautiful gun. Sometimes when you want something you know you may never fire and pass down to the kids, you want it new. That is why I got that one.

 

[Nushif]

Same here as a couple of people who buy new.

For some reason even heavily used guns are not much less expensive than new ones.

 

[Rokman]

I have bought my share of new guns. The first new gun that I purchased for me (not my dad) was a Ruger 10/22. The second was a Ruger mini 14. I have only purchased one used gun, but I have many guns that my dad bought used from friends.

 

[gearchecker]

NIB, from a gun shop.
My very first rifle - in 1977, A Ruger 10-22 Walnut stock. $79.95 at K-Mart. A 100 round box of CCI mini-mags cost $2.99 too!
2 pistols NIB, an XD-45 the day after Barry was elected, and a NIB Walther PPS on Valentines Day for my wife.

I've purchased 6 never fired, not in the box, revolvers and pistols in the last year. All in 100% condition.
I bought 2 Never loaded pistols. A Colt .45, and a Colt Mustang .380. They were never taken out of the box from the day they were purchased at the gun store 20 years ago. I bought them solely for their trade value. I traded them both within a day or so after acquiring them.
I just got an AR-15 Direct from DPMS a couple months ago. It was acquired in one of the pistol trades.
I'm currently working on buying a S&W model 60 that's NIB, 100% , never loaded or taken out of the box, except for admiration. I'll get it sometime in February next year, as a late Christmas gift to myself.

I just need one more!

I've purchased another 30 or so used guns since O'bummer was elected.
I keep telling my wife, "I only need one more." Every now and then I buy her one, to keep things fair.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Well, I bought alot of new guns when I was younger. At age 23 (half of my gun collecting life), probably ~80% of what I had was bought new. 5 years later, a few sold and alot more bought, the used guns probably account for 2/3 of the total.

Part of it was becoming more savvy, but mostly I think it was a matter of I'd acquired just about every current manufacture gun I wanted and nothing on the new market really tickled my pickle, but I still liked getting new-to-me guns. I also came to appreciate the older stuff more, as well as being bitten by the milsurp bug. The only new guns I want right now are a Kel-Tec PMR-30 and the NAA mini top break (though I do lust after a few of the Uberti guns, both rifle and revolver). But there are alot of units that pre-date me by decades on my to-buy list.