Is that hard for people to clean a gun before they sell it? I'm not saying it has to be steamed clean, but would it kill them to run a patch down the bore and the cylinders? To wipe it down?

Bought a very nice S&W Model 19-4, 4" today.

Great price and I did not have to drive to BFE to meet him. Super nice guy.

But the damn thing was filthy.

We like photos!

I also agree. I passed on a rifle once that was an okay deal but was filthy. A friend saw it, talked him down, cleaned it, then sold it to me for $20 less than the first offered price by the original owner.

I eventually sold it back to my friend after he changed his mind and regretted the sale, for the same price but only after he bought me supper.

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Good life will not Heaven get!

Photos later, once my wife get's back the camera.

I have passed on guns that were beyond filthy. This one had been shot with .38's and had alot of gunk in the cylinder.

Nothing that a Lewis lead remover and some elbow grease couldn't fix.

I don't really mind buying a dirty gun. I can most often get it cheaper then one that is spiffy clean. And the first thing I'm going to do when I get it home is clean it anyway.

True, as I do, but I guess since I would never do that, I expect it in return...but I know that now everyone is like that.

It's just that I would, at the very least, run a patch down the barrel and the cylinder, if it applies.

I take pride in the condition of my firearms and I want that reflected in any sale that I do.

Although lately, I'm buying not selling.

I love to buy dirty guns...they're cheaper!

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Lost it all in a boat accident

Not everyone has a wife you know.....

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

I recently bought a M586 no dash with 6" barrel (easy 98%) for $300 that was dirty. I cleaned it. Now it a 98% clean gun that's worth $575.

Seriously, I don't get it when people take macro pictures of their dirty gun, then post it for sale on-line. I got to see mine first in person. That's easier to judge.

Call me crazy. If I want to sell one... it will be as clean as I can get it FIRST.

rags

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RIP Shipmate

Thanks..I just spit beer all over my laptop....

Some people are slobs......... they don't know any better and/or they don't care - these people will never change.

I agree with previous posters about getting {dirty} guns cheaper

Guess that why I got a good deal.

I bought a dirty K frame several years ago. When I cleaned it I found why it was sold dirty....badly pitted bore.

Never again, once burned, twice shy.

Isn't it a bit early to be hitting the bottle?

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Thirty characters. Exactly...

OK, ok, ok, I'll clean the guns before I sell them for top dollar. Minimum wear, only fired a a few hundred, hundred, hundred rounds and just cleaned once for this sale.

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S&WHF 366

Originally Posted by sipowicz
Not everyone has a wife you know.....


Diet Coke here.

Seriously though, my wife does not clean my guns. Since she pays for my shooting supplies I just call it even.

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Good life will not Heaven get!

Football's on...it's mandatory to have a beer or 3...maybe 10.

It's always 5:00 somewhere!

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Good life will not Heaven get!

Must be half time or a commercial as you are on the computer instead of watching the game.

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Good life will not Heaven get!

That's what laptops are for!

rags

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RIP Shipmate

Exactly...I can surf the net, watch the Spartans and the Irish play-picture in a picture-on the big screen and down a few suds..

However..I smell dinner which means, I must bid you fine fellows adieu.

I always have to ask myself how well they have taken care of the gun if they don't take the time to perform basic cleaning. If they don't care whether it is clean or dirty, do they care if the gun doesn't operate exactly as it should? Did they care enough to send it back for warranty work or did they accept it as "good enough"?

I'm with m1gunner and 427mach1, you never know what's under the crud and a dirty gun is a sign that the previous owner may not have taken good care of it.

This is a peeve I can appreciate. I just this past week did a trade with a dealer in Tyler, Tx. The gun I sent was immaculate, not just in excellent shape but spotless. The gun I got is in great shape but filthy and dry as a bone, no lube whatsoever. And the kicker is it supposedly came for the shop owners personal collection. I don't get people not just taking such poor care of their stuff but sending it to someone else looking like ****.
Just like a car or house, a gun will command higher prices if clean and properly lubed, it gives the impression of being well cared for, even if they just cleaned it for the first time in years.

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Don't kiss smiling dogs!

A few years back, I bought an old double 12 at an auction. No one was bidding and it was in the $100.00 range. Problem was that there was so much "crunk" on it (that's **** and gunk) that you couldn't open it or even read the maker. I won...took it home and proceeded to degrease, degrease and degrease...all very old stuff. Pretty colors began to show...part of a name that ended in "er Bros" and a tiger stripe stock. Lots and lots of cleaning and I had a nearly spotless Parker that someone had evidently greased up for storage. Inside, the grease had turned to Chunky Peanut Butter and it came out, well...chunky. The steel was unmarked. WhooHee! Bring 'em on!

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Term limits!

i bought a nickel 29-2 one time that looked realy bad, i asked the guy if i could take it home and see if it would clean up? he said sure i flitz it and it looked realy good it had been in a zipup cast for years he said got it for $400

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WILL WORK FOR AMMO!

I know exactly what you mean. I spent hours today with Kroil, Shooter's Choice, RB17, various brushes and a cordless drill trying to clean the unbelievable crust rings out of a 4" 581 I picked up a couple months back that would not chamber .357 mag ammo. They are almost gone now, but I suspect that I am going to have to resort to extreme methods to get the last little bit out.

At least the crud on my 19 was manageable. It took a hour of careful cleaning to get the cylinder-looks like nothing but .38 was shot with little to no cleaning-and the forcing cone clean.

It was something I could put up with, considering the price and over-all condition.

When I was cleaning it, I kept hearing Michael Cain in my head saying-

"You failed to maintain your weapon, Son."

You should try buying milsurp rifles online. You just never know what will turn up bore wise, everything from shiny mint to sewer pipe.The funny thing is that sometimes a copper fouled shiny barrel will shoot worse than a dark barrel that was used to shoot corrosive ammo and not cleaned properly. Go figure.

so ... what centerfold are ya pinning up in the doghouse this time?

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it just needs more voltage

Really! My Mosin Nagant had enough cosmoline on it to hide an Egyptian mummy!

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Good life will not Heaven get!

Sip, NOW you lost a lot of sympathy by Swisswife.


Swissman

I don't mind dirty, especially nickel. If it is dirty, I know that some anal clean freak has not had at the nickel with Hoppes or some other copper disolving cleaner.

I carry a rifle and pistol cleaning rod, a few jags, brushes and patches, a small bottle of Break Free and a bore light in my go-to-gun show backpack. I have had to run at a minimum, a patch down the bore of probably 60% of the guns that I was considering buying. I don't always expect the seller's guns to have been detail cleaned, but at least they should swab the bore and chamber(s). A local gun store where I have done considerable business over the years is one of my pet peeves for having dirty guns on display. One time I said to the owner that he should have his employees go though every used gun and swab the bores out but it fell on deaf ears. Now when they have a gun I am interested in, I bring my own cleaning gear in and do it myself before buying. They don't seem to object to that...

I am always amazed at how most guns in this age of non-corrosive primers survive in good shape even though cleaned little, if at all.

Several years ago I bought, for a good price, a 6" Model 19; the bore was leaded up so bad it probably measured .32" land-to-land in the bore.

When I got it home, I must have scrubbed that bore for 2 solid hours to get all the crud out, particularly at the forcing cone.

The final result was gratifying - the bore was in perfect condition. A few drops of preservative oil on a patch finished the job, and I'm happy.

I also recently bought a beater Japanese Type 94 pistol (you know, the worst pistol ever designed) so that I could photograph it for a future article in Dillon's Blue Press. The bore was really filthy, probably last fired with WWII ammo. A bristle brush and some Hoppe's revealed a really nice bore (not that I'll ever fire it). I was pleasantly surprised.

The only time I was ever stung was on a U.S. Model of 1917 rifle - the bore was "cloudy" as far as I could tell at the dimly-lit gun show. But it was one of the rarer Winchesters, and I added it to my collection. After thorough scrubbing, the cloudiness was diagnosed as minor pitting. Suprisingly, the gun turned out to be pretty accurate in spite of the pits. Guns from the days of corrosive ammo do need to be examined critically. Modern guns' bores - not so much.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Great post John..I'm jealous though...I have been looking for a 6" model 19.

I bought a 4" .38 Diamondback that was nasty dirty. It was in a pile of older revolvers that looked like they were dumped on the table out of a gunny sack. The Dback looked pretty good for $370.00, so I bought it.
It's my only Colt. Turned out like new when cleaned. I like buying dirty firearms.