buying used guns,, yes or no???

[Smith Wesson]

what are some things i need to look / lookout for.... when buying a used gun... or should i just save up for the new....

 

[N4KVE]

I could write for hours, but basically I only buy used. The value won't drop 25% the minute you get the gun home. Just open the gun, & look inside for wear. Just Saturday I got a mint 30 year old S&W 645. Hardly any wear at all. Gun was carried by a cop. And don't base value on Gunjoker prices. That's asking price, not selling price. GARY

 

[Rpg]

There are no currently manufactured S&W that I'd buy.

The best are all used in that they are not new from the factory to your FFL and then to you.

I prefer those manufactured before 1982.

 

[loeman]

Great question. I will probably NEVER buy another new gun! There are WAY too many great used classics just waiting for me to save up enough to buy them. The last new gun I bought was in 1996. If you want new, buy it, but there are better than new used guns for less money. Visit your LGSs and your pawn shops and maybe even G'broker and you will find as good or better guns for less. and that's not to mention the appreciation value! BUY USED.

Oh, I forgot to mention, welcome to the forum. Keep reading here and you'll soon know what you want and how much to pay.

 

[federali]

Buy used

"Gun" covers a lot of territory. With revolvers, you need to check for "end-shake-cylinder." A bit difficult to describe here but there may be a video on youtube.

With all handguns, you must watch for sloppy modifications. Even us more experienced shooters can get fooled or overlook something.

I too buy mostly used. I've only been burned once, with a Savage 99 and hidden defects in the rotary feed.

 

[USAF385]

I prefer to buy new because I'm afraid of the "gunsmithing" Bubba might have done to his gun before trading it in.

Unfortunately, these things might not be noticeable until the gun is fired or disassembled.

 

[gmiller0737]

I buy way more used than New,Most of the stuff that I want is no longer made so used is the only way to get those.

 

[Smith Wesson]

theres a gun shop near me that has a full sized m&p 9mm uesd for 350 comes with 2 mags.. im new to guns and i didnt know what to look for as far as inspecting it for flaws or damage ....... thats right in my price range... thought i might have been suspicious because the same gun was goning for around 600.... (as far as i know, it looked like the same)...

 

[Pef]

For revolvers, Google "revolver check out."

For semi's, I can't really tell you. I rack the slide, dry fire it, check the bore with a light, check for any loose roll pins, etc. I simply cannot tell if the gun will be a jam-o-matic by eyeball alone. But I've bought several and had no problems.

 

[Smith Wesson]

For revolvers, Google "revolver check out."

For semi's, I can really tell you. I rack the slide, dry fire it, check the bore with a light, check for any loose roll pins, etc. I simply cannot tell if the gun will be a jam-o-matic by eyeball alone. I've bought several and had no problems.

this is the type of info i was looking for.. i need more of this ??? thanks

 

[Ranger17]

I was offered a used 9c last year as my first non .22; was clean and complete and too good to pass up. I have well over 1k rounds thru it with zero issues since so was well worth it. But if i wasnt able to have it looked over by someone with knowledge i may have passed at the time. Now just recently bought a new fs9 to take advantage of the mag promo and frankly i wanted a new one lol. So i have gone both routes.
So for me if the price is right i would look at new. And if i was able to check out a used gun and it was clean and cheap i would consider that route. But definitely have no interest in a modded gun.

 

[reddog81]

Most used guns will have very little wear. Most shooters don't really shoot that much and any part that breaks should be relatively easy to fix. I have bought many used guns the only ones that have ever had problems were over 40 years old.

The nice thing about is used guns is that they don't really loose value. If you go buy a new gun it will drop in value with one box of bullets through it. A quality used gun bought at a reasonable price shouldn't drop in value.

 

[Krell1]

I like the old ones better than the new stuff that's out there. I've bought used but only after I either can inspect them first or I'm sure the gun is as described. Sometimes that can be a hard thing to do and you have to trust the source. The last one I bought was a Model 60-7 and was exactly as described by the seller. I may have just been lucky when I read stories of what some are buying.

 

[Sconnie]

For revolvers, Google "revolver check out."

For semi's, I can really tell you. I rack the slide, dry fire it, check the bore with a light, check for any loose roll pins, etc. I simply cannot tell if the gun will be a jam-o-matic by eyeball alone. I've bought several and had no problems.

Obviously make sure the gun is unloaded but ALWAYS ask the owner if you can dry fire before you dry fire any gun. It is the polite thing to do. Sorry if you knew this already.

 

[BigBill]

My brand new S&W N Frames are as good if not better than the older ones.
Technology in steel making has changed since the last century. They use electric furnaces now over coke fired furnaces. This means a more even temperature. I own both new and used s&w revolvers. I have the best of both centuries.

Used revolver inspection.

Wear on the throat.
Canted barrel
Lock up on the cylinder.
looseness of the cylinder on the stud.
Lockup of the cylinder in the frame.
Cylinder gap to the barrel.
End play of the cylinder.
Line on the cylinder.
Finish what % is left.
Check for rust, corrosion, freckling in the corners were the parts fit.
Bore condition.
Fit and finish of the stocks.
The condition of the firing pin.
Hammer and trigger looseness, side play.
Cylinder timing.
Handling marks on the frame/barrel.
Inspect the rearward face of the frame where the firing pin goes through the frame. Look for the case wear on the frame. The amount of wear tells the amount it's been fired/used.

 

[rwsmith]

Used guns are gud....

It's easy to see the cosmetic issue (which I hardly care beans about) as long as it is not worn or loose mechanically. Get what info you can from the dealer, if it's something like a police trade in it's bound to have a lot of wear. Aside from looks, they should be able to tell you what kind of conditions the internals are in. This isn't necessarily bad, because S&Ws can take a lot of wear. It's hard to wear out a barrel, so if the barrel rifling is worn the gun has been shot a LOT. This isn't necessarily bad either as long as you know what you are getting and what you want the gun for. Check out everything mechanical that you can. An S&W can be dry fired or fired with snap caps or something similar but a lot of people don't like their guns being dry fired.

Check the trigger to make sure that it's smooth and consistent even if you stop short of firing it.

Do you plan to buy on line or from a brick and mortar shop? With on line you can only trust what the dealer tells you so make sure that they have a long and solid reputation. With revolvers you need every hole to come in line with the barrel whenever you work the action. If something is loose or shaky it may have to have money put into it to bring it up to standard.
Make sure everything lines up. We see a lot of canted barrels.

I and a bunch of other people here, LIKE older guns because the way that they were made using less shortcuts and better QC. A new gun is fine. S&W still makes good guns but some of us feel that they are using the customer as QC. If it doesn't come back to the factory for repair, it passes.

If you buy an M&P pistol, a 3rd gen pistol or about any old revolver as long as it's sound probably isn't going to be a bad buy. Just know what similar guns in similar condition are going for. Check COMPLETED sales on Gunbroker.com.

Things to ask yourself. Realistically, what is the gun going to be needed for? Defense, defensive carry, range, hunting, plinking. I made the mistake of buying a gun mainly for home defense, then later trading it for a better range gun because that's what I spend my time doing. Now I have several guns for carry, home defense and range, but I can't afford to get ALL that I need.

 

[one eye joe]

Great question. I will probably NEVER buy another new gun! There are WAY too many great used classics just waiting for me to save up enough to buy them. The last new gun I bought was in 1996. If you want new, buy it, but there are better than new used guns for less money. Visit your LGSs and your pawn shops and maybe even G'broker and you will find as good or better guns for less. and that's not to mention the appreciation value! BUY USED.

Oh, I forgot to mention, welcome to the forum. Keep reading here and you'll soon know what you want and how much to pay.

WELCOME TO THE FORUM. I FULLY ENDORSE THE QUOTE ABOVE. THE NEW PRODUCTION S&W FIREARMS, WITH VERY FEW EXCEPTIONS, HAVE THE INTERNAL LOCK. QUALITY CONTROL, ACROSS THE NEW PRODUCT LINE, APPEARS TO BE AT AN ALL TIME LOW AT THE FACTORY. IT IS COMMON FOR EVEN REPAIRS TO HAVE TO BE SENT BACK MORE THAN ONCE BEFORE THEY ARE FIXED. I WOULD NEVER BUY A NEW S&W, UNLESS SOMETHING CHANGES DRASTICALLY…..

 

[Arik]

I almost always buy used. Better deals. Most used guns have almost no use. The avg person doesn't shoot that much. People buy a gun, try it and don't like it so they sell or trade for it. Or they just add it to their pile until something else comes along that they'd trade for.

I just look them over to make sure nothing is broken or rusted. Other than that as long as the price is right I don't care if it has finish wear. I'd say 95% of my handguns were at one point police guns so they all have holster wear but the prices were too good to pass up

 

[N4KVE]

My brand new S&W N Frames are as good if not better than the older ones.

Unfortunately, that key hole next to the cylinder release would prevent me from buying any modern S&W revolver. GARY

 

[Venenoindy]

I'm split right in the middle but unfortunately the last two used guns turn out to be a nightmare, I must say that I have bought and sold a lot of firearms over the years and sometimes even new firearms can be problematic but I will stick to new foe now.