Can you tell if a gun's been fired?

[Rastoff]

There are a lot of guns for sale that have a claim of having never been fired. This is a misnomer anyway because all guns are fired at the factory. Still, we understand it to mean that the particular gun has not been fired since purchased new.

If you were looking at one of these guns, could you tell if it had been fired or not?

For discussion, let's say a guy buys two of the same model guns. As he should, he cleans both of them as soon as he gets them home. The next day he takes one to the range and fires two magazines through it and cleans it again as soon as he gets back home. He doesn't like it and decides to sell both of them. In the add he claims that both are new and un-fired.

Would you be able to tell? Could you pick out the one that had been fired?

 

[DeathGrip]

I have two that I believe to be unfired.

Ruger Old Army in blue. It's super clean. I can't find any powder or lead residue and there is no wear signs on it anywhere.

Winchester 94, 1950 manufacture. It was a cousins and as far as I know he never used it. It only has a couple of tiny dings on the stock from storage over the years. No visible wear on the action.

If either were ever shot I can't find evidence. I could be wrong but you'd have a real hard time convincing me.


Yet, I don't know as though I'd advertise them as being unfired.

 

[Rule3]

Maybe maybe not. How many rounds in the magazine, what brand of gun, what caliber.??
There may be slight marking on the hood of the barrel.



Regardless, they are "used" I use the scratch and sniff test to see what solvents and oil were used.


10 or 20 rounds makes no difference one way or the other to me.

 

[Sevens]

In that situation... no, I personally don't think you could reliably, for certain have your answer, however... as we are in the S&W forum and this forum has a definite proclivity for revolvers... you can definitely tell when a S&W revolver has not been shot outside of the factory because you can see exactly which 2 or 3 chambers have been used for the test firing.

As with everything S&W, I can't tell you that this is any kind of a guarantee and especially with blued revolvers, it isn't always obvious or easy to see, but in my experience, you can usually see it.

Of course, a conspiracy theorist or forum warrior could argue that someone MAY have sent 350 rounds down range using ONLY those two chambers but anyway...

 

[billwill]

Kinda, sorta, maybe. Of course all are factory fired. if you fire a cylinder or a mag might be hard to tell after a good clean up.

 

[H Richard]

One thing, S&W does not clean any guns after test firing. There are burn marks, and powder residue. If you get a S&W and it is perfectly clean with no marks or residue you can bet it was fired and cleaned by a previous owner.

 

[llowry61]

I am interested to hear what other members have to say. I think it can be really tough to tell a round count. I have new semi auto's I have purchased that are unfired after factory, but I do not have a vintage S&W I personally purchased to compare to. I have a few that were supposedly unfired after the factory, but can't verify it. I can tell you that I clean all guns I purchase immediately FWIW. I have to assume others do as well.

 

[Breakaway500]

As soon as I pull the trigger. Every time..

 

[LoboGunLeather]

Close examination of the breech face will usually show some signs of finish wear after a minimal amount of firing. In a revolver I am referring to the recoil shield surface through which the firing pin passes. In a semi-auto I am referring to the inner face of the slide through which the firing pin passes. A considerable amount of force is transferred via the cartridge case head which results in wear of the finish (bluing, Parkerizing, phosphate finish, nickel plating, milled or polished stainless steel, etc), and physical transfer of cartridge case brass can also take place.

Also, close examination of the gun's internals can detect powder residue. A truly unfired piece (even factory proof-fired) will have a light coating of lubricating oil that will appear to be clean unless subjected to the effects of powder residue, which will be collected by the lubricant and easily seen on a clean white cloth patch. Only the most extensive disassembly and cleaning methods will remove all of the residue.

 

[alwslate]

Sometimes. If a gun has truly never been fired it's usually pretty obvious.
I've bought several older guns that I was sure had never been fired
outside the factory or never at all. A S&W mod 10-5 from around 1964, a
Remington 1903 A3, a Browning 1910-55 .380 from 1968 & my 8 3/8"
S&W 27-2 .357 from late 70s to name a few.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

The Berreta 21a that I bought a while back was in that twilight zone.
The Seller had 2, he remembered that one had been fired and the other had not.
I could not tell which was which.
And I probably bought his ex-wife’s gun!
So far, no bad mojo!
I hate bad Mojo!

 

[Ματθιας]

There are some firearms that haven't been fired but look fired. Firearms in LGS displays that get their actions worked and fondled for example.

As stated above look at the breech face, along with the hood and smilies on the barrel.

Another thing is just experience.

 

[k22fan]

One thing, S&W does not clean any guns after test firing. There are burn marks, and powder residue. If you get a S&W and it is perfectly clean with no marks or residue you can bet it was fired and cleaned by a previous owner.

Or it was bought new then meticulously cleaned before being carefully stored for the day the owner gets around to trying it. I did not intend it to turn out that way when I bought them but I own a few of those. While occasionally reoiling them for preservation would cause them to also fail Rule3's sniff test for non-factory oil they are as "unfired" as any gun that was sold at retail.

Rastoff's original question was about self loaders but real forum members know revolvers are what matter. John Wayne might have said that or more likely it was Dirty Harry.

Unlike Ruger, S&W leaves the rear end of the forceing cone the way it was after final reaming, sharp. Magnum cartridges very quickly dull the sharp rear end of a new S&W revolver's bore. That's tested by feel. If it is still sharp a S&W magnum is as good as unfired since leaving the factory. If only a few rounds have been fired everthing else can be cleaned off a revolver. It takes more than a few rounds to put visible wear on the breach face.

This is a good time to repeat that dulling the top edges of a S&W revolver's cylinder stop nearly prevents formation of a drag line. As a practical mater it does prevent a drag line forming on a seldom fired collector revolver provided the stop is dulled before a line starts to form. Back when most guns were bought at home FFLs we got them with no visible line. Customer handling in retail stores usually gets the line started.

 

[vonn]

If it is hard to determine amount a gun has been fired, what does it matter? If you want to buy the never been fired you pay your money. If I want a certain gun I try to find the best example I can and do my best to keep them in good condition.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

I think unfired is wayyy overrated. If you limit yourself to only unfired ones you'd be passing up a lot of good ones. Same thing with women.

 

[Struckat]

I bought this after stalking them on GB for about four months. All I wanted a nice shooter. This one look good in the pictures, no box or tools don’t care.

When it arrived at my LGS, I am not sure who’s eyes were wider when we unpacked it, me or the guy behind the counter.

No turn line what so ever. When I got home to my “Safe space,” I set about cleaning it. It was clear of ANY powder residue or any thing to soil patches or rags.

So I think it was unfired, nice. Lubed it up and to the range I went!

 

[crazyphil]

I think unfired is wayyy overrated. If you limit yourself to only unfired ones you'd be passing up a lot of good ones. Same thing with women.

A wise man once told me the ones you pass up are the ones
you don't get.

 

[Protocall_Design]

If you were looking at one of these guns, could you tell if it had been fired or not?

Pretty easy. Just check it's employment record.

 

[k22fan]

I'll add buying guns that were only fired a tiny amount is more risky than buying guns that saw normal use. Some unscrupulous sellers lie saying they did not fire the gun they are getting rid of because it is not worth fixing. If they did not fire it how can non-dealers be held responsible to know it was rechambered to a mystery wildcat? Jam-o-matic simi-autos are a better example for repeating handguns.