Don't judge a gun by its finish-Your Thoughts?

[Silversmok3]

Once upon a time I bought a 5906 which looked to be in great shape , and didn't even look to be fired much. Took it to the range and found out why-bum extractor.

By comparison I recently picked up a 5904 with serious finish wear, to the point that the bluing is starting to flake off the frame. BUT, the internals look cleaner than the Vatican's holy water and the gun shoots like a champ.

Ive only been buying guns for about a year, so why is it that people assign higher value to a gun with a nicer finish even though that has no bearing on how it works necessarily?

 

[Stevie]

I own some pretty crappy looking handguns and rifles..milsurps..police trades..etc.

Most shoot just fine...some needed a little tinkering..maybe a few replacement parts..and then run like a top.

One of the handguns that really impressed me was a really rough looking Ballester Molina I bought cheap a few years back. As rough and battered as it appeared..I was positive it would need some work to get working. I took it home and took it apart..got about a pound of dirt out of it...couldn't find anything really worn or wrong...lubed it all up and reassembled the gun..and it shoots like a new gun!

 

[bigolddave]

I collect S&W revolvers and Savage 1895's, 1899's, and 99's. I love safe queens, and have a few in each category, but I really prefer well cared for used specimens. A rifle or revolver that obviously has some history and was accurate and reliable is more interesting to me. I have an 1899 .250/3000, from the first year of that cartridge, that was delivered to the corporate secretary of Savage, and was later owned (and may have been a present for) by a gentleman who was a mayor of Utica, NY and a NY state senator. It has been back to the factory four times, and the barrel was replaced when it was about ten years old. It has deluxe wood, with special checkering, and some other special order features. What I like best about it, is that it did not spend its life in a closet, but at at least some of it in deer camp, and was carried and hunted.

Another favorite is an 1895 that I found in Rapid City. It is far from pristine; it has a series of tiny notches on one side of the forearm, and a series of bigger ones on the other. Deer and elk? Who knows, but whoever owned it used it, and personalized it.

 

[Texas Star]

Generally speaking, a cared-for gun is more likely to shoot well.

And like the centerfold model mentioned above, it just looks better.

 

[LVSteve]

I have some milsurp rifles so I know exactly what you mean. Years ago I got a .308 converted Chilean 1912 Mauser in a stock that felt like dried driftwood. After about a gallon of BLO it looked fine. I swear you could hear the wood slurping when I started. Took it to the range and found it shot milsurp 7.62 NATO like a laser. Shoot the same ammo in my almost brand new Howa 1500 and you get shotgun patterns. Go figure.

 

[mc5aw]

Looks really can be deceiving. Exterior wear can be from abuse, honest usage, or simply neglect. I've purchased quite a few used desk drawer specials with minimal round counts and finishes that looked like they'd been dredged from a lake. Ugly ducklings, but great shooters. Similarly, I've passed on some revolvers that must have truly been dredged up based upon the levels of external and internal deterioration. Caveat emptor.

 

[RightArm]

I bought one that looked dirty on the outside. I figured it would be easy enough to clean up, probably needed springs replaced too. Ie needed a lot more than that. Took some time, but I'm pleased now.

 

[CO_Kid]

I've got a police trade in model 10 from the 1960's that looks like a beater.

But it's immaculate inside and is the tighest shooting gun I own.

 

[AZ_Shooter]

I love my AK for the simple fact that they are ugly to the core but they always work. Bought a nice (on the outside) pump action 12 gauge and the extractor was missing. Like a car, you just have to inspect it mechanically.

 

[papajohn428]

Finish wear doesn't bother me at all........if the action is tight and the sights are properly regulated I call it good. One of my issued guns several years ago was a 60's-era Model Ten that had about 20% of the finish left, but it was tight as a Scotsman's purse and shot like it was laser-guided. I put almost 70K rounds through it in five years and aside from a broken firing pin bushing at 46K rounds, it never once failed to go bang.

A few weeks ago I found a 70's vintage Model 15, it looked rough as a cob on the outside but it shoots as well as any other handgun I own. I don't worry about babying it, I just shoot it a lot and grin when I do it right. It's a better shooter than I am, and I practice frequently!

 

[GatorFarmer]

Just put a coat of paint on a gun - Duracoat if you feel fancy - and the finish ceases to matter. Keeps the rust off too. I have done it a number of times since moving here. BBQ paint is a common refinish in these parts.