Gun never shot??

[slhoffman]

How can you real tell if the gun was shot???
Every on says this gun was never shot. There must be a way to tell. Can any one help??


slhoffman

 

[Beemer-mark]

Of course it was shot, all guns are shot at the factory before they are shipped.

I won't list all the things to check for in a used gun but if it is "tight" and looks new then it hasn't had that many rounds thru it (maybe a few hundred) and it's good to go.

 

[Pisgah]

Like Beemer-mark says, none of them are literally "unfired". And a gun that's been shot a lot, but meticulously maintained, can be good as new.

One telltale to look for, though, is the condition of the recoil shield. A revolver will fairly quickly start showing the shadow of an image of the cartridge base around the firing pin. The more rounds fired, the more clear it will be. Eventually, there may be an actual, very shallow impression there, and even a bit of erosion around the firing pin hole from minute, repeated primer leaks.

This is no big deal at all, but it can sometimes reveal more shooting than claimed on an otherwise pristine gun.

 

[Crazy K38]

another, although not fool proof way to tell is to look at the muzzle end of the cylinder, if all 6 holes have burn marks it has been fired outside of the factory.

 

[slhoffman]

thank you for your help

thank you for all your input. this is my first s&w 44mag but not my last.



slhoffman

 

[CWO USN]

All the above holds true especially physical characteristics you can see on your .44 Magnum due to the high pressures of Magnum rounds.

 

[Photog]

Just out of curiosity, are all commemerative firearms test fired at the factory? I have always wondered this as all I have seen have had no burn marks visible on the front of the cylinders. I have seen mostly Colts, but a few S&W also. Do they do the final polish and blue after a test fire with these or are they just cleaned very well before they are shipped?

 

[Pilgrim]

Every other hole has a burn ring in the 6 shooter:

15-3

in a five shooter:
one fired, one not, one fired, one not, one fired

36 no dash

at least this is what I've personally seen with some of my stuff. I suppose there are exceptions and different methods employed at different time.

Dunno about a commemorative.

 

[firearmsunlimited]

All guns that leave the S&W factory are test fired, including commemoratives. Traditionally in a revolver only (3) rounds are fired. Upon careful inspection you will see (2) shell case head shadows on the flash plate plus the one at 12:00 where the firing pin is located. There is no specific order to the shadows. Often you will have to use magnification to see the shadows. On the muzzle side of the cylinder you may also see (3) powder flashes provided the cylinder face has not been cleaned. If there is an indication of any more than (3) rounds being fired then the weapon has been fired after it left the factory.

 

[vrichard]

These four S&W left the factory unfired .See Page 173 S&W 3rd.edition.
Weird Ser.# 3 Revolvers.
Dick

MG]t.com/albums/p267/vrichard_2006/Picture015.jpg[/IMG]

 

[ken158]

Maybe and maybe not... I cant tell you what they are doing now but most guys here have interest in older guns than newer guns. I spent two weeks at the factory armorer's school in the 80's when factory employees were paid by piece work. A rack of 10 guns would go to a shooter and the rack was identified by the employee that built them. The shooter was responsible for determining if the gun worked properly after firing every other cylinder. If a problem was noticed, they would fill out a "return" note with the reason for the return and send it back to the fitter for repair. When that gun returned to the shooter for the second testing, all cylinders would get fired. If a fitter had a reputation for building good guns, some of his rack of 10 would get skipped and therefore passed inspection without firing. It was all about getting the most "pieces" done for the day's pay.