Buying ANY firearm new or used is a **** shoot for the most part unless you know who you are buying it from. Don't buy into the belief that older is better from a shooting position. They all have issues. It is true that older ones have a better finish, but that's about it. I have a PC Model 41 that had some issues and they were corrected by the factory and the pistol runs fine now. Our biggest problem seems to be ****** ammunition these days with a severe lack of quality made USA .22 ammo. Eley, Lapua, or RWS seem to be the best made ammunition these days if you can afford the price. I bought into the tall tail of buying an older Model 41 and got a paperweight for my hard earned cash that I lost money on. I swore off ever buying another S&W Model 41 until I encountered the PC version. I fell in love with the pistol but it needed a trip to the factory. Got it back in great condition and never looked back. The best shooting ammunition in that pistol without going foreign is CCI Green Tag. It will now run non-stop to 75 rounds at a time with no failures. I don't shoot more than that without cleaning it as it serves no purpose.
I will offer this, if you buy used look hard at the barrel with a bore scope. More damage is done to quality .22's by improper cleaning than anything else. Make for darn sure you have right of return if it is a used pistol regardless of make, unless you have money to burn. Would you buy a car that didn't run? If not than why would you buy a pistol that didn't work? There are far too many questionable firearm sellers that have gotten away for years with passing off junk with no fear of having to make good on what they sell. At least buying new you don't have to put up with that problem with a factory warranty. If you can't get your money back on a used pistol purchase walk away from it unless you can tolerate owning a paperweight.
Rick H.
