Are buying used firearms a good idea? Like most things in life, we end up having “one of those answers”… possibly yes, and possibly no… it all depends
Used Firearms Can Save You Money, Or Waste It
There’s no doubt that you can save a few dollars buying used firearms instead of new ones, but there’s also no question that you can end up with a real lemon of a gun. Put another way, buying used firearms (or taking them in trade) can save you a lot of money if you are careful, or it can be a complete fiasco.
Here’s an example.
A good friend of mine thought he was getting a great deal on a Mossberg 700 .308 with polymer stock. The gun looked good, he took it in trade with a guy from another area for some non-firearms stuff. When he got it home, he started disassembling it to give it a proper cleaning (he’s ex-military) and when he popped the stock off he found… you guessed it… surface rust. The visible parts all looked good, but everything under the stock was rusty and pitted.
Enter the “freak out” zone
My friend, who’s kinda high strung anyway, freaked out.
He brought it to me the next day and asked what I thought. I’ve done a TON of work on surface rust. I am a Military Surplus (MilSurp) gun guy, so dealing with cleaning up and restoring firearms with surface rust and pitting are a daily chore for me.
I completely disassembled the gun, got the firearm cleaned up so that you would never know it had been rusted unless you got out a magnifying glass. Fortunately, all the rust was exterior. Even still, my friend’s groove was busted, and he traded the gun off and some cash to a dealer at a gun show for a .243.
I’m sure that dealer turned right around and put a price on the gun and put it on his rack. The next buyer couldn’t tell (without a tear-down and a really close inspection) that this gun had a history of rust.
“Ye Ole Smoke Pole” disassembled for carry/cleaning
There’s a reason that people sell firearms
There’s a reason that people sell firearms, and that reason may be important when considering whether to buy a used firearm or go new.
When I buy used (as long as it’s not MilSurp or police trade-in…) I want to try to figure out why the gun was sold.
Unless you know the seller personally, there’s really no way to tell. With some guns, it’s pretty easy to tell if they have major flaws, but with others (short of tearing them completely down) it’s much harder.
Let’s talk about six things I always consider when thinking of buying a used firearm… right after this safety renouncement.
As always, safety first. Check to make sure it’s not loaded before you give it a complete examination. If you do not know how to operate the gun, ask the seller to remove the magazine (if it has one), open up the action and show you that the gun is not loaded. This rule goes for ALL sellers, even if they are a gun shop.
You should have a knowledge of firearms safety as well as how to generally operate the type of gun you are looking for before you buy a gun. If you are in any way in doubt, ask the seller to give you a complete run-through of the operation of the gun. If the seller cannot do this, then find somebody else to buy from.
Six things to keep in mind / do when considering / buying used firearms
- Know what you are looking for in the first place. Also, know how the gun operates, know it’s strengths and weaknesses. Know the price range of the gun ahead of time, for example if you ware wanting to buy a Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38 special bull barrel, know the going price for the gun by checking at online sources such as Gunbroker.com for sold items. Pricing should be within a reasonable margin of what the gun sold for online. If you are looking for a certain gun in particular, be sure to check if there were any factory recalls on the firearm, and if so, verify that the work has been done. If you can’t verify this, then walk.
- Field strip the gun, look for cracks in the polymer, examine the ejector for wear, check for rust in the crevices. If they don’t let you field strip it, walk. Shine a light down the barrel and check for pitting. A pitted gun is a poorly maintained gun, and chances are it will be a highly inaccurate firearm.
- Avoid buying used .22LR semi-automatic pistols altogether. These pistols are notorious for jamming, and if you buy one new you at least have the warranty as recourse. If you buy one used, then you are stuck with a bad gun.
- Before you make your trip to the LGS/gun show/wherever, you should have solid knowledge and what defects in a gun look like before you start shopping. if you do not, then take a firearms-knowledgeable trusted friend with you to assist you
- Pick the gun up and hold it. Make sure that it of a comfortable length, weight, balance for EVERY shooter that the gun is being bought for.
- If, for ANY reason, something just doesn’t “feel right”, then thank the seller for his time and walk away. There are used guns all over the place, don’t let the excitement of the buy lead you into making a rushed choice.
PRO TIP:
I like to buy guns at places that have a firing range, so that I can fire the gun before purchasing it. If you are doing a private deal with somebody that you know, meet them at a range and put some rounds through it before you buy it. I generally avoid buying used guns at gun shows for this reason.
Firearms & Weapons Reviews:
Review: Windham Weaponry SCR AR M4 flattop – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: “Ye Ole Smoke Pole” single shot 12 gauge shotgun – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Kel-tec PF9 9mm CCW – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Bulldog Combination Flashlight – Stun Gun – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: M1895 Nagant Revolver… “Shoot on Sunday, load all week” – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Crickett .22 Kids Single Shot, Also A GHB & BOB Option? – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Ye Ole .22 Single Shot – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Ruger American Rifle 8301 in .22LR – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Marlin X7 Bolt Action Rifle Chambered In .223 – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Heritage Arms .22 Convertible Revolvers – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: ISSC M-22 “Glock Clone .22” – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Rock Island Armory (Armscor) M200 .38 Special Revolver – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Mossberg 702 Plinkster – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Ruger LCR Revolvers As A BOB/GHB Option (And CCW) – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Chiappa 1911-22 .22LR 1911 style pistol – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Henry AR-7 Survival Rifle – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Hi Point 995TS 9mm Carbine – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Mossberg Maverick 88 Security 12 Gauge Pump Shotty – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Review: Cobra Firearms .22LR Derringer – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
Ruger SR-22 Semi-Auto .22LR Pistol: A Get-Home Bag Option? – Beans, Bullets, Bandages & You
That’s good advice, right up until you finally found a Kel Tec Sub-2000 in Glock 19, the holy grail of guns! Its almost like a unicorn…
I’ve got a Kel Tec Sub-2000 in Glock 19 and one in Glock 17. The 17 was hard enough, the 19 was a special order that took nearly a year to fill. I have no idea what Kel Tec is thinking in their production schedules, they make tons of the stuff that doesn’t sell well and they produce very few of the things people are dying for. Strange company!
If you cannot test fire it to check function then I would not buy it. Only exceptions in my view are well trusted suppliers. Mild rust not a problem IMHO as long as it functions properly and has a good bore.
That Kel-Tech is a unicorn, I sadly agree. But IMHO a lever 357 fills that gap pretty well 🙂 as long as you practice reloading as you find time gaps. It’s not the number of shots fired. It’s the number of effective hits.