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buying a used rifle

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TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
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aka The Gipper

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    Posted: 02 May 2005 at 16:52
sometimes you can get a really good deal, but a lot of times you can also get screwed really bad. i suppose that tehre are also times when you would have been just as well-off buying a new one rather than a used one.

what are some things that you look for if you are thinking about buying a used rifle?

i'll start with the obvious: a good bore.
TasunkaWitko - Chinook, Montana

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dakotasin View Drop Down
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a TRUE brother-in-arms!

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dakotasin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 May 2005 at 21:32

for me, it depends on the cartridge.

i don't buy varmint cartridge guns off the used rack. especially chamberings in 223, 22-250, 220 swift. these guns generally have the tar shot out of them and their serviceable life will be greatly reduced.

243's don't excite me, so moving up the ladder, is the 25-06 and bigger. generally these rifle's bores/throats aren't in bad shape. few shooters will actually shoot a 'deer caliber' much, so these are where the best finds are.

as a general rule, if it is 25-06 or bigger and the gun appears to be in good shape on the outside, then i have no qualms about buying used. if it is smaller than that, i'd buy new. varmint rifles are very misleading. cosmetically, they live an easy life, going from safe to case to bench, and back again. so even though they look sharp, they have probably been shot quite a bit.

also, look at the crown. if it looks good, then i'll check the trigger. a gun w/ an unusually crisp/light trigger was no doubt owned by a shooter, and will need to be looked at very close. a gun w/ a trigger and action that feels like 60 grit sandpaper over broken concrete was probably shot once a year and likely has a lot of good life left in it...

Hunting is not a matter of life or death; it is much more important than that.
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.416 Rigby
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Triggerguard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2005 at 01:20

I've bought only ONE new rifle in my life, all the others have been used!

Not a lot of varmint shooting around here...jackrabbits and coyotes, mostly, so the small bores usually don't have more than a few hundred rounds thru them. Sometimes they are used mostly for whitetails, so these might not have 100 rounds.

I look at overall condition...finish wear (no big deal, usually), signs of abuse, bore condition, muzzle, etc. Check the firing  and safety mechanism.

Most of the standard caliber rifles i've seen lately, like the .308, .30/06, etc, have been old faithful friends traded in because their owner got the WSM religion. Nothing wrong with them at all, just victims of hype. Good for me, and good for anyone who doesn't mind those old fashioned chamberings....

"...A moral compass needs a butt end.Whatever direction France is pointing-towards collaboration with Nazis, accomodation with communists,...we can go the other way with a quiet conscience"-O'Rourke
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2005 at 04:34

I've never bought a used rifle that is a model that is still made.  Some factory guns are great some are poor shooters.  So IMHO the perfect 270 Remington 700 probably shot like shit, so the gun dumped it.  Odds of getting a great shooter go down drasticlly on used guns that are like new.  If you can't get your new gun to shoot most folks don't poor lots of $$$ into triggere, bedding, etc.  It is much cheaper to trade it in and lose $50 and get another brand that might shoot.

The biggest joke is the "take-off" heavy barrels in 22-250.  Sure they took it off but that was after 8000 hot rounds.LOL

BEAR

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fish View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote fish Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2005 at 08:30

i almost always buy used. i look for a trigger that can be easily worked upon or swapped out, a safety that works even if rifle is thumped hard, bolt face (lots o' holes and dimples and corrosion is a tip-off for corrosive ammo or heavy use, 'cause i can't see a bore well enough in a gun store to check the throat usually) smoothness, alignment of scope mounting holes, obvious rust on the outside (probably means rust on the inside), crown (but this is something that can be easily fixed), buggered up guard screw heads (if they're buggered, then bubba didn't know what he was doing), and whether the rifle will feed properly a full load (any reputable shop owner would be glad to run a stack through for you).

i have noticed a LOT of moderate-to-heavy recoiling long-action rifles on used racks. my theory on this is twofold: 1) johnny didn't like the recoil of the 300 win mag or 2) johnny fell for the short-mag-is-better-and-recoils-oh-so-much-less lure. about as many long-action used rifles in .473 diameter case-head chamberings are on the racks. i think these were trades on short action chamberings on the same case head.

but hey, what do i know?

 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kingpin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 May 2005 at 15:30

Some things to look for are:

1. Finish. Even though it is mostly cosmetic, it can point the way to how the rifle was used. If the finish is worn evenly, considering how old it may be, it's probably a keeper.

2. Trigger. what Fish said is great info, but, in a lot of cases, the safety is attached to the trigger, and holding "safe" is just a matter of adjustment.

3. Barrel condition. If the throat is eroded, most folks, including me, won't be able to see it without the aid of a bore scope. Also, if someone is selling the rifle and won't allow you to pass a patch through it, pass it up. There are problems that will nullify a bargain.

4. Condition of the stock. Inspect it as close as possible from the outside. Cracks can be decieving. Some scratches in obvious places (through the wrist and around the mag well) are usually cracks. If you already have a stock that will fit it, it's not a problem. Also, if you intend to class bed it, it won't be a big problem as long as you under cut the crack on the inside and glass it back together.

5. Operation. Does it operate as it was designed? Semi's. pumps, and bolt guns should work as well as when you try it as the day they were first sold.

6. Are you collecting it or using it? This is a touchy subject. If indeed you plan to use it, it should be safe, have at least SOME appeal to your eye, and be almost as accurate as you want it to me. If you are just collecting it, it ought to have a LOT of eye appeal. Remember, a collector doesn't have any after market stuff on it, unless, it is from the period. In 1886, Winshester didn't drill and tap their lever guns, so use that rule.

7. If you are buying the rifle for the action, disreguard ALL the above.

There are som others, but they haven't come to mind as of yet. C'mon guys, help us out....................................Kingpin

 

 

There are times when a normal man must, spit in his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
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Moose6 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Moose6 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 May 2005 at 00:45
Usually I buy for the action, so I go with KP's rule... no rules apply.
Y'all shoot straight!!!

Moose - Knoxville, TN
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