Cosmetics aside, take an inexperienced person thru what to look for. I know just enough stuff about the technical side of guns to be dangerous.I know about bore lights... what exactly should I be looking for down there?? Is there anyway to "inspect" an action?? Forgive the longwinded question. I'm looking for used & don't want to get burned.

OOPS.. Meant to say is there anyway to "inspect" the bore area not action.

NW67,

Take the gun to an experienced gunsmith. A practiced eye can spot most accuracy related problems while looking down a bore such as heavy fouling, pitting, serious throat errosion, an off centered throat, a damaged or out of whack crown, a bent, bulged or warped barrel ... A bore scope would be needed to detect and view minor surface damage. A gunsmith can usually feel rough spots by merely passing a tight patch down the bore.

Malm

Norwester67---

It depends a lot on what rifle I'm looking at and why......

If I'm looking for just an action on a mil surp the process is totally different than the inspection of a collector grade Model 86.

What exactly are you looking for and why? That'll determine the answer.

What Mr. Belk said!

Anymore if Im looking at a used rifle I generally pay more attention to the action and finish than the bbl, but its not unlike buying a used car, no matter how hard you try to leave no stones unturned there might still be the "unknown element" that shows up later. Like feeding problems, accuracy problems or other functional/hidden shortcomings.

Ive found that if a gun appears to be in good and unaltered original condition then chances are better that it is quality as opposed one that looks very used or reworked. There are plenty of these used NICE original condition rifles available at good prices that there is really no need to settle for less. Some people properly care for their guns and some do not.. Try to find the ones that were taken care of.

One of my more recent pick ups was a pristine Savage '99. The general appearance sold me and I wasnt dissapointed, it is a fine piece.

[ 02-25-2003, 07:00: Message edited by: Wstrnhuntr ]

Everything counts but the price is first. If the price is high then so are the stakes. Conversly if it's low you can sell the gun easily.

I look for details like buggered screws, worn throats, the fouling pattern on the muzzle but most of all the personality and function of the rifle. If it looks good and is price right it's going to be all right. A "new" gun is always a lot of fun.

I carry a Wally Siebert bore scope with me and use it regularly. Sometimes this is quite intimidating and it gets the seller talking.

I never have problems but I only buy from reputable people over the counter.

As the unfortunate purchaser of 2 stolen rifles (1 from GunBroker.com, another from a local gunsmith). The first thing I check is the serial # with a quick call to the "on duty" detective at Southaven PD. Then follow the above advice given. Terry

The instant background check, checks the person buying the gun, not the gun. The only way you will know you bought a stolen gun is if it is ever run and confirmed on NCIC... Pawn Shops are regularly checked for stolen guns, Gunsmiths aren't. At least not here. If you are suspicious you can have your local police department run a check on the weapon in question.

Malm

Yes, Funds were recovered on both purchases. The reason I was told the serail# didn't kick back on the FFL check was that these numbers are purged from the NCIC system after a certain length of time has past. The GunBroker.com purchase was a Winchester Model 100, After purchasing the rifle I called Winchester to see if the firing pin recall had been done on this rifle. The girl at Winchester said she'd get back to me....About a week later two detectives came to my house and confiscate the rifle. "it's stolen" they tell me (Winchester reported it to them). I called the guy I bought it from and told him about it. He seemed very embarrassed about the whole deal and told me to send him the police report and the confiscation receipt, so I did. About a week later a check shows up for purchase and shipping amount. He was an honest seller, said he bought the gun used and it wasn't my problem. The other rifle (.22 marlin) I bought from a local gunsmith years ago. I was young and poor at the time and needed beer money, so I pawned the rifle off. A couple of weeks later I went back to pick the rifle up and got a phone# to a police detective, that told me the rifle was stolen. I wasn't in any trouble but I wasn't getting the gun back. After an in the face discussion with the guy who sold me the rifle he decided a refund or Band-Aids were in order, he gave me refund. Terry

One of the untold scandals of the U.S. government is the purging of stolen firearms records from NCIC after, I've heard, 2 years. That means that a large percentage of used guns for sale have been stolen one or more times in their history.

Computer memory is way too cheap for it to be an economic decision.

You can expect the libs to use it against us sooner or later.

The first thing I do when looking at a used rifle is to very carefully examine every square inch to make sure that the word "Remington" is nowhere to be found. After that the rifle gets judged according to its intended use.

I guess that means you will never own a 7mm REMINGTON mag, a 280 REMINGTON, a 25/06 REMINGTON, or any of the assorted REMINGTON ultra mags.

FWIW, In 1994 the police recovered one rifle from Germantown, PA and one revolver from Camden, NJ that were stolen from me in 1982. That's 12 years on the NCIC list. Possibly things have changed recently.