Guide To Buying Used Guns.

Keith Drain | June 29, 2010 | 1 Comment

The used gun market is a big one, there are websites that are solely dedicated to selling used guns in Australia, if you visit a hunting or shooting forum there is likely to be dozens of listings made there a month and then there is buying used guns at a gun shop.

If you are thinking about buying a used gun this is the article for you. We will go over what questions to ask, what to look for in a good used gun and when to know the gun is overpriced.

Where to Find Used Guns:

There are several places you can buy your second-hand firearm in Australia now. You can look on forums such as AusVarmint.com’s Forums, The enormous Used Guns website, Your local gun shop or you can do a Google search.

What You Are Looking For:

Buying Online:

Buying a used gun, especially online is a daunting experience. In most cases you don’t know the person you are buying off, you can’t handle the gun and you definitely can’t fire the firearm.

If the seller is in your local area, get him to meet you at a gun shop that is close to you both. Make sure that if you think this firearm is the one for you let the seller know that you are not going to waste his time and will buy it providing that it is in the condition that was stated online. If you let the seller know that you will buy the firearm if it is as advertised and he won’t let you inspect it don’t buy it. To me that says he is either not confident that his gun is what he said it was or he is going to be real difficult to deal with.

If the seller is too far away and you can’t inspect the firearm, it pays to give him or her a call or email and ask a few questions. This obviously isn’t fool proof as they may not be 100% truthful but if you talk to them over the phone they will be less likely to embellish on the quality of the gun and if they do you will hear it as you do when someone is lying. Don’t accuse them of this if you think this is the case just say thank you for your time and forget that firearm.

The questions you should ask when buying any used gun are along the lines of these:

Have you had the gun since new? – Gives you an idea of how many owners it has had, if the answer is no ask if they bought it new. If they didn’t then its wise to not buy it especially if there are plenty of others around on the market.

How many shots has it fired? – A Great indicator of whether or not the barrel is worn out.

What sort of condition is it in? Are there any spots of rust on the action/barrel? Any dents or scratches on the stock? – Just verifying the condition of the firearm, also if they answer No to any of these questions and it gets to your gun shop and it isn’t what they stated you have grounds to ask for your money back.

Does it have the original barrel? – An indication of the firearms age and use.

Does it come with a scope/ scope rings? – Many rifles come with the rings if not a scope. Always good to ask

What loads shoot accurately in the firearm? – If handloading this can save a lot of time. Be sure to work up to their loads safely to make sure their loads are safe

Is the action bedded and the barrel floated? – An indication of the original owner looking for more accuracy. To me this is a good thing providing the job was done properly.

Have you had the trigger adjusted? Did you do it or did a gunsmith do it? – Important question, if the owner did it himself make sure you get the gun dealer to check the trigger to make sure its safe and it wont go off if bumped etc.

When buying a used gun online ask for photographs of the gun. Ask for close ups on both sides of the firearm, ask for a close up of the action and the muzzle/crown. You want to get as good of an idea on the quality of the gun as you can because once you pay for it you own it and there’s definitely no warranty when buying privately.

These questions along with extra photo’s to verify the claims if answered honestly, will allow you to get a general feel of if the firearm is a clunker or in decent condition

Buying In Person:

When buying in person you have the luxury of being able to handle the gun, to look at it closely to look down the bore of the firearm and to cycle the action and if you are at a range with the seller, perhaps even fire it.

You still want to ask the above questions to a private seller or dealer but inspect the firearm for yourself make sure their claims are correct.

Buying From A Dealer:

Buying a used gun from a dealer is pretty much the same deal as buying in person. Ask the right questions, look at the firearm but the thing you may get is a short warranty on it. One gun shop I called offers a 3 month warranty on used guns. I would assume that this is fairly standard, at least in NSW.

Checking the Bore/Barrel.

After inspecting the general condition of the firearm you want to inspect the inside of the barrel and the barrel crown.

Take the bolt out of the firearm and look up the barrel (from action to muzzle) point it at a brightly lit white spot of just off to the side of a light. What you want to see is a nice an shiny bore with well defined rifling especially towards the chamber of the barrel. If this area is dull, the rifling looks worn or there are pits in the metal (Like little craters) it means that the barrel is worn out and you will have to replace it before long and it might not be as accurate as it should.

Checking the crown of the gun (where the bullet leaves the barrel and the rifling ends) you are looking for two things: 1) make sure the crown has no chips, scratches or dents.

2) Make sure it looks uniform IE: looks perfectly round.

If the crown has any defects it is likely to ruin any accuracy potential and if the crown is damaged you will have to get it re-crowned by a competent gunsmith to make it shoot better.

The Legalities of Buying Used Firearms:

As far as I am aware, buying a firearm in any state of Australia is pretty much the same. You need a Permit To Acquire a firearm and the purchase needs to be made through a dealer no matter what. I do know that it is illegal to advertise a firearm online in Victoria. It is a stupid law and one that needs changing. We could talk about the law for pages and pages but I will boil it down to this: If you buy a firearm 2nd hand you need a PTA, the seller needs to send it to you through a firearms dealer or you need to meet the seller at a dealer to have it transferred into your name. The only exception to this is if you live a long long way from a dealer the local police station might do the transfer. Please see your local firearms dealer or call your state’s firearm registry for any other questions.

Is It Worth Buying a Used Gun?

This question depends on a lot of factors. The second-hand market these days is more of a buyers market than it is a sellers market. Quality firearms can be had brand new from under $1000 now and that makes buying a new firearm compelling. That said you can save some cash if you know what you are looking for when buying a used gun so it really is up to you, the buyer to decided whether or not you want to save a bit of money on a used gun or just buy something that is new that comes with warranty and you know its complete history.

You may want to build a custom firearm if that’s the case buying a used gun is beneficial as you will save a lot of money and probably not care about the stock or barrel.

The other reason to buy a used gun is if you can no longer buy that particular model new and you want it. What ever your reason for buying a used gun is, just make sure you ask the right questions and pay the right price. Negotiate a price you are happy with when buying a used gun as like any second-hand good the seller is usually prepared to drop a few bucks to make a quick sale.

If you follow this guide you should end up with a quality used gun and be happy when you are shooting it.