So where do all the bad guns go?

S

ScottRiqui

New member
I never see any gun ads/auction where the current owner says anything like "I've tried a dozen different types of ammo and it won't feed any of them worth a darn", or "I couldn't hit a barn from the inside with it", or "it's been back to the manufacturer three times and no one knows what the hell's wrong with it."

So, what happens when someone finally "gives up" on a gun? Are the guns just languishing in the backs of safes, or are people trying to foist them off on unsuspecting buyers? Or do they end up at the bottom of a river out of frustration?
 
Gun shows. Pawn shops. Gun shop trade-ins.

I had a Taurus PT-99 that broke the locking block in several places. It was very difficult for the smith to get the thing disassembled, and the soft aluminum frame rails were marred up. When I finally got it back it worked, but you could see the damage to the rails. So, I traded it to a gun shop + cash for a S&W 659. I was up front with the gun dealer about this. The bottom line was I didn't want the gun and wouldn't just sell it to an individual, so I figured I wasn't doing any harm by trading it to a gun dealer for something else.
 
In many cases, the owners try to cover up their defects and sell them to gun shops. I deal with it several times a week.

They get flummoxed when I point out areas on the gun that aren't polished at the factory, parts that have been added or removed, things out of tolerance from abuse, and such. Then they claim it's because it's a custom gun. Then they get that funny look when I tell them I'm going to test-fire it.

Then, they go to the gun shows, I suppose.
 
You ask where do they go. You probably know where they come from, if you ever had one.

But I've had as much fun with guns that were "difficult" as I have with guns that were "perfect." I've never had one that wouldn't feed something but I've guns that were hard to hit with. I've learned something from all of them, although I will admit the difficulty of actually recalling what I learned. One of the most entertaining guns I ever had was a Beretta .22 rimfire. It was quite hard to hit with, going on inaccurate, but while I had it, it got used a lot. The second most entertaining gun I think I ever owned was a very beat-up .22 rimfire Lee-Enfield made in 1914. That was back when I was generally shooting rifles on old strip mines in West Virginia. This one was a single shot and had to be carefully loaded, there being no magazine or feed tray, but it certainly was accurate.

You might notice they were both .22s.
 
Not sure about "bad", but i have deep sixed, in parts, one BP rifle i SERIOUSLY tired of working on. I don't think i have ever been so irritated with another inanimate object in my 40+ years.

I do currently have a .22 rifle that functions but is so ugly that i'm ashamed to admit i bought it or to look at it back in the back of the safe. It will go to a well-informed buyer or to a needy friend with no hope of anything better or maybe to a youngster with the sincere hope it is completely destroyed through heavy use.
 
I do currently have a .22 rifle that functions but is so ugly that i'm ashamed to admit i bought it or to look at it back in the back of the safe. It will go to a well-informed buyer or to a needy friend with no hope of anything better or maybe to a youngster with the sincere hope it is completely destroyed through heavy use.
Click to expand...

PICS!!!!
 
The only lemons I have ever had were a G19 & a Ruger Single Six.

The Glock I sold it to a guy I knew for $350 (with night sites) because he said that it shot 4" to the left and threw brass at my forhead because I didn't have the right technique and wanted to prove me wrong. "Glock doesn't make lemons":rolleyes: Even knowing that I had been shooting Glocks since 1997 and had several others that didn't demonstrate this problem.

It as worth it to me to not have to deal with shipping it back and forth since I could get a new one for nearly that price being a GSSF member and I relished the thought of proving him wrong.

I haven't heard a "told you so" from him, so I must have been right.:D

I took the Single Six back to the dealer I knew and showed him what it was doing. He said it was out of time and offered to take care of it. At that time my Dad had given me his old Single Six so I told him to just give me some store credit. I don't remember what I got with it. That was back in my Collecting Phase, there is no telling what I got.

I don't know what I miss more about that time, the freedom to do that (not married), or the money that I wasted buying guns I never used.....:rolleyes:
 
Are the guns just languishing in the backs of safes, or are people trying to foist them off on unsuspecting buyers?
Click to expand...
Then again, some are very functional but the dis-function, is in the shooter. I have a friend who thought his Kimber was crap till he saw me shoot it and then gave it a second chance. Have to add that I consider myself and average shooter. Another place some go, is the parts guy and that is where I have taken a few that I would not trust to go to a better home. One of my parts guy, stated that he can get more money out of the parts than the entire gun. He actually buys them, just to tear them down. ... :eek:

Be Safe !!!
 
They get traded at gun shops, sold face to face and or sold at gun shows.

Buyer beware of used guns regardless of where you buy them.
 
Milwaukee 4 1/2" angle grinder w/ cut-off wheel. :D

After I got it back from Kahr (one of the first PM9s) for the 3rd time for FTFs and it still wouldn't feed properly, I ended up taking cutting it up and tossing it in the trash.
 
They are sold at TaurusUSA.com


I do think it's odd when people wrote "never been fired" or "50 rounds through"
How do you buy a gun and not shoot it or only fire a few mags.
 
Some people buy them and keep them. Years ago I was standing in line to see a S&W custom shop smith at a local dealer's S&W weekend event. I don't even remember what gun I had, but he only did hand work and didn't have any power tools. Still, it was fun to watch him work and adjust the actions and such.

The guy in front of me had a big old .44 Magnum and told the smith that somebody told him it was spitting lead. The man took one look at the gun and asked the guy how long he had owned it. "Seven years." Then he told him to ship it back to the factory because it didn't have a forcing cone. None, Not cut.

For all I know the guy is still shooting it and never bothered to send it back. Hey, if it works.

John
 
I have bought one used revolver from the gunsmith shop I use. It was a S&W 329PD. It has turned out to be one of my three users. Prior to that the only other used gun I bought were USGI M1 Carbines. I have been very happy with the ones I received, as I have only needed to change some springs. Otherwise I have bought new just to avoid a bad used gun. I figure it only takes one bad purchase to wipe out a whole bunch of, 'Good deals', unless I was willing to sell it to some unsuspecting oaf. Some folks I suspect do that. I'd just as soon avoid them.
 
I just got one AT a gunshow, from one of those dealers who goes to shows but doesn't have his own place. A nice-looking Smith Model 66 that WILL NOT eject magnum cases. Should have noticed those scratch marks on the back of the cylinder.....live and learn.
 
Some people don't listen

There are people on this forum who have purchased a gun, reported a problem and gotten the advice:

1) Fire it from bench rest and see what the results are.

2) Try different ammo,

3) Have another experienced shooter shoot the gun and see what the results are.

Do they do any of that? No... They get rid of it.

It's not rational - they're stupid, and probably someone got a perfectly good gun bcause the previous owner had bad technique.

One the other hand, would I buy a Taurus at a gun show?

NO...

I wonder how many bad guns wind up in the hands of criminals... Sometimes people will take a marginal gun and make it their truck gun. I don't know why people keep guns in theor vehicles. Unless your vehicle is in your garage, that seems pretty close to arming the bad guys, I think by now we all know the statistics of guns stolen from cars.

But maybe there is a correlation... peple take their "junk guns" and put those in tackle boxes or tool boxes or glove compartments for their boats and trucks and those get lifted by the thieves and WA LA - criminals get a preponderance of junkie firearms.


Just a theory...
 
You know, when you think about it, I have seen an awful lot of news report, along with episodes of Cops or World Dumbest where a bad guy tried to shoot at someone and their gun malfunctioned. Maybe you have a point there.

In any case, at least some of those bad guns end up on GunBroker, advertised as "Used but in really nice condition". That's why I won't buy any used gun off GunBroker unless the dealer has a long established track record.
 
I have a Heritage Stealth C2000 that is sitting in my safe. When it worked, it was a joy to shoot. One day, I was shooting at a coyote in the woods and the striker assembly flew out the back and was lost. I can't find the parts to fix it and I'm not sure I want a gun that randomly tosses its guts towards my face.

Maybe I'll turn it in for cash at a gun buy back.
 
Maybe I'll turn it in for cash at a gun buy back.
Click to expand...

The only good thing that comes out of "buyback" programs. :)

I heard of a guy who would hear about one coming up that was offering $150 per gun, so he went to all the local gun stores and cleaned out their supply of "Saturday Night Specials" & old beat up .22's and made a "killing". $25-80 each swapping for $150? Pretty good payback, I would say. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top