What does "unfired" mean to you?

I can look at most guns and determine whether they've been fired before or not, unless they have been expertly refinished. When I say "fired" I mean someone putting at least 20 rounds through it. How many people buy a gun and only put 1 or two rounds through it? If we are talking about 1 or two rounds and I can't tell if it's been fired, then I'm not worrying about it.

Anyway, on an exceptionally clean semi-auto that is supposedly NIB, I look at the barrel, particularly where the barrel/slide lock-up. I look at the hammer face, the firing pin. Most new guns will show signs of use in these areas even after a few rounds.

On revolvers, I pay more attention to the hammer face, firing pin, cylinder face, cylinder walls, and forcing cone.
 
Unfired = Unfired (since leaving the factory) Words matter.

You will see guns advertised as "as-new" which generally means it has been shot or believed to have been shot but there is no obvious indicators that it has been fired. I like the "as-new" or "as-new in original box" designation.

NIB is generally believed to be unfired. And "As-NIB" is a honest characterization if the seller believes a gun has been fired but still appears as new.

I have purchased new revolvers (blue finish) with a turn line, but I believe that was done at the dealer and it was unfired. But it is not a NIB gun at that point. Doesn't really matter if you plan on shooting it to me. My 41 mag M57 Mountain Gun had a cylinder turn line when I bought it.
 
22-rimfire said:
I have purchased new revolvers (blue finish) with a turn line, but I believe that was done at the dealer and it was unfired. But it is not a NIB gun at that point.
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If it has not been previously sold at retail, it IS still a new gun at that point. In the automotive world, it's not unusual for people who play with classic cars to find thirty, forty, and fifty year old parts in some small dealer's back room and grab them for sale at flea markets (Carlisle being probably the largest and best known). The boxes are almost certainly battered, maybe even gnawed on by mice or missing entirely, but the parts have never been sold. They are new parts, even if they're fifty years old. If advertised in print or on-line, they are typically listed as "new old stock."

Nothing about handling a new gun in the shop makes the gun not new. An honest seller might describe a gun with a turn ring as "shopworn" (which is what it is), but it's still new if it hasn't been previously sold.

I once bought a Colt 1911 that I know the FFL had had on his shelf for about five years. It had been handled, had gone on display for periods and then kept in the safe for awhile, then put back on display, yada yada. The slide had a few scratches and finger marks, and the receiver had the idiot scratch. But it had never been sold, and it had never been fired (since leaving the factory). If it wasn't "new, unfired," what was it? Used, unfired? Doesn't compute -- it hadn't been used, it wasn't pre-owned, and at five years IMHO it wasn't really "old." The model was still in Colt's catalog as a current model.
 
Unfired to me means just that...unfired. Same goes for "New, in box".


And, if "unfired" has the literal meaning, how does one know for sure that a gun hasn't been fired unless it's bought NIB from a dealer?
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You don't. You have to take the word of the seller. Same with anything you buy used. Similar to the used car salesman that claims the car was only driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady.
 
I agree that "unfired" means not fired except for manufacturer's testing and, for imports, government proof test.

NRA New means not previously sold at retail.
Consider a "safe queen" bought new as a speculative investment and not shot, then offered for sale at a profit.
It wouldn't be New any more because it had been sold at retail.
Second hand, unfired?
NRA covered that with Perfect.

You don't see it so much in the Internet Age of Advertising, but old print ads in Shotgun News etc. were commonly seen as "Test fired only." I figure the storekeeper took a new gun out and shot it, then cleaned it and put it up for sale at full price.
 
You don't. You have to take the word of the seller. Same with anything you buy used. Similar to the used car salesman that claims the car was only driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady.
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Yep, I'm always skeptical when I see this in an ad.
 
I think Hillary said it best "At this point, what difference does it make?"

Would you pay more for a car that had never been driven?

Would you pay more to ride on an airplane that had never been flown?

I would rather have something that had been used enough that I know it works properly. Four of my last firearms were factory fresh and I always wonder what will happen the first time I pull the trigger. New or used, old or modern, every firearm I have or have had has shot fine with no issues.
 
osbornk said:
Would you pay more for a car that had never been driven?
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Yes.

And I prefer to buy new, unfired firearms rather than used, if possible. Not that I haven't bought used firearms but, all things being equal (which, of course, they never are), I prefer new.
 
Questions like this always bring back the memory of my selling a COLT WOODSMEN NM 4 1/2" 22 PISTOL. It was in the box, extremely clean and bright. The man opened the box, looked at it VERY carfully, rolled it around in his hands, opened the slide, took out the magazine....and noted,
" Boy , these are really hard to find in brand new condition like this.."
' This is a nice gun for sure... '
And he forked over in cash my asking price in cash, three times as much as I'd bought it for.
HE never asked and I never mentioned that pistol had 7M rounds through it the day I sold it. I WOULD HAVE GLADLY TOLD HIM SO !!!
And so it goes...
 
What does "unfired" mean to you?

Aren't most new guns test fired at factory?
I've also sold guns before with sometimes less than full mag fired which I've advertised as test fired only.
Unlike one that's had hundreds or thousands fired
 
There is always the question: Why did the previous owner want to get rid of it?
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As a younger person, that concerned me when looking at used guns even in good condition. I only considered buying new guns then. Since I had never sold a gun at that point, it was hard to understand why someone would sell, and why they never shot it.

I have learned since that this happens all the time. I have what I believe to be un-fired, as-new, some NIB or as-new in the box guns that will never be fired by me. I am always honest when I sell a gun. If I shot it, I will tell the buyer that I have shot it but it appears as-new to me.
 
As so many have already pointed out, each gun is test-fired before it leaves the factory. So, strictly speaking, every gun has been previously fired. But I think the term is used with that in mind. Most folks know (or oughta know) the first point. Thus the commonly accepted meaning of "unfired" is "unfired since it left the factory."

But that's all Clintonian "depends on what is means" stuff...

The more important consideration is the veracity of the claim. Anyone but the original owner is in no position to make such a claim. That should be your first line of inquiry: "Are you the original owner?" If they say no, ask them how they can know the gun is unfired. They will either tell you the previous owner said it was, or it looks unfired. Either answer is unacceptable support for the claim. It is extremely difficult, even for the most observant among us, to determine whether a well-cleaned semi-automatic weapon is unfired, or has had as many as hundreds of rounds fired through it. Wheel guns show irrefutable evidence of firing much sooner, but even then they could have had a couple boxes fired through them and have been cleaned up thoroughly enough to show no evidence...
 
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As a younger person, that concerned me when looking at used guns even in good condition. I only considered buying new guns then. Since I had never sold a gun at that point, it was hard to understand why someone would sell, and why they never shot it.
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Large guns are an easy explanation. When I bought my Redhawk back in the 80s, it was impossible to get one from Ruger that was stainless, as the blue line was up and running then. I opted for used. Found one that was pristine for the right price. Dealer told me the guy traded it on a .357. I believe it, as it looked new. From .44 mag on up, there are always huge used guns around here, as the "I'm gonna get the biggest gun I can" attitude turns to "Gee, this is no fun."
 
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