Anyone else like used guns with honest wear?

[oremike]

I don't buy guns to make money on them, I buy them to shoot. New or used doesn't matter to me. A new gun won't be new for long anyway. Not that I don't take care of them either way but one round down the tube and it's not new anymore. I kind of smile at adds listing very low round counts, makes me wonder whats wrong with it. I'd rather they tell me how it shoots or what the issues are over how much they didn't shoot it.

 

[TTSX]

I don't buy guns to make money on them, I buy them to shoot. New or used doesn't matter to me. A new gun won't be new for long anyway. Not that I don't take care of them either way but one round down the tube and it's not new anymore. I kind of smile at adds listing very low round counts, makes me wonder whats wrong with it. I'd rather they tell me how it shoots or what the issues are over how much they didn't shoot it.

You'll also notice every single used gun has "200-500 rounds tops" through them. Which sounds like a lie

 

[gmerkt]

Mod 16? Methinks that is .32 caliber.

My mistake. The .22 I'm thinking about was a pre-Model 18. I had a couple of the Model 16-4's, those were .32 H&R Mag. With old age, sometimes confusion comes into play.

The 16-4, when found, is worth pretty good money these days. Oddly enough, the 4 in. bbl. is least often found.

This is a picture of my last 16-4, I also had a custom .32-20 cylinder for it.

I don't have a convenient picture of the subject .22, that was pre-computer days. I probably have an analog picture but it would take weeks to find it.

 

[mrblond]

give me a 1940 1911 with the dirt of France on it over a brand new flashy BBQ gun

 

[Jay Walk]

I too dropped a Glock in the trash

 

[The B]

its been my observation that beat up looking guns aint ever selling for much less than not beat up looking guns, so if its all the same ill usually go with something that looks low mileage. but the fact of the matter is, i dont care... guns, for me, are purely tools.. it doesnt matter if my framing hammer or glock 17 are beat up looking, they work just fine.

not to say theres anything wrong with having a fondness for guns and caring what they look like - not at all. but i just dont care

 

[CLT65]

I have my grandfather's Colt Govt Model. He was a WWII vet, but it's actually a commercial model from 1947. One of my kids will end up with it some day. It's not for sale.

 

[Ruger Rich]

Damn, reading through this thread reminded me of myself. Pretty beat up and old, BUT , , , , , the girls still like me.

 

[CRBMoA]

In the guitar world, we have people who actually seek out distressed finishes and 'Relicing' is actually a thing.

People will deliberately make a guitar look like it has been put through years of abuse in smokey bars being played by guys wearing rodeo belt buckles and sweating beads of acid.

But guitars are objects used in public and are made to be seen.

I enjoy the first scratch on a new guitar or gun because it tells a story.

Not abuse or fake distress, but legit wear is a non-issue for me.

 

[orygun]

I'd much rather have a shooter with wear on it than worrying about getting a scratch on a pristine safe queen.

I've owned some safe queens, and in fact, have one now. But the concern of making them less nice is always an issue to be dealt with if trying to use for anything but a range toy.
Most of my guns are tools and I take pride in their ability to be perfectly functioning tools. Also, tools will show wear after being used. I tried very hard to be careful with the new Boyd's stock on my 30-06 last deer season, but it got a few nicks anyway.
I've bought a couple of 70+ year old rifles in the last year or so. One was used very hard, but that meant the price was fair and it is a great shooter. The other was a lot nicer, but more modified and even cheaper! The character of an old gun is actually defined by the wear it shows. It's part of that gun's story.

If I'm not paying collector price, then the honest wear is attractive.

 

[boattail]

Sometimes a little boo boo will get you into a gun more than when it was pristine. My wife bought me a 4 5/8" Blackhawk convertible 45 for my birthday many years ago. It was flawless to the point of I was afraid to use it. I took great care to lay it down on soft padding and clean it up right after shooting it. I though about carrying it but it was too nice in my mind.

Then along comes the day I shot up a bunch of old 45 acp ammo just to shoot it up as the age was unknown but really old. I had something going on and tossed the guns back in the safe dirty and when I opened the safe the next time I about died.....my pristine Blackhawk had red in the barrel and cylinder!!!!!! Unbeknownst to me that old ammo was corrosive. I quickly washed and cleaned the gun but the damage was done. The bore and cylinder were never coming back to new again. The rust was very light and I was able to get it all off. You can still see a little under the blueing inside the frame around the forcing cone. I was heartbroken for about a year until I decided there was nothing wrong with the gun as it shot just as it did before.

I now carry the gun in a Mernickle holster for my winter CCW rotation and it is seeing lots of carry and shooting. I also used that gun to learn how to shoot left handed from a holster on my left, backwards, and using a cavalry draw. Just last week I was practicing my left handed shooting with it. I no longer worry about keeping it pristine and it is now gathering a patina and honest wear. From the ashes of my mistake a great gun has begun to be a part of me.....worn, and not perfect.

 

[titsonritz]

Very often guns that have a lot of wear from carry haven't actually been fired all that much. On the other hand, I've seen Smith & Wesson autos and revolvers that hadn't been carried much but had been used in competitive shooting and they were heavily worn inside from lots of shooting.

One of my favorite former guns was a Smith & Wesson pre-Model 16, that's the .22 LR w/ 4 in. bbl., is it called Target Masterpiece? Anyway, I got it years ago from an FFL dealer who was a retired city cop. He had an inside track on department guns that were being auctioned off. Many were seizures and forfeitures. That's where this Smith .22 came in, it had been confiscated from a crook. It had been dropped on the pavement once but was otherwise like new inside. It was very cheap.

There was a time when people didn't write down serial numbers of guns. Then when one went missing or got stolen, they didn't have a number to report. I figured that was what was going on with this gun. But that's only a guess. We could start another thread about this.

My mistake. The .22 I'm thinking about was a pre-Model 18. I had a couple of the Model 16-4's, those were .32 H&R Mag. With old age, sometimes confusion comes into play.

The 16-4, when found, is worth pretty good money these days. Oddly enough, the 4 in. bbl. is least often found.

This is a picture of my last 16-4, I also had a custom .32-20 cylinder for it.

I don't have a convenient picture of the subject .22, that was pre-computer days. I probably have an analog picture but it would take weeks to find it.

View attachment 1113647

Smith & Wesson K-38 Target Masterpiece was the Model 14 in .38 spl. The K-22 was a Model 17, the Model 18 was a Model 17 copy- except the 4" barrel was tapered where the Model 17 4" barrel, both were 22 LR..

 

[gmerkt]

Smith & Wesson K-38 Target Masterpiece was the Model 14 in .38 spl. The K-22 was a Model 17, the Model 18 was a Model 17 copy- except the 4" barrel was tapered where the Model 17 4" barrel, both were 22 LR..

I cannot rely on my memory anymore. I had to go back and look it up. Smith & Wesson usually had model names before they started the numbering system. Pre-Model 18, the gun was called "The K-22 Combat Masterpiece." At least according to the book by Supica and Nahas. I believe the original concept for these four inch guns was as practice pieces when many officers carried the .38 Special counterpart as a duty gun. Likewise, Colt offered an Official Police in .22 LR.

The pre-Model 18 I've referred to, I believe that one had been made in 1949 or 50. I didn't have a high gloss finish, it was like a brushed blue.

Somewhere along the line, I had a pre-Model 17, the six inch bbl. This one was in original box, had been used very little. BUT, it kinda fell into the category under discussion. It had a so-so funny story. I bought it in a pawn shop, according to the shop owner, it had been in and out of pawn about a dozen times. An old guy owned it, when he got down on his financial luck, he'd pawn it. Then when he raised a bit of money, he'd go back and redeem it from pawn. Well, then the time came when he didn't come back for it. Knowing the story, the pawnshop owner didn't want to sell it out from under the old guy so he called the phone number given. The wife answered, she said he wasn't gonna be coming back for it, he'd died, go ahead and let it go. That's where I came in. Back to condition. It was little used in box, but the paper in the box was very oily, the revolver had a few little rust flecks on the finish that they can get when improperly stored. Nothing major, some people wouldn't even notice but it wasn't perfect collector stuff. It was a pretty nice, imperfect gun at a good price.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

Honest wear yes internal wear of irreplaceable parts not so much !

 

[gmerkt]

its been my observation that beat up looking guns aint ever selling for much less than not beat up looking guns,

That's been true for some time but not forever. The new prices of guns tend to create a floor price for used guns of the same type. But it's mighty important to know what you are buying used, because you don't want to pay "almost new" price for something that has a lot of internal wear. External wear, not so important if it doesn't bother you. Holster / external wear can affect resale price. So if you think you may not keep the gun forever, go for better rather than lesser finish condition, all things being equal.

 

[Mike_M57]

I once met Kyle Sumpter, the Deputy Chief from Federal Way, WA, that appeared on Top Shot a couple of times. He saw the beat-up grips on my EDC Kimber 1911 and made a comment about how he liked "the look of a gun that actually gets used", or words to that effect. It actually made me feel better about not taking better care of my pistol!

 

[Mike_M57]

Somewhere along the line, I had a pre-Model 17, the six inch bbl. This one was in original box, had been used very little. BUT, it kinda fell into the category under discussion. It had a so-so funny story. I bought it in a pawn shop, according to the shop owner, it had been in and out of pawn about a dozen times. An old guy owned it, when he got down on his financial luck, he'd pawn it. Then when he raised a bit of money, he'd go back and redeem it from pawn. Well, then the time came when he didn't come back for it. Knowing the story, the pawnshop owner didn't want to sell it out from under the old guy so he called the phone number given. The wife answered, she said he wasn't gonna be coming back for it, he'd died, go ahead and let it go. That's where I came in. Back to condition. It was little used in box, but the paper in the box was very oily, the revolver had a few little rust flecks on the finish that they can get when improperly stored. Nothing major, some people wouldn't even notice but it wasn't perfect collector stuff. It was a pretty nice, imperfect gun at a good price.

I've got one of those. 1947 K-22. It just got a new set of grips and some Wolff springs.

Before and after

 

[Mikej]

I appreciate the wear on the 1902 Swedish Mauser and 1918 Lee Enfield I have. Not quite the same as a long time personal carry/workin' gun though. I do have the gun that my dad's step dad used in law enforcement back in the late 40s- early '50s. It pretty clean other than holster wear in the usual places.

In the guitar world, we have people who actually seek out distressed finishes and 'Relicing' is actually a thing.

People will deliberately make a guitar look like it has been put through years of abuse in smokey bars being played by guys wearing rodeo belt buckles and sweating beads of acid.

Bet this will be worth a chunk of money sometime in the future?

 

[tac]

give me a 1940 1911 with the dirt of France on it over a brand new flashy BBQ gun

Why would a 1940 1911 have the 'dirt of France on it?

 

[tac]

This old piece was used to shoot at -

1. Brits.

2. Canadians.

3. and last of all, Australians.

It was then surrendered by the captured owner, Piet Huijsen, on May 10th 1901.