Round count of used firearms?

[jbett98]

I once bought a mint in box Hi Point 9mm pistol at a gun buy back. Sold it un-fired at a loss.

 

[KKG]

...Kaiser Permanente

They are the Guys who make Grade School eatable Glue,Super Glue, 3 Three Part Epoxy, a Bedding Compound, Liquid Steel, Liquid Aluminum, Private Label Wood Glue and Tire Cement with ALL of them in non-Child Proof Packaging!!!

 

[KKG]

I'm leaving this Thread before I get into more confusion!!!

 

[RetiredLEO]

Why are there NEVER any guns for sale advertising a high round count fired? There must be a few out there that are broke in with lots of use. bahabaha!

The owners of high round count weapons do not mention that fact in their ads.

 

[Arthur Chenoweth]

What anal retentive cares let alone knows? Is there any data or studies on the subject? There are too many parameters, too many calibers and too many loads for each. I have a custom shop 40x that I shoot daily as long as the weather is agreeable and have done so for 33 years. I shoot clay pigeons at 650 yds. Still getting my $800. worth.

 

[DB is Here]

The owners of high round count weapons do not mention that fact in their ads.

They do, but they call it Holster wear marks...

 

[slam45]

two of my favorite guns are over 100 years old.. one a US model 1909 45 Colt New Service, the other a Winchester model 1895 from 1896... i shoot both of them still, when they were built they made them to last forever with reasonable care and maintenance... pistols, revolvers and rifles do wear out, but just go get to work and see if you can get it done... alleged round count is of no interest to me, just look at what you are buying...

 

[xtratoy]

I am always in awe of the person who keeps detailed count of the amount fired from their guns. On other Forums I frequent I always see claims of 30,000 shot from this gun , 28,000 from this gun etc.etc. and many making these claims aren't just talking about 1 gun, they have several that have been shot that many times. The one that got me the most was a guy who had bought a Ruger GP100 ( $600 average cost new ) and in a years time claimed to have shot enough rounds through it that ammo would have cost around $20,000 by averaging the retail cost of ammo he claimed to shoot. The only gun I can claim that has high rounds is my High Standard Sport King 22 pistol ( a lot of 500 round bricks ) bought new in 1974 and as far as rifles my Remington 700 ( high as far as rounds through a bolt action hunting rifle, maybe 700 max ) 30-06 bought in 1968. I have several AR's and through all of them haven't probably shot over 1000 rounds since I got my first my first one in 2007. I might be pushing 2000 rounds in my Springfield 1911 45ACP, since 1984. I need to get out more or just find a Sugar Mama with deep pockets!

 

[Fishonshawn]

I ask also but I'm curious why others do. Anytime someone is selling a gun it comes up. The only reason I ask is just to make sure it wasnt like someone's competition gun and has like 30,000 rounds through it. But I'm curious if others are more picky than me and what the cutoff number is...how many rounds does it take to wear out a barrel anyways? Are you ok with sub 1,000...3,000...5,000... a couple hundred only?

 

[titsonritz]

how many rounds does it take to wear out a barrel anyways?

A couple thousand rounds through a .308 isn't much the same number of rounds through .220 Swift is a different story.

 

[Alexx1401]

I ask also but I'm curious why others do. Anytime someone is selling a gun it comes up. The only reason I ask is just to make sure it wasnt like someone's competition gun and has like 30,000 rounds through it. But I'm curious if others are more picky than me and what the cutoff number is...how many rounds does it take to wear out a barrel anyways? Are you ok with sub 1,000...3,000...5,000... a couple hundred only?

I have never even asked. I would never know if they were telling me anything close to the truth for one. I of course look the gun over. If it seems like its sound to me I never cared how many rounds were down the tube. They could tell me it was 20 rounds or 20K rounds. If it looks beat to hell, well no, if it looks and feels sound and price is right, yep, it's for me.

 

[dcfranzen]

This is a very good question but difficult to answer with confidence without being firearm specific.

An internet search for "What to look for when buying a firearm" will get you the info you seek. The search can be narrowed to a specific firearm, e.g., handgun, rifle, shotgun... Here is a nice article focused on a handgun: What To Look For When Buying a Used Firearm

I overlook scuff marks and holster wear. I focus on the operating mechanics and internal parts condition and wear. I avoid offerings that have clearly been modified.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

As stated above it will depend on the caliber of the gun a fast stepping hot cartridge may have more bore wear than a more mild cartridge...with the same numbers of rounds fired.

Use marks , "rack rash", or even a "Oops" mark , won't usually bother me..signs of abuse or neglect may raise a red flag..

That said...
The last "new" to me gun I looked over and got is a 1975 Remington 870 Wingmaster...
Its in great shape with a bit of hunting wear...since I am going to use it as a hunting gun , that does not bother me...
But....
If it came with the same amount of wear that my newest to me antique muzzleloader did , a Brunswick rifle circa 1850
then the Remington would have been a pass....

I wonder just how rounds my J.Henry Flintlock Trade Rifle circa 1800 has fired...it still gets shot at times ...
200 odd years of use...
Andy

 

[Unka-Boo]

Everyone on this site knows the answer is "less than 200 rounds"

 

[clearconscience]

I buy firearms for use not looks so I don't really care about little marks or wear.
I can about how well it was maintained and price.

Round count does factor in but it's very rare someone has had a firearm and ran more than a few thousand rounds through.

If your worried about it get a good price and replace the firing pin and springs.

People get super anal about a firearm.
Just doesn't make sense to me. You don't win medals, awards, prize money, or your life for how your firearm looks.
Only how it functions.

But when it comes to price. Just like anything else, items depreciate. So if you have 5000 rds through a firearm I'm not buying it for close to retail.

 

[OldBroad44]

It's not just how many rounds, but of what. And for which exact model of gun. For example, in the early days of .357 mag, most people were really awed by the recoil, and fired almost all .38 special for practice and very little full .357 mag loads in their standard SW K-frame revolvers. After a while, the awe wore off, and some people were shooting just .357 mag for practice as well as carry. But it turned out that K-frame revolvers didn't hold up that well with a steady diet of .357 mag. They are a bit light for that. So SW designed the L-frame and the 686, the same medium size frame, but beefier, and with a full underlug to reduce recoil. That gun was designed for people who shoot lots of .357s in their .357s.

A similar thing happened with the SW 29s and 629s. Many shot mostly .44 special, and those who started with full .44 mag loads in a 4-inch gun often fired less than a cylinder through it before selling it. But then some people not only got used to full .44 mag loads, but they started shooting loads with heavier bullets. And the standard 629 was not holding up all that well to a steady diet of magnums or loads with heavier bullets. So as of the 629-2, SW changed the design to include the "endurance package", with some parts made a little heavier-duty to stand up to heavier loads plus a regular diet of mags.

I wouldn't buy a 629 no dash or -1 unless it clearly had been shot very little. But I wouldn't worry about a 629-2, -3, or -4 that had been fired a good bit as long as the lands and grooves are sharp and the lock-up is tight. (I would't be buying a later 629 because the -5 is when they changed to some parts of inferior metal and moved the firing pin to the frame. And the -6 was when they added the unnecessary lock.)

 

[techiej]

Also depends upon whether they were shooting hot rounds, jacketed, coated lead, etc.

If shooting soft, lead (coated) rounds then I really wouldn't care about the round count. I've got some 9 & 45 1911's that each have almost 10k rounds through them that have only seen my handloads (soft, coated lead) and see no signs of wear in the barrel. I've probably worn them more through cleaning than shooting .

 

[Tony617]

I was writing down in a notebook how many rounds from each rifled barrel how many rounds I was firing. I have some shotguns but they are smooth bore so I didn't count. I did with my SLP since it is gas driven. Other than one AR that I built my first upper for and had the bolt jam, I don't count how many rounds I fire any more.

 

[xdmfan]

I've always equated "less than 200 rounds" when looking at used guns to "never raced, low hours, professionally maintained/gone through" when looking at dirt bikes.

I mean maybe, maybe not, but I'm going to have to be the final judge and make my own decision.

 

[DB is Here]

TBH most folks just don't shoot that often, All the guns I've bought used I've never seen one burnt up or worn out.

Off topic but to the same point:
I have a friend that rents out his homes, he said of all the back ground checks, credit reports and employment histories that he's run he found that a guy's/gal's car was the best indicator of how his home would be treated. Knowing that I'll always look at the person's car before I buy from them. If their car is well cared for so will their other possessions...worked for 15 years for my friend and so far it's worked for me...YMMV