Willy
36 Cl.
Most of what I'm finding there are unmentionables. And those are few and far between. But I have run across a gem now and again in one.
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Buying Used - What Do You Look For?
- Thread starter Urban Coyote
- Start date
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The bore, obviously. A cheap bore light will pay for itself many times over. Beyond that look at the nipple area on percussion guns. If that area is nasty or pitted, cleaning may not have been thorough. A nipple that won't come out is also very bad. Even if the nipple itself looks good, it'll have to be replaced some day. Had to drill one out of a nearly unfired GPH I bought used...tense.
OTOH a clean out screw that comes out easily normally indicates a thorough cleaning regimen and/or little use. But keep in mind that many shooters don't believe in removing this screw, so one that's stuck doesn't necessarily indicate poor cleaning.
OTOH a clean out screw that comes out easily normally indicates a thorough cleaning regimen and/or little use. But keep in mind that many shooters don't believe in removing this screw, so one that's stuck doesn't necessarily indicate poor cleaning.
Oh, nearly forgot. Run a damp patch and a tight fitting jag down the bore if the owner will let you. Use about what would be used for cleaning....doesn't have to be crazy tight.
You're looking for spots where the resistance to jag movement suddenly drops off or becomes drastically less. This is an indication of a 'walnut' which occurs when a load is short-started (not fully seated on the powder) or when it is fired with an obstruction in the barrel. This is not uncommon. Seating the load can be overlooked if the load has been pushed a few inches below the muzzle by the shooter using a short starter but distractions have caused him to skip the full seating step.
I've personally ruined a very good conical shooting BP barrel by short-starting. OTOH I bought an old 22 rifle with a 'walnut' in the barrel that was a very good shooter. Only discovered the 'walnut' when I went to clean it.
You're looking for spots where the resistance to jag movement suddenly drops off or becomes drastically less. This is an indication of a 'walnut' which occurs when a load is short-started (not fully seated on the powder) or when it is fired with an obstruction in the barrel. This is not uncommon. Seating the load can be overlooked if the load has been pushed a few inches below the muzzle by the shooter using a short starter but distractions have caused him to skip the full seating step.
I've personally ruined a very good conical shooting BP barrel by short-starting. OTOH I bought an old 22 rifle with a 'walnut' in the barrel that was a very good shooter. Only discovered the 'walnut' when I went to clean it.
SwanShot
36 Cal.
All of the above, but at the range I have noticed that the good guns look well used, because they are. A very clean gun is either very well cared for, or abandoned after a couple of outings, but, grubby well used rifle that is in good mechanical condition is a good bet.
Country gun shops will sell more used ML's than city gun shops will. Take a trip out of town and look around.
Johnny Tremain
Silversmith in training
Dont buy pigs in a poke. No online sales for me. I comb neighborhood pawn shops for safe queens,
when ever a bud is looking for one.
/CONCUR with bore, bore, bore, everything else can be repaired.
when ever a bud is looking for one.
/CONCUR with bore, bore, bore, everything else can be repaired.
I bought some a year or 2 ago and it just did not work for me. Lately I have been getting flash rust with soap and water, never got that before. Now I just use TOW ( track of the wolf ) cleaning solvent. That works great!
I could try making moose milk but IDK since I get the flash rust with soap and water. Just don't want to experiment with that.
Winchester97
40 Cal
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Bore condition is #1. A lot of online sellers are either lazy or crooked when it comes to bore descriptions. They say "Can't see the rifling, it's a muzzleloader". I'm a redneck, and even I know about drop in bore lights.
Follow the mixture on the can and you'll not have any problems with cleaning and then follow up with non diluted. I'm talking about Ballistol and water(moose milk) and then just the oil for final wipe down.
Look first for signs of neglect. A POS is not necessarily rejected out of hand unless the seller is trying to get "antique" prices for it. The biggest issue is rust, and more specifically, rust in the bore. Hmmm.... seems like I've read that before somewhere.
Even a badly rusted bore isn't necessarily grounds for rejection... but it IS a concern, a major concern. I have a T/C Hawken in .45 caliber that had a pretty rusty bore when I bought it. The stock was in good shape, though and I had another T/C Hawken in the store with a good bore, but a cracked stock. The crack was so bad in fact, that the stock broke in half in my hands.
I swapped out the barrel with the good bore and mated it to the good stock, then put it out for sale. Looking at the rusty .45 and the broken stock, I thought about it a few days while it sat on the back bench. Eventually I bought it. The stock was repaired with epoxy and has held up well over five years now. The brass polished up nicely with Brasso. I replaced a missing ferule with another one from a T/C Greyhawk. It also got a new nipple. That gun is referred to as either "The Monster" or "Frankenstein", it is pretty much my favorite gun... though it is hard to choose my absolute favorite.
I worked the bore with a stainless brush and Murphy's Oil Soap/water. Later on swapped the brush for a fitted jag and some fine steel wool. I can't say that the bore is pristine, but it is usable and shoots acceptable groups..
I think I have maybe $150.00 in it total, plus a fair amount of elbow grease.
Bottom line: if, after buying the POS and putting it into good working order, you have less invested than you would have by buying a gun in better shape, you did OK, else, you shoulda kept your money.
You can buy replacement barrels and you can have barrels re-bored to a larger caliber, so even a really bad bore is not an absolute disqualifier. Think with your wallet and don't fall in love with the first gun you pick up.
Even a badly rusted bore isn't necessarily grounds for rejection... but it IS a concern, a major concern. I have a T/C Hawken in .45 caliber that had a pretty rusty bore when I bought it. The stock was in good shape, though and I had another T/C Hawken in the store with a good bore, but a cracked stock. The crack was so bad in fact, that the stock broke in half in my hands.
I swapped out the barrel with the good bore and mated it to the good stock, then put it out for sale. Looking at the rusty .45 and the broken stock, I thought about it a few days while it sat on the back bench. Eventually I bought it. The stock was repaired with epoxy and has held up well over five years now. The brass polished up nicely with Brasso. I replaced a missing ferule with another one from a T/C Greyhawk. It also got a new nipple. That gun is referred to as either "The Monster" or "Frankenstein", it is pretty much my favorite gun... though it is hard to choose my absolute favorite.
I worked the bore with a stainless brush and Murphy's Oil Soap/water. Later on swapped the brush for a fitted jag and some fine steel wool. I can't say that the bore is pristine, but it is usable and shoots acceptable groups..
I think I have maybe $150.00 in it total, plus a fair amount of elbow grease.
Bottom line: if, after buying the POS and putting it into good working order, you have less invested than you would have by buying a gun in better shape, you did OK, else, you shoulda kept your money.
You can buy replacement barrels and you can have barrels re-bored to a larger caliber, so even a really bad bore is not an absolute disqualifier. Think with your wallet and don't fall in love with the first gun you pick up.
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