[JayElliott]

Would anyone recommend purchasing a firearm from a gun & pawn shop for their lower prices, or discourage it?

[Shogun Marcus]

Depends on what your buying really. If it's a revolver then there is less chance someone messed it up and it could malfunction. Auto's are a riskier bet.

[Jiu-Jitsu Cop]

it depends on how much you know about the gun you are purchasing. If you know what to look for then there is less chance to lose out.

[blanko]

well there is the chance that the gun might have like 3 bodies on it...

[user-name]

If it is an automatic then no since it'll constantly jam.

[JayElliott]

I'm definately looking for a good semi-automatic, either 9mm or .40 caliber.

[romophobic]

Originally Posted by user-name

If it is an automatic then no since it'll constantly jam.

so every auto in every pawn shop will jam?

just do some research on the gun you are looking at. make sure that the action works smoothly, and check for wear in the slide and chamber if its an auto.
if its a revolver make sure that there isn't any wear around the cylinder and that when cocked the cylinder doesn't still move and is aligned with the barrel.

its pretty much the same routine when buying any gun. make sure that everything is functional,
be sure to check the barrel for straightness and obstrutions(burs and such) check the rifleings to make sure that they aren't worn.

the only thing i do different when buying a gun at a pawn shop is i make sure the gun is legal before buying it.(simply jot down the serial # and have it run at the sheriffs dept. to make sure its not stolen.)

hope this helps.

[Gregster]

It could be a good or bad, depending on how well you approach it. A pawn shop can be a great place to buy all kinds of stuff, including firearms.

People buy guns all the time, thinking that they *must* have one in theory, only to find out in practice that they don't. Later on, if this person is confronted with a sudden, unanticipated need to come up with a wad of cash in a hurry and understands that running all over town pressing it against the skull of every immigrant manning a Mini-Mart or liquor store cash register sucks from a "risk vs. reward" standpoint, they may pawn it.

Buying a used firearm is like buying a used car (or pretty much any used or pre-owned "fill-in-the-blank"). You can get a perfectly good firearm that's as good as new, if not to say in perfect "cherry" condition, without getting your pants pulled down over the price if you know not only how to not only kick the tires but critically analyze what you're observing.

Before you even start seriously looking, it helps to have an idea of what you want and how much you can safely afford to spend. If you want to punch holes in empty beer cans all day for fun and relaxation for little cost, get a .22; for self-defense, something between a 9mm and a .45 ACP should do, with .357 Magnum being the high edge of the proverbial envelope. A Smith & Wesson Model 66 .44 Magnum looks impressive, is fun in small doses, and may actually cause your penis to increase in size as much as an inch or so but has limited applications outside of certain types on hunting and re-enacting DeNiro's famous "You talkin' to me?" scene from Taxi Driver. But this is stuff that can start a whole new thread, so let's leave that here for now.

Once you know what you want, and how much you can spend without killing yourself, head down to the pawn shop, preferably with 3 or 4 likely candidates in mind and ask to inspect them. Pay particular attention to the following:

1) THE BORE: the inside of the bore, a.k.a. the "barrel," should ideally be free of corrosion, rust, or pitting as these are tell-tale signs that the weapon you're looking at was either previously owned by someone too lazy or too ignorant to take proper care of it, or was not manufactured as well as it could have and thus has flaws such as improper (or non-existent) chroming of the barrel. The accuracy, reliability, and serviceable life of a firearm is directly affected by the condition of the barrel.

When doing this, lock the upper receiver (a.k.a. the "slide") to the rear if it's an automatic, or swing the cylinder to the 90-degree position outside the gun if it's a revolver (usually accomplished by pushing a thumb switch near the grip forward and nudging the cylinder out to the left), and hold the weapon with the butt-end towards a light source, making sure you get some light in there. If you see something questionable inside the barrel, see if you can't run a small wad of lint-free cloth in there to make sure it's not dust or a blast of canned air like the kind used to clean electronics and PC keyboards if there's some handy. DO NOT blow into it; your breath has moisture in it.

Also look for carbon fouling, which is the black, resin-like crap produced and left behind by burning gunpowder; check not just the barrel, but the rear end of the chamber where the round is seated. I'd be reluctant to accept any gun fouled in such a way as it may conceal other flaws like those I've mentioned, while also suggesting that the previous owner didn't keep it properly cleaned, oiled, and maintained (which should lead you to wonder what the hell else he ignored).

If the gun otherwise checks out, getting all the old, baked-on residue can be a real bitch to get off; I once spent three separate cleanings with everything from bore brushes to dental picks getting caked-on/burnt residue out of and genuine old-school Colt 1911 .45 belonging to an uncle of mine that was briefly entrusted to my care after his death by my aunt while my dad mulled over the possibility of buying it from her.

2) IF IT'S A REVOLVER you should check the individual chambers within the cylinder where bullets sit when the weapon is loaded for the same evidence of distress caused by abuse and piss-poor maintenance you did for the barrel.

The cylinder should swing outside of the revolver cleanly and smoothly, requiring no more a slight nudge to unseat; it should just as easily swing back into place inside the frame of the gun and snap into position where it needs to be when firing.

Most modern/contemporary revolvers have a rod sticking out from the front of the cylinder which typically is seated inside a groove in the frame and/or barrel. The rod acts as a kind of plunger which when pressed rearward causes a kinda star-shaped thingamajig nestled in the rear of the cylinder to move outward. The purpose of this contrivance is to allow the shooter to quickly shove spent brass out of the cylinder to facilitate rapid reloading, a rather important feature if one day-- heaven forfend-- you find yourself staking your life on it in a shootout that takes more than six shots to resolve.

Hence, it should move smoothly back when depressed and spring forward back into place once you stop pressing on it. If it doesn't, and/or the cylinder rod looks dinged-up and and maybe a wee bit warped, this often indicates that the previous owner liked to finish reloading using the Mickey Spillane/Action Hero method of flicking it had to the right and slamming the cylinder back into place. This expedites the rate at which the pistol wears out; I'd recommend you pass on it

CHECK THE BLUING: Unless the gun has a stainless steel or plated finish, one of the final steps in manufacturing it involves applying bluing to the outside; "bluing" describes the substance used, as well ad the procedure of applying it. Its purpose it to ward off or minimize the formation of rust, oxidation, or corrosion of the ****l. If you notice, while looking the weapon over, that it has little dings and flecks of this coating removed, exposing the underlying ****l (which tends to be flat ****llic, or brassy, in color) to the elements. This often is yet another clue that suggests abuse or rough handling by the former owner. If you notice the bluing has rubbed off in parts where two surfaces rub together, this probably means it saw a lot of use. Using a wire brush on blued surfaces while cleaning will also damage it in that manner.

I think a simple touching-up process using cheap materials found in stores selling guns can fix that, but be sure to consider what it may have endured to get that way.


REVOLVERS check the frame and cylinder for outward signs of stress or tiny fissures. These often indicate the last guy who had it made it a habit to shooting "hot" loads like high-power or "+P" ammo much too frequently, or which the weapon was not intended to handle. Nothing ruins a trip to the range like having a gun come apart in your hands.

FUNCTIONS CHECK The hammer should drop if the trigger is pulled, and not drop when the safety in engaged (safeties tend to be found only on autos). Many newer autos have a "hammer drop" safety which disengages the sear so as to prevent the hammer from hitting the firing pin and prevent the weapon being shot until it's re-engaged.

Gotta go...I'm rambling. If I think of anything else, I'll add to this.

[JayElliott]

EXCELLENT information - very helpful, I ended up using this knowledge to examine a couple of handguns at a local pawn shop (not a very large selection at all, though). Thanks for the replies!

[younggunz]

Originally Posted by Gregster

It could be a good or bad, depending on how well you approach it. A pawn shop can be a great place to buy all kinds of stuff, including firearms.

People buy guns all the time, thinking that they *must* have one in theory, only to find out in practice that they don't. Later on, if this person is confronted with a sudden, unanticipated need to come up with a wad of cash in a hurry and understands that running all over town pressing it against the skull of every immigrant manning a Mini-Mart or liquor store cash register sucks from a "risk vs. reward" standpoint, they may pawn it.

Buying a used firearm is like buying a used car (or pretty much any used or pre-owned "fill-in-the-blank"). You can get a perfectly good firearm that's as good as new, if not to say in perfect "cherry" condition, without getting your pants pulled down over the price if you know not only how to not only kick the tires but critically analyze what you're observing.

Before you even start seriously looking, it helps to have an idea of what you want and how much you can safely afford to spend. If you want to punch holes in empty beer cans all day for fun and relaxation for little cost, get a .22; for self-defense, something between a 9mm and a .45 ACP should do, with .357 Magnum being the high edge of the proverbial envelope. A Smith & Wesson Model 66 .44 Magnum looks impressive, is fun in small doses, and may actually cause your penis to increase in size as much as an inch or so but has limited applications outside of certain types on hunting and re-enacting DeNiro's famous "You talkin' to me?" scene from Taxi Driver. But this is stuff that can start a whole new thread, so let's leave that here for now.

Once you know what you want, and how much you can spend without killing yourself, head down to the pawn shop, preferably with 3 or 4 likely candidates in mind and ask to inspect them. Pay particular attention to the following:

1) THE BORE: the inside of the bore, a.k.a. the "barrel," should ideally be free of corrosion, rust, or pitting as these are tell-tale signs that the weapon you're looking at was either previously owned by someone too lazy or too ignorant to take proper care of it, or was not manufactured as well as it could have and thus has flaws such as improper (or non-existent) chroming of the barrel. The accuracy, reliability, and serviceable life of a firearm is directly affected by the condition of the barrel.

When doing this, lock the upper receiver (a.k.a. the "slide") to the rear if it's an automatic, or swing the cylinder to the 90-degree position outside the gun if it's a revolver (usually accomplished by pushing a thumb switch near the grip forward and nudging the cylinder out to the left), and hold the weapon with the butt-end towards a light source, making sure you get some light in there. If you see something questionable inside the barrel, see if you can't run a small wad of lint-free cloth in there to make sure it's not dust or a blast of canned air like the kind used to clean electronics and PC keyboards if there's some handy. DO NOT blow into it; your breath has moisture in it.

Also look for carbon fouling, which is the black, resin-like crap produced and left behind by burning gunpowder; check not just the barrel, but the rear end of the chamber where the round is seated. I'd be reluctant to accept any gun fouled in such a way as it may conceal other flaws like those I've mentioned, while also suggesting that the previous owner didn't keep it properly cleaned, oiled, and maintained (which should lead you to wonder what the hell else he ignored).

If the gun otherwise checks out, getting all the old, baked-on residue can be a real bitch to get off; I once spent three separate cleanings with everything from bore brushes to dental picks getting caked-on/burnt residue out of and genuine old-school Colt 1911 .45 belonging to an uncle of mine that was briefly entrusted to my care after his death by my aunt while my dad mulled over the possibility of buying it from her.

2) IF IT'S A REVOLVER you should check the individual chambers within the cylinder where bullets sit when the weapon is loaded for the same evidence of distress caused by abuse and piss-poor maintenance you did for the barrel.

The cylinder should swing outside of the revolver cleanly and smoothly, requiring no more a slight nudge to unseat; it should just as easily swing back into place inside the frame of the gun and snap into position where it needs to be when firing.

Most modern/contemporary revolvers have a rod sticking out from the front of the cylinder which typically is seated inside a groove in the frame and/or barrel. The rod acts as a kind of plunger which when pressed rearward causes a kinda star-shaped thingamajig nestled in the rear of the cylinder to move outward. The purpose of this contrivance is to allow the shooter to quickly shove spent brass out of the cylinder to facilitate rapid reloading, a rather important feature if one day-- heaven forfend-- you find yourself staking your life on it in a shootout that takes more than six shots to resolve.

Hence, it should move smoothly back when depressed and spring forward back into place once you stop pressing on it. If it doesn't, and/or the cylinder rod looks dinged-up and and maybe a wee bit warped, this often indicates that the previous owner liked to finish reloading using the Mickey Spillane/Action Hero method of flicking it had to the right and slamming the cylinder back into place. This expedites the rate at which the pistol wears out; I'd recommend you pass on it

CHECK THE BLUING: Unless the gun has a stainless steel or plated finish, one of the final steps in manufacturing it involves applying bluing to the outside; "bluing" describes the substance used, as well ad the procedure of applying it. Its purpose it to ward off or minimize the formation of rust, oxidation, or corrosion of the ****l. If you notice, while looking the weapon over, that it has little dings and flecks of this coating removed, exposing the underlying ****l (which tends to be flat ****llic, or brassy, in color) to the elements. This often is yet another clue that suggests abuse or rough handling by the former owner. If you notice the bluing has rubbed off in parts where two surfaces rub together, this probably means it saw a lot of use. Using a wire brush on blued surfaces while cleaning will also damage it in that manner.

I think a simple touching-up process using cheap materials found in stores selling guns can fix that, but be sure to consider what it may have endured to get that way.


REVOLVERS check the frame and cylinder for outward signs of stress or tiny fissures. These often indicate the last guy who had it made it a habit to shooting "hot" loads like high-power or "+P" ammo much too frequently, or which the weapon was not intended to handle. Nothing ruins a trip to the range like having a gun come apart in your hands.

FUNCTIONS CHECK The hammer should drop if the trigger is pulled, and not drop when the safety in engaged (safeties tend to be found only on autos). Many newer autos have a "hammer drop" safety which disengages the sear so as to prevent the hammer from hitting the firing pin and prevent the weapon being shot until it's re-engaged.

Gotta go...I'm rambling. If I think of anything else, I'll add to this.

per usual, Greg's post hits it dead on

Also look at the depth of the slide peening (the ****l to ****l indentation just outside of chamber) the more abrasion the more more well worn the weapon.

Check for hammer wear (cheap ammo will leave them blackend, misshapen, or dull)

Remove the slide, make sure there are no issues with the action (take the spring out, rerack the slide, and it should slide back to the catch point with no hitch, if it doesn't be sure to check for bends, or dings in the rail)


other than that...just read gregster's post.