buying used rifle

[kingsy18]

Seen a used rifle i want to buy from an rfd but its going to be transferred to my rfd,asked about the rifle and they,ve said its in excellent condition,what are your rights if it shoots carp and you want to return it,if its on your ticket does that mean your stuck with it.

[Guest]

They some times give 3month warranty with them .i got a shot from a dealer sent to my dealer and got 3 month on it. Guns don't shoot **** it the one pulling the trigger

Edited April 3, 2017 by Guest

[Rst1990]

You have exactly the same rights as you do with anything else you buy, because it's a gun makes no difference.

If it's on your ticket just get it removed with a one for one variation doesn't cost you a thing.

I bought a second hand rifle and was told it's like brand new etc

Had it out over the weekend and it shot way too low, went back and got a refund and sent ticket off for variation.

It's a pretty easy procedure.

Atb

[Rimfireboy]

The thing is, with rifles, if you've no real way of knowing how many rounds they've fired, and how the barrel has been looked after, you're going to be taking a chance on it. .22 lr's aren't likely to get worn or shot out, but with bigger calibre's you really need to know the guns history.

[mick miller]

That. Some of the bigger tend to have a longer service life, smaller and hotter rounds less so. Would I buy a used hmr, 17rem, 17hh, 204? Probably not. A used 308 or 243, maybe more likely.

 

22lr's using subs seem to have an almost limitless lifespan, it is limited of course, but not by much.

[achosenman]

Guns don't shoot **** it the one pulling the trigger

 

Sorry mate but with rifles that simply is not true. It only takes a few unsympathetic trips to the range to destroy the throat of a barrel, especially in the hot calibers like .243 Win. (yes it is a barrel burner) Any serious rifle shooter will tell you the same. If your only looking for minute of barn door, fine. Anything else, I'd bore scope it before accepting it.

 

As an aside I recently rejected an old Beretta 391 I was thinking about for the pigeon hide. It was pitted in the chamber. It looked fine with the naked eye, until you bore scoped it. Then the true horror and abuse became apparent. Chrome plating does not mean maintenance free.

[achosenman]

I think buying a donor rifle is another ball game TBH.

 

I've cannibalized more than one shot out rifle in the past, but now, because of the many offering from custom action builders I don't bother.

 

Atb

[old man]

I bought a second hand rifle and was told it's like brand new etc

Had it out over the weekend and it shot way too low,

Atb

Can you expand on that please.

[Dekers]

.....................

I bought a second hand rifle and was told it's like brand new etc

Had it out over the weekend and it shot way too low,............................

 

 

Can you expand on that please.

 

Yep...I'm not following that either!

[The Mighty Prawn]

 

 

 

Yep...I'm not following that either!

Shot self in foot?

[Redgum]

I would not be to put off buying a second hand rifle from a dealer, my tikka 243 hunter and 223 lite were both secondhand and shoot very well. There general appearance says a lot about its history and most dealers have the facility to bore scope. Even buying new you can get a rifle that has problems.

[achosenman]

I would not be to put off buying a second hand rifle from a dealer, my tikka 243 hunter and 223 lite were both secondhand and shoot very well. There general appearance says a lot about its history and most dealers have the facility to bore scope. Even buying new you can get a rifle that has problems.

That's a good one. Try asking a dealer to bore scope a rifle down here will get you one answer. " sorry we don't have one"

A new rifle comes with a warranty, second hand ones don't. Just because your rifle "shoots very well" (not sure of the SAAMI technical details of that) does not mean the barrel has not been through "the change" and the rapidly receding throat will be beyond the sweet spot for the preferred jump to lands in the next 500 rounds.

 

I'm not saying second hand rifles are bad, just that a prudent buyer needs check the real condition. That, has no relation to how pretty it looks on the outside.

[Redgum]

That's a good one. Try asking a dealer to bore scope a rifle down here will get you one answer. " sorry we don't have one"

A new rifle comes with a warranty, second hand ones don't. Just because your rifle "shoots very well" (not sure of the SAAMI technical details of that) does not mean the barrel has not been through "the change" and the rapidly receding throat will be beyond the sweet spot for the preferred jump to lands in the next 500 rounds.

 

I'm not saying second hand rifles are bad, just that a prudent buyer needs check the real condition. That, has no relation to how pretty it looks on the outside.

 

Most dealers will give some warrantee on a second hand rifle, there will always be a rifle that has seen to many very hot rnds but there are many that have not and are excellent deals. Thought is was women that go through the 'change'. So it doesn't matter how it shoots as long as its new eh, a mate bore scoped his 25 06 ( just because our local chap has one in this civilised county) and the throat is crazed and the barrel a little pitted in places but it still shoots thumbnail groups after probably 10,000 rnds.

[Edinburgh Rifles]

No factory barrel is throated for close to the lands loads

They are ALL throated with masses of jump in mind to accomodate any and every factory cartridge and bullet length you can throw at them.

 

just because the bore is in good condition doesnt mean it will shoot

just because the bore is in bad condition doesnt mean it WONT shoot!

 

If its a private sale get real world results, find out what loads or factory ammo they used, ideally get a target they shot.

If its a randon shop rifle get confirmation of all aspects of condition, ideally there should be some cover for a servicable item. if you cant get it working to shoot an inch within reasonable efforts then it either needs to be fettled or replaced.

 

You don't need a bore scope to tell if a bore looks like a rusty drainpipe, just a keen eye and a light source.

that said you can pick up a USB borescope for £15 on eBay

 

 

rust kills rifles faster than any range use.

barrel erosion kills accuracy VERY slowly on the whole

rust will screw it over a wet weekend!

[achosenman]

Burning a throat out does not require "hot rounds" One trip to the range and a bit of unsympathetic shooting while still hot will trash a barrel. I reckon you would be surprised by the damage I have seen caused by a cleaning rod as well.

 

Almost every bench rest shooter or competitive shooter will know of the change. By the same token I doubt many deer stalkers or fox/vermin shooters will recognize the phases of barrel life and the impact on potential accuracy.

 

I count every round through my custom built rifles, including the one I use for vermin control. One Krieger barrel I had went south in 1200 verified standard pressure rounds. It started life being able to put five rounds off the bench rest into .12 of an inch with a 140grn Nolser Accu Bond with a 90 thou jump to lands. It would do the same with Berger 140grn VLD's at 15thou off the lands or jammed. When I decided I was fed up with playing with finicky precision type rifles and got rid of it into the trade, it would shoot no better than 1.5 inch and was fire cracked and well done. It still shot minute of deer and looked fantastic on the outside, but it was toast pure and simple.

 

From the sounds of it your mates rifle is still shooting good enough for his needs, that's fantastic. However, don't be surprised if the re-sale value is "donor action" value only. There's a natty little app that some competitive reloading shooters use to predict barrel life based on individual loading data and barrel. Some go south in as little as 600 rounds at pinnacle accuracy. Some top bench shooters have several barrels on the go at any one time to ensure they don't get stranded during the competitive season. FWIW I loaded the data for a .243 win a mate was using. 1500 rounds was the predicted top accuracy. When it went, it was pretty close to the prediction. That doesn't mean it's not fit for purpose...depending on what the purpose is.

 

As I have already said, if all you need is minute of deer for 50 rds per season, then fine. If you need or want something more, it's probably better to be able to make an informed decision.

 

Atb

[Edinburgh Rifles]

....... it would shoot no better than 1.5 inch .....

 

better than most DSC1 test scores then.....

[achosenman]

 

better than most DSC1 test scores then.....

 

Yes, that experience left me speechless.

 

Never before have I witnessed both ends of the ability spectrum heavily weighted towards the lower end in one afternoon. I did wonder at one point if some of the "students" had ever seen a rifle, let alone shot one.

[welshwarrior]

 

Yes, that experience left me speechless.

 

Never before have I witnessed both ends of the ability spectrum heavily weighted towards the lower end in one afternoon. I did wonder at one point if some of the "students" had ever seen a rifle, let alone shot one.

Unfortunately I've seen it both ways the guy that cant better 1" at 100m but kills lots of deer and the guy that gets all bullets touching on the range with his supperdooper ultra accurate rifle that misses lucky often clean misses deer at 60yards.

 

 

But there are plenty of good deals out there on used rifles if you know what to look for just like shotguns cars etc.

[Redgum]

Unfortunately I've seen it both ways the guy that cant better 1" at 100m but kills lots of deer and the guy that gets all bullets touching on the range with his supperdooper ultra accurate rifle that misses lucky often clean misses deer at 60yards.

 

 

But there are plenty of good deals out there on used rifles if you know what to look for just like shotguns cars etc.

 

Totally agree, if I had a choice of a new Remmy or a second hand Sako I know which I would go for but of course it does help if you have some experience in rifles, if not take a mate that does.

Edited April 19, 2017 by Redgum

[tonker]

Horses for courses. The op doesn't say what he wants the rifle for in his original post. I got hung up on accuracy when I started loading my own. unless he's target shooting/bench rest he doesn't need to be that accurate.

As I only use a Rem 700 .222 for foxing, and a Howa 1500 .243 for stalking I came to the conclusion as long as I could do about an 1" to1 1/4" at 100 that is plenty good enough for what I need (hunting only)

Unless I've never bought a pup most modern 2nd hand rifles should be able to do this with bought loads. of course if he want's super accuracy that's a different ball game

I've just read the question again and my post above has nothing to do with the question asked , lol but as it took me an age to write I'm going to leave it up.

Edited April 21, 2017 by tonker