You want a pistol for home defense or concealed carry but you don’t have a ton of money to spend. Buying a used pistol is a good way to go.
Now of course, buying new is a great way to go, but that isn’t always an option to get the gun you want for the money you have. As with used cars there are some things to take a look at. I found a great video that discusses a few of them. Here is a summary of the video:
- Rust. Make sure you check the pistol for rust. Stainless does rust, so make sure you check any pistol.
- Sights. Make sure the sights are tight and not moving.
- Make sure the safety mechanisms work as they should for the make and model.
- Avoid guns that have had amateur gunsmithing done on them.
- Make sure the firing pin works by shooting a pen out the barrel. (Watch the video)
- Check out the screws, make sure they are not stripped out.
- Rails are clean, not burred or broken.
- Pins are present and fixed.
- Don’t buy it if you can’t field strip it.
- Spring. Intact, no links missing, no rust.
- Barrel. Wear is okay. No gouges, weird machining. Rifling is good.
- Receiver. Nothing loose. Wear is okay, broken is bad.
Go ahead and watch the video, he covers everything in much more detail and shows some things you should keep in mind.
Let us know in the comments about your experiences buying a used pistol.
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