Used Guns: Tips on Checking 'em Out
NOTE: The following is information that I took from several sources. I am not a gunsmith, just a "gun guy". Your best bet will probably involve a qualified gunsmith looking at your guns for you. When you can't, the following may help.
As in any endeavor with firearms, Safety is the watchword. Before inspecting any gun, make sure that it is unloaded. No rounds should be chambered. Physically and visually check to make sure.
It may be advisable to perform these checks on your guns periodically to get an idea of acceptable tolerances, and to gauge wear. Plus, it's just another excuse to get your guns out and piddle with them!
REVOLVERS
Initial Look
First, look at the gun, checking the muzzle, the grip, and the hammer for indications that it's been dropped: Marks, dimples, cracks, or other damage. A gun that has been dropped a lot is an indication that other conditions may exist due to the previous owner's reckless behavior. Here's a good example of a checklist for inspection.
Cylinder Gap
Look at the cylinder gap. This is the area between the front of the cylinder and the forcing cone at the back of the barrel. A flashlight or white surface in back of the gun helps see the cylinder gap. The surfaces should be parallel to each other. If the gap is wider at the top, the top strap may have been stretched (sometimes happens with shooting a lot of high pressure loads). When that happens, the gun may shoot, but will likely shave off lead and/or jacket material which can affect the velocity and accuracy of the round.
If there is too much of a cylinder gap, there may be excessive "end shake", or too much movement of the cylinder forward and rearward. This is something you'll need to consult with your gunsmith about.
Normally .006" to .008" is considered fine. If greater than .010", you'd better take the gun to a reputable gunsmith to have it checked.
Trigger & Hammer
Check the hammer. Will it function both in single action and double action? If it doesn't work single action, it may be bent.
When you cock and release the hammer, notice the feel. If you feel the hammer scraping against the body of the gun, again, you may have a bent hammer. (possibly from being dropped)
Dry-fire the gun. Before releasing pressure on the trigger look through the gap at the back of the cylinder. You're looking for the firing pin nub. If you can see it, that's a good sign.
Cylinder Lock-Up
Check the play in the cylinder with the hammer forward and then with the hammer cocked. Too much play can indicate wear that allows the cylinder to be out of time with the forcing cone & barrel. You can take a pencil or wooden dowel to see how well they line up.
With the gun unloaded, you can shine a light into the gap at the rear of the cylinder, and looking down the barrel to see how it lines up. This is, by no means, a precision test, but if there is a noticeable misalignment, you know you have a problem.
Cylinder
The cylinder release should operate surely. It should move without catching both directions. It should fully release and allow the cylinder to swing out. When opening, the cylinder should not bind or catch on the frame, it should be a free and easy movement.
Inspect the face of the front of the cylinder. There should be little to no scrape marking on the cylinder around the chamber. The rear of the cylinder should show no excessive wear with the chambers being square to the face. Some folks bevel their chambers to better facilitate loading and reloading the gun. The edges should be clean and free of scratching, burrs, and other abrasive indications.
Look for peening around the locking slots.
The cylinder should close and lock without forcing it using a moderate amount of pressure, on all chambers. If one or two chambers take more pressure to close the cylinder, the crane (hinge hardware to which the cylinder is attached) may be slightly bent.
The Barrel
Look at the barrel. On single-actions you will likely have to remove the cylinder pin to get the cylinder out. Look inside the barrel. Bad signs are pitting, or a ring or rings somewhere along the barrel. Scratches and abrasions are signs of mistreatment.
A barrel in good condition will have a near mirror finish with the rifling in good shape. The muzzle will be in pristine condition and the forcing cone will have clean sharp edges.
Run your fingers down the barrel feeling for bulges. Sometimes you can feel a bulge that is not easily seen.
A dirty or lead/copper fouling in the bore, it not necessarily a bad sign but it can hide rust or pitting.
Frame
Check the frame for damage: cracks, dimples, & chips. Look in the corners of the top strap. Be on the lookout for indications of high heat, stress, or fractures.
Don't
Spin the cylinder (single-action)
Shut or open your cylinder with a flick of the wrist (Hollywood style) on swing-out cylinders
Fan the hammer (single action)
SEMIAUTOMATICS
Here is a checklist for inspecting the 1911.
The Slide
Check the end of the slide, the magazine well, and the hammer (or back of the slide if no hammer) for signs of being dropped.
The slide should be inspected. Cracks are a bad sign and will have to be replaced.
Rack the slide to see how smoothly it operates. Any binding or grating indicates repairs needed to facilitate reliability.
Brass marking on the rear of the ejection port? A lot of it means that gun has had a lot of rounds through it. That's something to consider.
Safeties
Operate and test each safety and/or decocker to make sure it does what it is supposed to do. Levers should move smoothly and go into place without forcing.
Some safeties have intentionally been made inoperable, such as by pinning a grip safety on a model 1911. There is not much, if any, advantage to most shooters in having an inoperable safety. A safety that does not work as designed takes away from the value of a gun.
Hammer
Cock the hammer both manually and with the operation of the slide. The hammer should click into place with no rubbing against the frame.
Trigger
Check the trigger pull. Trigger pull can vary widely among semi-autos so it's good to have some experience of how it should feel. Trigger movement is very much an individual preference. Generally, single actions have a little "take-up" and then stop... and then with increased pressure will drop the hammer. Double-actions and double-action-onlys have more staging and require more pressure on the trigger pull.
Feed Ramp
On some semi-autos the feed ramp is attached to the breech-end (back) of the barrel. It functions to guide the cartridge into the chamber at the back of the barrel. when the slide strips the cartridge off the top of the magazine.
On 1911s, the feed ramp is in two parts. Part of the feed ramp is a part of the barrel, but below it is a ramp that is part of the frame of the gun. If the ramp is in two pieces (one - part of the barrel, the other - part of the frame), there should bed a bit of a gap between the two (normally 1/32". Right up against each other is not desirable here.
Look at the feed ramp. The ramp should be free of any abrasions or marks. No grinding marks. No rough edges. It should shine.
The Bore of the Barrel
To check the bore, use a bore-light, a flashlight, or a white piece of paper or cleaning patch to reflect light from one end to the other. It should be clean. If it's not clean the fouling can hide pitting or other problems. If the bore's finish is milky-looking, not mirror-finished, it may be in good condition, and just lacking in a good scrubbing.
The muzzle should be in pristine condition. If not, it can adversely affect the accuracy and effectiveness of the ammunition you shoot. The muzzle is the last part of the gun that has contact with a fired bullet. Figure on having a gunsmith repair the muzzle if it is not in perfect condition on a working gun.
Firing Pin
The way to see if a firing pins works on a semi-auto is to point an unloaded gun up, toward the ceiling, cock it and insert a dowel rod or a pencil down the bore. Press the trigger. If the dowel rod/pencil jumps up, the firing pin hits. On some semi-autos the firing pin hits hard enough to shoot the dowel rod/pencil quite a ways up. It could hit the ceiling. Example here.
Summary
I learned a lot while researching this article. I hope it will be of use to others as well.
The watchword is safety. In concert with that, that there are things you can look for that will give you an idea of the condition of a handgun.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a great New Year!
Don
Here are a few other articles on handgun inspection.
Buying a Used Handgun
Inspection Guide To Used Guns
Revolver Inspection
How-To Guide For Buying Used Handguns
Colt Revolver Inspection Checklist
Shopping For And Inspecting Used Revolvers
