Buying a used shotgun

[brendanlfk]

Hey everyone,

I have been reading these forums for a few weeks, now I making my own thread since I had some questions for the community.

I've had my PAL for about 6 months now so I would say I am new to the world of buying firearms. Thus far I have only purchased brand new firearms, now with the prices not getting any cheaper I have had my eye on a few used shotguns at my LGS.

 

[hammerforged]

As far as technical inspection of parts I don't really know. I would just pick it up, rack it a bunch and pull the trigger a few times. These guns are tough so unless it looks really bagged on it should be fine. It's hard to really tell until you take it out and fire it. I would ask the LGS if they will provide any warranty or accept returns.

 

[enefgee]

Generally speaking, pump shotguns from American makers are durable as hell, they're simple, brutal and effective. Things to check would be the barrel for deep dings, the crown for damage, the bore for crud (indicates a gun that wasn't cleaned much/at all) the bolt face (should be flat and smooth), and that the action cycles. Ask the LGS if you can run some snap caps through it to be sure it feeds and ejects. A lot of these guns are in the "carried a lot, shot a little" category since folks use them in the bush in case of critters, the majority of these types of guns look bad but work perfectly.