Hey all,
Somewhat new to this forum, I've been around just never posted before. Anyhow, I have been looking at purchasing a used firearm as new ones are just out of my price range at the moment, and was just curious as to how long do you expect your guns to really last? I've heard of many guys whose guns last them their life times, but what after that? Whats a respectable age to expect out of your gun? While still using it, and regular cleanings, ect.
ps. Forgot to add that I would be using it for hunting if that makes a difference
Dekker,
For the most part, guns will last a very long time if given proper care (some cleaning, dry storage and/or proper treatment of parts to prevent corrosion). The life of a gun could be lessened by someone reloading excessively hot ammunition and using it in their gun, though many reloaders put their guns through less strain using reduced loads with both cast or jacketed bullets.
Some older, usually military firearms could develop a condition called excessive headspace, which happens when the dimensions in the chamber get excessive, perhaps on account of wear in the boltface after repeated firings. Though catastrophic failures are rare, it could create excessive pressures that make it difficult to extract cases, or cause the brass case to split upon firing, at which point they may require some effort to remove from the chamber. Others here could describe the issue better than I, but that's the gist of it.
For some older rifles, fixing excessive headspace can mean as little as changing a part (i.e. bolt heads on Lee Enfields), while on others it requires cutting back and reinstalling the barrel, which at plus $100 would not be cost effective on many rifles. Any decent gunsmith can measure headspace if there's any doubt about a particular rifle.
Another issue with some military firearms is that they fired ammunition that left a corrosive residue in the barrel, that could really wreak havoc if it wasn't carefully cleaned after each firing. Though some signs of damage due to corrosive ammo usually doesn't substantially effect accuracy (I have a very rough looking WW1 Enfield barrel that much to my surprise was performing well this summer out to 200 yards), some familiarity with the issue could help when trying to select an older used firearm.
There's lots of good military surplus firearms out there that are great for hunting, even if they've been shot with corrosive ammo. If the headspace is fine, you'll have to be awfully lucky if you could afford to shoot enough ammo to make it an issue again!
For most used commercial guns, you should look at the condition of the bore, check moving parts and examine the finish of the wood and metal to see if there is any signs of the gun having been abused. A gun can be heavily used but not abused (worn bluing, lots of little nicks in the wood etc) and still be a very accurate, functionable firearm.
Though a few firearms types might be known to have problems, most of them are fine. If still in doubt about whether a particular gun or type of gun is good or not, people on this board should be able to answer most of your questions.
Best of Luck,
Frank
