another question. You are at a gun show and sitting in front of you is

[pelago]

a rifle or pistol that says "never fired"

how can you prove or disprove the statement, I can not tell from looking, but there probably is a simple test that one could do to barrel to detect lead? but then again will the owner that is trying to sell it allow it?

maybe you make a offer "contingent on test" type deal?
is this doable? is it a insult?
dont want to start a pissing contest in a gun show, but then again I have wanted to buy a few items but just did not know

[UUURah]

Reminds me of some of the most ridiculous stuff that I have seen at Gun Shows.

Once I walked past a table with a bunch of Semi-Auto Pistols and a big sign said, "The Slides have never been pulled to the rear".

Another had some old western revolvers under a glass case. A sign next to one with some brown stuff on it said, "This just might be Billy the Kid's blood".

One time I was really looking over an 03A3 that was in good condition and a fairly good price. But looking down the bore it had a lot of specks in it. I asked the guy about it, he said "it just needs a patch run through it". Well, DUH!!! Why didn't he do it if that's all it needed? I passed on it.

One other old timer here, who is gone now, had a Springfield 03, in a box, covered in grease. The sign said, "Still in the original grease and UNfired". I told him that if I bought it, the very first thing I would do is clean it up and FIRE it. He came all unglued, ranting and raving, "No, that would be dumb, stupid. Why would you want to do that"? I said, "because it's a GUN, Sir". I came around about an hour later and it was gone. Someone took the bait. I wonder if it's been fired today?

There is never a dull moment at Gun Shows.

[Jim in Salt Lake]

Aren't most new guns test fired at the factory? A couple of mine (Kimber and Anschutz) came with test targets, so you'd never get either one "unfired." At our Friends of the NRA dinner a couple years ago, a buddy won the gun of the year. That year it was a matched pair of Ruger Vaqueros, very pretty. My buddy, excited of course, was emailing a bunch of us the next day asking if he should shoot them or not. I wrote back that if I'd won them, they'd need to be cleaned by the time I got them home. Shoot 'em up!

[Hecklerusp45]

I think you are right, they are test fired at the factory. I think you have to pay extra to get a revolver from colt that is unfired and unturned.

[Guamsst]

"Unfired" is a flat out lie to describe a New In Box condition firearm that the person hasn't fired themselves or that looks like they have not fired it.

If you want to screw with their heads, ask them if they are even sure it works since it has never been fired. Would you buy a car if the dealer said it had never been started?

[Rick the Librarian]

I run into (so-called) "unfired" M1903s all the time. Some of them are low-numbered rifles with WWII barrels. If they were unfired, why did they have to replace the barrels?

For the record, all M1903s were proof-fired (as well as virtually all U.S. military firearms. Where do you think the "P" stamps came from on the stocks?

[pelago]

once again, how could one prove or disprove a claim for unfired?

i bought colt (1892 1st gen new in box) from an estate in Az years and years ago, was reported to have never been fired, have supporting documents from Colt, receipts, shipping lable, box etc. all put pistol in new unfired condition in 1892. i bought it, but would have bought it fired or unfired because it was one of those pistols that come along in a lifetime, only thing i have done is put on a set of stag grips, not that there was anything wrong with the gotta percha grips but liked the look of stag

3840 short barrel colt first gen and one of early smokeless powder colts

but how can one prove if lead has gone down barrel?

[JB White]

but how can one prove if lead has gone down barrel?

With known samples of unfired factory barrels and a microscope. If a seller claims it's unfired, the surefire way to rattle him is ask him to prove it. Otherwise if the price is right for the condition (used) then simply ignore the hype. Buy the gun, not the BS.

[kcw]

once again, how could one prove or disprove a claim for unfired?

i bought colt (1892 1st gen new in box) from an estate in Az years and years ago, was reported to have never been fired, have supporting documents from Colt, receipts, shipping lable, box etc. all put pistol in new unfired condition in 1892. i bought it, but would have bought it fired or unfired because it was one of those pistols that come along in a lifetime, only thing i have done is put on a set of stag grips, not that there was anything wrong with the gotta percha grips but liked the look of stag

3840 short barrel colt first gen and one of early smokeless powder colts

but how can one prove if lead has gone down barrel?

As far as I know they can't make the required "proof" of a gun @ the factory without firing a "proof round", so lead has gone down all of them, if they were proofed as required. The question therefore is whether anything has been fired since the gun left the control of the factory. I don't know how that can be proven or disproven unless the gun is in some sort of a factory sealed bag/container which can be confirmed to be untampered with. Obviously you can tell if 100 rounds have been fired, but will 2 or 3 rounds really leave any more marks on the moving parts than the factory proof round(s)? Moreover, I would assume that each chamber on a revolver is proofed? So there's are few rounds right there to begin with. Will another six rounds make much differance? If I were selling gun that looked "factory new", I'd sell it has "like new", let the buyer make the case that it is not as advertised.

[Dave Waits]

Every firearm is testfired at the factory, that's a fact. What gets me are the 'Unfired' guns you see with a bright,shiney clean bore. An unfired gun from the factory would still be dirty from the testfiring. They don't clean them afterwards as proof they are testfired.