Any tips and or advice...

[HBAR]

for buying a rifle at a gun show. Like say i wanted to buy a mosin or a 1903a3 or a lee enfield, that is used and is being sold by some vendor(private or full on FFL dealer) what are some of the things to look for, and do they alow you to check and inspect the rifle?

 

[lee2]

yes you can look it over. condition is everything (especially the bore), with the exception of collectability.

 

[HBAR]

so mainly just look at the inside of the barrel? and of course check for the usual pitting and rust throughout the body?

 

[lee2]

so mainly just look at the inside of the barrel? and of course check for the usual pitting and rust throughout the body?

 

[Mooseman]

If they won't allow you to check and inspect, spend your money somewhere else.

 

[HBAR]

If they won't allow you to check and inspect, spend your money somewhere else.

oh okay. thanks man. i wasnt to sure if they allowed you to, because ive never been to a gun show. im looking forward to going to acouple this yr, which is why i thought to ask.

 

[mopar92]

Uhhh AK is a no go. According to your other posts you're under 21 so no regulated firearms for you young man. Or me either.

 

[HBAR]

damn. okay i will edit that out of there. thanks. lol i miss my state. at 18 can buy and rifle u want and walk out with it same day

 

[psoyring]

90% of the Mosins have been arsenal refurbished and are fresh out of the crate. So if the stock finish and the bluing look new then you don't really need to go over the rifle with a fine tooth comb. If it looks worn then a bore check is called for because someone could have shot it with corrosive ammo and not cleaned it properly.

 

[BSAN]

damn. okay i will edit that out of there. thanks. lol i miss my state. at 18 can buy and rifle u want and walk out with it same day

You can get your HBAR AR though.

 

[niftyvt]

Gauge the rifle barrel, muzzle at the very least. If its from a reputable dealer the headspace should be good to go and the muzzle wear gauge measurement should be provided. If you are doing it in person and you don’t feel like buying the gauges you can do a bullet check on the muzzle and if serial numbers match you should be good to go as far as headspace goes.

There was actually a guy at the NRA gun show selling his personal collection (I was super jealous at what he had otu!) last weakened that encouraged me to gauge his barrels, he had signs on all the weapons with a description with measurements which was cool, and actually handed me a gauge! He let me borrow a dummy bullet to check other rifles around the show. It can be really helpful to find a guy like that at a show and chat him up! Usually they are more than happy to spill some knowledge out for you.