I really should know better than to hit the pawnshops on payday.
I've been looking for something in .223Rem. AR-15 is of course my first choice, but a Mini-14 would be cheaper.
Well, after cashing my check Weds. morning, I stopped at my favorite pawnshop to see what I could see. Asked the clerk what he had in .223...
"Only .223 I have is a Bushmaster," sez he.
"Can I see it?"
He reached back into the rack, pulled out a Shorty, dropped the 10-rd mag, checked the chamber, and handed it to me.
First thing I looked at was the price tag. $900.
I looked it over from bow to stern and was *highly* impressed.
"Does it just come with the one 10-rounder?" I asked. "Yeah, that's all the guy had for it."
"Will you take $750, since it just has the one lame mag?"
He thought about it and said, "$775?"
15 minutes later, I walked out with a 99% Bushie, the original case, sling (never installed), and manual, 2 boxes of ammo (IMI), a 40-round mag... and a on my face.
Cut to Thursday evening (last night). I stripped the Shorty, looking for wear marks prefatory to a quick hack-n-slash with the Dremel.
None. Not on the bolt carrier rails, bolt rear tube, cam pin, feed ramps... no wear marks at all. Only odd thing I noticed was the gaps in the gas rings were all at the top, instead of staggered.
I reassembled it with no problems, realigning the rings. However, upon closing the bolt, a distinct smell of burnt powder became apparent.
So what I'm thinking is this: the original owner was a non-gun-geek who bought it for Y2K, fired a couple of shots and had problems with the bolt short-stroking. Instead of R-ing TFM or returning it, he sold it at a huge loss.
*His* loss, anyway. And my gain.
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http://pub6.ezboard.com/blibertarian
I've been looking for something in .223Rem. AR-15 is of course my first choice, but a Mini-14 would be cheaper.
Well, after cashing my check Weds. morning, I stopped at my favorite pawnshop to see what I could see. Asked the clerk what he had in .223...
"Only .223 I have is a Bushmaster," sez he.
"Can I see it?"
He reached back into the rack, pulled out a Shorty, dropped the 10-rd mag, checked the chamber, and handed it to me.
First thing I looked at was the price tag. $900.
I looked it over from bow to stern and was *highly* impressed.
"Does it just come with the one 10-rounder?" I asked. "Yeah, that's all the guy had for it."
"Will you take $750, since it just has the one lame mag?"
He thought about it and said, "$775?"
15 minutes later, I walked out with a 99% Bushie, the original case, sling (never installed), and manual, 2 boxes of ammo (IMI), a 40-round mag... and a
on my face.Cut to Thursday evening (last night). I stripped the Shorty, looking for wear marks prefatory to a quick hack-n-slash with the Dremel.
None. Not on the bolt carrier rails, bolt rear tube, cam pin, feed ramps... no wear marks at all. Only odd thing I noticed was the gaps in the gas rings were all at the top, instead of staggered.
I reassembled it with no problems, realigning the rings. However, upon closing the bolt, a distinct smell of burnt powder became apparent.
So what I'm thinking is this: the original owner was a non-gun-geek who bought it for Y2K, fired a couple of shots and had problems with the bolt short-stroking. Instead of R-ing TFM or returning it, he sold it at a huge loss.
*His* loss, anyway. And my gain.
------------------
http://pub6.ezboard.com/blibertarian
