question: local rifles shops- dirty or clean used rifles?

[Chris_B]

A thread on another forum here made me wonder

I was in a shop yesterday, and I wasn't really looking to buy but I always check out any M1 rifles and carbines they have. They had two USGI M1 carbines and five USGI M1 rifles

Of the seven, only one had a clean stock. The other ones, to be charitable, were filthy- wood, metal, you name it, awful dirty things, and the metal had red wheel bearing grease smeared all over the lugs- like a fistful of grease was tossed at it and wiped off. And for the prices being asked, wow.

It made me think: if I was the shop owner- hell, a clerk there- I would take one of those rifles behind the counter, and clean one up each week. Cleaning the wood is easy. You don't need to sand and stain, you need to clean and oil. They are martial arms, they are easy to clean, easy to disassemble, and easy to put together.

Now I know, not every 20-something gun store clerk knows every rifle and sure, they are more interested in ARs but seriously? Make somebody WANT to buy the rifle and make it look like 1100 bucks. A gun shop is a business not a clubhouse for these people...or am I wrong? Looking back, every used gun I've bought needed cleaning, at least a little

But still. if I worked there, all those old rifles would look like they were worth the money being asked. They have the internet right there, there's no excuse for having these filthy old things looking like dog crap but priced like precious gems

 

[HDTVSELLER]

On that note i personaly clean every one of my firearms bf i sell it or know i will be showing it off some how. like class, show etc. but i have aslo seen what your talking about and that 2 will sometimes make me wonder where they get their firearms from. I always clean mine new or used bf the first shot is fired. But that is me and now if im looking into a sks or ak47 i sometimes look at how dirty it is bc i know the weapon has fired at one time and that im not buying a project insted of a working firearm. but thats just me and the way is see things..

 

[Slamfire]

One shooting bud of mine, the Gun Store he worked at, their goal was to sell 20 firearms a day. This shop is has very competitive prices so their margin is small. As I understand it, they really make their money on the pawn side of things.

I am certain clean shiny guns bring more, but then you would have to figure the time versus additional sales price. You want your clerks to be in the store, selling guns to customers, not in the back cleaning guns.

Cleaning the grease out of military stocks is time consuming. I remove all metal parts, spray the stock with Oven Cleaner, wash that off. Wipe dry and let dry. You can speed things up with a blow dryer. Steam out all dents, steel wool the raised grain. Linseed oil is rubbed in to restore the oil removed by the Oven Cleaner. Then reassemble the rifle.

Wait twenty years for the linseed to darken and your rifle looks military.

That is what I did on this Long Branch.

For the effort I put into my personnel stocks, I will never get my time back as money.

 

[Chris_B]

Well, I think in the case of the shop I was in, the guns might be consignment pieces

Don't think that the rifles are packed in cosmoline at this place, they are not. I have some experience with US milsurp rifles and this isn't a case of a rifle in military storage for a long time and now just for sale. It's just an old dirty and needlessly neglected set of rifles, with one exception. The more I think about it, consignment is probably the reason. To see what these rifles look like, take your wood and throw it all in used motor oil for a day, then roll it around in the dust under your refrigerator, and let it dry, then wipe off with a piece of notebook paper and bake the crud on. Then take a handfull of bearing grease and coat the metal, then wipe off using a table leg. Now re-assemble

You have a nice stock . But I disagree with the 'wait twenty years' though, I've seen original stocks from weapons that were in barns in Normandy since '44 and discovered in the 21st century, and not all of them are dark brown or 'arsenal red', but in general sweat, gun oil, time and dirt are what we end up seeing the results of. Oven cleaner...I wouldn't, but that's me. Old wood+chemicals for cleaning an oven, I'm not chancing damage to the wood fibers, myself. You have some really nice results though

Sometimes you get lucky. Here's two hours' work with odorless mineral spirits, denatured alcohol, and one coat of boiled linseed oil:

I'm not posting that to say 'ha-ha I did so good" by the way; I've put lots of time into a milsurp stock, just as you have. What I'm saying is that those store clerks are already being paid to sit there, the owner shouldn't have to pay them extra

I know what you mean about the extra effort. I've put 80+ into stocks before oiling, but you don't need to do that to make the rifle look as if it's worth the money being asked

 

[Russ5924]

Was at a gun shop not to long ago I asked to look at a .44 Mag Model 29. I don't think I have ever seen that many finger prints on one gun before. If someone had to check finger prints would have been at it a month. I handed it back and he stuck it back in the glass case. It's rare if I go there but I think of that every time I do. Things like that can cause long lasting impressions:barf:

 

[jjyergler]

As a retail manager, and former commission sales guy, it is simple to figure out. Gunshops are usually owned and operated by either a gunsmith or simply a firearms enthusiast. I have been in gunshops from Florida to Washington State, Texas to Michigan, and I can count on one hand how many were well merchandised and organized.

I don't think that gunshops are generally run by retail guys. This isn't an insult, just a different skill set. Gunshops are enthusiast operations, people don't get rich running them. People with the retail skillset generally run different types of business.

 

[L_Killkenny]

Let's step back in time about 25 years...................

I'm at a local shop looking to trade off a .22 on a .22mag. I had my gun spotless but the dealer still tried to use "needs cleaning" as an excuse to knock down the value of my gun. Any bet's to what the bore looked like on the gun I was looking at trading for? You guessed it, looked as if it hadn't seen a patch in years, let alone a brush. Wasn't too happy with him and let him know it.

Getting harder and harder to find a private gun shop that don't act like used car salesmen. They want something for nothing and a million for what they have.

LK

 

[oneoldsap]

I go into a shop quite often where the guns traded in are put right on the used rack within 10 Mins. . They aren't even checked for function or barrel obstructions. I should think one would want to know what they are selling , at least from a liability stand point . Every used gun I sell gets a thorough inspection and cleaning before I offer it for sale or auction . That's just the way I am , there's right and there's not right , and a dirty gun ain't right !

 

[ClayInTx]

We have two local pawn shops. The rifles in both are dirty inside. Even if not clean I can pretty well eyeball the receiver and see if it’s decent. The barrel is a different matter.

One of the shops will use a bore snake if I ask and the other flatly states, “We don’t clean guns.”

I’ve been in one of those shops only one time and don’t plan on going back.