What to do with non-functional firearms...

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gbclarkson

New member
... that I don't want anymore. I have a Mossberg shotgun that drops unfired shells with every cycle after its 3rd or 4th voyage to a repair center. I acquired a Winchester 100 in an estate that will not cycle and the repair estimate exceeds replacement cost. What do I do with them? They don't work. I will never shoot them. I would like the safe space occupied by equivalent models that actually function. I live in a sparsely populated, very politically red area so a local buyback is highly unlikely. How do I get rid of them legally? Suggestions?

Thanks!
 
J

JohnKSa

Administrator
You might be able to make money parting them out online. When you're down to just the receivers, you can either destroy them, sell/donate them to a local gunsmith or give them to the PD/Sheriff for destruction.

There are a few companies that might buy gun parts. Gun Parts (Numrich) and Jack First come to mind.
 
A

Aguila Blanca

Staff
Being a tinkerer, before parting them out or disposing of them, I'd take a try at repairing them. When I inherited my grandfather's Winchester Model 1903, it was a single shot semi-auto. It wouldn't eject.

I found a video on Youtube showing how to disassemble it. I took it down, cleaned up, de-gunked, and polished the extractor, did a very light squaring ioff of the extrator hook with a jewelers file, reassembled -- and it now functions like new.

I have a Taurus .327 Magnum revolver that was disfunctional out of the box. I didn't want to ship it back to Taurus. The gunsmith at the shop where I bought it couldn't fix it. I took it apart, figured out what was hanging up, fixed it, and now it works.

If they don't work, you can regard poking around inside as an educational experiment. You might learn something. You might fix it. What's the worst you can do? If they don't function now,m it's not like you're going to break them.
 
F

FrankenMauser

New member
In order of my preference:
0. Keep as spare parts, if you're planning on replacing them with like models anyway.
1. Sell online, as-is, with full disclosure that they are considered non-functional parts guns. (Forum classifieds, gunbroker, etc.)
2. Strip them down. Sell the parts online. If you get down to a bare receiver, you might be able to sell that, too.
3. Render them unusable and use as decorations.
4. Sell to a parts place. Expect bottom dollar - like $15-25, maybe.
5. Lean them up against trees deep in the woods, where they are unlikely to be found for some time. Give someone the possibility to "discover a treasure" eventually.*


.


*Of course there are legal considerations. But a keyboard warrior is still 94% likely to be along before the week is out and espouse the merits of their opinion on why I am 'stupid' for saying this and why you should be dissuaded.
 
P

Pahoo

New member
Good call

You might be able to make money parting them out online. When you're down to just the receivers, you can either destroy them, sell/donate them to a local gunsmith or give them to the PD/Sheriff for destruction.
Click to expand...
Good reply and your call. We have a local parts guy that attends all the local GunShows and he does very well. Do not agree with some of his methods as he even takes older working guns apart and makes more money that if he sold them as is. .... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
4

44 AMP

Staff
Get ahold of Numrich Arms /Gun Parts Co. (not sure which name they are going by currently). Then have a long history of buying broken guns for parts.

Again, not exactly sure what the deal is, today (so call them) but in the past it was a simple transaction. You sent them the gun, they send you a check. If you weren't happy with the amount, you sent them their check back and they sent you back your broken gun, end of deal. GO find another buyer.....

NO, you won't get much, but considering the parts company has to inspect the gun, disassemble it to parts, INSPECT the parts,to determine which ones are resalable, sort the parts, then stock them, and they are going to sit, and take up warehouse space until someone buys them, and there's no telling how long that may be, years, or even decades, they simply won't give you top dollar.

Another option is DONATE them to a GUNSMITH SCHOOL. (it might even be possible for you to work a deal where if the students can fix them you get them back. I'd see if that were possible...)

If you strip them and sell them for parts yourself (online or wherever) you will probably get a higher $ return, but you will also have to invest your time, possibly more of it than what you will get in return value from selling the parts yourself.

OR, as mentioned, remove parts to render them incapable of being fired, and use them for decoration.

OR take some of our tax money back by turning them in for CASH at the next "gun buy back" program some idiot convinces our govt to spend money on. I'd go for cash, not interested in any "gift card" for a gun, even a broken one, but, that's just me.

Mossberg shotguns/parts are pretty common, Winchester 100s are NOT. The Winchester parts WILL be worth more than what you will get from any buyback program, I'm certain of that. Just go price the parts online, you'll see.
 
M

MarkCO

New member
I ask the Sheriff's office if they want them for training in the Academy. They have 5 from me so far, and I have 2 more I need to get to them.

I de-mill them so they can NOT fire a live shell no matter what. Then I literally just hand them to one of the Instructors. They are thankful to have them and they get a lot of use.
 
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