Purchasing a used handgun

[arlow]

I have been looking for a carry gun. Not set on any specific make but am leaning torwards glock, sig and S&W semi autos in 9mm or 40 cal.

How many rounds is too many? 2000? 5000? No limit?

Most guns for sale on here I see have a few hundred rounds through them. A couple have considerably more. What is the longevity on a glock or a sig or similar gun or certain high wear parts?

Thanks

 

[wolf223]

http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42625

I don't know, but i know a guy who is selling a decent .45



all joking aside, check out ALL the classified and the used guns near you to get a more "accurate" price of what is a good deal.

 

[dannyk45]

I have a 3rd gen Glock 19 and if I had to guess I would say at least 3,000 rounds through it, never a hiccup. I don't think I even cleaned it for the first 2,000 rounds. I have several S+W auto's and a couple Sig's. I wouldn't worry about round count to much long as everything locks up tight, no excessive side to side movement and the weapon is not abused. I shoot everything I have a lot and never any problems. Most companies will stand behind them. FYI Glock and Smith have a lot better customer service than Sig in my experience. Hope this helps.
Dan

 

[EddieCoyle]

I have a Gen 1 G17 that has at least 20,000 rounds through it. The plastic is worn smooth in places. There's some pics of it here.

I replace the recoil spring assembly every 5000 or so, and I think I've replaced the firing pin spring once.

I've used this in all the Basic Pistol classes that I've taught. Well over 100 people have shot this pistol; for many, it was the first centerfire pistol they ever fired.

Sign up as a green member, come to a shoot, and you can try it yourself.

P.S. - The secret to longevity in a Glock is to not over clean or over lube it.

 

[Another_David]

A few years ago I took a course at the Sig Academy and I asked the instructor a similar question: how long will a pistol last? He just looked at the range guns and said, "these have 50,000 plus rounds and still work fine".

As far as Sigs and other proven brands go it's dam hard to wear one out.

There's nothing like a new gun that you get to break in yourself and all but do consider that as a carry gun it'll get scratched and somewhat abused anyway. Also even with a new pistol, you'll want to break it in properly and run a few hundred round through it before betting your life on it.

 

[Underwhere]

Like some of these people already said...guns are made to go through a lot.

However, some are more prone to failures when dirty etc.

I have no problem carrying a used glock. I like carrying a glock because I wouldn't mind it if they got banged up during daily carry. I would hate to do that to one of my Kimbers or my nicely finished 1911's.

 

[MassMark]

I have a Gen 1 G17 that has at least 20,000 rounds through it. The plastic is worn smooth in places. There's some pics of it here.

I replace the recoil spring assembly every 5000 or so, and I think I've replaced the firing pin spring once.

I've used this in all the Basic Pistol classes that I've taught. Well over 100 people have shot this pistol; for many, it was the first centerfire pistol they ever fired.

Sign up as a green member, come to a shoot, and you can try it yourself.

P.S. - The secret to longevity in a Glock is to not over clean or over lube it.

I wish I had liked my G22 more - I'd still have it. Still, I shot it a ton in both .40 S&W and .357 Sig. Like Jim, I lent it out a lot and essentially poured ammunition through it. Whoever bought it, got a great gun and it's likely still running like a top somewhere.

 

[arlow]

Thanks for all the input guys!!! Good stuff!!

 

[TY43215]

I have so little concern as to rounds through a hand gun, I have no idea how many mine have fired. It really makes no difference if properly maintained and inspected.

 

[drew]

If your going to use for a carry gun, you want dependability and some stopping power. I wouldnt go any lower than 9mm, And you cant beat the reliability of a Glock. My wife carries the G19 and loves to shoot it, and can shoot it all day, very accurate, and great second shot placement which is also very important....

 

[drew]

As far as round count, Like Round Gun said, I wouldnt worry about it too much, aas long as the gun functions everytime you press the trigger....

 

[TY43215]

If your going to use for a carry gun, you want dependability and some stopping power. I wouldnt go any lower than 9mm, And you cant beat the reliability of a Glock. My wife carries the G19 and loves to shoot it, and can shoot it all day, very accurate, and great second shot placement which is also very important....

Although I agree in principle, I like to put it this way, you want the largest caliber you can consistently hit a target with.

If that caliber is 22LR it is the best for you. 5 hits with a 22 is better than 5 misses with a 45 or 9MM

 

[GSG]

The secret to longevity in a Glock is to not over clean or over lube it.

Eddie, could you go into this a little deeper for me? Why is this?

 

[appraiser]

Glocks are the only pistols I have owned in a while, except for a S&W 3514(?) I had about 16 years ago for a while.

Too bad in MA you are very limited to Glock availability. That being said FOUR SEASONS is a superb retailer of used Glocks. I would not hesitate to buy any Glock he has on the wall.

In addition Glock stands behind their products if there is a frame issue. You can send your Glock back to them for something like 45 bucks and they will freshen it up and make it like new.

There are many nice toys for the Glock such as Crimson Trace lasers, all sorts of sights, leather, aftermarket barrels, and conversion kits to turn them into .22LR plinkers, or you can change calibers across same frame size by using drop in factory or aftermarket barrels and magazines. A Glock 17 can be made into a .357 sig or .40 S&W for under 150 bucks using drop in parts.

My gripe with Glocks in MA from what I have seen is they command top dollar.

The only bad thing I have ever heard about glocks in the last 10 years is there have been instances where .40's have gone boom. It appears to be from people using hot loads and the barrel not fully supporting the case. That's why I have a aftermarket barrel in my .40