Guns that don’t run

[Battering ram NIB]

I’m curious if I’m the only one. I got another non-functional FA today . Ive had 33% of the guns I’ve bought not run. I’m up to five
1. Is a endless nightmare at its 4th gunsmith-2.5 years at gun smiths
2. Missing parts. Not functional to even cycle bolt
3. Ftf w excessive friction- selector not working
4. Trigger spring stretched out/sear worn-easy fix
5. Slag in mag well from dewat- easy fix

I know others have problems-some major. I just don’t know anyone with 33% bad. I do typically look for minty guns with few rounds and think it’s part/most of my problems. Untested guns. The dewat was certainly not minty though

I often wonder if people only sell problem guns or sell the good stuff behind the scenes

I know smiths are crazy busy fixing junk guns. One smith told me that there’s lots of junk guns being sold right now and his wait times have more than doubled

 

[MGMAN45]

What did you get today?Just curious.Take Care.

 

[Mackjack]

​

My 84 m11/9 was a pos. Tight mag well even with zytels. And oem upper is so far out of tolerance it had no chance of ever running. Its no wonder why it was never shot before.

 

[Sten]

I have had 0 problems with the MG's I've purchased (12) so far. I keep expecting to have issues, but so far, not had any problems. I think I only purchased 1 that was minty/NIB, but the rest are shooters. I was only able to test fire 1 prior to purchase (an M1 Carbine) and the only problem with that was a weak mag spring in one mag. The NIB M11/9 had a disintegrated buffer, which was an easy fix/replace before firing. So far so good, guess I've been lucky?

 

[Battering ram NIB]

I think its a bit of both..im unlucky(I am in every aspect of life---I get pat downs at airports 50% of the time(maybe they just want to touch my junk))

the gun from today may just be a bad mag as it didn't load well and I tested it against one of my mags..i assumed when it came with the gun it was guaranteed to run. turns out the seller had no mag and just bought this one to sell with the gun (untested). it loaded very poorly and my new mag loads flawless. so ill bet that's it...simple as a mag

the gun I had with slag in the mag well still worked, just had to pound the mags into the mag well a file fixed it
the gun with the bad trigger spring was a 10 minute swap with spare parts I had.

ive heard horror stories and many are with the same seller. many big dealers don't even dry function test their guns (the big 3 for sure don't)

 

[Ready.Fire.Aim]

Had similar problems with a couple.

These usually were my solutions
-Selective on mags, culling out the bad ones ( STEn in SWD with STEn magwell and aftermarket M3 mags in M10)
-only loading relic mags at 75% (MP44)
-Only shooting “ hotter” ammo and avoiding lower power loads like Winchester white box ( Beretta 38)

Some subguns never give any problems:
Sterlings, M16, STEn, Uzi, MP40, Swedish K - on any ammo or mags. They just run.

 

[sniperdoc]

Not NFA Guns, but I've bought or traded for more than a few "fixer-uppers" in my time; some knowingly, some not.

 

[mmi]

you can send them to a gunsmith while you wait on the stamp

 

[nklf]

I've had a few problem NFA guns. A Mac 11/Nine that I bought with a Task upper was a major PIA. The Task upper would not function at all. I think it is bent or warped. The bolt binds in the upper just before it fully closes. The mags that came with that gun were clearanced to work with the Task upper and would not work with the factory upper (bolt was hitting feed lips). An M1 Thompson I bought would not feed the first time at the range. Turns out the mags that came with the gun were for SA. A Mac 10 that came with a factory wire stock but none of the internal parts for the stock latch.

All minor fixes, but a pain when you buy a gun and expect it to run out of the box. My dealer does not have a range so I have to wait 9 months to test fire. His gunsmith will test fire into a bullet trap but I only recently started doing that of guns that I am suspect of. Fortunately I have not had any major problems like your Uzi.

I've recently had some junk non-NFA guns that were bought at auction or on internet. I guess there was a reason they were below market.

Internet sales is part of the problem. In the old days you bought a gun face to face and could check it out. If there was a problem you could locate the seller and get it fixed.

Maybe I'm a cynic, but I think these days when a gun breaks the owners just ship it to auction or sell it on the internet and pass off their problem to someone else.

 

[Starvingboy]

You get what you pay for. If you super-bargain-shop, you're going to get stuff with "Quirks" and "Character".

 

[arch stanton]

You get what you pay for. If you super-bargain-shop, you're going to get stuff with "Quirks" and "Character".

You get that if you pay too much as well

 

[Battering ram NIB]

While a couple of my problem guns were bargains most were normal full prices

3 of the 5 were full retail prices

Ive had better luck from individuals than dealers
Not 1 problem from an individual

 

[Kramer]

ive heard horror stories and many are with the same seller. many big dealers don't even dry function test their guns (the big 3 for sure don't)

Yep you are correct. About ten years ago I bought two MGs from a big PA dealer. The first was a West Hurley Thompson that had a really bad stock wobble. He blew it off as normal. Those Westies used stock assemblies from MGC of Japan and they used aluminum parts. The pivot pin for the for the latch broke causing the stock to wobble. I had to buy an original steel WWII type to replace the junk one.

Unfortunately, I was into a second transfer for the other MG and when I got it to the range it would not fire. He had me send it to his repair friend and around six months later I found it on my doorstep. It did work, but someone could have stolen it from my front porch before I got home from work.

 

[sniperdoc]

One of the biggest profits I ever made (percentage wise) on a gun was an SKS that I bought at an LGS that was marked "parts gun ONLY, no refund or exchange" I looked it over and quickly noticed it was full of cosmoline and crud.
Bought it for $35, took it home, stripped it down, soaked it for 2 days in gasoline, cleaned and oiled everything, test fired a box of ammo (100% function), and sold it a couple of months later for $125, IIRC.