A gun cleaning first

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FlSwampRat

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Okay, so this S&W 40 Shield comes out of pawn, naturally I have to clean it before we can picture it and put it in the case to sell. I worked the action a bit and it seemed sticky, like it was binding up or something and the striker didn't sound healthy either.
Fieldstripping it I discover it had been a pocket carry and it was full of lint! Looked like someone dropped it in a dryer filter.
Unlike most guns that I clean, there was little to no carbon so it hadn't been shot much, but it had lots of sticky half dried up lube holding globs of lint. I wonder how long it had been since it was cleaned and was glad the prior owner hadn't needed to use it in defense, not sure it would have worked dependably.
Takes all kinds.
 
Well that's better than what I saw at a pawn shop once, was looking at 22 auto's and asked to see one, the clerk didn't shuck open the action so I did and out popped a 22 Lr....Didn't go back to that shop again.
That means, of course, no one cleared the gun from the time it came in pawn til you looked at it.
Had the opposite happen, guy brought in a gun for pawn, had the empty mag out of the gun and I racked the slide. Out popped a 9mm. "Ooops" he said. Thing was, this kind of gun had no magazine safety.
IMG_8289.JPG

I always fieldstrip and clean every gun out of pawn. I have gone in pawnshops and gun shops where you felt like you needed Gojo after handling their firearms out for sale. Doesn't make me want to open my wallet in their store.
 
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Carbon, lint, dust none of these surprise me when getting a used firearm. I was cleaning a AMT Backup 380 that I used for BUG or ankle carry. Found a tooth under the concealed hammer. That was quite the surprise.
 
Carbon, lint, dust none of these surprise me when getting a used firearm. I was cleaning a AMT Backup 380 that I used for BUG or ankle carry. Found a tooth under the concealed hammer. That was quite the surprise.
Did you put it under your pillow? Not sure I want to ask if you knew from where it originated.
 
My LGS strips and cleans every gun they get in. They are also very good about checking everything before they hand it to someone. I am very comfortable there. If you buy a used from them, it will be clean. And there are never idiots in there waving guns all around

There is a nearby pawnshop whose young employees will sometimes hand guns to people without "clearing" them. If the people receiving them start pointing them around, I immediately leave. However, they are so ignorant that I keep coming back. They sold me a WWI Mauser Model 1914 for next to nothing because they didn't even know what it was. It was possibly the dirtiest gun I have ever cleaned, but I was happy to do it for the price. They also sold me a rare Rossi Model 720 for next to nothing. I will keep coming back, as long as no morons are in the store waving guns around, and as long as their dirty guns are sold to me for half of what they're worth.
 
Thanks for taking the time to clean them. A lot of folks just put them on the shelf and don't bother looking too closely. Some small shops don't even check whether they're loaded or not. Even had one come from the factory (S&W) with one in the chamber. Had another one come in the shop several years ago with a jelly bean stuck in the barrel.
 
One source of gunk can be using WD40 as a spray cleaner and lubricant combo. WD40 is fine as a cleaner for areas that can be wiped dry like the barrel bore, but not for the small hidden areas where the solvent evaporates and leaves the lubricant and cleaning chemicals behind. I like to use it as an alternative cleaning agent for my shotgun barrel . I just make sure to wipe the outside and bore completely dry before using gun oil for lubrication.
 
11103509, member: 223492"]My LGS strips and cleans every gun they get in. They are also very good about checking everything before they hand it to someone. I am very comfortable there. If you buy a used from them, it will be clean. And there are never idiots in there waving guns all around.

This is the kind of store that gives us all a good rep. I clean all of our guns, too. Well, the pre-owned ones. All of our displayed guns have cheapie but effective trigger locks on them. Any store that doesn't do that is courting a bad situation. Read about a LGS that had a customer come in asking to see a 1911. Employee dropped the mag, pulled the slide back and handed the cleared gun to the "customer" who pulled out a preloaded mag and proceeded to start shooting.

There is a nearby pawnshop whose young employees will sometimes hand guns to people without "clearing" them. If the people receiving them start pointing them around, I immediately leave. However, they are so ignorant that I keep coming back. They sold me a WWI Mauser Model 1914 for next to nothing because they didn't even know what it was. It was possibly the dirtiest gun I have ever cleaned, but I was happy to do it for the price. They also sold me a rare Rossi Model 720 for next to nothing. I will keep coming back, as long as no morons are in the store waving guns around, and as long as their dirty guns are sold to me for half of what they're worth.

And this is not the kind of store that reflects well on our industry, although good on you for taking advantage of their not knowing what they had.

This is how we display our guns in a locked showcase:

IMG_8288.JPG [QUOTE="Tallball, post:
 
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Thanks for taking the time to clean them. A lot of folks just put them on the shelf and don't bother looking too closely. Some small shops don't even check whether they're loaded or not. Even had one come from the factory (S&W) with one in the chamber.

I know they're all fired at the factory, at least the better makes, but to get one in not cleared is very scary and troublesome.

Had another one come in the shop several years ago with a jelly bean stuck in the barrel.
What flavor? LOL
 
I once bought a Mauser from a pawn shop that had nothing but spider web in the bore breech to muzzle.
 
Thanks for taking the time to clean them. A lot of folks just put them on the shelf and don't bother looking too closely. Some small shops don't even check whether they're loaded or not. Even had one come from the factory (S&W) with one in the chamber. Had another one come in the shop several years ago with a jelly bean stuck in the barrel.

Someone was loaded for gummi bear
 
I am not sure that you shouldn't just take the gun to a priest........ju ju reading about it gives me the Willie's.

That little guy never gave me the willies. It sure had some idiosyncrasies though. It sure hated pretty much every type of hollow point I found. Liked to throw brass at the top of my head. And the grip safety pinched my hand a little too much. Other than that no weird voices or bleeding walls with the gun around. And for an AMT, it ran very well.

Pretty good odds this used to be Chuck Norris’s backup gun...

Maybe the gun was a backup to Chuck Norris.

Thankfully I have never been in a gun shop where there was a loaded round in the chamber of whatever I was looking at. I like to pick and hang around the competent places. I recall one gun store that wouldn't even let the customers carry in knives, let alone a CCW weapon. And the employees carried empty firearms for some reason. Probably to look tough.
 
I find it reassuring when a salesperson whether it be in a Pawn or a Gun Shop clears a weapon before handing It to the customer. I always clear it again myself. I just don't trust everybody. I like the fact that FISwampRat cleans guns before putting them out, it does add a bit of class. Most Pawn Shops and many Gun Shops in my area don't do anything but maybe wipe a gun down and in the case it goes. I do use that as a bargaining tool. Especially if its real dirty.
 
A buddy of mine carried a Glock on security duty for years. Three years, as the story goes. Never cleaned, never oiled, never fired. One day he finally took it out to the old farm for some practice and was surprised that the slide jammed on the way back after the first shot. It's a Glock he said, they're not supposed to do that! :rofl: It was completely jammed up with lint and other detritus.
 
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