Buying police trade in from Buds

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chaim

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I have had the S&W M&P 40 Compact on my wish list for some time. Right now, Buds has police trade-ins (most with night sights) from $319-399. The $399 examples are in "unissued" condition (new other than the department stamp), with 3 mags, nightsights, and box. I'll probably go with one of the issued, used condition guns. On one of the tiers (the $349 guns) there are quite a few reviews, one of the 23 is unhappy (1 star), 1 gives only 3 stars, 3 give 4 stars, and the rest give it 4 stars with many comments putting the gun in 95%+ condition. Most have night sights (the $339 tier does not).

I've bought from Buds before, but never a police trade-in. How much better condition will the $349 guns be over the $339 guns, vs. the $319 guns? They also have a $379 tier, but I figure if I do that, I may as well go $20 more and get the unissued guns and basically get a new gun. Other than the unissued guns, the rest only have 2 mags (another reason to ignore the $379 tier, $20 for a basically new gun over a lightly used gun, plus an extra mag).

I'm leaning towards ignoring the cheapest $319 tier (with nightsights) since the guns in the poorest condition would be in that tier and at higher priced tiers, it sounds like most of the guns are pretty nice. I do want nightsights, so I'm looking mainly at the $349 tier or the unissued guns for $399.

Any suggestions?

(Moderators: I put this here instead of the semi-auto section because the question is more about the best strategy for buying police trade-ins from Buds vs. about the S&W M&P).
 
Disclaimer: I've never purchased a police trade in from Bud's before.

The majority of folks at my agency shoot their issued guns bi annually during qualifications. Then you've got guys who shoot considerably more. Those that get shot 50 rounds a year will have some holster wear. Mine has more holster wear, beat up looking mags, been detailed stripped a few times and recoil spring assembly replaced a few times, but well maintained.
 
I also have never purchased from Bud's, but have considered those same police trade in M&P's.

What Jesse said seems to be the general consensus. You may get a gun that's been shot infrequently, sporadically maintained, with a good deal of holster wear, or a gun that got shot weekly, thousands of rounds thus far in it's life, that has been meticulously maintained, with a good deal of holster wear, or any conceivable combination.

However, one thing to note, is the Tritium in the night sights may be at or near the end of its life cycle. These guns may be pushing 15 years old, give or take a half decade. Tritium doesn't last forever.

If finish wear, banged up mags, unknown internal condition or round count, and dying night sights are acceptable considering the discount, then go for it.

Personally, none of that bothers me for a shooters grade used gun. If I had the inclination to move to .40S&W, I'd give these guns a serious look and probably buy one of the cheaper ones, and refinish it and replace the Tritium (if need be) with fiber optic rods. But again, I'm cheap.

So, depending on what your plans are for the gun, one of these may fit right in or be an inexpensive candidate for some serious upgrades.

I'd probably look at a police trade if I needed a host for a competition gun, where I already knew I'd be replacing the barrel, recoil spring, guide rod, extractor, sights, trigger, etc.
 
Darn, I will have a little time to think about it. I had been avoiding getting the MD handgun license because having to get fingerprinted to exercise a constitutional right really didn't sit well with me. I held out for just over 2 years since the law took effect, but there are a few holes in my collection that it is time to fix and I'm not sure if I'm ever leaving MD or not (and there is a chance that I may be leaving but for NJ so it won't be any better). So, it is time to get the license. It can take 30 days or so to get it, so I was going to put the gun on layaway so it would be held for me, but take a month or so to pay it off so it won't get to my local FFL before the state police process my handgun license. Well, I just double checked and they only allow layaway on new firearms. I was about to buy the unissued one.

There was another gun that was new, and was going to be next until I saw the police trade-ins. I figured I'd get the police trade first since as a used gun, it will only be around for so long, while the new gun will remain available. Since I have to wait on the used gun until my MD HQL (Handgun Qualification License) anyway, I guess I'll get the new gun now and hope one of the nicer S&W M&P 40 Compacts are still around once I have the license.


I hate Maryland.
 
What is stopping you from moving? Feet glued to the floor? 'Go west, young man, and grow up with the country' - Horace Greeley.
 
What is stopping you from moving? Feet glued to the floor? 'Go west, young man, and grow up with the country' - Horace Greeley.
....Just don't go too far West... then it gets worse

Always been tempted by Police Trade Ins, but they never seemed to be that great of a deal for me (except maybe the SIGs but I don't want a .40)
 
What is stopping you from moving?

Parents are getting old, dad has had a heart attack recently, want to be as close by them as possible.

I'm a religious Jew so I have to go where there is a community. Philly would be my best bet for a community, near my parents, and good gun laws, but there are virtually no teaching jobs in PA (I'm hoping to get a teaching job in southern NJ or northern DE so I can move to Philly). Richmond VA would be another option (and I could get a job there), but there are maybe 5-10 single Orthodox women in my age group there. For social reasons (I'm a single religious Jew on the more liberal/modern end of the Orthodox spectrum) I may have to move to the NY area so I am considering a move to NJ where the laws are maybe a tad better than MD's new (2013) law, but not by much.
 
It's wonderful that you are willing to look after your parents. After looking after my mother in the Boston area, I fled to a southern state more hospitable to our 2nd amendment rights.

Religious inclinations aside, Chaim, if you hate Maryland you will likely hate what's happening north of there when it comes to civil liberties and the 2nd amendment. Do you want to be within walking distance of your synagogue? If not, that opens up a lot of possibilities down south, which, I believe, God has blessed with a greater measure of civil liberty because more people honor God down here.
 
Before people start responding to my original post here now that the thread has been reawakened, know that I have since decided to go with a Glock 27 for the role the M&P was going to play. Both have a lot of aftermarket support, but the Glock has more. Really, the biggest reason is that every time I look at guns I consider a Glock but I never buy one. They are at this point an iconic brand, and with how long I've been collecting guns I've decided that it is time for a Glock. A full size M&P or maybe a .357SIG M&Pc will come later.
 
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