Why did they buy the gun at all?

[droptoptrk]

I may be missing something, but in looking through classifieds for guns I always see ads that state something along the line of "less than 100 rounds fired."

I put between 200 and 400 rounds through each of my guns every time I go to the range.

Are they lying when they claim such low usage or did they decide they didn't like their gun purchase after minimal use?

Seems to me they could have rented the gun and saved a lot of time and money.

If you ever buy a gun from me, trust me it has been used.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

My dad has a very large safe with a few guns he has never shot and a pile of guns he has never put 100 rounds thru. My grandfather has a large wooden gun cabinet filled with guns that he has never shot.....Some guys just buy guns.

 

[Rail Driver]

I find it slightly irritating when I'm shopping around for a used firearm and all I see is "LNIB" or "New! Unfired!" and all that. I think there are some out there that do lie about it though. I recently bought a Ruger Blackhawk that had supposedly only been fired 3 times... Well it looks more like he took it to the range 3 times and never cleaned it... The cylinder face even had crud stuck to it.

 

[Vonderek]

A lot of new gun owners will buy a gun because they feel unsafe for whatever reason...current events, too much TV news, a decline in their neighborhood, whatever. They buy a gun and think that merely having a gun will make them safe...like a talisman. They go to the range to actually fire it, usually without any instruction. They don't like the recoil or they rightly feel incapable of controlling a potentially dangerous tool. It either sits in a drawer unused or they sell it. It's like buying a used motorcycle. There are plenty of used motorcycles for sale several years old with only a few thousand miles on it. A lot of new riders will buy one and then realize there is a commitment involved or will garage it after riding through their first thunderstorm. They realize it wasn't for them after all.

 

[droptoptrk]

Alright, I see your points:

1. Some people have more guns than they have the time to shoot (wish I had that problem)

and

2. People will buy guns for protection without ever taking the time to learn how to shoot them proficiently (scary)

I would also assume that there are those who buy a gun, and then find out their spouse doesn't want guns in the house.

It just seemed funny to me; I spend a few hundred dollars minimum to buy a gun, plus put up with a waiting period and tons of red tape from California. After going to that much trouble and cost; I am going to shoot it.

 

[KodiakBeer]

Most of those people are lying, but I don't care. Any quality firearm will last a lifetime if you shoot 1000 rounds a year or so, and most people don't shoot even that much.

 

[shiftyer1]

I just traded off a shotgun I bought used almost 2 years ago, I never fired it one time. Can we say IMPULSE buy, sometimes it's just impossible to pass up a good deal.

 

[texas bulldog]

Yeah, there are probably lots of reason.

Some guys on here have in excess of 100 guns. With that many, I would imagine some get shot very little or not at all. Either that, or they have WAY more time and money than I do.

Other guys buy guns primarily for home defense or SHTF-type scenarios. They learn how to operate them and they never fire them again.

Still others just like to buy new toys. They buy a new gun, shoot it a few times, then start obsessing over the next toy they want to purchase, be it a different gun, a motorcycle, a boat, whatever. I see lots of those types, unfortunately. They never seem satisfied with anything.

 

[rogertc1]

Well I have over 200 firearms..a lot have not or hardy been fired. It is called a collector. i am a collector. I have 8 cars too and can't driv e em them much either....a collector.

 

[rogertc1]

I find it slightly irritating when I'm shopping around for a used firearm and all I see is "LNIB" or "New! Unfired!" and all that. I think there are some out there that do lie about it though. I recently bought a Ruger Blackhawk that had supposedly only been fired 3 times... Well it looks more like he took it to the range 3 times and never cleaned it... The cylinder face even had crud stuck to it.

Guilty..well don't buy it then. Look at it first. LOL Like it is hard to clean off.

 

[CraigC]

Some folks are just impulsive. Some folks, like myself, buy guns they're really hot for and get distracted. You change jobs, move off somewhere, lots of different things. I have a brand new Winchester 1892 Trapper .45Colt in its original box that I've had for ten years but have only shot one time. I have a 30yr old S&W that was bought NIB a year ago with no intentions of it staying that way and I've only shot it once. Sometimes, it just happens that way.

 

[12131]

Different strokes for different folks. Many reasons are already sated above. I see nothing funny about it.

 

[FourteenMiles]

People have different financial situations, consumer habits, and spending habits.

I own about a half dozen high quality backpacks, some with very little use on them. I bought some of them with an intended purpose, and it may have just not panned out. I hang on to them mostly due to laziness, and the "what if..." scenarios (lending pack, back-up pack, etc).

I bought one 4 months ago (hopefully the last one for a long time), that I have not even used yet. I just took the tags off, filled it with gear, and wore it around the backyard a little bit to test its fit. If I needed some cash, or decided to buy a new product on the market that I just had to have, I could sell it and describe it in some manner akin to "LNIB", though I have never like that phrase in particular.

There is a thread in the rifle sub-forum where someone is contemplating buying a third Mosin, even though he bought two recently, and has yet to even fire (at least) one of them.

I am not saying that all those "LNIB, under 100 rounds fired" ads are completely honest, I am just saying some of us may not be the most logical of consumers. Our loss can be your gain!

 

[rogertc1]

here is my last purchase as a collector...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=588528

 

[rooter]

I may be missing something, but in looking through classifieds for guns I always see ads that state something along the line of "less than 100 rounds fired."

It is kinda like asking how many men your girlfriend has been with. Take the number she says, multiply it by 3, divide the product in half, add 15%, and you are alot closer to the true number.

 

[Robert]

In this economy it might just be possible that they had a recent lay off... like me.

 

[Rembrandt]

Your premise is flawed.....don't need to shoot 200-to-400 rounds through each gun every time you go to the range to justify owning it.

If I did that, I'd be shooting 36,000 rounds a week. I own guns with low mileage because I can....not because I need them.

 

[dogmush]

Depends on the person, and the collection. I have guns I don't shoot much;

I have a 4" 1911, I bought several years ago as a project. I put about 50 rds through it and put it away untill I get around to the work.

I have a NAA mini revolver, that after 2 cylinders I just don't like. I'll probably sell that one (eventually) with 10 rds through it.

I don't shoot my milsurps much, just like having them.

My first rifle (a Ruger M77) has about 100 rds through it in 15 years. Still in the safe, just not much use.

I have other guns that see 1000-1500 rds a month sometimes. Just depends on what I'm shooting. Truth be told, if I ever had to sell some, the low round count ones would go first, just because I use them less.

 

[yhtomit]

I've had the same question (Why are they selling? What a depreciation!) ... but then, I can explain at least some ways it comes to be, looking at my own experience.

I've never sold a gun, but I've bought a few. So, I have a small handful (more than 1, less than 200, to place it in this thread ), and at least two of them have never been fired, or fired by me in the case of a used one. So if I *did* have to sell any, I'd honestly note their low or zero round count. A few factors that lead to this (unfortunate, or not) situation:

- The general reason, IMO: Not everyone's in the same situation, wrt places to shoot, disposable income, time division, etc. I travel a lot, have moved several times while keeping guns in storage, but since (I hope) life is long, I've bought a few because I knew the gun was a great deal and that I would down the line get the chance to shoot it.

- At least some guns are quite good looking; I'd rather spend my money on guns as sculpture than on, I dunno, a huge TV set, which has its uses but is just about guaranteed to lose value both short and long term. Would settle for just "medium sized" on the TV (maybe none for even longer, though I'm not anti-TV), to keep more in the general savings / investment kitty, as well as for other hobby interests, such as guns. Tastes vary; I think my Witness Elite Match is in the sculpture category, and my 625, too.

- I don't want to assume that guns are getting more convenient to acquire, just because some cosmetic laws don't have as much pull at the moment. There are fits and starts, but (for instance) I'd rather own a Saiga (as currently available) than have a trade-and-bluster war mean that Russian arms are put on a politically motivated list of non-importables. That sounds silly, but we in the U.S. don't get Norinco imports ... My Saiga's been shot a few times, and will more later. It works and is fun, can tell you that!

- If you live in a city or suburbia, shooting is more complicated than stepping onto the back porch (which is the lucky case for some of my friends and relatives ). Getting to a range or other appropriate place isn't necessarily a huge burden in the places I've lived, but it's an excursion. I'd rather have a few guns on hand when I go shooting to enjoy learning their feel and operation, even if that means spreading the ammo costs among them.

- Some people (I'm not one) enjoy the novelty of different guns enough that a hundred rounds or a few hundred satisfies one itch, but inspires the next acquisition, or they just enjoy the horse-trading aspect.

- Ammo is expensive. Enough so that when I go to the range, I tend to shoot slowly, and a lot of .22, while going easy on larger calibers.

- I can't prove the future, but optimistically, I'd like to one day bequeath my guns to interesting friends and offspring (or other relatives). So, akin to the "sculpture" idea above, there are guns that I've had in mind for their aesthetics and IMO long-term worth at least as much as the kick I get out of shooting them.

- Life gets in the way Shooting's fun, but so are eating, traveling, reading, and other things. I'd rather have a gun and be unable to shoot it on a given occasion than wish I had one when it was needed, or find that buying it is out of the current budget.

timothy

 

[Onward Allusion]

droptoptrk
Why did they buy the gun at all?
I may be missing something, but in looking through classifieds for guns I always see ads that state something along the line of "less than 100 rounds fired."
I put between 200 and 400 rounds through each of my guns every time I go to the range.
Are they lying when they claim such low usage or did they decide they didn't like their gun purchase after minimal use?
Seems to me they could have rented the gun and saved a lot of time and money.
If you ever buy a gun from me, trust me it has been used.

Short answer, 'cause they can.

Longer answer - Because they can afford to do that. Some guys buy cars as collectibles, others buy coins, and others buy guns. Gotta do something, right?

 

[longshot7.62x51]

i have 2 guns that i havve never shot one and old 1917 eddystone(its been in peices since it was given to me and is at the gunsmith as we speak) and an Ariasaka carbine (couldent find rounds for it that where cheaper than $2 a round but bought a box from norma so gunna fix that)

 

[Nushif]

You change jobs, move off somewhere, lots of different things./QUOTE]

Exactly. I have an Egyptian knockoff Beretta sitting in my closet that's never been shot. Distraction is probably the best term for this. I have to wonder why the OP is so cynical? I mean ... what's wrong with the notion of getting bored with a gun?

Had a similar problem when selling my G26. HAd to explain at nauseum as to "why" I was selling a "supposedly flawless" gun and people were being downright insulting at times. Maybe I just don't like being called a liar, too.

Point being though is that *maybe* people change their minds? I know it's highly frowned on in these parts, but man ... it happens. I don't know anyone who can maintain one thought or opinion their entire lives. It happens when you continually assess your circumstance.

 

[crracer_712]

A friend of mine lives in the city, huge gun nut. Has several guns in his cabinet that have never been fired. He usually bring them to my place in the country, but really, there is only so much time in the day to shoot and he's got more than he can try out in a day.
I've got a shotgun I bought just for turkey hunting. Other than firing it to make sure it worked, that's the only use its gotten.

 

[CraigC]

Some of us also realize that you can only get really good with a particular firearm or platform by focusing on it. Rather than shooting several guns every range trip. Some are kept warm through continuous use, others are left to languish only to come out once in a while for fun.

 

[MtnSpur]

My father-in-law bought a Winchester 94 in late 79 (we believe). When he passed away we inherited the rifle NIB with tags still attached. Yes it does happen folks