Would An Engraved Name On A Gun Turn You Off?

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Totally up to you. Obviously it would never matter functionally so its more of a matter if you care or not. Regardless I would use it as a bargaining chip when purchasing the pistol. Hem and Haw a lot about the funny engraving.
 
Most likely not, unless I had some extreme need for a firearm (such as my other defensive firearms have been disabled in whatever way).

You never know. It might not have been a "jerk" son. Maybe he passed away, and a grieving widow sold the gun to help pay the bills.
 
There was a S&W j-frame making the rounds of local gunshows that had been engraved with the name of an elderly lady who kept it in her nightstand. Probably never fired. Ended up at a local ffl dealer who still wanted top price for it and took offense if you complained about the name. You can change the sideplate he said. My response is you change the sideplate. Anyway another elderly lady who likes guns saw it and recognized the name as an old friend who had passed away and thought it was cool so she bought it. She is a relative of mine and if I am lucky I may inherit it some day and now it has a story.
 
It would definitely bother me. It would have to be cheap enough that it would cover the cost to refinish it.

I passed over an otherwise-nice K-38 that had the initials "J.W." scratched into the finish with what must have been a nail.
 
I'm very good friends with an old man and when he was young he scratched his DL# in to his grandfather's 1911, 45 who worked security for Union Pacific RR back in the teens and 20's and the gun was issued to him from the railroad.

He's sick about it now.
 
I have 3 guns with my name / intitals engraved in them. It was 'professionally' done & is clear & neat. That's about it though, no more engraving. I also don't intend to sell, if the boys want them someday, that's the plan. I had to ask the jewelry store ahead of time about bringing a partial gun to the store, didn't want to be gunned down. He said he's done guns before.
 
I'm not understanding why this bothers people. I have several vintage watches and pocket watches and most of them have something engraved on them from previous owners.
 
I don't like them.

Once had a cut down BAR with "Kiss My A** Frank Hamer, come get this one, Best Wishes C. Barrow May 1934"

But it was done in such poor penmanship, and done without proper tools so I just threw it away with the regular trash one day.:neener:

Was that a good idea:p
 
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If I knew the story behind a name on a gun and the engraving was tastefully done, it wouldn't bother me. Otherwise, I'd probably pass.
 
It would depend on the overall condition of the weapon and the price being asked. I know of a lovely 1960s vintage Browning Hi Power that has gone unsold for at least 10 months now exactly because of this problem.

No, I am not the one selling it.
 
I know of a lovely 1960s vintage Browning Hi Power that has gone unsold for at least 10 months now exactly because of this problem.
Click to expand...

Got a link, I am in the market for a Hi Power as a shooter. Seller might be getting tired of posting it, and take a fair price.
 
There is no way I'd buy it. I'm too 'OCD'ish",every time I picked it up,I'd be like 'damnit,my gun says Kevin.'

If Kevin is alive, I agree that he needs to be beaten with a wet squirrel.
 
Reminds me of a rifle that was at the pawn shop for quite a number of years. someone camouflaged it with a propane torch, and an awful job, at that! There was HH carved into the butt of the grip and swastikas whittled on the fore end stock. I always had a want to buy it. No gun should be trashed in such a matter, but I wasn't going to pay to fix something; especially since he sold another one that wasn't defaced at the same price... meh, he wanted to much for that one too. I guess my anger and revulsion couldn't've overcome the large price tag... Okay, so maybe I'm still a little mad that someone did that.
 
I had a nickle SW581, in excellent shape, that I bought cheap. It fired decent groups. But for the life of me, I couldn't give it away, when I wanted to sell it, to get a larger caliber. It had the former owner's initials beautifully engraved on it.
 
Big Bill said:
Not if my name was Kevin! And I was over 20 YO. Or, if I had a son named Kevin. Or, if I was planning to have a son and would be Ok with naming him Kevin. Or, if you're single you could look around for a divorced woman with a son named Kevin.
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Oh that's rich. Nicely said.
 
I had a nickle SW581, in excellent shape, that I bought cheap. It fired decent groups. But for the life of me, I couldn't give it away, when I wanted to sell it, to get a larger caliber. It had the former owner's initials beautifully engraved on it.
Click to expand...

You bought it cheap but couldn't sell it cheap? Seems to me the engraving would be like any other defect in the finish and possibly make an otherwise excellent or like-new gun trade as a "fair" or something like that. If I buy a "fair" gun I wouldn't expect to sell it as "very good".
 
To a degree...yes, it would. Then again, a weapons exterior is far less of a concern vs the interior. In other words, how "pretty" a gun looks essentially means squat if it isnt a solid, reliable shooter.

However, in your particular case, I would imagine that it would not be too hard to come by another such weapon at a similar price. Hence, I would hold off on this one.
 
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