Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General A general question....what do you look at when buying a used lever gun?

Other than the obvious, for instance if a rifle shows signs of abuse like rust on the receiver, a dinged up muzzle, it gives me pause to buy it. What else other than general operation do you check?

I go off of bore condition first. I have seen rifles that look ugly as sin.. but have great bores. So I am not opposed to buying one that is a beater...if the bore is good. I would just lower my offer. by the way.. did your child make you a set of binocs out of toiletpaper rolls?! I believe we had a similar pair but ours were higher power than yours!

Basicly I check it over to see what is loose, bent, missing or not original. Of course the condition of the bore too. Those are the things that indicate abuse. (Had a 94 Win come through that the linkage was messed up because the guy tried to fold a penny with the action???)

Surface rust is cosmetic and lowers the value but usually doesn't affect the operation. In humid parts of the country, a couple of nights in a gunrug can give you all kinds of rust, but that is carelessness not abuse.

First thing I look for is whether or not it says "Savage" on it!

The bore first then I also check with dummy rounds that it feeds properly. I fire a primed case to be sure the firing pin is not broken.

I got burned once.

Doc

Im a pre 64 guy so, serial numbers, correct sights and bores.

I may cycle it to take a look at the guts a time or two.

Joseph

~ What do I look at when buying a used lever?
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How 'purdy' it is ... (Sorry, just can't help myself.)

The word "Savage" on it.

Leverguns are a little different from other long guns in that a looseness in the action does not condemn them. The most important things to look for are signs of abuse-or evidence of being dropped.
Since so few leverguns come with sling swivels, its important to identify those dings as something else besides a trip to the rocks.
On anything even remotely collectable, be wary of refinishing either on metal or wood. This is actually pretty common, and its easy to ooh and ahh over a finish while forgetting to check for excessive wear.
Some things are pretty difficult to catch, but should be suspected. Look at headspace with well worn models. Check the crown, and make sure rifling goes all the way to the muzzle.
Finally, be certain that you understand the layout of the receiver. Especially with older models, its common for all sorts of drilling and tapping to take place. If its done well, it reduces the value, if its done wrong it weakens the receiver.

I should probably buy one of those bore snakes and take it with me to look. I am looking for a used Win 94AE in its most simple form. I found one that had light rust on the receiver seemed to function well, the barrel was light gray, crown looked OK, the plain wood, none of the screws were buggered up wearing a cheap bushnell in see thru mounts for $350.00 which I think is a little much.

The bolt action next to it.

I have a "few" bolt action deer rifles.

As the others said. Do some research and pick a model,or three, that you are interested in. First for me is caliber. Then, I look at the bore folowed by the sights to see if they are correct or improved. ie if you are looking to place an aperature sight on your rifle...look for one that already has one mounted on it. Next does it have swivels? are they mounted correctly. Then I move on to the action. Really loose is not necessarily a turn off but do you really want to have to tighten the action right from the beginning? Lastly, I look at the finish. Unless I am buying it for a collector, I am not too concerned with a little surface rust or other normal bumps and bruises. They can be fixed easily enough.

Lastly, I look to see if it is a Savage...Then I RUN the other way!!!

The easiest way to give the bore a quick view is to open the action, and insert some light colored paper, then find a good light. This will shine enough light down the barrel that you can see plenty of detail.
Surface rust may not be a horrible thing-I've de-rusted several guns, and found them to be excellent. Again, the question is neglect, or abuse. From your description, it could go either way. I would certainly use the condition and appearance to horse trade a little on that price.