Have you ever bought a C&R Firearm from an individual that wasn't FTF?

[DennisCA]

I bought several C&R guns on-line but I have only bought one that wasn't face-to-face (FTF). It was a Polish Mosin M44 that I got from a guy several years ago who was in socal (I live in the bay area). And yes we both had C&R licenses. It was kind of leap of faith but I'm glad I did - the gun was (and still is) awesome!

So what say you?

(Good and bad experiences)

[Bainter1212]

Done it several times. So far so good.
Am waiting on one right now. It is always a gamble.

[rromeo]

I've bought quite a few. I think 8 or 9 in the last year, and a bunch of those were from Calguns.
I only had one problem, a guy shipped a shotgun in a flourescent lightbulb box with no packing. The gun is okay, somehow. I now ask to please pack carefully.

[onelonehorseman]

A couple from Gunbroker vendors; no issues.

[rdfact]

I have four times. Purchased from individuals off GunBroker, CMP forum, GunBoards forum, and here on CalGuns. 3 of 4 I was very pleased with the rifles.
The one not so pleasing was a 1949 Marlin 336 that was D&T'd (not a factory option in 1949). While the pics did show the D&T, what they did not show was the 2 sets of holes under the scope mounts. The first set was crooked so they did a second set of holes. Looks like Swiss cheese. The rest of the rifle looks great and it's a fine shooter.

I actually have another rifle pending delivery bought from a CG member.

And I guess you could count Empire Arms (Dennis) as an individual.

Edit: I think buying from online retailers like Classic, AIM, etc is more of a crap shoot since you are not seeing pics of the actual rifle you are buying. At least with individuals you can usually ask them specific questions and request more pics.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

Not in the past few years. But before they banned it, yes, I often bought C&Rs on gunbroker. Most of the time it turned out fine. There were a few that needed minor repairs, but for the most part it has all been good.

-Mb

[Eljay]

I've had luck with C&Rs and some muzzleloaders on gunbroker but I stick to people who post a lot of good items with great feedback and all that. I've bought relatively few face to face but I've never had any surprises with that either.

With places where you're buying a grade of rifle the only question to my mind is are they presenting the minimum for the grade or a kind of average. Like with the CMP you'll usually get a better rifle than expected if you look at the grade description and not what other people are posting online (only the good ones get posted). With Classic they have a video saying how great it is but on the page somewhere there's some fine print with the actual grade description. Expect to get what's in the fine print, not the video, and you'll be happy.

[Enfield47]

I've bought about four or five that were advertised on Calguns. Only two were FTF, the others were shipped. All are in good working order and cosmetically as described. Ive had good luck and would happily purchase from them again.

[musketjon]

How long ago are we speaking of? 30-40 years ago, absolutely, yes. Of late, nope. Gun shows used to be your friend.
Jon

[CSACANNONEER]

Prior to 2014, I bought a few sight unseen from the classifieds here.

[pitfighter]

Yes - many times - no issues.
Be specific in what you require when talking to the seller.
How you want it shipped, how it should be packed and that you require tracking and insurance.

What is amusing is the packing sometimes - people will recycle packing and use it - bayonets coming from Czech Republic and Russia wrapped in local news papers, children's T-shirts - I had a wooden ammo crate come from Germany and he wrapped it in a DDR era-army great coat, that is probably more valuable than the crate itself.

[Divernhunter]

Yes and no troubles.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

More times than I could possibly remember.

[joefrank64k]

Too many times to mention. Never had a bad deal (knock on wood). But I only buy from auctions with decent pics, good descriptions, and with good seller feedback.

[19K]

I've bought and sold plenty of times.