Went looking for an 870P, bought something else UPDATE POST 22

[BrokerB]

something about used guns for self defense is very sour for me. I have shot about 4,000 rounds out of a shotgun and it started to fte, extractors were worn. Funny, So i went to order new extractors- almost everyone was out of the left side extractor..took a awhile to find them.. for a moss 500a!

Otherwise plinking guns I would rather buy used all day long because such a great price differecne

[Bobby Ricigliano]

You will not know if you made a good deal till you shoot them. Many of these are traded in because they are unfit for duty. Also, Armorers (not me of course) will go through the guns to be traded in and canablize the best parts and put junk parts in. Go shoot them then tell us if it was a good deal.

Fair enough. There is always a bit of a gamble on a used firearm. However, I function checked both of them, removed the barrels and inspected the innards. Everything was functioning normal and there was barely a hint of of any wear on the weapon other than cosmetics.

I have had to do the same function check on beat up shotguns that I had not fired and rack them in my unit at work, so we will see. But your point is well taken.

I am pretty certain this particular batch of shotguns was traded because they 'upgraded' to Benelli or some other type of scary black tactical shotgun, not because of any defects in the 870's.

[aippi]

Seems you know the platform so you knew what to look for and would have seen anything amiss. I get Department owned weapons in to rebuild and have had them come in that were pulled right out of the racks in the cruisers and they did not even function, yet there they were in use for an LE to defend his life with. The LE dealers taking them in mostly whole sale them and the shops seldom test them so an LE trade in is a crap shoot at best.

I have eight 590A1's coming in from a Department that is buying 8 of my builds and will test each, and should any have any kind of deficientcy I will take them to a gun smith to repair as I am not certified on the Mossberg. I could do it but will not for liability reason. I certainly would not sell them untill I know they are still duty ready. How many gun shops would do this? Quite a few but certainly not all. So knowing the place you buy an LE trade in is also very important. If they are sold As Is and you get a dud the repairs could end up making it cost as much as a new one. As with all things "Let the buyer be ware". The fact that a gun is an LE trade in seems to be taken as the wrong message by many people. It is just a used gun, one that was not owned by the people using it so was most likely not cared for like you would you personal guns. For the most part they are beat up, abused and neglected. Yet, most have far lower round count then the average cilvilian owned gun and there are great deals out there if you know what to look for and where to look.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Seems you know the platform so you knew what to look for and would have seen anything amiss. I get Department owned weapons in to rebuild and have had them come in that were pulled right out of the racks in the cruisers and they did not even function, yet there they were in use for an LE to defend his life with. The LE dealers taking them in mostly whole sale them and the shops seldom test them so an LE trade in is a crap shoot at best.

I have eight 590A1's coming in from a Department that is buying 8 of my builds and will test each, and should any have any kind of deficientcy I will take them to a gun smith to repair as I am not certified on the Mossberg. I could do it but will not for liability reason. I certainly would not sell them untill I know they are still duty ready. How many gun shops would do this? Quite a few but certainly not all. So knowing the place you buy an LE trade in is also very important. If they are sold As Is and you get a dud the repairs could end up making it cost as much as a new one. As with all things "Let the buyer be ware". The fact that a gun is an LE trade in seems to be taken as the wrong message by many people. It is just a used gun, one that was not owned by the people using it so was most likely not cared for like you would you personal guns. For the most part they are beat up, abused and neglected. Yet, most have far lower round count then the average cilvilian owned gun and there are great deals out there if you know what to look for and where to look.

100% agree with all of the above. It is the individual officer's responsibility to make sure what he take in the field is in working order. When were still using the Ithaca M37's, I took one out in the morning and did a full inspection of it the way we were taught. Remove the barrel, check the extractor, put a penny on the firing pin and dry fire it to make sure the pin is there and protrudes out of the channel, etc.

Did all that, weapon was good to go. 30 minutes later we responded to a robbery call. I grabbed the shotgun and ran toward my containment position. Racked the Ithaca, and it locked up tight in mid stroke. Completely inoperable and hopelessly jammed.

Not only did I have an inoperative weapon, but I still had to carry it because it didn't have a sling and I was already too far from my car to go back. Not fun to have a broken shotgun in one hand, duty weapon in the other, and still try to use your radio and stay focused on what is going on.

Afterwards no one could get the weapon to open up so we had to send it to the armory and it never came back.

[cindynles]

WOW Bobby! First you score a nice Ithaca DSPS and now the 870 Wingmaster. You sir are my shotgun idol. Congrats on the nice score.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I picked up the shotguns and gave them a cleaning and put them together. They look even better to me now that I have them home and have had time to study the condition inside and out. Both have police markings but they are faint and hard to get good pictures of them.