Staap It
Tex and I seem to have the same idea. I buy them as I find/want them. Always have a "gun fund" ready. See, to me new or used does not matter. I buy it for what it is. A classic, a piece of history, an old relic ( that shoots of course ) and even buy them for just being pretty. LOL,if you walked in some gunshops with me you would see a very funny thing occur. It is NOT unusual to see a guy at the counter scramble to get a special gun, normally with pretty wood and be certain it is now in the front where you can not miss seeing it. They know if they have something I like AND they DO know what I like, they are going to sell that gun right now today. I have even had them wave the oily rag at me to entice me further. Gun oil smell, they think works on my wallet.
I have always been a sucker for pretty wood on a gun. I can not walk away from a good deal, and I enjoy horse trading, and haggling. Can't do that much on a NEW gun.
SM
I buy both, most of the new firearms I purchase are items that I've seen at a Shot show or something that the manufacture has sent out information on. If I happen to be out and about and see one of those new items and it's priced decent then I'm apt to purchase it.
That said probably 80% of my collection is used, I buy as a collector for rare pieces, collectables, historic pieces, or possibly a limited number of a certain firearm was made and it has a value there.
I even have a few "wall hangers" that I've collected over the years, I would say for me it's over all condition of the firearm and rarity of the piece that drive my used purchases now.
?
I will buy used guns most of the time because as others have pointed out they're seldom used enough to even be broken in. When I do uy a new gun it's almost always because I can't find what I want used.
Anonymous
I have only bought two new guns in my life and one was a semi-custom gun I had built how I wanted it. It also seems like a lot of the major gun manufactures just don't build to the same quality they used to when they had more craftsmen making them than assembly workers.
That and it is always fun when you go to the range and you see a dozen people out there shooting ARs and 700s and you bring out a Model 1898 Springfield and they all ask you "what is that?"
Jim W
I do buy used rifles and shotguns except the high rate of fire semi automatics. A good hunting rifle or shotgun even 20 years old will seldom have a very high number of rounds through it. For hand guns, no thanks, too many rounds on the range is possible.