USED GUNS
The Signature Used Gun Difference
The Signature Used Gun Difference
CGC Legacy Gunsmiths signature on each certification form is our way of assuring you we have personally inspected this firearm and it has passed our certification process.
Here’s a behind the scenes look at Legacy Gunsmithings used gun purchasing and certification process.
Appraisals are only done during Gunsmithing hours:
Monday – Saturday: 10am – 5pm
CGC Legacy Gunsmith’s Certified Used Gun process means each gun is thoroughly inspected, safety checked and test fired by our experienced gunsmith staff before it goes out for sale and what separates our used guns from the others.
Initial Inspection
We take the time to get familiar with each gun that comes in for sale or trade by first giving it a thorough visual inspection. We check for things like:
- Cracked stocks
- Bulged barrels
- Surface rust
- Has it been altered
Then we look at the make, model, caliber, accessories etc. We also try to gain some insight as to its history from the owner. We’ll explain the specifics of how our purchasing program is structured so the customer can be a part of the process as it moves along.
Establish Finish Originality
Perhaps no other factor contributes more to, or detracts from, a gun’s value than whether it’s been refinished or not. A gun can easily lose half its book value, or more, if it doesn’t have the original finish. In addition, the difference between a properly refinished gun and a poorly done one can also make a huge difference. It’s important to keep in mind that gun value blue books only give values for guns in their original condition.
Note: (Making a determination on originality is not always an easy task. This is where the experience of our gunsmith staff comes into play. For over 30 years we’ve had the privilege of handling a wide variety of guns in their original pristine condition. The first hand experience we’ve gained from having personally performed restorations over the last 3 decades helps give us valuable insight verifying originality since we had the opportunity to see the gun before and after it was redone.)
Percentage of Condition
Establish fair Market Value
We typically start the research by looking at industry standard firearm Blue Books. If we need to find more information, or additional comparable guns for sale, we’ll often go to the internet. Since the internet has countless listings being added and removed on a daily basis it can also be a great barometer for the gun markets ever fluctuating pricing.
Finding Common Ground
1) We review the information we’ve gathered with the customer to make sure they’re comfortable with everything.
2) Our goal is to reach common ground on the gun’s value.
3) If everyone’s comfortable and confident with the information and the terms we then move forward.
4) After the gun is purchased, it goes through our certification process.
The Certification Process
The top 2 priorities we keep in mind when we certify a gun is to make sure it is:
- Safe to shoot
- Reliable
We perform numerous checks on a gun to make sure it is within safe operating specifications.
We inspect each gun thoroughly, lock, stock and barrel.
The list of items we check can be quite involved and depends on the type of gun, of course. There are times when it makes sense to certify the gun before we buy it.
Sometimes we run into situations where, although the gun works, it’s out of spec. When this happens, we’ll take the time to bring it back to the proper spec’s. Think of it this way, just because your car runs, doesn’t mean it’s running correctly or at peak performance. In other words, things can “run” and still be out of spec!
If everything passes inspection we test fire the gun before it ever goes out for sale to the public. We provide a certification form with each used gun we sell with our gunsmith’s signature on it to show it has passed our certification process and it’s safe, reliable and ready to go. (There are of course a few exceptions like when there’s no ammo available or it’s an unfired gun).
Full-Service Gunsmith Services
In addition to buy and certifying used guns, we can serve you with a full suite of gunsmith services.
“Outstanding”
I want to thank you for the outstanding, and I mean outstanding, job you did for me finishing the stock work on my custom model 98 Mauser, as well as in repairing the 60-year old double set trigger mechanism on my Wilbur Hauck single shot rifle. Because there are only 148 known Hauck single shot rifles in existence, there are precious few who even know his name. When my rifle began developing trigger issues, I brought it to you because of your reputation in dealing with high quality weapons and performing top-notch work. Clearly you exceeded my expectations.
In my book you definitely deserve the title of master gunsmith as you are many grades above and beyond the majority of guys who hang out a shingle claiming to know their way around sophisticated gunsmithing but in reality know very little.
Steve
