…or, “what the heck you doin’ that for?”
The market is being flooded with used revolvers right now. There are some truly great deals to be had, but there are also a few pitfalls to avoid. Many potentially terminal problems may not be immediately apparent.
Revolvers are generally very durable machines. They’ll endure decades of neglect, but that resilience means that some owners will inflict excessive abuse. Some people will use them as test-beds for reckless handloads, and when the gun gives out, they’ll sell it off to a hapless buyer. Others see them as platforms for some truly questionable home gunsmithing experiments.
What follows is a list of things I check to ensure that the gun I’m evaluating hasn’t been rendered unusable or unsafe.