Review of private firearm purchase

[Glenn_S]

I was wrong. Praise to Noy612.

[Holland&Holland]

Have you contacted Taurus? You may be surprised about what they will do for you. May just cost you some shipping.

[yuppiejr]

That looks like an Arminius, German made pot metal revolver - Bob's has parts in stock including a replacement spring kit (guessing your firing pin spring is bad) for $20 that might bring it back to working order:

http://www.gun-parts.com/regent/

Those seem to sell for closer to $200-$250 so, while getting a broken gun described as working sucks - getting a $200 gun for $125 that needs $20 worth of parts to be in fully functioning condition isn't a bad deal. IMHO it's worth the effort to try and fix.

[yuppiejr]

Regarding the terms of the sale.. Reporting an issue with a used firearm 6 months after purchase is a big problem for me... The seller has no way of knowing what's been done to the firearm (cleaning, maintenance, etc..) or how many rounds you've fired in that period of time. The mode of failure you describe should have shown up immediately when you inspected the gun before purchase, the cylinder would not have advanced if dry fired with or without a dummy cartridge in place.

This kind of problem can develop if a .22 LR revolver has been dry fired excessively, or has worn out springs... it's also possible that the firing pin channel has developed some rust due to being stored in a humid environment and is causing the pin to hang up, which may have occurred between the time he sold you the gun and the time you tested it.

I certainly believe that a seller should accurately report the condition of an item he/she sells (I personally tend toward being hyper-critical in describing my own sale items) and provide a reasonable period of post purchase inspection... but half a year is a LONG time to wait before testing an item you purchased for functional problems. Cabelas and Gander only offers 30 days on a used firearm purchase, for example.

[Erud]

If I sold you the pistol, I'd give you your money back. That said, I'd be pretty frigging irritated that you took 6 months to let me know about the problem, and would suggest that you might not be ready to make big-boy transactions yet.

[BigBlue]

Just to give another viewpoint...

I love guns and I have a list of ones I know & love that I acquire as opportunities present themselves. I live in the metro and trips to my gun range are limited, especially in the past year. I've bought a couple guns from my bucket list that I've wanted forever and scored them for a good deal when found but have not had a chance to take them to the range yet. Being in like-new condition I have high hopes that there is nothing wrong, but I can easily see myself not shooting them for 9+ months after the purchase. **** happens. Priorities don't allow instant gratification range trips. But I've got guns I know I will keep forever and use over the years, especially once I no longer live in the metro. So don't be too harsh on the whole "didn't get to shoot it for 6 months" concept.

Will I go back to a seller after 9+ months to complain of issues if I encounter any? Ummm... probably not. I'd just chalk it up to the risk I took by buying used. But I'd still be pissed if something wasn't as promised. And this thread's warning to others is still valid.

BB

[Ghost]

Just to give another viewpoint...

I love guns and I have a list of ones I know & love that I acquire as opportunities present themselves. I live in the metro and trips to my gun range are limited, especially in the past year. I've bought a couple guns from my bucket list that I've wanted forever and scored them for a good deal when found but have not had a chance to take them to the range yet. Being in like-new condition I have high hopes that there is nothing wrong, but I can easily see myself not shooting them for 9+ months after the purchase. **** happens. Priorities don't allow instant gratification range trips. But I've got guns I know I will keep forever and use over the years, especially once I no longer live in the metro. So don't be too harsh on the whole "didn't get to shoot it for 6 months" concept.

Will I go back to a seller after 9+ months to complain of issues if I encounter any? Ummm... probably not. I'd just chalk it up to the risk I took by buying used. But I'd still be pissed if something wasn't as promised. And this thread's warning to others is still valid.

BB

I've got guns that I've had for years and have never loaded a round into them, I want to just haven't gotten around to it. All comes down to what you're willing to lose. If you can't lose what you paid then you better inspect it closer if you can afford to lose it then it is what it is.

I agree with yuppie, I'd get it fixed (probably learn to do it myself). Sounds like a great project to work on, especially since it seems to be a mechanical function issue and not something that requires years of experience to fine tune.

[Citiot]

Caveat emptor

[LarryFlew]

Only problem I see with this is the fact that he is not replying. At the least he should tell you he will not warrant it for the time it took. Should he? I would also but I would not expect a typical seller to do so. Been on both ends of a sale like that. One that I sold that was operating when sold and buyer came back 3 months later with a problem. He was straight up and honest about taking so long and the fact that it did fire for 20 rounds before firing pin broke so I gave him his money back and resold it for $20 more than the first time after repair. On the buying end was from Coles distributing on Gunbroker where I took 45 days for me to try it and it didn't work at all (9mm and dry fired just fine)and had wrong 2nd mag (which he sent about the time I tried it, so very late on shipping). Was told never to buy from him again and that he does NOT warrant what he sells at all.

[OldmanFCSA]

I have firearms purchased used that I have not fired in the 3+ years I've owned them.

BUT I did a very thorough evaluation inspection of firearms before purchase and can repair any of them and still keep purchase cost at 50% of going rate.

I would not think of looking for seller of anything if I was in OP's shoes - he waited too long for his circumstances.

[Glenn_S]

I was wrong. Praise to Noy612.

[Glenn_S]

I was wrong. Praise to Noy612.

[yuppiejr]

Your schedule is not the seller's problem, you clearly were able to make the time to meet up and purchase the gun... as you noted, you should have taken the time to test it shortly after the purchase if you ever intended to go back to the seller with a problem. There's a level of risk you accepted when you purchased a used, low-dollar import firearm with no local support and then waited 6 months to try out. It's entirely possible the act of dry firing the revolver WITHOUT ammunition in the chambers during your evaluation actually contributed to the sort of failure you're experiencing.

You said you were looking for a beater and it looks like you got one... much like people who drive "beater" cars, if you're going there you should be prepared to invest the patience and time in keeping it running or else buy something with a warranty next time. The gun pictured has clearly seen some miles as there are distinct drag marks in the bluing on the cylinder and who knows what sort of shape the other moving parts were in. Again, there are options to repair this gun if you choose to pursue them and take the lesson for what it's worth.You might look at eBay, I see a number of auctions for HM5 parts going right now including a few that would be on my list of suspects for the failure you describe. First step is probably to break the gun down and check the firing pin travel and look for broken springs.