Terms used in gun sale ads

[Ken The Kanuck]

I will let you add your favourites, one I like is

"Battle worn No4mk1" I think this means "beat to xxxx" but have been in a battle sounds like it is more valuable.

How about you, got one you like?

KTK

[leftyo]

blood pitting is always a stellar term for poorly stored and rusty.

[Roadkingtrax]

Minty, and anytime someone says good. Good bore, good condition, etc. Or the best, "Good for its age".

[dryheat]

Excellent condition, bore could use a good cleaning.

That means, the bore is toast.
(usually a gunshop/pawnshop selling on Gunbroker that mysteriously can't find a cleaning rod in the place)

[aintright]

"I'm only selling it to fund another project" , not always a red flag , but certainly has proven to be a yellow flag . Or you ask "how does it shoot ?" They answer , "It will shoot one hole"
Got had on that one a long time ago when my education on buying guns had began .
Kenneth

[Major Tom]

Dark bore, freckling and frosted bore. That is rust and/or corrosion.

[JimF]

"Factory original" . . . . .

Oh Really!! . . . .

Then, pray-tell, how do you explain all the finger-prints on the stock and metal parts?

Any finger-print on the weapon that was NOT applied by a factory worker, makes the weapon "no longer factory-original"!

I've had this same argument with guys in the classic car world!

Any car at a show that no longer has the VERY SAME air in the tires, or gas in the tank, is NOT "factory-original"!! --Jim

[clintonhater]

Minty, and anytime someone says good. Good bore, good condition, etc. Or the best, "Good for its age".

"Minty," invented by gun-crooks, is the one that irks me most.

[clintonhater]

Aside from "minty," the term most abused is "patina," which is rightly used to describe the effects of aging, but does not mean a "brown gun." (Unless your talking about an 18th C. gun like a Brown Bess that was originally browned, not blued.)

[Allen]

"Don't know anything about the history of this gun" = Stolen

[dave]

"Factory original" . . . . .

Oh Really!! . . . .

Then, pray-tell, how do you explain all the finger-prints on the stock and metal parts?

Any finger-print on the weapon that was NOT applied by a factory worker, makes the weapon "no longer factory-original"!

I've had this same argument with guys in the classic car world!

Any car at a show that no longer has the VERY SAME air in the tires, or gas in the tank, is NOT "factory-original"!! --Jim

With guns I can agree but cars---you are being very extreme (air in the tires?)! However perhaps it should 'all be factory original parts', IF the owner is the original buyer, the only way he would know. Or does he mean 'original factory type parts'?

[Allen]

With guns I can agree but cars---you are being very extreme (air in the tires?)! However perhaps it should 'all be factory original parts', IF the owner is the original buyer, the only way he would know. Or does he mean 'original factory type parts'?

Cars:

"Ice cold air A/C".----Like this car's A/C is much colder than others.

"ready for restoration".----this car has a lot of patience I suppose after being neglected for 20 years.

Back to guns:

"Dark bore but should clean up OK".----Yeah, right. Clean it yourself then before selling it.

[Dick Hosmer]

Percentages can be misleading as well. When something is described as 98%, one pictures fairly uniform, and minimal, traces of wear and usage. A "98%" piece once arrived with a huge scrape (like it was dropped and dragged on concrete) at the muzzle. In short, 99% of the gun was 100%, while 1% was at 0%. Guess the seller thought he'd get away with taking an average. Not!

But, my all-time favorite is the ever-popular "unfired".

[Sunray]

"Correct". It, usually an M1 Rifle or Carbine, was made that way by somebody with a lot of time and money.
"Veteran bring back" is another. No troopie, in any army, was allowed to keep their issue kit. Rumoured that some U.S. officers were permitted to buy their issue pistol. Never seen any documentation proving that ever happened though. Canadian troopies had their kit bags searched on the dock in Halifax too.
"...have been in a battle..." Is outright BS. Very few, if any, surplus W.W. II or I vintage battle rifles ever left North America or saw any combat use. Most were not even returned to North America.
"...the effects of aging..." I call it grey hair. snicker.

[togor]

+1, Dick

[Tuna]

US officers were allowed to buy their weapon if they wanted to before being discharged.

Now the one that always gets me is shot with only mildly corrosive ammunition. Has debris in the groves but strong rifling and might clean up to new with a good cleaning.

[leftyo]

another that gets me, everyones no4mk1 made by savage is a "lend lease" gun.

[tmark]

I like the term "battlefield pickups". You mean these rifles were picked up right after the battle and sold directly to a buyer in the states? How long did these rifles lay on the battlefield?

Another term I like is "bring backs". Brought back from where? Korea? With import stamps?