doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com fired or unfired... how to tell..?

Are the telltale rings around the firing pins a good indicator of whether a shotgun has been fired or not?
How many fired shells does it take before those circles appear?
How do you know whether it's fired or unfired?

You really don't know. From a collector value stand point, if you can't tell, the the value is high. From a shooter point, the issue is not really unfired, but rather fired very little so that practically the gun has its whole life left.

Note that many guns are function fired, proof fired, and, on top end guns, fired for patterning. Proving a gun hasn't been fired since leaving the factory is most difficult and always open to question.

Who cares?

As Rocketman says - a lot of guns were fires as part of the preparation for sale - to make sure they function properly and throw the right pttern to the right point of aim. A 'new' English sidelock or double rifle will have been fired dozens of times at least by the time the customer gets hold of it.

I care, smallbore. In addition, it can be, I've been told, a positive value influencing factor.
Also, it astounds me when I come across something that just does not appear to be fired, and it is, say, approaching a hundred years of age. I want it to speak to me and tell me "Oh, yes, I've been fired; I've been handled & enjoyed many times; I am not one of those Closet-things". Or, "Come, be the first to appreciate me for what I am", as Rocketman says, "for a lifetime of use and enjoyment".

Great restoration of a gun in good shape or unfired. Who knows nowadays.

As Mike points out, many guns are restored or refinished these days. In a lot of cases, only knowing that particular make/model/vintage extremely well, well enough to know polishing, colors, engraving, checkering, wood finishes, etc., will you be able to detect good refinishes/resto's. There are people out there studying how to do each process of finishing to exactly duplicate the original. So, detecting refinished guns can be a challenge for the buyer with casual interest in a particular model/make/vintage.

"Come, be the first to appreciate me for what I am"

Would you really want to own an unfired antique? Wouldn't shooting it be the highest crime one could commit among all the people obsessed with "original condition"?

Heck, I have enough trouble not peeking into my 90-yr old, sealed, 2-piece boxes of shotgun shells.

Who wants a 90 year old virgin. I would rather have two 45 year olds who have had fun. My purpose in life is not to collect rare guns and make sure that they stay pristine. Mine is to have fun with them which may make a few more well earned dings in them. Good for both of us.

No, no, no; I'm not talking "restoration" or camouflage. I'm looking at a 98 yr old shotgun that is not "screwed-with" at all; and wondering how to tell if she's even ever been fired. It's old, original, and maybe fired/ maybe not.

BBB what we are trying to tell you is that you will never know for sure.