Most owners have no clue how to evaluate microscopic damage to a lens and few hunters really know how to clean a lens therefore many used scopes suffer from mistreatment.
After all that is what a good rifle is for!Īnd as a side note I would be much more vigilant about used optics. It also takes some of the sting out of the first time that you might add some character yourself and allow you to actually hunt the rifle. If one is actually intending to hunt the weapon a few "beauty marks" will simply add character to a fine rifle. I highly recommended knowledgeable hunters to consider well maintained guns/rifles. In my whole rifle cabinet only three rifles and two shotguns were actually purchased new by my ancestors and I have never bought a "new" shooting iron. While I am happy with the purchase I don't think I would have bought "that" Savage 99 had I actually been able to study it. I have bought one collector Savage 99 rifle on line sight unseen from a dealer. One really should be able to study the piece, hold it and shot it if possible. That said I would advise all to use good judgement. My own experience indicates that the odds are that used "fine" rifles and guns can be a good choice if one does not have to own "brand" new. Yet there is a significant propensity for owners of "fine" rifles to be among the category of owners that is respectful of the beauty and workmanship. Therefore one must be discerning about purchasing a "previously driven" weapon of any type. The second group often represents those that either simply don't know how to treat a rifle, don't care or are simply careless with all possessions. Many owners are very disrespectful of the arms the own. Some owners take great care of their weapons. I learned that there is a major difference between owners and rifles. While our inventory was nothing like the diversity I see in even small stores today we did have a steady stream of firearms changing hands. I was brought up in my dad's small town sporting goods store. One more thought - I have always been a big fan of well maintained "previously driven" guns and rifles. Yet from time to time I wander by the store and admire the Safari Custom I passed up. For me it is more about the pure satisfaction of hunting with a spectacular rifle that captures the essence of my lifelong boyhood dreams. In the end it probably is not about which rifle is the best value or is the best rifle. Now I spend my days reviewing beautiful scopes for the 300 in an endless pursuit of the best scope for the little money I have remaining in my “splurge sock”. I decided that two Mark V's were for me a better deal than the spectacular Safari Custom that also had no scope.įor someone else that might not have been the best decision. My final price for the two was just a tad lower than what I had negotiated for the Safari Custom I did not buy. The 270 had a beautiful Leupold 50mm VX-L and the 300 had never been scoped.
Neither appeared to have been fired although one must assume they had been. But just as I was getting ready to buy it I noticed an equally gorgeous “previously driven” 300 Mark V Magnum Ultramark. I decided on a beautiful “previously driven” 270 Mark V Magnum deluxe.
After a series of negotiating offers I compromised. I kept going back to one store to admire a very special Weatherby Mark V Safari Custom. I understand the dilemma of deciding which to buy.