Quote:
Originally Posted by
tbonecpk 
| yup I agree with Wyr that's why I came here lol |
Take a loaded round of 150 grain USGI surplus M2 .30-06 amm and stick the bullet / projectile in the muzzle of the barrel . If it swallows the bullet up to the brass , the muzzle is worn out . Accuracy will probably be poor .
Brownells.com sells a guage to do this , more scientifically . The other end of the guage is inserted into the breech , to check throat errosion .
It would be a good idea to check headspace , but you need to strip the bolt to do that & the seller is probably not going to go for that .
The trigger guard un-latches at the back and hindges at the front . This allow you to seperate the action from the stock .
While minor pitting below the wood line would not disqualify the gun , none is better .
Do a visual of the action & trigger assembly .
Re-assemble the rifle . How much force is required to snap the trigger guard back in place ? Loose or no force needed means the action is not held securely in the stock .
This often negativly affects accuracy . Although I have a 1/2 worn out Garand w/ no clamping force , that shoots 2" groups at 100 yards w/ LC 69 ammo . Go figure ?
Will the owner let you test fire the rifle ?
If it ejects the clip , before the clip is empty , this is not a difficult / costly thing to fix .
oF COURSE , LOOK AT THE BORE WITH A BORE LITE . But the barrel does not have to be perfect to shoot OK . The Garand I refered to above is a WWII receiver w/ a 1948 barrel . Re barreled after WWII , it probably went through Korea . You can tell by the look of the rifleings that there have been a LOT of rounds down the tube . But it still shoots well .
USGI Garand receivers are harder than wood pecker lips . They are intended that the replacable parts should wear out and not the receiver .
The action on my " old " Garand is smoothhhhhhhhh . My other Garands have been re-parkerized . They are not nearly as smooth . This is to be expected .
Best of luck ,
Wyr
