How Would You Go About Selling Your Pistol?

I'm going to sell my Springfield Armory TRP and use the funds to buy an LCP for my wife and a XDm Compact for myself as I don't carry the gun and have only shot it at the range once.

I looked on Gun Broker and checking the completed listings it seems like these guns do not sell very well there. They all just seem to end with zero bids. Also, between the GB fees, shipping costs, and FFL cost you can gouge an additional $100 out of what you sell the gun for.

I know Craig's List doesn't allow guns to be sold there so I was wondering how people go around liquidating their pistols if Gun Broker isn't really an option. How do people usually go about this so that they get a fair price and still find a buyer looking for their particular type of gun?

Mgo

Michigan Gun Owners. Go to the Firearms For Sale Section under the Marketplace. Just follow the "template" that others are using.

http://www.migunowners.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=142

You will need 10 posts before you are able to post pictures. You can always host the pictures elsewhere and post links instead (like Photobucket).

You can search the Feedback Thread on your Buyers to see how they were for Past Deals (either as Buyer or Seller).

http://www.migunowners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=110614

The two sites I've had the best luck selling locally:

#1 MGO as described above.

#2 Armslist.com It works exactly the same way as craigslist, but is for guns and all the stuff that the bedwetters at craigslist don't allow.

Please make sure your wife actually likes LCP's before she actually gets one.

The LCP has harsh recoil, minimal power, an almost unmanageable trigger with its small size, and is generally a gun I would only suggest to a very skilled shooter on a very tight budget who needed a very small gun for a specific, low risk application.

In her shoes, I would probably want either a Kahr 9mm for more power with manageable recoil, or a cheaper and more controllable .32 Kel Tec if budget was of the highest concern, since these often go for 200 and even less at gun shows.

I'm a fairly good shot, I'm not exactly weak being a career blue collar guy, (though I'm no body builder) and there is no way in hell I'd want a little plastic 380 for little other reason than harsh recoil. Just doesn't allow the level of fast and accurate defensive shooting I'd want, never mind what I'd want for the protection of my loved ones.

How much are you asking for it?

.......................---Moderator Edited--
.....................This crossed a no-no line.

WE DO NOT ALLOW "FOR SALE" OR RAFFLE ADS: We use Google Ads to help cover the expenses of the forum and their rules specifically disallow the sale of firearms, ammo and accessories (including the raffle of such). The good news is that one of our newest sponsors, OutdoorsTrader.com offers just such a service.

This is what he's talking about folks. A fine weapon IMHO.

What he said about the P3AT clone, and therefore the P3AT, is spot on. This is NOT a range piece, and about as far away from 'pleasure shooter' as you can get. The fact that it's small and fits her hands means nothing when she doesn't "like" the way it shoots.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to prevent myself from getting frustrated with women who refuse to carry a small gun because it's not comfortable to shoot at the range. They don't seem to understand that comfortable shooting at the range is NOT a good measure of a carry gun. Make sure she shoots it before you buy it.

As previously suggested: MGO

I have bought and sold a lot of firearms and other stuff there.

Tao said:

What he said about the P3AT clone, and therefore the P3AT, is spot on. This is NOT a range piece, and about as far away from 'pleasure shooter' as you can get. The fact that it's small and fits her hands means nothing when she doesn't "like" the way it shoots.

I can't tell you how many times I've had to prevent myself from getting frustrated with women who refuse to carry a small gun because it's not comfortable to shoot at the range. They don't seem to understand that comfortable shooting at the range is NOT a good measure of a carry gun. Make sure she shoots it before you buy it.

Click to expand...

Yep, mostly agree, but I gotta disagree about a good range gun not being a measure of a good defensive gun.

If you can't shoot a gun well on the range, in ideal conditions, standing still, in no hurry whatsoever, there will be no magic force that will enable you to defend your life, or the lives of others, under the very worst conditions of elevated heart rate, possible weather and darkness, running this way or that, possibly being injured, this is not a scenario for a gun you can't shoot at a range.

If you can't totally master a gun to a competently defensive level of proficiency while at the range, you have less than no business carrying it. You owe it to yourself and everyone around you not to carry such guns, as it is more of a hazard than a benefit.

If you need a manageable mousegun, there are a lot of manageable little guns which are great fun to shoot. Beretta .22's and .25's (The .32's always crack at the frame) Sig P238, Kahr 9mm's and P380, .32 PPK's, .32 Seecamps, Baby Brownings, solid steel snubbies of most kinds, these are only a small few of the enjoyable at the range pocket pieces. This is the direction I would steer small gun seeking women towards, and if they didn't like even these options, and would otherwise be defenseless, I would suggest pepper spray, batons, and tasers.

Edit to add- By shooting well at the range, I don't mean bullseye shooting, I mean out to about 12 feet, maybe an extreme distance of 15 feet, very rapid fire kill zone shots, perhaps emptying the magazine in 1.5-2.5 seconds, tops. Instinctive hip firing from the hip is also important to about 5 or 6 feet, but this doesn't require a very specific gun to do well.

I took a woman to the range who hand't shot before. I had her try several guns from a midsize glock down to a 25acp. What she settled on was my Bersa Thunder 380. And before you say a 380 isn't good enough check out Buffalo Bore Ammo. She can make several shots on target quickly and accurately with this gun. Standard ammo is a breeze to shoot then load up Buffalo Bore ammo for self defense. They sell for around 275 and are dependable. Wanna try one just let me know and I'll let you try mine.

And before you say a 380 isn't good enough check out Buffalo Bore Ammo.

Click to expand...

As well as Grizzly Ammo. 380 ammo has come a long way and some of the ammo can rival 9mm (low end). In my Sig 230 I carry Grizzly rounds (JHP) that are 90gr +P. I don't shoot them at the range but I can testify that the one round that was used did what it was suppose to in human flesh. It tore a hole the size of a .45, cracked the femur and fragged into the knee. The guys leg took 4 months to heal and he still doesn't walk correctly.

Come by the shop and check out one of my M&P's before buying an XD.

SlowDog said:

I took a woman to the range who hand't shot before. I had her try several guns from a midsize glock down to a 25acp. What she settled on was my Bersa Thunder 380. And before you say a 380 isn't good enough check out Buffalo Bore Ammo. She can make several shots on target quickly and accurately with this gun. Standard ammo is a breeze to shoot then load up Buffalo Bore ammo for self defense. They sell for around 275 and are dependable. Wanna try one just let me know and I'll let you try mine.

Click to expand...

Buffalo bore, as far as I know, is flat nosed in 380, going about 100 fps faster than most factory 380 from the states. Same for their .32 as I recall.

While nothing to sneeze at, and certainly one of the best .380 loads in the world that I know of, it still falls short of 9mm. 125 ish grain JHP 9mm going 1200-1400 fps in a small gun is the sort of performance that 380 can't touch, and never will. It is too short to handle the pressures which 9mm can. It can't handle the weight, can't make the FPS, and therefor very much lacks the hydrostatic shock which nasty 9mm SD ammo can easily generate. Nor can you count on HP ammo to expand, penetrate, and hold together under the majority of conditions. I would also add that the Bersa, as far as I know is a PPK variant which means it's a blow back system, and as such will have significantly more kick than a very similarly sized but significantly more pricey compensated 9mm with a Browning type action.

But that said, for the price, and with either a single or double stack Bersa .380, I would feel completely fine being armed with a reliable one and a good supply of magazines, particularly if I had Buffalo Bore, so I knew it would at least penetrate well. I would also suggest it to someone over a gun such as a more powerful P11 if cost is an issue since the vastly better trigger and slide release in my opinion more than makes up for the lesser power.

Why does the Browning action have less of a kick than the standard blow back action? They seem very similar to me except for the fact that the barrel angles upward when drawn back.

actually the tipping barrel is a "modified" browning action. and the recoil would be very minimal between the 2. a bersa is a great gun recoil is very manageable. but whatever she gets make sure she likes it, but you know this already. i would recommend you 2 go to target sports in royal oak. they have quite a few guns there you 2 can try out.

also have you considered a good wheel gun? something with a covered hammer?

Michigander said:

I would suggest pepper spray, batons, and tasers.

Edit to add- By shooting well at the range, I don't mean bullseye shooting, I mean out to about 12 feet, maybe an extreme distance of 15 feet, very rapid fire kill zone shots, perhaps emptying the magazine in 1.5-2.5 seconds, tops. Instinctive hip firing from the hip is also important to about 5 or 6 feet, but this doesn't require a very specific gun to do well.

Click to expand...

1. I wouldn't recommend a taser since they are illegal in MI.

2. Depends a bit on the size of the magazine. I'd think a 7 round magazine could be emptied faster than a 19 or 30 round magazine.

3. I agree with what you said about being comfortable shooting it at the range.

TheQ said:

1. I wouldn't recommend a taser since they are illegal in MI..

Click to expand...

When it comes to the carrying of less lethal or non lethal weapons, particularly by otherwise extremely law abiding women who cops tend to be very nice to and use tons of discretion to ignore crimes involving SD, (not that it should be counted on, but it definitely is the traditional approach) I don't consider it extremely important to take note of what a bunch of treasonous trash in suits in Lansing try to deprive the people of. It is far better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6, regardless of the circumstances. For this reason, I would legally suggest not owning a taser and that advice goes out x 50 to any activist already under the watchful eye of big brother, and indeed this is why all my stuff is legal. But for average people in Michigan, particularly women, for the sake of safety, I highly suggest it if a means to acquire one exists, so long as a more effective weapon like a firearm is impossible or otherwise not desired for whatever reason.

About blowback vs recoil operated, I have fired a couple blowback PPK variants, but never a Bersa. I do know that the recoil is reported to be tolerable with Bersa's, but I would have to guess this may have something to do with the grip. In my opinion, the fact that the PPK platform kicks harder than other designs isn't even debatable, it is a clear fact to anyone who has fired one. Blowback hurts, unless it's a really big gun, like a Hi Point. They beat the hell out of the web of your hand, and some can be counted on to cause serious slide bite, though the beavertail on a Bersa should prevent the slide bite. Why a Bersa may be a relative exception to the recoil rule, I would love to know for sure.