Buying used police handguns....

[Last Resort]

What are your thoughts on buying used police handguns? I'm considering buying my first glock down the road (probably a 23). Summitgunbroker has lots of used police glocks. A friend of mine (cop) said to stay away from police trades, as they are usually "beat to hell". What do you guys think?

[normanvin]

Depends on the condition and price.

[fastfive0]

ok first off what really can be beat to hell? 99% of there life they are holstered. So they usually have some holster wear...so what. Most see an hour of range time every couple months and shoot maybe 100 rnds. And if its a glock your going for.....there is not much to really be "beat to hell". Check the barrel make sure it looks good and replace the spring/guide rod as this should be standard whenever buying a used glock with unknown round count (even though I have never replaced mine with well over 5,000 rnds through a G19). Save the money and get a nice holster and an extra mag!

[ScotsGuards]

Depends on the condition and price.

Norman is right. I sell dozens of police trade-ins and usually depends on what comes in. Sometimes I get damn near new guns such as a recent batch of Sig P220s or real dogs such as the batch of Berettas I received about the same time.

Just remember, as with any used firearm, check to see if the peice is worth the asking price as far as condition, etc. and what any extras might be. Sometimes you get a really good deal. Other times, Ehhh! It's the same on my end as well.

[zachomega]

I bought a police trade in Beretta 92FS. The price was right although the gun is definitely beat up. I have another 92FS that is nowhere near as used to compare it with.

With that said, after cleaning the extractor, it has had no troubles and I find the trigger preferable to the cleaner model (even after the D spring was added to the cleaner one).

Clearly the gun saw a lot more use than just holstering but it is just as accurate as the other.

If the price is right and you don't mind a scuffed up gun, go for it.

-Zach

[ham385]

I just got a 92fs this winter. I love it, the slide is tight, very little rattle. The barrel has tight lockup, and very sharp, crisp rifling. It was hardly shot.

Cosmetically, it's beat up. the backstrap was rubbed nearly to the white aluminum, the slide had a lot of rub marks also. Cold blue and alumiblack fixed it up nice, I still need to send the slide back to trijicon to get the night sights replaced, the front one was broken. So another $109 on top of the $330 for essentially a mechanically new 92fs. I'm happy.

[7998]

It depends. I wouldn't buy one sight unseen. I bought 870 Police Magnum that looked like it had never been fired, I had to go through about 10 of them to find it.

[Mity2]

It depends I guess...

I don't perticulerly cared for Glock turn in's, but some other popluler police turn in's, such as S&W 66's, 65's, and 5906, and Sig P-6, 220, and 226 are among some of the best deals out there.

I bought my 65, 66(just picked it up last night), P-6, and Beretta 96D PSP, and they have all been an excellent weapons, although not the prettiest.
Most of them are rough shape cosmeticaly, but usualy in excellent mechanical condition(carried alot, shot little), and to me, some scuff's from day to day duty is like a badge of honor i think...

Not to mention some police turn in proudly wears department insidnia, that you can't get any other way...

[RoyJackson]

As long as I can check the gun out for damage and excessive wear, I'd be OK with buying a police trade-in. I'd guess most aren't fired much...probably not as much as some of our handguns.
I wouldn't buy one sight unseen though...which is why I voted "It Depends"

[cigarmanpa]

you know it's lightly used and usually get it at a great discount so if you don't mind a little visable wear go for it.