At one time or another, we've all gotten the hots to own a new semiautomatic pistol. And we've all experienced the situation where our desire to own a new gun didn't quite match up to the strength of our checkbook (or to the piddly amount the wife was willing to let us blow on our gun hobby).

When buying a used auto pistol, the Sheriff recommends checking its overall appearance, safeties, feeding, ejection, and extraction. Knowing what to look for before you purchase may save you money and the frustration of ending up with a "lemon."

Fortunately, with some forethought and care, shooters can find good-quality handguns on the used-gun market.

Gun shows, gunshops, and various periodicals like Shotgun News are all good sources for finding that used auto pistol that you just can't live without. However, a fellow can easily end up with a real lemon if he doesn't know what to look for when buying a used gun. Here are some tips that have worked pretty well for me over the years as I shopped for used auto pistols.

Inspect The Finish
One of the first things I do is examine the pistol's general outward appearance. It should show only the wear that is reasonable, based upon the age of the gun, and, if you know it, the use that it's been put to. Today, many handguns are carried far more than they are fired, and a little blueing wear, or holster wear, should not affect your decision to purchase. I once traded for a very nice Colt Pocket Auto in .380 ACP that had lain in a drawer on its left side for years. I know it did because there was a good bit of blueing gone from the left side of the slide. An internal inspection indicated the pistol had rarely been fired. And because I was looking for a shooter and not a collector's item, I bought the gun and thoroughly enjoyed it.

However, a worn finish is quite different from an abused finish. If the gun's metal shows gouges, rust spots, or pitting, I would be much more hesitant to make the purchase. If the gun has been outwardly abused, it may also have been internally abused.

Check The Function
Before going any further in the purchase of a used auto pistol, it is important to check all of the gun's safety features. After checking to make sure that the gun is unloaded (yeah, I know you're in a reputable gunshop--check it anyway), engage the various safeties and then attempt to pull the trigger. If you can pull the trigger and release the firing pin, you've got some real problems.

On 1911 pistols, it is possible to polish the sear so that the pistol will have a really nice, extremely light trigger pull. In fact, you can get the trigger pull so light that a 1911 will double on you, and that is not nice at all. To check the condition of the sear, lock the slide back, with the magazine removed, and then trip the slide release with your thumb. If the hammer falls as the slide snaps forward, you've got a gun that will very possibly double on you when firing live ammo. For sure you've got a gun that needs a new sear before it will be safe to use.

Feeding malfunctions can also be a serious problem in used auto pistols, and the majority of feeding problems in semiautomatics can be traced back to a faulty magazine. The lips of the magazine could have become damaged, or you could be dealing with a weak or faulty magazine spring. If the pistol fails to feed reliably, try it with other magazines that you know are reliable. If it's just a bad magazine, throw that thing away immediately. Don't keep it around with the idea of using it for a practice magazine; you might get it mixed up with the good ones. Malfunctions caused by faulty magazines are a real embarrassment in a shooting match, but they're downright dangerous in a gunfight.

Failures to feed may also be traced to damage to the feedramp or barrel chamber. From time to time "enlightened" souls will grab their trusty Dremel tool and decide to polish the pistol's feedramp themselves, thereby avoiding what they think is an unnecessary gunsmithing expense. Correcting this type of problem could mean having to purchase a new barrel or frame.

About the only other problems that an auto pistol might have are concerned with extraction and ejection. And such failures clearly indicate that a new extractor or ejector is needed.