Examine The Fit
I've seen some prospective auto pistol buyers pick up a pistol and shake it briskly. Their explanation is that the gun should rattle a little or it is no good. This is a common theory, particularly when considering used 1911 pistols. But, quite frankly, I'm not sure what this is supposed to indicate. I've had 1911s, like the Les Baer Thunder Ranch Special, that didn't rattle at all when I first took them out of the box. In fact, the slide was difficult to pull back. However, that gun has never malfunctioned at all. Shaking a gun and listening for a rattle is no way to really determine if the slide and frame rails are properly mated. It is far better to cycle the pistol, by hand, and feel for any burrs or rough spots. A bit of tightness is actually an indication of increased accuracy, but on the other hand, a bit of looseness may not affect the accuracy.

Things To Avoid
One of the things that I try to avoid is the pistol that someone has put a lot of gadgets on. Again, this is especially true of 1911 pistols. Gadgets and accessories often indicate that the previous owner thought of himself as some sort of home gunsmith. A close examination will often indicate that the owner and not a competent gunsmith installed these parts. And it can also indicate that the owner probably decided to do his own custom work on the sear, extractor, ejector, and various other parts. When you buy a gun loaded with gadgets, you are often buying someone else's troubles.

The good news is that most gunshops will guarantee their used guns to work properly and will gladly make adjustments if that turns out not to be the case. Your local gunshop wants you to be a repeat customer, and it would be very foolish to knowingly sell you something that doesn't work. And, regardless of who you are dealing with, it is always a good idea to arrange to shoot the gun before you buy it or make an agreement that you can return it if it doesn't work properly.

Fortunately, most of the parts on autoloading pistols can be replaced pretty easily. You can contact the manufacturer or refer to various aftermarket parts suppliers' catalogs for the parts. However, it's always best to identify problems before you purchase the pistol so that you can adjust your offer to allow for the needed repairs.

Learning to be a careful and cautious buyer of used guns is also a way to learn how the various guns work. I once traded for a Browning Hi-Power at a gun show that had an aftermarket magazine in it. After carefully examining the pistol, that was the only thing I could find to fault it on. Sure enough, when I got it to the shooting range it would repeatedly fail to feed properly. I replaced the faulty magazine with a good Browning magazine and never had another problem with the gun. I'm convinced that the previous owner was experiencing jams, figured the gun was just no good, and got rid of it at his first opportunity.

By making a mental checklist for overall appearance, safeties, feeding, ejection, and extraction, you will soon be able to give a used autoloader the once over and decide on its value and desirability. In cautiously buying used handguns we learn more about the guns and save money at the same time. That sounds like a win-win deal to me.