Buying Blemish / Refurb gun?

[92saturnsl2]

Doing some online shopping for a gun I'm interested in and I came across a couple listed as manufacturer refurb / blemish, with the note that there may be cosmetic defects. Anyone ever take this gamble, and if so, how extensive are the "blemishes"?

The vendor is kygunco.com which I've always heard good things about. There is a satisfaction guarantee on the blemish guns that if you are not satisfied simply decline the transfer and they make arrangements to have the gun returned free of charge. Maintains a 1 year factory warranty but for function only, not cosmetics. Sounds pretty risk free. On the particular gun I'm looking at, the savings amounts to about 40%.

Looking for any input that might be helpful.

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

What make is the Refurb you are looking at?

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
What make is the Refurb you are looking at?


It's a Rossi / Taurus Circuit Judge

 

[KJSmith]

Dan Wesson has a upside down Y at the end of the serial #. That indicates its a Blem. gun.
Typically you get a sheet showing where the blem is.

I would think the gun you are interested in would be fine.
That's not a gun your worried about how it looks.
Its a functional gun meant for service, not show.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
It's a Rossi / Taurus Circuit Judge


You can get a 6 shot Taurus 856 .38 special brand new after rebate for like $195 right now. Its a REAL gun, that can be used for real purposes. The "judge thing", is an abomination, and not all that useful, for really anything.

 

[Mr_Joe]

I'm not really a ‘Judge' fan either. I do own a Blackhawk & Redhawk in 45 Colt though.

One of the best deals I got was an almost new BAR in 243 with a broken stock. It was broke in 2 at the grip.

It depends on what needs refurbishment, value of the gun, & cost paid. Then what your plans are. We have a ‘camp gun', 20 ga single-shot. It started in rough shape for just about free. Some cleaning, new butt-plate, & some home bluing, works fine.

 

[Toros]

Originally Posted by bubbatime
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
It's a Rossi / Taurus Circuit Judge


You can get a 6 shot Taurus 856 .38 special brand new after rebate for like $195 right now. Its a REAL gun, that can be used for real purposes. The "judge thing", is an abomination, and not all that useful, for really anything.

Precisely.
I bought a Taurus Model 65 4".357 mag that was a blem from Kygunco about three years ago. Polished and blued finish. It's an excellent revolver. It took me about 6 months of ownership to figure out the blem. It was the Taurus logo. It was distorted when stamped/engraved on the side plate. $319

 

[wdn]

I have bought blemished lower receivers from Aero Precision and upon close inspection, could not find a blemish. Maybe it was inside the magazine well where you can't see it. They are at least as good as the first-quality ones from Spike's Tactical.

I bought a refurb Glock 21 for $350 factory refurbished by Glock. It had a new barrel, new recoil spring, new slide and 2 new Glock mags, and came in a new case. No complaints.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

I own a Judge Poly Public Defender.

It's not a bad truck gun, you'll either love it or hate it. It takes some getting used to, especially if you have large hands. The best groupings I've got were 2.5 inches @20 yards with Hornady 45 LC.

FWIW, stuff like PDX Defender 410 and other "defense 410" is a waste IMO (atleast for the Judge, my Bond Arms Snake Slayer it's way better in terms of accuracy and kick) just shoot regular slugs, you and your pocketbook will thank you.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Went ahead and bought it, I'll pick it up this weekend. I'll report back on how "blemished" the gun really is. I was originally looking for a over/under combo, but this will do the trick nicely. At just over three bills, it was hard to say no. The only downside is cost of .45LC and .410 ammo.

Originally Posted by bubbatime
You can get a 6 shot Taurus 856 .38 special brand new after rebate for like $195 right now. Its a REAL gun, that can be used for real purposes. The "judge thing", is an abomination, and not all that useful, for really anything.


That would be an okay suggestion if I were looking for a pistol. I have absolutely no use for a snub nose pistol.

 

[GumbyJarvis]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
Went ahead and bought it, I'll pick it up this weekend. I'll report back on how "blemished" the gun really is. I was originally looking for a over/under combo, but this will do the trick nicely. At just over three bills, it was hard to say no. The only downside is cost of .45LC and .410 ammo.

Originally Posted by bubbatime
You can get a 6 shot Taurus 856 .38 special brand new after rebate for like $195 right now. Its a REAL gun, that can be used for real purposes. The "judge thing", is an abomination, and not all that useful, for really anything.


That would be an okay suggestion if I were looking for a pistol. I have absolutely no use for a snub nose pistol.


Freedommunitions.com and laxammo.com normally have great deals on 45 ammo.

I shoot laxammos refurbished ammo, never had a hiccup with 223, 5.56, 9mm, .40, or .45lc

https://www.laxammo.com/lax-reloads...ng-colt-255-gr-250-rds-w-free-can-detail

37 cents or so a round, burns clean.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
That would be an okay suggestion if I were looking for a pistol. I have absolutely no use for a snub nose pistol.


Ahh, you are talking about a rifle... I saw judge and thought it was the pistol. I forgot that they sold a rifle version of that. Those rifle revolver things are kind of cool. Should be fun to play with.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by bubbatime
Ahh, you are talking about a rifle... I saw judge and thought it was the pistol. I forgot that they sold a rifle version of that. Those rifle revolver things are kind of cool. Should be fun to play with.


I always thought the judge pistol with 6" barrel might be fun to play around with (I don't really care for anything snub nose though I recognize they have their uses), but the .45LC is handicapped for accuracy in that long cylinder, and 410 in a pistol ought to be a challenge hitting what you're shouting at. Just not my cup of tea, looks like one of those guns where the novelty would wear off quite quickly when you realize the thing still shoots poorly no matter how much you practice. To reach their own I guess...

 

[GZRider]

Shoot I'd still take a badly refinished but mechanically clean 1911 Colt over most any modern cheap sidearms like the judge pistol, however those Taurus's seem well built for the money. 1911 Colt are always fun to shoot, and in my mind at least handle much better then modern stuff like the insanely heavy and over engineered Desert Eagle .50, aka the f35 of handguns.

 

[ArrestMeRedZ]

Originally Posted by GZRider
...aka the f35 of handguns.


You owe me for the coffee that passed through my nose for that. Good one!

 

[92saturnsl2]

Well the jury is in, and I'm extremely pleased with the quality of the refurb/blemish. The gun shows signs of being handled plenty-- fingerprints, smudges on the stock, but nothing above and beyond what might occur with normal handling of the gun. Other than that there is only one blemish and it's very minor, at least in my eyes. There is a nick/splinter in the stock where they drilled and installed the strap eyelet thing (exact name eludes me, no idea what it's called). It's about the size of a grain of rice or smaller, I can certainly live with it, and if it flakes off completely, nothing a bit of wood putty can't fix. Retail on the gun was $539, I got it for $340 after tax. KYgunco was a bit of a drive, but well worth it-- people were very friendly and their assortment of guns & ammo is better than anything I've seen around here. Gun is a solid piece, good feel to it. Only fired a couple shots to check for function, will take it out to the property tomorrow and play with it more.

 

[ZeeOSix]

I'd put a dab of matching wood stain on that stock blemish and call it good.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
......... Other than that there is only one blemish and it's very minor, at least in my eyes. There is a nick/splinter in the stock where they drilled and installed the strap eyelet thing (exact name eludes me, no idea what it's called).

It's called a sling swivel. If it bothers you there is an easy fix that any gunsmith can perform. You can have a recessed sling swivel installed. This is common on many of the African big bore rifles. The Winchester Model 70 Super Express, and Safari Express, in both .375 H&H, and .458 Win. Mag. both come with them. As do others.

It utilizes 2 screws to hold the swivel in place, instead of just one. These guns are considerably heavier than most bolt action sporters. Which is the reason for the added screw. Here are a couple of examples of them. It's a far better solution, than screwing around with wood putty and stain on a brand new rifle.

https://www.talleymanufacturing.com/product/custom-sling-swivel/

https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...ester-pre-64-1-swivel-stud-prod6754.aspx

https://picclick.com/Winchester-Model-70-Super-Grade-Swivel-Studs-123118930985.html