How can I tell....

[CoffeeInMe]

how used a gun is vs what the seller says (like 100, 200, etc...rounds through it)?  Say for example a Marlin .22 Magnum bolt action. Is there a website to tell me serial numbers to tell how old the gun is ? What should I look for ? Any help would be appreciated.
 

[Catfish]

Personally I would not worry about the age of the gun or the number of rounds down the tube with a .22 mag. I don`t think that you could shoot out a barrel in a .22 mag., especially a bolt gun. If the gun is in good shape and shoots well I would not be afraid of it. With the .22 mag. it would hurt to run some Sweets 7.62 down the barrel once in a while to clean out any copper that might build up, but I never did that with any of them that I owned and they all shot pretty well.

[Rangr44]

I'd be more concerned that it was manufactured correctly.

A close friend once bought a new Marlin Mag boltgun, from a dealer - that we had trouble zeroing the scope we mounted in the receiver grooves.
At first it looked like it was the scope's fault - not enough windage adjustment available.

It turned out, though,that the receiver grooves had been machined into the receiver at a very slight angle to the bore - enough to throw the zero several feet to one side at 50 yards.

Rimfires use lead bullets. A worst-case scenerio would call for a thorough bore scrubbing - provided the bore wasn't ringed (bulged) or rusty.

Generaly, if a rifle's not abused on the outside, the inside should be in about the same condition.

For centerfires - If the rifling's all there, especially in the throat (just ahead of the chamber) and the muzzle/crown's OK - I'd be good to go. (the same rust caveat applies, though)

[CoffeeInMe]

Thanks for all the help. I looked at one that was really worn out but cheap on price. The other was too expensive for what I could buy a new one for. Since I dont have a lot of experience buying a used gun I have elected to buy a new one. I think this will be a better idea since I plan on keeping the rifle for a very long time.
Thanks again.

[jvs]

Check the muzzle end.  All Crowns start out flat.  The flatter, the better when buying used. 

If the Crown looks 'rounded',  you can assume the rifle has been shot many times.

A rounded Crown does not mean there is anything wrong with the bore, especially with a .22.  It can be a warning sign in bigger calibers.   

It is extremely difficult to shoot out a .22 barrel.  Even the oldest 22's will shoot accurately.