All of the above. I will add that there is no short cut to experience and there is a certain amount of risk. If there are unanswered questions, there is more risk and I just discount what I am willing to pay.

Thanks to all. The shortcut for experience is sharing in the experience of others.

One thing I have noticed is that it is a lot easier to buy than to sell!

I think that applies to all of our hobbies.

It happens. Some sellers are not forthright, That grade 2 I picked, I knew there were issues, but not the ones that were revealed after it arrived. It’s all a learning curve, I don’t think I would take the same chance on a gun of a higher price, but for the cheaper ones you’re always rolling the dice!

I have bought and sold some very nice guns, A few years ago I bought a Colt hammer shot gun, bores were nice and bright, with the exception of one minor pit in the barrels, I sent the gun off to have the brls honed, The gentleman called me and informed me that someone had "polished" the bores with " liquid solder" and it was a mess. So the brls were trash and since they were 34" hard to find. So that is my horror story of a high grade colt, And by the way the brls did ring, but not as they should, my bad Gary