Buyer Beware: Buying 'Bargain' Guns Can Be Risky

When the opportunity arises, I try to take my own advice. In the August 2020 issue, I used this column to espouse the virtues of surplus firearms for the bargain-hunting gun buyer. Just a few days after that issue arrived in my mailbox, an email landed that advertised a wide selection of surplus Czech-made pistols. Though I love my CZ Shadow 2, I’d never owned an original CZ 75. So, I forked over the cash and a pre-”­B” CZ 75 soon arrived at my FFL. It was advertised as being in “very good” condition, but when I opened the box it was clear that my definition of...