How To Buy A Used Pistol

One thing I do when looking at any used gun is check the firing pin without dismantling the gun:
Check to see the chamber(s) are clear and gun is unloaded.
Pointing in a safe direction cock the gun.
Drop a pencil into the bore eraser end first.
Pull the trigger.
If the pencil jumps, the firing pin is intact. If the pencil does not move, transition to another gun to buy or ask the shop to fix that one for youbefore purchase.
Caution: If you use a BIC pen or a pencil without an eraser, it might jump completely out of the bore – Safe direction, please!
This one firing pin check has saved me frombuying ‘the wrong gun’ several times!