>Molly, that is a very nice wishful thought to slug the bore before you buy the gun. Have you been able to do it? Personally, not knowing the mechanical skills or limitations of someone coming in off of the street with such a request, I would flat out deny it.
Actually, I have. But I'll admit that the store owner knew me and my skills pretty well, and I was a good customer. The average guy might do better by asking to run a tight patch down the bore. Not as good, but you can still feel tight and loose spots.
>Have you successfully obtained a three day return privilige on a new gun?
Again, I have returned a new gun (unfired) that was defective. I once bought a M94 winchester in 30-30 whose action locked up solid when the lever was thrown the first time. The lever could not be fully closed or opened. It went straight back, and I took home another new gun.
>If it came back in fired, it is a used gun.
Actually, once sold at retail, it is (in most states) legally a used gun, whether it's been fired or not. But if not so in your area, simply make your offer contingent on the gun being unfired when returned. It's not hard to tell.
>If it would be a quality issue, then the resolution would be with the manufacturer, unless the seller was an authorized repair station. Some of the Wisconsin deer seasons are for three days. Sort of like buying an expensive dress for the dance and returning it the day after.
You've got a point there. But a three day warranty has expired at the end of a 3 day season, and the gun couldn't be returned anyhow. Or make it a two day return privilege, or a one day. Or 12 hours. But give the customer a chance to satisfy himself that what he bought was represented.
I'm not trying to be a legal eagle here. Defective guns DO slip through the factories, and not by any fault of the final customer either. I once saw a new Ithica shotgun whose bore looked like it was rifled, because it hadn't been reamed and polished after being hammer forged. I've had a 7x57 Mauser brought into my shop whose clean, shiney bore would have taken a .308 bullet without any strain. (Deepest rifling you ever saw!) I've seen an American 32-20 whose bore slugged 0.321" instead of 0,312. I've seen a Taurus revolver returned from their authorized repair station whose cylinder was visibly out of allignment with the barrel.
Not only that, but I've seen some of the worst rusted wrecks with rusty, pitted bores made to look almost new by some of the old fashioned 'horse traders'. They'd steam the dents out of the stock and rub them down with some oil, scrape and steel wool the outside metal and cold blue it. Then they'd steel wool the bore to remove the loose rust so they could bust a thermometer and coat the bore with mercury so that it would gleam like a new penny. The mercury would fill in the pitting, and it would look like a new gun. Sometimes, they'd swab the bore with black shoe polish wax, let it dry, then polish the bore with a few patches. Many a young shooter has been taken in by such tricks at flea markets and yard sales - not to mention a few gun stores!
Nowadays, there's a legal concept that says that any article has to be as represented and suitable for the purpose for which it is sold. You can't sell a beatup sedan to some yokel who wants to compete in the Indy 500 with it, without incurring some serious liabilities. You can't sell butter that is 20% axle grease. The days of Caveat Emptor are long dead in the American legal system. The days of lemon laws and 'theft by deception' are here, and seem likely to stay. ANY customer has the right to a square deal. And that includes a decent bore on a brand new rifle!
And if he does somehow get stuck, he has the right to a free and immediate refund or exchange from the dealer without a lot of 'restocking fee' nonsense. He shouldn't have to fight with the dealer or the manufacturer either: He doesn't have the leverage for it. He's only one person, and the big companies won't give a BLEEP. That job properly belongs to the dealer, who can say "Until this is fixed, you won't sell any more trash through my store! And I'll see to it that all the dealers in this end of the state learn about it too!" It's absolutely amazing how a statement like that will clean the wax out of the ears of a salesman, who will then understand perfectly.
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Originally Posted by felix
