Bigbulls, I really appreciate your input on this and concur with your comments about the gun smith. He should (and sadly…so should I) have known how it operates and sent me packing. As you can tell this is my first bolt action rifle and up until now all of my Deer hunting has been done with Remington 870 (with a rifled barrel) or with my 2 muzzleloaders, one of which shoots 54 cal patched round balls (that gun is really fun to shoot). I typically hunt in the forests in the Northeast where all of my shots are less than 100 yds. I wanted to expand my hunting territory so I bought a bolt action that would permit me to shoot much further. I feel much better, knowing that odds are that there in nothing wrong with the gun. Thanks for all your help!