Got my Deerstalker, have some ?'s
 

Hello again. I received my Deerstalker just before Christmas. When I opened it up and checked things out,I noticed a couple blemishes. It had some scratches on the underside of the stock, and a small nick on the corner of one of the corners of the octogon barrel. Is this normal? Should I send it back for a replacement? Dont get me wrong, its not real bad. Maybe I am too picky. My second question is that I have never had a sidelock and want to know if there is anything I need to know in regards to putting it together. Other than that the gun looks good and cant wait to put it together and shoot it. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

wbj

Dude, it's up to you. I know if I spent 3 or 4 bucks for a new gun, I'd certainly want to be the first one to ding it up or scratch it.

If this is a Lyman Deerstalker, and a slight scratch... if you have some oil and rub it on the scratch they often disappear. A scratch is one thing, a real deep scratch is another. As for the nick in the barrel, that kind of bothers me. Although mine get all chewed up at the top of the muzzle. Like said, the choice is yours whether to send it back or not.

That is a hooked breech system rifle. Or button breech what ever they are putting on them. Put the hammer on half ****, then the barrel kind of slides into the tang, goes under the lip, and then you can fold it down into the stock. It is then held there by the wedge pin that you side through the escutcheon plate.

Thank you for the input guys. I will try and take some pics and post them, and you can tell me what you think. Thanks again.

P.S. Sorry about the double post. I must have accidentally hit it twice.

wbj

Where did you buy it?

I noticed that some makers are now packing their guns in closed cell foam while others use styrofoam.
Minor damage can happen in the mail. Or if when the gun is received by the importer it isn't inspected and then it just gets passed on to the retailer.
Or if it is inspected but not closely enough and the damage isn't severe or noticed, then it doesn't get labeled as a factory second or a "scratch & dent".
I know that Traditions does that to some extent and marks some of their guns with an "S" for seconds and then sells them at a discount. The gun still carries the full factory waranty but it isn't being sold as a perfect gun.
Some badly functioning guns do make it through the importer's inspections since they're not testing them for function. But if they are sent back due to defects then they may have to replace it or fix it.
I'm not sure who pays the shipping costs when that happens but sometimes the consumer does get stuck paying some of them.
Scratch cover which is a stain can work on wood scratches and a dab of cold blue may help the barrel scratch.
It could always be worse.
Some gun shops are quite liberal about letting customers have access to handling new guns that are on display and dings and dents always happen. Sometimes the final price does makes up for those flaws. Other times you'll get a better gun the next time that you purchase one in the future.
It usually all works out in the end, even if you need to send the gun back at your expense because you just can't stand seeing the scratches. Then you can always buy an undamaged gun from another outfit.
It all depends on how angry it makes you feel I guess.
Calling the seller and complaining might make you feel better and you could end up receiving a discount over the phone. You never know but at least you can say that you tried to get some satisfaction from them.

Thanks for the info Arcticap. I bought the gun from MidSouth. The box did not seem to be damaged, but the gun was. I am not sure how it happened. My worry is if I send it back is I might end up with one even worse. I would like to test fit the barrel, but I dont know if its a good idea before its cleaned. Thanks again.

wbj

Update: I just pulled it out of the box and inspected it carefully. The scratches are not deep, they are more like scuffs. After looking at the ding on the barrel, it seems to have been done before it was blued. It is small enough I think I can live with it. I would like to put it together without cleaning it for now, so I can put it in my safe. The reason being that I have to have back surgery in a couple weeks and will be down and out for at least a few months, so I wont be able to shoot it till then. Thanks for all the help.

wbj

I'm glad that it's not too bad.
We've all been through it before, and if not just about everyone will eventually.
Try to keep your fingerprints off the metal, and good luck with it and with your back surgery too.

Arcticap, thank you for your well wishes, for both the gun and me. I appreciate it. I am excited about the Deerstalker, but definately not about the back surgery. I hope and pray for a good recovery so I can get back to the things I love.

wbj