How much fitting are you willing to do on a new gun?

[breakingcontact]

After spending several hours working on a Mossberg 930 SPX, I got to thinking about how frustrating it was, but the run around of sending it in would also be very frustrating and it might come back not fixed.

How much fitting are you willing to do on a new gun? When do you just ship it back to the manufacturer? When do you say to hell with it and sell it?

I could have just bought a Nordic mag extension like most guys are doing, but I wanted to make it work right with the parts it came with. It functions well now, but I have a mag tube that's been ground on and polished, a follower I had to clean up and now a forend that's all cut up to make it all fit right.

Achieved my goal, but wondering if I should have just spent the money and got the Nordic extension, sent it back to Mossberg or just not bought it at all.

 

[oneounceload]

Why did you feel the need for the modifications in the first place? That is the question you need to ask yourself. If it worked fine as designed and built, then maybe it would have been better to well enough alone.

The only fitting that needs to be done on ANY of my shotguns is getting the fit to me right - and that is something best left to a qualified stock fitter who knows what he is doing and has the proper try-gun to get the correct measurements

 

[creeper1956]

but I have a mag tube that's been ground on and polished, a follower I had to clean up and now a forend that's all cut up to make it all fit right.

That's a lot of things wrong. One little thing, yeah, fix it... but 3 things, send it back.

I got a pretty good idea of what happened though... you fixed one thing, which was related to another thing, then another thing, and before you know it :banghead:

 

[ColtPythonElite]

None.

 

[smalls]

Really depends on what you paid for it, and what you knew going into it.

If you bought a $200 gun, and have heard that the fit and finish is rough, you should expect to spend some time "fixing" it.

If you bought a $3000 Les Baer, you'd probably be upset to have to fix it.

 

[Liberty1776]

None. A brand new gun should function as expected, regardless of price.

 

[bannockburn]

I would say no, I wouldn't be doing any fitting to a new gun, unless it was something relatively minor, like changing out the grips or easily replacing some drop-in part.

To do the amount of work you described on a new gun sounds like you didn't exactly get what you wanted in the first place, or you took on a job that was more complicated than you were expecting. In which case I would have a local gunsmith do the work, or ship it back to the factory to have them do it right.

 

[Hunterdad]

Why on earth did you cut up the forend?

 

[murf]

it's your weapon. do with it what you want.

murf

 

[md2lgyk]

Other than polishing the feed ramp on my Kel-Tec P32 right after I bought it, I've never done anything to a new gun. See no reason to. But customization, that's another story.

 

[Pronghorn19]

im willing to do quite a bit, somehow i actually enjoy this. I seem to be more attracted to broken/cheap guns than those that actually work right from the get-go.

 

[2zulu1]

None.

 

[jeepnik]

To make it function correctly, none. To make it the way I want it, well now, some folks send brand new guns off to well known smiths and spend thousands more. I've done that a couple of times, not because it needed it, but because I wanted it.

Like others though, I enjoy swapping a few parts here and there, but only for entertainment. If I received a new firearm that didn't function correctly, it would go back without delay.

 

[mnrivrat]

Every gun I buy comes apart for cleaning and inspection. Along with that I also debur and tune parts to assure smooth function.

Fixing becomes a different story in that if there is a need to repair, it should be reflected in the purchase. I have often purchased guns that need work to be done on them. If the price is right it makes for a way to save money for me.

Before a person does this however ,they should know what they are doing and what they are getting into. If you don't know how, then it is best to buy something that does not need work . If there is something wrong with a new gun it is best to let the warranty work for you in most cases.

 

[303tom]

NONE...................

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I send nothing back! If it needs something I do it or get rid of it. The only gun I bought new that was malfuctioning that I didn't fix myself was a Maverick 88 from Wal-Mart. Bought it new on Friday night,used it(or TRIED to) on Saturday for doves. It would not feed from the magazine unless the barrel was pointed straight up. Carried it back to Wal-Mart on Monday(wasn't open then on Sunday). Was accused by the manager of buying it just to use on opening day with no intention of keeping it.

 

[chris in va]

Every single CZ I've owned has needed some 'adjustment' to work properly. I just expect it. CZ USA has never been able to solve the issues when the gun was sent in for repair. I've actually had to inform them of a fix I discovered on a rifle that was having misfeeds.

 

[zorro45]

I am pretty sure that 50% of the new cars sold in the U.S. have to go back to the dealer for at least one manufacturer's defect. Of the new guns I have bought, the record is much much better, and some of the work needed was related to customization, fitting accessories, etc.

 

[bushmaster1313]

Whenever I get a gun, new or old, I spend as much time as possible breaking it in.

 

[flatlander937]

I am pretty sure that 50% of the new cars sold in the U.S. have to go back to the dealer for at least one manufacturer's defect. Of the new guns I have bought, the record is much much better, and some of the work needed was related to customization, fitting accessories, etc.

I'd bet it's more than that... I work on cars for a living. If you own a Land Rover you've got about a 400% chance that your car will be in for a major repair within the first 3 years of ownership.



I'm a mechanically inclined person, and with the wait times I've heard about shipping guns in for repair, it makes me REALLY not want to send anything out for repair if I can help it.

The guns I've bought, I've read extensively on common issues and how to resolve them myself if possible. I will do anything and everything in my power and ability to at the very least figure out what the problem is.



I don't want to be the gun-equivalent of some of the customers I've encountered... "Loud popping noise from rear of vehicle."


... trunk full of ~250 empty water bottles. I mean come on... really?