'New Gun Won't Work'

S

Shotgun693

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I see posts all the time from gun owners who are complaining that their brand new gun won't work right. Isn't the very first thing to do contact the Dealer and Maker? I read where people replace springs, polish parts or otherwise try to 'fix' the problem. I expect every new product I buy to work correctly. It's the Dealer and Maker's responsibility to see to it that it does. BTW, I have returned guns with a defect to Makers and in every case they made it right.
 
I think most people are looking for a user problem, and hoping It's not a manufacturer's problem. There was one not long ago where the guy thought the packing grease was lubricant. His problem was addressed and solved with no problem. So I think in those questions there is hope of a solution that is cheap and easy.
 
gun makers take time to get your gun back to you and some people are just DIY types.

Kel-tec has a 8week turnaround for example.
 
It DOES seem like a great number of gun owners tend to blame themselves first and think they are doing something wrong.

It's like we really, really buy into the old saying 'It's a poor workman that blames his tools.'

Maybe this says something about the mental attitude of people who buy guns but I'll leave it to wiser heads than me to figure it out.
 
I agree, who wants to send in a new gun and wait weeks if not months to get it back? I'd rather try and fix it myself if it's within reason.
 
Many (but not all) people "I know" who have had problems with a new gun were to blame. They either bought the cheapest (and dirtest) ammo and mags they could find, provided no maintenance or cleaning, and mostly never, ever inspected their weapon or ammo....ever. What's a bore light?!!

Of course there are lemon guns..but thankfully I've never personally had one. If I did, and I could not fix it myself, it would go back to the company ASAP.
 
I read where people replace springs, polish parts or otherwise try to 'fix' the problem
Click to expand...

Best way to fix a problem that doesn't exist

If it doesn't work or fit get a BIGGER hammer. If it breaks it needed to be replace anyway.
 
I bought a Taurus tracker 6" blued revolver in .17 hmr once. I shoot lots of prarie dogs and LOVE that lil' round. But that revolver i could not hit a coke can at 15 feet....The cylinder timing was off...BAD...and this was a new in box purchase! I was disapointed in my new gun not shooting right, so I sent it in for repair at Taurus. LOOONG story short, 6 months later... i found out they no longer made the .17HMR Tracker in BLUE. They were just going to put a new cylinder on it....rather than have a gunsmith (guess they dont have any) fix it properly.
So I had them cut it in half and send me a check.....too sad. I really wanted that gun:(
 
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I bought an Auto-Ordnance 1911A-1 .45 back in the late 80's. My brother had an FFL and he ordered it wholesale from a jobber's ad in the Shotgun News.
I think I paid around $220 for it. It was a Numrich/West Hurley gun.

I knew their reputation, and I knew the price was too good to be true, but I thought "How bad can it be?". Well, it was bad. The gun would fire one round before it jammed. Every time. But instead of sending it back, either to be fixed, or to get a refund, I decided to make it a "project", and fix it myself.:eek:

Long story short, after a month, a dozen trips to the range, a couple of hundred rounds, a lot of stoning, honing, filing and cursing, I got it running.:D

But never again. These days, they either work right, or they go back. Period.

Walter
 
^^^^ +1 And no "needs a hunnert rounds to break it in good" either. If it needs a hunnert rounds, YOU break it in, THEN I'll buy it.:mad:
 
My sig is en route to my place from Exeter for what the 5th or 6th time. Bought it 9.1.11 and have less than 120 or so rounds through it. Everytime I ask them to call me when they have the gun so I can discuss the problem, everytime they just "fix" the failure and send it back. They say they test it, breaks for me every time...... It's more of a game to me now on how long they'll drag this out.
 
I had a Beretta that I kept trying to have other people shoot to see if it was just me that was causing it to jam all the time. I figured that since it was a Beretta any issue must have been me. That was definitely not the case. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it and didn't like it enough to take it to the smith so I just traded it.

I think a lot of the time people think that since they have brand X it should work flawless and any issues must be user error. This is definitely not the case as many can attest to.
 
Send it back or get it to a real smith. I have seen and repaired more guns than you would believe that were messed up by the owners attempt to "fix it" themselves. Some involved replacing the frame or slide. Unless you are a gunsmith with experience you will usually make things worse. I am all for DIY repairs but on a firearm it's not a good idea. When I was learning I messed up my share of parts until I learned how things really work.
 
New Guns

Back in the 70s, S&W issued K frame revolvers from which you could not eject the fired casings. The Springfield XD 45 is known to choke with semi-wadcutter ammo. So, yes, the gun manufacturers issue lemons on occasion. Some semi-autos require breaking in. Some are sensitive to limp-wristing. Unless you really know your handloads and they have a proven track record in other guns, you should always evaluate a new gun with factory ammo.
 
On Autos I allways check the magazines. I purchased a Springfield Armory Factory comp. It came with a shooting star mag. Shooting Star mags, at the time had good press. The pistol did not feed.

Long story short, the mag was bad, I never had a problem once I changed to my liberated GI mags.

Moral of the story. All ways look at the mag if an auto loader malfunctions.
 
I generally buy CZ pistols, so I haven't really experianced that issue much, nor with my Smith Model 10. :)
Taurus, yes, a few of them, and the factory made them right. If I get a lemon out of the box, the factory will repair/replace.
 
I almost returned a Winchester 9410 for repair. The tang safety wouldn't engage unless the hammer was pulled back slightly.

Fortunately, I had purchased 2 of them, and the other one worked OK.

So I took both apart and miked the parts. The machining on the hammers was different. I filed the "shelf" on the bad one to match the good one, reassembled and then the two shotguns were identical. Like they should have been.

However, if I didn't have the second one for a comparison, I'm not sure I would have known where to start. :)
 
My new gun works.

I recently purchased a Colt (yes, with prancing pony and all) M1911 - 100 year anniversary model.

The only 'new gun' problem with it is the trigger - about the weight of a real issue M1911, six pounds or so. The 'problem' is the pull varies from a minimum of 5.25 pounds to just shy of 6.5 pounds from shot to shot. (According to the Wheeler trigger pull gauge I have.) Hopefully it will even out with more use.

Oh, the itty bitty sights are hard to find in less than broad daylight, but they are just like the original.

I've heard a lot of talk about how bad Quality Control is at Colt. Not on this one, folks.

Anyone interested, full details at my blog.
 
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