new rifle accuracy

[Shinigami]

Right guys im after some advice, ill try to give as much information as possible without naming anyone however i need to get this issue resolved asap as its gone on now for 9 months.
in January i purchased a brand new rifle from a reputable gun shop, not my local but some distance away as they offered the best deal on my old rifle in part ex. the new rifle arrived & looked good except it was medium varmint barrel shoehorned into a sporter stock bending the stock & putting pressure on the action, no problem the shop ordered the correct stock & told me to come back when it arrived & gave me a receipt for it as they had already entered it on my ticket. new stock arrived about a week later & i travelled down to collect it no problems this time . i went home loaded some ammo along with some factory rounds i had & went out to run it in cleaning every round then every 3 as normal & per recommendations, after about 60rds i was getting concerned as it wasn't grouping better than 5-6inches but assumed it was something simple. personal tragedy overtook events then i i didn't look at it again for some time but collected a varying range of ammo to test when next an opportunity arose , when this time came i checked stock screws mounts scope etc & proceeded with various factory rounds & normal load development with 2 powders & 2 weight heads but still to no avail only getting it down to about 3".
i contacted the shop who were not interested & then the distributor who said to return it to the shop for them to check & if they couldn't get it to shoot for them to send it back to distributor. after a long time & many phone calls they sent it back without testing as they said they had no time, the distributor eventually confirmed a crowning problem & sent out another new replacement however somewhere along the line my brand new scope was damaged but no one cared & this had taken over 6 months in total.
the new rifle was transferred to my local RFD as i hadn't yet processed my 1-4-1 as i didn't know until i arrived that it was a new rifle that had been sent, i purchased another load of different ammunition from a couple of places & made some home loads & took it out to run in & try but yet again it had the same problems & wouldn't group with any ammo below 3 inches.
i called the retailer to return it who refused & now said i had to deal directly with the uk distributor however they did agree to this & arranged for it to be collected locally i enclosed a letter stating i no longer wished to have this rifle as i no longer had any confidence in it having had 2 without success & explained the costs incurred now amounted to over £300 in ammunition & several 160 mile round trips to the retailer & RFD.
i then received a telephone call confirming that apparently this rifle also had a crowning issue & that it was being re-crowned & once tested would be returned, totally ignoring my letter.
i then received a message stating it now fired 1" groups but only with a very specific ammo in a specific weight & that it didn't work with bullets above this weight & my RFD called the same day to say the gun was there waiting for me. i have collected the gun but after trying again tonight have failed to get it to shoot less than 2.5 inch group with the same head bullet as stated in the email. all testing & running in has been done off a bench-rest with 25mag scope at 100m for accuracy.
im now at a loss as what to do i really like the action but its useless if it wont shoot & im feeling pressured into accepting something that is useless to me & the retailer is no longer interested what advice can you give me guys i'm feeling very disheartened & really cant afford the loss as im a student & money dose not come easy these days?

 

[HowaU]

Sorry to hear about your dramas.
do not accept the rifle, if there is a clear track-record of things going wrong with the dealership/riflesmith like you have been experiencing it is not fit for purpose.
Most rifles should shoot sub 2" from new. And if the dealership/riflesmith are unable to help to get it to shoot, this will be a good indication of their own confidence of the rifle/workmanship.
hope you get something sorted.

 

[ejg]

Would you let us know what make/model of rifle you purchased?
edi

 

[Apthorpe]

Do you think it's possible that there is anything wrong with the benchrest setup you're using? (I know it's not that likely, but one's instinct is to double check everything on the gun and perhaps miss out on other variables)
It sounds pretty poor behaviour from the distributor that they couldn't do better than claim to make it work with only one load. As HowaU said...don't accept it. Google your consumer rights and faulty goods. I suspect you had a right to reject the second rifle when it went back to the distributor. Ultimately you may well have a case you can make a legal claim with. Making a "small claim" is not that hard and nearly shyster will behave very poorly and refuse to do the right thing all the way up until they receive your formal letter notifying them of your intent to make a court claim.
Although it doesn't seem like it now, your consumer rights are extensive.

 

[Shinigami]

no we tested everything on a TIKKA alongside for comparison & that put almost all through the same hole or touching

Do you think it's possible that there is anything wrong with the benchrest setup you're using? (I know it's not that likely, but one's instinct is to double check everything on the gun and perhaps miss out on other variables)
It sounds pretty poor behaviour from the distributor that they couldn't do better than claim to make it work with only one load. As HowaU said...don't accept it. Google your consumer rights and faulty goods. I suspect you had a right to reject the second rifle when it went back to the distributor. Ultimately you may well have a case you can make a legal claim with. Making a "small claim" is not that hard and nearly shyster will behave very poorly and refuse to do the right thing all the way up until they receive your formal letter notifying them of your intent to make a court claim.
Although it doesn't seem like it now, your consumer rights are extensive.

 

[vizslamad]

Looks like its a trip to trading standards for you. Good luck, whatever you have purchased would appear to be a bag of nails and is obviously not a one off issue. The retailer is the one you have to sort out, they sold it to you and they must take responsibility, morally and legally.

 

[Apthorpe]

Then I guess the f***ing thing's broken then!
It's a pain in the arse, but kick up a fuss and read up on making small claims. I did it over an issue with a dodgy offshore landlord and they were worse to deal with than your guys. Paid up something like 4k once they realised the problem was heading the wrong way.

 

[limulus]

Dear Sir,

i have now received two rifles and neither has performed to an acceptable standard. They are not fit for purpose and I no longer have faith in the product supplied so request a refund for the full amount paid.
I have suffered other monetary loses associated with identifying the problems with your product and would further request the sum of £300 to compensate me for my losses.

my solicitors, billmore and leggit, will be instructed after 14days to commence recovery proceedings if no satisfactory response is received.

Yours

 

[Paul 600]

You are covered by "The sale of goods Act 1979" and "Consumer rights Act 2015". Both these acts make extended warranty a thing of the past and a total waste of money. You are covered with these acts up to 6 years!

 

[danban]

I'm glad I only spent £400 on my howa now.
I would be well ****ed if this was me.
I feel for you. A few years ago I had a problem with a lanber. It wouldn't always fire the second barrel and the shop tried to fix it 4 times.
One day I was out decoying and it played up. I went straight to the shop and told the guy to shove it up his arse. A guy beside the counter said what's the problem. He got an ear full then said pick a gun from gmk St the same price and I will change it for you.
That was good service. I ordered a silver pigeon and put £200 to it. Best gun I have had.

 

[Thegogg]

I feel for you mate as it's just not right but as already posted I think you need to name and shame both the RFD and make, model etc of the gun just so that everyone on here is aware of what they can expect if dealing with these shysters...........

 

[sir-lamp-alot]

many years ago i bought a .223 remington and had the same issues as you the rifle wouldnt shoot anything i put through it took it back to the shop and showed the my targets to the owner and after a bit of looking into it, it came to light that the rifle had a 1-9 twist and was very fussy with ammo and no matter what factory stuff i bought the rifle would just not shoot it. At the time i felt like i had been let down by the shop as they hadnt informed me of the fast twist but it did turn out to be a accurate rifle in the end and a steep learning curve about rifle twists for me and i wonder if this might be your problem

 

[8x57]

sir-lamp-alot I turned up at the range three weeks ago to find my mates Mike and Tim cussing Tim's new Tikka tactical rifle that he had just collected that afternoon. The best that they had been able to get out of it was 2"+ group at 100 yards using several brands of factory ammo. I looked at the barrel and pointed out that it was marked with an 8 indicating twist rate.
Tim tried it with some heavier bulleted ammunition the following week and it's a real tack driver.

 

[Erik Hamburger]

Use the online small claims procedure: Cheap and easy, and most business do not want to fight a small claim, they will accommodate your request. (Of a full refund + compensation of all your expenses) because they don't want a judgement against them.

But try this first: Return the rifle to the RFD and send them one last recorded delivery letter first giving them 14 days to compensate you. Mention in that letter that you will start small claims court proceedings if they do not.
Make sure you keep all receipts and a clear record of all the events.
See https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/overview

 

[Heym SR20]

There is a clear catalogue of errors on the part of the manufacturer that means that both the first and the 2nd rifle were deffetive:

1) Stock fit on first rifle - beggers belief as this is not even primary school stuff. Frankly that rifle should never have been allowed out of the factory, let alone put into the market by the distributor on gun shop. Clearly at fault.

2) Barrel crown issue - that's a manufacturing fault and a new rifle should n't need a recrown - again it should n't have been released.

3) the fact that you new scope has been damaged by the dealer / distributor whilst in their care is also totally unacceptable.

A new rifle should these days shoot factory ammunition into a 2' circle all being well. Homeloads are not made to a certified level of consistency and should be discounted from any discussion. Stick to well known factory ammunition.

What type of rifle are we talking about?

 

[HowaU]

Shinigami,

interested to hear what make this rifle is, and whom is giving you broken stuff? (Being nosey)

 

[Shinigami]

i have to give them the opportunity to set it right once and for all, ill be posting them a letter in the morning via RMSD and if i dont hear back in 2 weeks then i will inform you all of the rifle & retailer.

Shinigami,

interested to hear what make this rifle is, and whom is giving you broken stuff? (Being nosey)

 

[Shinigami]

below is the letter i have drafted to send to the retailer please comment if you think it will help.





i have now received two XXXX rifles in .204 Ruger and neither has performed to an acceptable standard only grouping at best around 3” They are not fit for purpose and both rifles have seen sent back to Distributer, where they confirmed manufacturing defects. The second rifle has been re-crowned by the distributor which should not have been necessary on a new rifle & they admit it “does not like 40gr” & they could only get anywhere near 1” grouping with a specific 32gr ammo this is not acceptable or practical, add to this the marks now on the second rifle &the damaged Mag & whilst I know the gunsmith has tried his best it is not acceptable & has left me without a usable rifle for 9 months after paying for one.
As a result I no longer have faith in the product supplied so request a full refund. I enclosed a letter to this effect to the distributor when the second rifle was returned but seems to have been ignored, sadly it is you who I must go to as the retailer.

I have suffered other monetary loses associated with identifying the problems with your product and would further request the sum of £300 to compensate me for my losses, ( ammo, travel, RFD fees etc) this does not cover all of my out of pocket expenses as my brand new scope was also damaged during the return of the first rifle fully set up as requested, but is an acceptable figure to me in settlement at this time & without prejudice.

The rifle in question is currently being held at .........................who can be contacted on Tel: .............. to arrange the return of the rifle.

I have consulted trading standards and my Solicitor, and have been informed that under The sale of goods Act 1979 and Consumer rights Act 2015, I am entitled to do so.
In the event that the matter is not resolved within 14 days of the date above, my solicitor has been instructed to commence recovery proceedings in the small claims court which will add further costs.



Yours

 

[HowaU]

Good luck and hope it is resolved painlessly. Keep the forum posted

 

[Shabz]

Did you by any chance buy it on a credit card? If so, they'll give you the money back and reclaim it from the company who sold it to you.