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Old 02-26-2012, 02:52 PM
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Fastbolt Fastbolt is offline
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It's all well & good to decide to try another make/model of some other firearm when a particular one has required a couple of repairs. Frustration & some amount of annoyance is understandable.

I've certainly owned some guns that made me feel that way. For example, many years ago I got rid of a pair of '80's vintage Bulldogs due to assorted problems, the last of which I traded in after it's 3rd trip back to the factory for the same problem - seizing cylinder - when it exhibited the same problem when I removed it from the shipping box after it's latest trip and I couldn't get once around the cylinder doing dry-fire without it locking up.

I've had other guns ... both those I've owned and those I've helped support ... which require one, two or even 3 repairs for a problem before the problem was resolved. That's why they train armorers, you know.

Personal experience can work both ways, though (can't it always? ) ...

One make/model of gun drives a small number of dissatisfied owners to another make/model, with which they have an acceptable experience, while they may not realize that there's another whole set of dissatisfied owners who have switched from that make/model due to bad experiences ... and who are perfectly satisfied with good functioning examples of their "new" choice, even though the first group of owners for that one may have had bad experiences with it.

I have a friend (another instructor) who had great expectations for his new LC9. He had to return it for light strikes and magazine drops. He returned it for repair, and after it was returned (he was told the hammer spring was too light and the mag catch needed replacement) he told me it was not good-to-go after the first range test, and the problems seemed to have been resolved. Then he tried it for another range session after that, and the light strikes were once again occurring. (He was using duty loads which exhibited normal function in all the other 9's.) He got rid of it without being willing to let them try to repair it again.

Sure, you can find a small number of reportedly unsatisfied owners of that new Ruger, but you can find more satisfied owners.

Me? I've made it a practice to commonly avoid the first 1-2 years of a new design's production when it comes to firearms. Sure, you might get one that's fine. Then again, you might not enjoy being the Beta tester if the one you bought exhibited some teething pains. (I haven't enjoyed that experience, myself, which is why I prefer to wait until any new designs have been out and in the hands of the eager folks looking to be the first ones on their block to own the latest & greatest. )

Wouldn't it be great if all new guns that hit the market were perfect?
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