Glad to hear you finally had a good outcome. Any piece of equipment (guns, cars, etc.) can come from the factory with malfunctions. That's why you buy one with a warranty. You did have me scared though as I read this thread last night and my buddy were going shooting our brand new Sports this morning. As in some of the advice, I added some extra lube to mine (a.k.a ran it wet) and of course ran a snake through the bore. Turned out my buddy did absolutely nothing with his out of the box. Both rigs ran fine with no malfunctions. You clearly got one with a problem and the manufacturer fixed it as they should. We both think this gun is great and love them for their price and performance. I also own a 15-22 that has run flawlessly since day one .