Terrible experience purchasing a No. 3 revolver

Incendiary · #1 04-03-2024, 07:46 PM

Hi guys. Canadian member sharing an experience about an antique No. 3 purchased from a USA seller. Please weigh in. Am I wrong here?

Edit: if you want to see the listing it’s back up for sale on Guns International listing # 102639383.

I recently purchased a gorgeous No. 3 New Model that I found on Guns International, being sold by MISTERLUGER, real name Walter Smeddy. It was advertised as a .44 Russian gun. Before I bought it, I had the seller confirm that the cylinder had the tell-tale "ring" case stop towards the front of the cylinder. The seller verified over the phone (silly me for not getting photos) that the ring is there. I sent the money, a couple weeks later the gun shows up.

In my eyes it clearly cannot be a .44 Russian, the rear end of the chambers are way wider than they should be. I compared measurements with a .44 Russian loaded cartridge. The .44 Russian cartridge will drop in, but has significant unsupported area for the half of the brass closest to the rim of the case. At least 10 thou bigger than the chamber mouths should be based on SAAMI specs for 44 Special (parent case of 44 Russian). Also way wider than my other .44 Russian gun that I compared to. It has the 1-9/16 cylinder and the short ejector housing. Serial #377.

So at this point I reached out to MISTERLUGER, the seller (within 24 hours of receiving the gun) and told him what happened. Flat out refused to acknowledge that it could be anything other than .44 Russian since the guy who sold it to him said so. Keep in mind, this guy is a licensed FFL in the states and sells tons of guns.

He refuses to offer any advice or cost related help getting the revolver back to him. Refuses to provide any relevant information that may help at the border, despite being an FFL. He must know the law, but refuses to be of any help to a Canadian customer who has never done this before.

Finally figured out how to get the gun to him by doing my own homework. He refunded my original purchase, but refused to help out with any of the associated costs I had to absorb. About $500 between everything.

The best part? It's up for sale again labeled as a .44 Russian...

So far it's been a month long cost-me-$500 headache over someone else's mistake. Is there any action I can take against this guy and/or has anyone else in the antique community had this happen? What did you do?