Warning, this is a long post.
Notes about my purchase of a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22, Model #811034. This is a black MOE version with the threaded barrel.
The firearm was initially ordered on a Friday using Davidson's Gun Genie.
I completed the purchase transaction at my local gun shop on Thursday just short of a week after the order. I was a little short on time and I only did a very cursory inspection of the firearm.
During an inspection on Friday prior to cleaning I discovered three specific points of damage. Once the damage was discovered I stopped and did not clean the firearm.
1) The receiver had a large crack on the right side in the area of the rear takedown pin. At a casual glance this crack may not be visible depending on the lighting conditions, however upon a close inspection the crack became obvious. The crack runs from the top of the receiver on the right hand side, through the hole for the rear takedown pin, down the right hand side of the receiver to the floor of the receiver. On the right hand side of the receiver it was visible on both the inside and the outside of the receiver. The crack continues across the floor at the rear of the receiver and about half way up the left hand side of the receiver.
2) The charging handle was damaged and did not lock in the forward position. In the cardboard box there were some small piecers of polymer, it appears that the charging handle lock was one of these pieces.
3) The MBUS rear sight was damaged. On the left hand side the serrated side extension was broken. This is the small ear that the user presses on to raise the rear sight. The small ear on the right hand side is present and the sight could be raised using that surface. In the cardboard box there were some small pieces of polymer, it appears that the serrated side extension was one of these pieces.
To return the firearm I enclosed in the box everything included with the firearm at the time it was delivered. I included the two pieces of polymer that were loose in the cardboard box, these appear to be the broken pieces mentioned in points 2 and 3 above.
Later that day I returned the firearm to my local gun shop and they refunded to me the money I paid them. I was told that Davidson's would replace the gun with a different new one, and that the replacement was on the way.
On the following Tuesday I went to my local gun shop to pick up the replacement. I thoroughly inspected the firearm and finding no problems I paid for it, and took possession. At home I again thoroughly inspected it and then cleaned it following the instructions in the manual.
On Friday two weeks after the initial order I took the gun to my local indoor range, the gun performed well chewing through 3 boxes of Winchester Super-X 100 Pack #X22LRPP1, 40 grain, 1280 fps ammunition.
There were two failures to fire whereupon the cartridge was replaced in an empty magazine to ensure that the firing pin would strike a different place on the rim, the cartridge then fired properly.
There was one failure to fire whereupon the cartridge was replaced as above yet repeatedly failed to fire with several different firing pin strikes in various places.
There was one instance where the firing pin perforated the rim of the cartridge. There was some ejecta out of the rear of the cartridge, this cartridge was extracted, but not ejected. When fired this round sounded very different, and the recoil impulse was discernibly lighter. This shell casing was inspected and there was no bulging or tearing of the casing that would indicate an out of battery firing.
The four instances mentioned above were in four different magazine loads and were spread throughout the different boxes of ammunition.
I should point out that I was using only 2 of the factory 25 round magazines and each magazine was loaded very carefully ensuring that the bullets were properly staggered. I varied from a slow methodical pace, to rapid fire magazine dumps, and with the exceptions noted above the gun performed well.
The first gun was probably damaged in handling somewhere after final inspection and packing at the factory. The cardboard box did show some minor damage, but not enough to throw up any red flags. I should have taken the time necessary to do a thorough inspection in the store on the first gun. My failure to do so was my own fault. My failure to inspect the gun prior to delivery could have given both my local gun shop, and Davidson's an opportunity to blame me for the damage. Both my local gun shop and Davidson's did the right thing and performed admirably.
Sometimes the price for using businesses that you already have a relationship with can cost a little more money. The price I paid was lower than every other local shop for this particular model gun. There were lower prices available even after factoring in shipping and FFL fees when using distant internet based e-tailers. I paid about a $15 premium over the lowest price I found on the internet. I made a deliberate choice to use my local gun shop and Davidson's because of the long term guarantee that Davidson's provides, and the customer service that my local gun shop provides.
Notes about my purchase of a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22, Model #811034. This is a black MOE version with the threaded barrel.
The firearm was initially ordered on a Friday using Davidson's Gun Genie.
I completed the purchase transaction at my local gun shop on Thursday just short of a week after the order. I was a little short on time and I only did a very cursory inspection of the firearm.
During an inspection on Friday prior to cleaning I discovered three specific points of damage. Once the damage was discovered I stopped and did not clean the firearm.
1) The receiver had a large crack on the right side in the area of the rear takedown pin. At a casual glance this crack may not be visible depending on the lighting conditions, however upon a close inspection the crack became obvious. The crack runs from the top of the receiver on the right hand side, through the hole for the rear takedown pin, down the right hand side of the receiver to the floor of the receiver. On the right hand side of the receiver it was visible on both the inside and the outside of the receiver. The crack continues across the floor at the rear of the receiver and about half way up the left hand side of the receiver.
2) The charging handle was damaged and did not lock in the forward position. In the cardboard box there were some small piecers of polymer, it appears that the charging handle lock was one of these pieces.
3) The MBUS rear sight was damaged. On the left hand side the serrated side extension was broken. This is the small ear that the user presses on to raise the rear sight. The small ear on the right hand side is present and the sight could be raised using that surface. In the cardboard box there were some small pieces of polymer, it appears that the serrated side extension was one of these pieces.
To return the firearm I enclosed in the box everything included with the firearm at the time it was delivered. I included the two pieces of polymer that were loose in the cardboard box, these appear to be the broken pieces mentioned in points 2 and 3 above.
Later that day I returned the firearm to my local gun shop and they refunded to me the money I paid them. I was told that Davidson's would replace the gun with a different new one, and that the replacement was on the way.
On the following Tuesday I went to my local gun shop to pick up the replacement. I thoroughly inspected the firearm and finding no problems I paid for it, and took possession. At home I again thoroughly inspected it and then cleaned it following the instructions in the manual.
On Friday two weeks after the initial order I took the gun to my local indoor range, the gun performed well chewing through 3 boxes of Winchester Super-X 100 Pack #X22LRPP1, 40 grain, 1280 fps ammunition.
There were two failures to fire whereupon the cartridge was replaced in an empty magazine to ensure that the firing pin would strike a different place on the rim, the cartridge then fired properly.
There was one failure to fire whereupon the cartridge was replaced as above yet repeatedly failed to fire with several different firing pin strikes in various places.
There was one instance where the firing pin perforated the rim of the cartridge. There was some ejecta out of the rear of the cartridge, this cartridge was extracted, but not ejected. When fired this round sounded very different, and the recoil impulse was discernibly lighter. This shell casing was inspected and there was no bulging or tearing of the casing that would indicate an out of battery firing.
The four instances mentioned above were in four different magazine loads and were spread throughout the different boxes of ammunition.
I should point out that I was using only 2 of the factory 25 round magazines and each magazine was loaded very carefully ensuring that the bullets were properly staggered. I varied from a slow methodical pace, to rapid fire magazine dumps, and with the exceptions noted above the gun performed well.
The first gun was probably damaged in handling somewhere after final inspection and packing at the factory. The cardboard box did show some minor damage, but not enough to throw up any red flags. I should have taken the time necessary to do a thorough inspection in the store on the first gun. My failure to do so was my own fault. My failure to inspect the gun prior to delivery could have given both my local gun shop, and Davidson's an opportunity to blame me for the damage. Both my local gun shop and Davidson's did the right thing and performed admirably.
Sometimes the price for using businesses that you already have a relationship with can cost a little more money. The price I paid was lower than every other local shop for this particular model gun. There were lower prices available even after factoring in shipping and FFL fees when using distant internet based e-tailers. I paid about a $15 premium over the lowest price I found on the internet. I made a deliberate choice to use my local gun shop and Davidson's because of the long term guarantee that Davidson's provides, and the customer service that my local gun shop provides.
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