After thinking about this for a while, I am wondering if this thing was too hard. It may have been the check was erroneous. What say thee?

Jim

Ok guys, I am under the hammer on this one. Here is the story as far as I remember. Over two years ago, I bought two Sako actions from an aquaintance. One was new, in the white, the other was blued. Both were new and had never been barelled. They were both sold through an ad on one of these internet forums, I am not sure which one. The guy that bought the one in the white called the other day and said the receiver had been barelled and stocked, and when he fired it the bolt lifted hard and he discovered the lugs had set back. It was chambered in .308. This was after he had the rifle built and a buch of money into it. Well, he took it to his Gunsmith who told him the receiver was soft, but lapped in the lugs and sent him on his way. He fired it again and said the lugs set back again and now there was metal "flaking" off the action. He now feels he got took. I guess I would feel that way too, but who to blame. I bought it, as did he, in good faith. Am I responsible for it? Is the guy I bought it from? Will Sako, now Beretta, stand behind it? Please let me know, I don't want to cause hard feelings here or have the gent think I am an unresonable jerk. I have offered to have him send it back so I can run a hardness check on it. Will have to wait and see. Really would like to hear some opinions on this one.

Thanks,

Jim

Jim

Frankly, I don't see how you can be responsible for the action. Unless, you built it and stamped Sako markings on it.



Would you be responsible if you sold him a pre-64 M70 and the lugs set back on firing. Or, a 98 Mauser. Only if you had information prior to the sale that the action had been through a fire or what not that caused the action to be fully annealed.



Ultimately, I would explain this to the fellow that bought the action from you and perhaps see if there is some sort of compromise that could be worked out. Myself, I would feel "some" obligation to the buyer.



I'm sorry that you are in this position. I feel for you.

BTW, these are only my personal views.



One question though. When I worked for Wisner's Gunshop, I did the rifle barreling for a time. Over the years they had worked out proceedures for barreling jobs. One thing was they kept meticulous records with all of the various measurements. First rattle out of the box was to check action hardness before the barrel job proceeded. Maybe, I repeat, maybe some of the responsibilty belongs to the gunsmith that barreled the afore mentioned action. Again, JMHO!!!!

Jim,

Sorry you're having one of those little things that make you fantasize about being a grocery bagger for the rest of your life!

Here is how I would deal with this issue- have him send the action back and look at it. If it is screwed up contact Beretta and maybe they will credit you for the old action. Especially if it might have a metalurgical problem. Go from there, if you work hard to get him a new action maybe he'll be pissed off at Sako rather than you and that will be that.Hopefully he had it hot blued...

Also, might as well try contacting the guy you got it from and see if he can be of help too.

At any rate, good luck and I hope it works out in the end!

Mark

handloads or factory loads?? get the gun inspected by a gunsmith that you know/trust and see what he thinks.Get him to test the hardness of it .If it is soft, he should know the correct channels to persue the matter with Sako.

Jim, I remember when you had these for sale, I thought long and hard about picking it up for a project.
Being the type person I know you are you will do whatever it takes to make the man happy in the end.
First off, I would want the name of the smith that did the work, then I would want the gun sent to another gunsmith agreed to by both parties for inspection and to check hardness of the action.
The worst I can see, is that you may have to get another action and put it together for this man.
The upside to that is you could write it off as advertising as this fellow would be telling everyone what a great guy you are. Good luck, I hope this works out for both of you

If I was the guy who owned this gun I'd be somewhat pissed. And I'd be pissed at the gunsmith who put the rifle together, not the guy he bought the action from. His 'smith told him the action was soft but lapped it anyway? Who made the final call on that decision, the owner or the 'smith? Lapping a suspected soft action and sending the guy down the road doesn't sound too bright to me. You didn't make the action, you bought and sold a new factory part from a reputable mfg. How many guys check brand new factory action before they put a rifle together on one? Old miltary actions are one thing but a new Sako, Remington, Ruger? I'd contact Sako/Berreta and explain the situation to them. They may or may not stand behind their product, I would think they would, but who knows? One question would be, how did a soft action escape factory inspection? I seriously doubt Sako will cover all the costs involved in building the rifle, but they might replace the action which is a whole lot better than a standard disclaimer ie, too bad, so sad. Not a fun deal anyway you look at it. Good luck and keep keep us updated, I'd really like to know what transpires.

Thanks guys, that pretty well sums up my thoughts as well.

Jim

Jim,

Having bought items from you in the past, I am sure that you will do what you think is right.

If the factory won't replace the action (and I bet that they won't), what are the chances of you getting the rifle, cleaning up the mess, and getting it heat treated properly? It is probably not your responsibility to do this, but it beats having someone spreading rumors on the internet. Personally I would not trust anyone else to do this properly in the situation as it stands now if I were you (although getting another evaluation of the action from a qualified, impartial third party before the repair would not be a bad idea).

Just my thoughts FWIW.

Jim

FN once replaced a soft Browning Safari receiver (NOT the rest of the action) for me at no cost..... But that was way back in the 60's.

Jim, the first thing I would do is not get all stressed out over this, it causes heart attacks. I would get the receiver back in my hands and have it tested for hardness. If it is indeed soft then the next move should be to contact SAKO or it's representative. Sako is a reputable company and their name in custom rifle actions is highly regarded. I think they would stand by their product if it got out of their shop lagitamitly and was not stolen off the line. They would most likely make it right. It will probably cost someone some freight to the manufacturer.

Jim , all apologies.I wasnt trying to preach to the minister, I just didn't know your profession.
Good luck with your quandry.

Okay, nothing. I have not heard back from the individual since I requested he send the action back for some testing and also since I sent him a link to this thread. Don't Know why or what is motivating him now. May be he has retained council. Blue maybe? God, I hope not.

Hey Jim, how about an update with how things are going.

May be he has retained council. Blue maybe? God, I hope not.

Well Jim, it sounds like you made the attempt to get things squared away for the man, now the ball is in his court. I have given this alot of thought as, when you buy and sell used guns alot of them are never fired. In all of my gun show years, I think I have had one or maybe two guns come back and when they did I just gave them back their $$$$.
Good luck and keep us updated