I recently bought a rifle from an FFL dealer at a gunshow.(i have posted on this before)
I bought a restocked barreld action it's s 1951 FN with a fatory barrel marked .257 Roberts. I spent a little money having a hole drilled and tapped and buying a set of leupold standard basses.
When I Fired the 1st round The case split and shoulder streched to the point that it matched the shoulder on the .270 rounds I had on hand. so I had the headspace checked and it is a properly chamberd 25,06. The barrel is still factory marked .257 roberts.And so was the hand writen tag on the rifle when I bought it.
I tried it out as a 25,06 and it is not a bad shooter, I think it would serv someone as a good hunting rifle.But I paid for a roberts.
I paid 500.00 for the rifle as a .257 roberts and have 66.00 into it.
I think I will call the dealer and ask for 1 of 2 things. Either he buy it back from me for the 500.00, or give me say 150.00 beacuse thats about what I would pay for an fn action with a timney trigger.
Does my aproach seem reasonable ?
Thanks ...tj3006

Just an opinion.....you bought a .257 Roberts and didn't get it.

After the first firing you knew it wasn't right.....any thing you spent at that time is your cost....not the dealer's.

I don't think you're out of line returning the rifle and asking for a refund.....

Did he register it as a 257 rob. ? If he did, he should be responsable for the screw up. He is lucky someone didnt get hurt. He should have made a chamber cast to verify it before selling, knowing it wasnt a factory barrel and such. Just my 2$

I agree that any money you spent after you found out it was wrong is on you. He should refund the original amount back to you and have the serial# removed from your name at BATF.

I think your proposal is in line and giving him an option is very generous (I wouldn't).

Personally, I would just tell him I needed a refund and explain very nicely why.

Terry

How long was it from when you bought the rifle until you discovered it was not the caliber you thought it was.

Tell your story to the dealer and see what he is willing to do. If you are not too confrontational, he might listen and do something. But with used stuff, unless you have something in writing, or, it is unsafe, you might be stuck. Your word against his.

I don't sell guns new or used, so I've never had to worry about such a situation, that said, I would never let a firearm leave my shop that is unsafe, without the owners signature acknowledging such, or, isn't stamped with the correct caliber on the barrel. If I did, and something happened, I would feel obligated to make it right. I'd like to think most dealers would.

Have you talked to the dealer and told him the problem? That would obviously be your first step.

If you haven’t done this yet, IMO it’s a bit premature to be formulating a “game-plan.â€

By law, a licensed smith that installs a new barrel or rechambers an existing one, has to stamp the new caliber on the barrel. Assuming that yours was done by a smith and not the previous owner you or the dealer might be able to track down whoever did it and failed to stamp the correct caliber on the barrel.

I’m not sure what legal responsibility a dealer has to insure/guarantee that the actual caliber and the stamped caliber are the same since they didn’t manufacture the rifle they are just selling it. Morally and professionally is one thing...legally is another.

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.

quote:

Originally posted by gsp:
He should ... have the serial# removed from your name at BATF.

The only way BATF would have his name and that serial number is if the dealer closes his business and turns over all his records. And at that, the gun could have been transfered a hundred more times since the close of the dealers business. You can't track every single weapon or transaction. Look at how many stinger missles the U.S. Government has lost track of. If Thomas Jones were lucky enought to get a refund, then he should get a copy of the transaction in case something should transpire down the road and he needs proof that he no longer had that particular rifle. FWIW, everyone who buy's, sells or trades firearms, should keep a personal, written receipt with the name of both buyer and seller, the date, the make, model, serial number and caliber, just in case it should come back to haunt them someday.

malm’s advice is good...and that’s why I suggested talking to the dealer who obviously knows who he bought the rifle from and can possibly track it back to whoever did the rechambering. If it was a licensed smith you might have a bit of leverage since he did a legal “no-no†that would show up in his bound book and he might be willing to help resolve the matter rather than getting turned in to the BATF.

Again, a moral and professional obligation may not always be the same as a legal obligation for the dealer that sold you the rifle that he also obviously thought was a certain caliber due to the stamping and what was probably the statement of the person he bought it from.

Thanks for all the opinions guys.
!st let me clear up a few things. The barrel is a rechamberd factory barrel. When and by whoom is anybody,s guess.
and the money I spent was before I found out it was rechamberd.
The rifle needed a hole drilled before i could mount a scope. And I needed the mounts too. My point on mentioning that is that I am willing to eat the 66.00 that cost and the 10 Oregon back grongd check.
I have not talked to the man yet but i plan to on tuesday. His shop is about 140 miles from my home. ...tj3006

Thomas,

Factory or not factory, any licensed gunsmith who rechambered that barrel was supposed to have re-stamped it with the correct new caliber.

Obviously the dealer you bought it from also believed the caliber stamp since he would have no reason to hide that from you.

You bought a used rifle at a gun show. You got what you got. Used guns do not come with any garantees. If you had bought a pre 64 winchester in 35 rem and it was represented to be in original condition and you paid collector price for it and later found that is was rechambered to 35 whelen you might have a beef. You bought a rifle that you knew was tinkered with already as it had been restocked. So you got a good FN action and a life lesson all for the bargain price of $500. I'd say you did pretty darn good. Most of my lessons have cost me MUCH more than that.

John

You might be right in the end,
but the guy i bought the rifle from had put a tag on it representing it as a Roberts.
he probably thought it was a roberts, and if he tells me to drop dead you are right it is a lesson learned abd while not cheap it could have been worse.
but i sure would be a puss not to at least see what he migt do for me.
...tj3006

Guess I'm too easy. I would view it as I bought at used rifle. I thought it was a Roberts but it wasn't. I gather he didn't sell it to you as a Factory rifle. Like others stated the rifle had been worked on before you bought it. Then you had work done on it. If I purchased the rifle and had work done to it the last thing I would do would be to go back to the dealer. The rifle is no longer the one he sold you. It has been altered. MY reputation is worth more than that to me.

When you buy used guns you win some you lose some. I don't see $500 as that out of line for a FN 25-06. But, like I said I guess I'm too easy. I would caulk it up to a cost of learning a lesson.

Whats the stock like? Nice style/wood or just a generic stock?

If it was a good deal for all the pieces together, Id be thinking Id keep it. A 25-06 is cool . Unless I just had to have a 257 roberts. I think id just keep it anyway. Now you can get another rifle in 257 roberts and have more toys.

Maybe call the guy with the idea you will just keep it , tell him the sitch and see what he has to say.

Why dont you post a Picture of it?

I would post a picture of it but i cant figure out how ! I can't find directions on this site for picture posting.
...tj3006

You altered it. You are stuck with it.

After reading the instructions for posting pictures, I am not interested. I will e-mail you one though.
As for altering the Rifle, I just mounted a scope. The previous owner took the base off and I could not find one to match the 3 holes dilled and taped.
So since the 2 on the top front matched a leupold., i simply had the smith drill the second hole in the rear spaced for a 2 pc leupold standard base.
if I was going to shoot it it need ee a scope there were no sights.
I will call the guy tuesday and see what he says. ...tj3006

The same thing happened to me a couple of months ago.

I bought a Mauser tagged and marked on the barrel as a 7x57.

It turned out to be a 7.65 arg.

I found out by shooting it and having the bullet bounce down the barrel.

I told the shop owner and we agreed to this arrangement: I buy the new barrel and he pay the labor and shipping to rebarrel it to 7x57 I originally wanted.

That agreement seems fair to me.

PS: He did offer to buy it back but I turned down his offer - I liked the action and stock.

The rifle was represented by the seller as one thing, but it turned out to be another. The seller may have been unaware that he was misrepresenting the rifle, but that is negligence on his part. He should be VERY HAPPY that (1) no one was injured due to his negligence, and (2) you apparently didn't spend a large amount of money on reloading dies, trim dies, and brass that are unique to the caliber that the gun was represented as being, and otherwise are without use for.

The alteration you made to the rifle is a common one and is necessary, whatever the caliber, in order to use today's accepted standard sighting equipment. The fact that you altered the rifle has nothing to do with the fact that it was originally misrepresented to you.

You are entirely correct to figure out before hand exactly what it is that you wish the dealer to do to make you happy, and ask for exactly that. Provided it is reasonable in cost, he should do it.

By the way, I am unaware of there being any such thing as a licensed gunsmith under any the licensing acts of any state in the U.S. (although it is impractical for a gunsmith to hang out a shingle to do gunsmithing without being a licensed dealer), and I know of no law or regulation that would require the placement of any marking on a rechambered barrel (although it is obviuosly common sense). In other words, I don't believe you have statutory legal recourse against whomever rechambered the gun, but you do have recourse against a seller who, either intentionally or unintentionally, misrepresents what he sold you.

I kinda lean toward the idea that if he sold you a rifle represented as a 257 and it turned out to be a 25-06 he's damn lucky that case didn't let go-I think it's the sellers responsibility to KNOW what he's selling-that being said it sounds like you have a decent rifle a 25-06 just doesn't DO IT for me like a roberts.

300 H-H.
I totally agree with you on this issue. Be interesting to see what the response is from the guy who sold it.

The idea that if you modify it, you are stuck with it is so ludicrous that it is laughable.

One thing you might do is to make sure that the rifle is remarked as a 25-06 so someone else doesn't have the surprise you had.

You guys ar all real helpfull, and I am real glad to have the opinions of recognized professionals in the gun buisness.
I will be calling the guy tomorrow, and My plan is to tell him all that has occured , and of my hope to resolve the issue either by selling him the gun back or by giving me a partial refund. I will sugjest that he think it over for a couple days and mabyse see if he can work somthing out with whoever sold him the rifle.
When I hear back from him,If we have reached an agreement I will let you all know. If we do not reach an agreement, I will put the name of the shop in a post on a few web sights I use
and order a barrel blank for the now 25,06. Buy the way I tried 3 loads in it and 2 were terible but one was not bad at all.
I did ask a smith about marking the barrel , and if I had it done the cost would be 30.00
I think if I end up keeping the rifle I will have ir rebarreld either to The Roberts or the AI-version...thanks

Well I hope it works out for you. Since we weren't there we hear one side of the sales conversation. I know from my own experience often what I hear if not what is being said. Must be an age thing. I've had some simply cover their butt with a "as far as I know" comment.

I would suggest in the future when you buy a used rifle. Invest a few minutes or a couple $$ doing a chamber cast to verify what you have before you fire or alter it. I will never fire a used rifle I buy without one.

Thomas,

If your demeanor and communication with this dealer is anywhere near as polite and fair as it has been on here the guy would be a real jerk if he doesn’t help you.

In short, you sound like a very honorable and fair minded “gentleman.â€

It turned out well,
Thanks Rick It what i try to be.
I got ahold of the gentelman who sold me the rifle. And with no hesitation he said if you get it to me i will buy it back for what you paid for it.
he explained that he will have it correctly marked and sell it as a 25,06.
The shop is guntraders in redmond oregon and I am very happy to say he treated the situation
just as I had hoped he would so if you get near central oregon, Beautifull country by the way stop into guntraders. He has a good selection and is a fair man to do buisness with.
Buy the way for those of you into th 9.3X62 He had a nice old Hsky at the last portland gunshow. Thanks for your suport...tj3006

Oh my God...I’m gonna cry!

Seriously, this is a great example of a good customer and a good businessman dealing with each other in the way it is “supposed’ to be out there.

Congratulations Thomas, your good fortune was well deserved, you should find out what the guy drinks and send him a bottle!