You'll probably think I'm a fool after reading this, but it's probably better that I realize that. Maybe I wont get robbed with a used gun for a new price.
I recently purchased a Marlin XL7 in .30-06. This was about a month ago. I only shot the gun once and I am a little bit of a noob when it comes to firearms. Well just a few days ago, I noticed something strange. The muzzle was scratched (bluing scratched off) with a fair amount of silver exposed. I'm very careful with my guns and take very good care not to damage them. I'm not sure if the entire muzzle end of the barrel is called the "crown" but the "inside" is not damaged, just the outer rim of the muzzle.
Now here is the thing that bothered me. I was aware that Marlin closed down their North Haven Connecticut factory back in mid 2011. The gun I purchased was marked "Marlin XL7 cal. .30-06 (or something like that) followed by "North Haven Connecticut". The North Haven marking made me a little nervous, but there is something else. The Marlin website has these rifled being called the "X7" with a list of the short and long action calibers. I know that the X7's from a while back were marked X(L)7 or X(S)7 for long or short action. If the rifles are now called the "X7" I would assume that a new rifle in .30-06 would be marked "Model X7 .30-06" or something like that, but that is not the case
When I was at the store the first time, I want really satisfied with the one rifle they had at the store. I told them I would like one ordered and carefully inspected the features of the rifle to make sure they wouldnt try to give me that one instead of the brand new rifle. When I went back to pick up the new gun, I noticed that the box had already been sliced open. It didnt look good at all. I don't really know why it was like that, but when I looked at the gun, the marks on the gun I had looked at werent on this rifle, so of course, I figured it was in fact a new rifle. I should have inspected the rifle better, but I guess I overlooked these things...
As far as guns I've purchased, there was a Marlin Model 795 purchased at The Sports Authority (great rifle btw) and a Mosin Nagant 91/30 from AIM Surplus. Nether of these rifles were messed with before I arrived at the store, only opened after I got there, in order to get the serials, etc. That was it.
It's really depressing to think that I got a gun that was not brand new in which I paid full price for... What do you guys think? Has something like this ever happened to you? What did you do about it? If someone could reply, it would very greatly appreciated. Thanks
