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Old September 13, 2013, 04:35 PM   #1
Brian Pfleuger
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DNZ Game Reaper--- Product and Customer Service Fail

I ordered a "silver" DNZ Game Reaper mount for my Encore Pro Hunter.

The product that arrived can be seen here, top left:



The company claimed that Encore frame and barrel colors and shades vary and their mount is within "normal variance". Anyone who has seen any number of Encore or any other stainless steel gun will know that none of them remotely approach the color of that mount, which my wife described as "bone colored".

Worse than the excuse, they want me to pay shipping both ways ($18) just to exchange a product that is clearly not "within spec".

I also ordered a black DNZ mount at the same time. It appears to be well made and sturdy. They are also much lighter weight than almost any other ring/base combination. I will report my experiences with it and if it holds up to my expectations but I hesitate to recommend even a good product when the company's response to a reasonable complaint is so lousy.
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Last edited by Brian Pfleuger; September 13, 2013 at 10:11 PM.
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Old September 13, 2013, 10:16 PM   #2
Brian Pfleuger
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Fascinating.

I mentioned in my last email that I'm a staff member on a large firearms forum. I never tell any company that until the end of corresponding with them because I want "real" customer service not the "oh crap, he's going to tell everyone what we did!" nonsense.

It could be coincidental but they suddenly want to replace the mount and cover all the shipping charges. He even asked where I'm located because he might be in the state for hunting and he could BRING ME ONE.

Now, it that had been the FIRST response, I'd be impressed.
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Old September 17, 2013, 07:38 PM   #3
chiefr
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Well..... you should not have had to play that card. CS is CS.
Probably one of the best things about this and other forums is sharing of information about how good products are and especially their CS.

I have avoided products and services because of what I have read on TFL and other forums.
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Old September 18, 2013, 01:06 AM   #4
K1500
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I try to avoid products with names like "game reaper", "freedom reaper", "Quick Justice" "Xtreme", DRT Nytrillium",... You get the idea. The first three are DNZ product names.

I know it is entirely a visceral reaction, and it probably indicates that I am not in their target demographic. My view is if they don't take themselves seriously by picking name a 14 year old World of Warcraft player would be fond of, why should I take them seriously?
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Old September 19, 2013, 06:50 AM   #5
Saltydog235
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DNZ makes a good mount.

That mill finish on the original is going to dull down a good bit as it is used. Oxidation and exposure and in a year it'll look the same.
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Old September 19, 2013, 07:28 AM   #6
Brian Pfleuger
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It's already too dull and too oxidized. Getting duller isn't going to help.
Besides, it's supposedly clear anodized. It's finish shouldn't be changing at all and if it did I would consider it a poor quality product, since none of my other mounts dull and oxidize over time.
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Old September 19, 2013, 02:09 PM   #7
Saltydog235
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Send it back to them then. I doubt they make sure a mill finish is unique to each manufacturer, since all Stainless finishes differ slightly.

DNZ makes a heck of a product, never had a single issue with any of the 5 Gamereapers that I currently use. Fact is the only mount I have ever had one issue with is a Leupold.
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Old September 19, 2013, 03:42 PM   #8
NoSecondBest
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In all my many years of shooting I've never had any expectations that a stainless steel part (rings, mount, scope, etc) would match the finish on my gun. I don't see how you could. There isn't an industry standard for stainless finishes on gun accessories. If you don't like the way it looks, I don't see how you could fault the manufacturer. Did they advertise the finish would match? I doubt it. I'm sure it was just advertised as stainless and that's all it was advertised to be. If you're that style conscious, send it back and try someone else's product. You may get something closer to what you want.
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Old September 19, 2013, 05:51 PM   #9
Brian Pfleuger
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There's a long way between "perfect" match and "remotely close".

I have never, in all my years of seeing and owning stainless steel guns, mounts and rings, seen one that was remotely close to the color of that DNZ mount.

It's almost white. It's not slightly mismatched. It's not silver but too dull or too bright. It's basically WHITE.

Was it advertised to match my Encore? Well, there are only two color variants of Encores. There's blued (essentially black) and stainless. it seems reasonable that if a product is made specifically for an Encore (and bolt patterns dictate that it is) and was advertised for the Encore and advertised as "silver", one might logically conclude that the product is some reasonable approximation of the stainless steel "silver" color of an Encore.

Can anyone honestly tell me that that mount is "silver"? If you did, you'd be the first one who has. I've heard "bone colored", white-ish-gray (and grayish-white), off white (most commonly) and light beige. No one has said "silver" yet.

See, if I advertised a product as "purple", I might be able to make the claim that there are varying shades of purple and my purple won't perfectly match your purple. Ok, let's go with that... what are you going to say if the product I send you is blue? Is blue going to be an acceptable variation of purple?

For sake of clarity, I have never said nor even implied that DNZ doesn't make a quality mount, functionally, I still have one on my Savage after all . I said this particular mount is an unacceptable departure from the stated color and their response is equally unacceptable.

I did send it back and requested Warne rings for a replacement, which I already had for the gun. I'm confident that they will be an acceptable match.

Last edited by Brian Pfleuger; September 19, 2013 at 06:00 PM.
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Old September 20, 2013, 01:16 PM   #10
George Hill
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Getting a scope mount even that close though is pretty impressive. Stainless Scopes, Stainless Rings/Bases, Stainless Rifle is normally 3 different colors of a light grey.
If they match it better, they should get a standing ovation.
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Old September 21, 2013, 06:51 AM   #11
jmr40
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I don't do silver mounts or scopes, even on stainless rifles. I have found it impossible to get all 3, gun, mounts and scope to match. Every gun, mount, and scope manufacturer have different shades of gray/silver. The scope and mount makers would have to offer a dozen shades just to match different rifle manufacturers. Black works on everything and looks better on SS anyway in my opinion.
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Old September 21, 2013, 08:00 AM   #12
NoSecondBest
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I got a set of Game Reaper mounts a couple of years ago to put on a spare TC muzzle loader I had just purchased. The mounts didn't even come close to the correct hole pattern even though the package stated it was specifically designed for my gun. While I was looking at them I seem to recall that either the packaging said, or their website said, they weren't even steel or aluminum. They were some composite ceramic and aluminum or some such thing. I'm getting old so I don't remember all the details. I ended up sending them back for a refund. They looked pretty cheap in the package and I just didn't like them. Back to color match.....as I said, there are no industry standards. As far as being "made" for a specific gun? Only the hole pattern and radius. The basic metal (or composite) doesn't change for every gun. What ever "color" they make is what everyone is going to get regardless of their guns finish.
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