[big al hunter]

I would not be surprised that a new rifle was made over a year before it was ordered. The manufacturer makes thousands of guns in a run and sells them to distributors. Then the guns sit in a warehouse for months waiting for a dealer to order that model, caliber, barrel length. If that model is not selling stock would take a long time to sell. (And the factory making them might get shut down for lack of orders....1+1=2) If the only damage is the crown blueing rubbed off it was probably done during shipping and handling.