Are lever gun loading gate scratches normal?

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brunetp

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Just bought a brand new Win 1886. Cycled a couple shells through and noticed they scratched the beautifull blueing on the loading gate.
 
Let's see ... to load it you jam the bullet against the loading gate to force it open, and ram it into the magazine using the bullet, case mouth, and finally the rim to hold the gate open as you load it. Is a scratch possible?
 
My son tells me that scratches and dings 'add character'. You know what? he is right. All our guns are for shooting, so scratches come with the territory. It used to bother me till I realized that!
 
i'm suspicious of any gun that doesn't have a bit of "character"- makes me think that there's something wrong with it, and maybe i'm getting a lemon- that includes the "idiot scratch " on the m1911,scratched loading gates et al- they're "honest" experience
 
Are you sure those are scratches? Could they be brass streaks from the case rims? I have an original 1886 45-70 that is 121 years old and just took a look at the loading gate. It doesn't have any scratches and the rifle has obviously earned its keep over the years. Same with several other old Winchesters I have that are over 100 years old. Are you sure that isn't residue from the cartridges?
 
I'm thinking along the lines of 38/55, just brass marks from the case rims......if one used loads without a good solid crimp, the belled case mouth could cause further scratches.
 
The last Marlin I handled at my local gun shop had all kinds of brass rubbed on to the loading gate, and it was NIB! Apparently the staff had to work the action for a couple of hours and cycle a fair amount of ammo through it, just to get it to a "saleable" condition. Too bad, it was an attractive 1985 GBL.
 
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