Chiappa Little Badger 22WMR

D

Dantforth

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Westport, Ontario, Canada
I purchased one on sale from Cabelas in late October. I waited for a red dot scope to arrive and yesterday took it to sight it in. After a few shots a case head ruptured and separated. So, I checked all my brass and every case was bulged where the extractor held it. Looked at the chamber and the extractor appears to be too small for the chamber leaving the chamber with a gap where the extractor sits. They also make this in 22LR so I wonder if they got the incorrect extractor in this rifle. Chamber appears oval due to the undersized extractor.
So, send it back....right? Wrong. It would pay everyone to check the return policy for Cabelas! Many many items cannot be returned. So, just find the Canadian warranty depot.....right? Well, I could not find a depot. The only one listed was in B.C. and is closed now.
My question for other members here....has anyone had a similar problem? Does anyone have the name of a Canadian warranty depot?
 
I think you'll probably be best off to contact north sylva, as they wholesale almost everything.

Can you post some close up's of the extractor etc?
 
Thanks for the reply Larry. North Silva is no longer in business so I was directed to the Chiappa distributor in Toronto who then sent me on to the warranty folks. Buyer beware! They just told me to send it in. I asked for a prepaid shipping label and the said NO! They do not pay for shipping. Other firearms makers do provide a label. So, it will cost me probably $30.00 at least to ship it. With insurance it will be even more. Not a user friendly service at all. Trying to find out the warranty period I went to the Chiappa web site. Click on warranty and get a blank page! So, I tried to become a member of the Chiappa site and filled out the form so I could register my rifle for warranty. Click to join and nothing! It goes downhill from there. The warranty depot charges shipping and handling to send it back to me if it is not under warranty. Do you see where this is going? If you cannot find out the warranty period how do I prove it is under warranty. Off the charts bad. Learned a valuable lesson but too late to help me this time.
 
Dantforth said:
Thanks for the reply Larry. North Silva is no longer in business so I was directed to the Chiappa distributor in Toronto who then sent me on to the warranty folks. Buyer beware! They just told me to send it in. I asked for a prepaid shipping label and the said NO! They do not pay for shipping. Other firearms makers do provide a label. So, it will cost me probably $30.00 at least to ship it. With insurance it will be even more. Not a user friendly service at all. Trying to find out the warranty period I went to the Chiappa web site. Click on warranty and get a blank page! So, I tried to become a member of the Chiappa site and filled out the form so I could register my rifle for warranty. Click to join and nothing! It goes downhill from there. The warranty depot charges shipping and handling to send it back to me if it is not under warranty. Do you see where this is going? If you cannot find out the warranty period how do I prove it is under warranty. Off the charts bad. Learned a valuable lesson but too late to help me this time.
Click to expand...

PARDON? North Sylva is no longer in business? Do they know, because they open at 8:30 Monday morning. If NS went out of business half the guns at most stores would be orphans, and we'd be stuck for guns for years.
 
It used to be Murray Charleston. Now it is Gretch outdoors, who has a terrible track record. MC was great! I had to send a Chiappa to BC to Murray C. they paid & it was fixed fast & shipped back free. Too bad they are out of warranty. I had the Badger too in WSM. I bought it as a .22lr! from a store used. I shot a couple .22lr out of it, & the cases would do that, but not after I figured out it was the .22 Magnum.
 
Thanks for the comments. Mine was purchased as a 22WMR and is marked 22WMR. I have been trying to register on the Chiappa site so I can register my purchase for warranty. Site will not allow me to do this and the warranty page keeps coming up blank. Do gun buyers in Canada always get the ####ty end of the stick. Why would anyone carry Chiappa firearms for sale in Canada when the system is broken? The answer is "greed" and "$$$$$$$$". Customers do not matter. I sent it in to Grech as I had zero other choices. No, they will not pay shipping. So, I will be out $30.00. The other thing that amazes me is that many of the dealers registered here on GN carry Chiappa products but none of them will comment. Scary. The two worst offenders may be Cabelas and CTC.
 
Ya, it sux..as some of the Chiappa products seems great & desirable. & allot of it is bottom of the rung. Doesn't really make sense. Had a M1-9 bolt break literly in half! I see a {kinda} current thread on here with picz/same issue. He said he send to Gretch or is it Grech? Either one, how can such a shiitty company actually Exist? Don't they care about service at all? Someone has to step up & do/be the Chiappa repair service for Canada. Every post I read is soo bad, not sure if I should get another-Ever.
 
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And.......I have sent two messages to Chiappa on their web site and have not had a reply from them. What kind of customer service is that?? Yesterday I contacted Ruger customer service regarding a part I need for a 1959 Single Six revolver. Within minutes I had a reply saying they were sending the part to me free of charge. Buy Ruger!
 
There are a couple of guns Chiappa makes i d love to have (spencer and the 1887 win) but I have heard enough horror stories about Chiappas quality control to stop me from taking a chance on them.They make a beautiful gun to look at but actually using it may be a roll of the dice
 
I agree. If I had received great customer service I may not feel this way. Still no answers to my inquiries. The other question is... ........why in hell would any retail shop in Canada carry anything of theirs until they improved their customer service? The answer to that of course is that money is far more important than a customer.
 
I think you need to do what the lemon car buyers do and park outside the lot telling everyone who goes in. Stand outside cabellas waving your rifle in the air, telling everyone how upset you are with getting screwed, just let me know cause I'll come support you, at a distance, with a camera,,,that's what I would want to do lol
 
Well....time for an update. Rifle went to the Chiappa warranty depot in Canada which is Grech Outdoors. Sent it in mid November in original box covered with another cardboard box. Sent photos of the bulged cases and the ruptured one and a full narrative to explain. I asked their customer service how long and they advised 4-6 weeks. I also asked to be notified when it was being returned.....their answer..."NO!" I sent it Canada Post with signature required. It was returned in mid February. No notice that it was being sent back and no explanation about any repair. Returned by courier who just left it at my front door in full sight of the road! My original factory box was NOT returned although they did use the cardboard box that I had fabricated. My photos and narrative were not in the box. The note from their warranty repair said they had changed the extractor and test fired it ten times and it was OK. They also mentioned that bulged case heads were normal??? Crazy....it gets worse! So, today I test fired it with the exact same results I had originally. Bulged cases the first five and a rupture and case head separation the sixth. Gases spit back into my face! I am not contacting Grech at this point. I did send a very pointed note to Chiappa requesting a replacement or my money refunded and stating I would prefer the refund. So, there we are. Comments please. And, does anyone have a Chiappa Little Badger in 22 WMR and...your experiences?
I am hoping that other members here will follow this and take into consideration these facts before making any purchases.
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Wow that sux. I have a lil badger in 22wmr and it works fine. I use it as a grouse gun and am able to get head shots from 8-10 meters or so.
Never had anything go wrong. However I believe the one I have is quite old i think I got it from IRG before they were even sold in Canada and maybe the early versions had better quality or perhaps I got lucky. Anyhow hope things somehow turn around for ya and you get this solved. I is always a bummer getting a new gun and something isnt as it should be.
 
Time for an update.....I contacted Grech outdoors to ask for them to refund my shipping expenses according to Chiappa agreeing to do so. That was at least two weeks ago. Nothing yet. Does not surprise me. I was finally contacted by Chiappa. They told me they would replace my rifle and requested I send it to Grech!! I replied to them that I no longer trust Grech and am still waiting for my first refund of shipping costs and am not willing to assume a second shipping bill without some assurance that I would be paid. No reply from Chiappa. Will it ever end? More to follow.
 
Wow! That is disappointing to hear. I have only one Chiappa, a .44 lever in a normal variety. It works just fine. OP, your story makes Norincos look good. I have several of them, with no complaints. Too bad, as Chiappa has some neat models. Hope it gets fixed, one way or another.
 
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Latest. On the 13th of March I was advised by Grech that the cheque was in the mail to me for the original shipping charges. The cheque has not arrived. I was also advised that I should package the rifle and let them know when it is ready and they would have it picked up by courier. They also advised that they have no idea when anything would be completed due to the virus. Snake bit. Continuing.........
 
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