A lot of Chiappa bashing here and because of the chroming issue it is agreed, warranted...But just a few points from us to clarify a few things.
1) We were big fans of the Chiappa line and we still are despite the issues on our last run. We have been carrying Chiappa with great success over many years which enabled this project to get off the ground in the first place. Of the 60 guns we ordered in two ship dates, all 30 on the first were in great condition and were a huge success but unfortunately we have found 7-8 on this last run to have some finish issues and were not cleaned after test firing.
2) We offered a $100 rebate from Chiappa (which we found to be unfortunately quite low) so we matched it ourselves for anybody who wanted to keep the rifle with finish issues. Alternatively we offered a full refund.
3) At the time the issue was posted on CGN we only had one rifle in stock (we held for possible warranty claim) to replace defective rifles. Most everyone who had the defective rifle would have preferred to switch for a replacement but since it was a limited run we were only able to do this for 1 customer.
4) We did check two rifles upon delivery to us before we shipped out the remainder. They looked great and actions were smooth as all Chiappa products do, so we saw no need to check the rest of the remainder of the rifles as we have not seen or were expecting any finish issues. As we have future projects in the pipeline, we WILL QC every rifle moving forward.
5) The Takedowns ARE tight and are designed to broken in. If they were made too loose, im sure there would be a lot of complaining. I personally have a 16" version and after some breaking in and lubing it is quite slick now.
6) Also we did have 1 Takedown become available on Monday of this week as a customer who had a deposit on one decided to back out, so we sold it at full retail as it was is in great condition. Unfortunately we have refunded everyone who has had previous issues.
7) And yes we do have the returned ones available for sale @ $200 off if anyone is interested. Of the 5 we have here, we only pulled one that we thought was not fit for sale and the others are in decent shape. For those who want a bush gun that may and will get banged up, the 12", all weather take down with skinner sights is still a pretty good deal at just over 1k.
Obviously we did not want to see these guns arrive in this condition let alone go out in this condition, so we learned for next time! They are still a kick ass little lever gun and we will continue to work with Chiappa on some new and exciting projects in the New year! For those who have ordered and are happy with their rifles we appreciate your business, for those who have returned there rifles for a refund we apologize on the behalf of Chiappa as this was not our intent.
Anyways just some info from us on the issue...
Gary
