After waiting two weeks for a Mossberg MVP LC .308 I ordered from Cabelas.ca to arrive I had to go pick it up at the post office today. Unfortunately this is more a review of how Cabelas does business than the rifle.
After getting home I grabbed my cell phone and started recording as I cut open the box and had a look. (I was planning to do a full review from box to first fire.)
This is what I have found so far...
1. The Rifle box inside the shipping box has a green safety check sticker, which is cut as the box was opened before I got it, with a signature 15 and date 12/01/15.
But it was placed over an earlier sticker signed 002 and date Nov. 16, 2015. It came from Alberta rather than Ontario where I an located.
2. The stock has one or two small scratches, one down to the bare metal beside the safety red dot. Not big but you see it right away.
3. The butt pad was dirty to the point it looked like it was in the corner of a mud room on the floor.
4. The scope has tape glue all over it from being repacked and the plastic tinted covers are scuffed.
5. The rear of the barrel and front of the chamber seem to be touched up or repainted. Light rust in these areas as well.
6. Under a LED flashlight, less than 100 lumen, you can see rust on different parts of the barrle. Like the sides and where the barrel screws on and meets the chamber.
As well as just past the front of the stock on the underside.
7. The barrel is only marked 7.62 NATO while the Mossberg and Cabelas web sites say .308 and 7.62 NATO.
I know a 5.56 can shoot a .223 but a 7.62 NATO shouldn't shoot a .308. WTF?
8. The inside of the chamber and bolt housing seems to have light rust under LED in places.
9. The bolt and bolt face also seems to be worn a bit and the face shows marks from being fired.
A circle the size of the primer is worn to the metal while the rest is black with the firing pin hole in the middle.
Rust or copper wash is around the inside rim of the bolt face.
The firing pin hole is either rusty or has copper wash residue in it.
10. The feed ramp is rusty or has copper wash/residue all over it that you can see without a light.
11. The chamber has rust in places and there is 1/4" or 6mm of threads showing, 5 full rotations, after the barrel stops before the feed ramp.
(Not sure if this is an issue but my other bolt rifles don't have this extra thread space.)
It looks like this was a used gut that was returned and then resold by Cabelas. It wasn't even 100% cleaned or most of this would have been hidden.
Most of it wasn't obviuos to the naked eye under normal 60watt yellow bulbs but I always check my new rifles with LED flashlights these days.
I can't even blame Mossberg for any of this as it was Cabelas that did the resale of a used/returned rifle, regardless of the reason. Most of the rust is light and washed out looking but one or two places it's worse.
I'm so pissed I don't know where to start at the moment but contacting Cabelas will be first. Doesn't matter who makes the rifle, for $2000 the store selling it is responsible for it's condition leaving it's inventory.
Is it even legal to sell a used or refurbished rifle as new? I'm just glad I recorded and photographed the whole thing while it was still a sealed box from the post office!
Zen
After getting home I grabbed my cell phone and started recording as I cut open the box and had a look. (I was planning to do a full review from box to first fire.)
This is what I have found so far...
1. The Rifle box inside the shipping box has a green safety check sticker, which is cut as the box was opened before I got it, with a signature 15 and date 12/01/15.
But it was placed over an earlier sticker signed 002 and date Nov. 16, 2015. It came from Alberta rather than Ontario where I an located.
2. The stock has one or two small scratches, one down to the bare metal beside the safety red dot. Not big but you see it right away.
3. The butt pad was dirty to the point it looked like it was in the corner of a mud room on the floor.
4. The scope has tape glue all over it from being repacked and the plastic tinted covers are scuffed.
5. The rear of the barrel and front of the chamber seem to be touched up or repainted. Light rust in these areas as well.
6. Under a LED flashlight, less than 100 lumen, you can see rust on different parts of the barrle. Like the sides and where the barrel screws on and meets the chamber.
As well as just past the front of the stock on the underside.
7. The barrel is only marked 7.62 NATO while the Mossberg and Cabelas web sites say .308 and 7.62 NATO.
I know a 5.56 can shoot a .223 but a 7.62 NATO shouldn't shoot a .308. WTF?
8. The inside of the chamber and bolt housing seems to have light rust under LED in places.
9. The bolt and bolt face also seems to be worn a bit and the face shows marks from being fired.
A circle the size of the primer is worn to the metal while the rest is black with the firing pin hole in the middle.
Rust or copper wash is around the inside rim of the bolt face.
The firing pin hole is either rusty or has copper wash residue in it.
10. The feed ramp is rusty or has copper wash/residue all over it that you can see without a light.
11. The chamber has rust in places and there is 1/4" or 6mm of threads showing, 5 full rotations, after the barrel stops before the feed ramp.
(Not sure if this is an issue but my other bolt rifles don't have this extra thread space.)
It looks like this was a used gut that was returned and then resold by Cabelas. It wasn't even 100% cleaned or most of this would have been hidden.
Most of it wasn't obviuos to the naked eye under normal 60watt yellow bulbs but I always check my new rifles with LED flashlights these days.
I can't even blame Mossberg for any of this as it was Cabelas that did the resale of a used/returned rifle, regardless of the reason. Most of the rust is light and washed out looking but one or two places it's worse.
I'm so pissed I don't know where to start at the moment but contacting Cabelas will be first. Doesn't matter who makes the rifle, for $2000 the store selling it is responsible for it's condition leaving it's inventory.
Is it even legal to sell a used or refurbished rifle as new? I'm just glad I recorded and photographed the whole thing while it was still a sealed box from the post office!
Zen
Sound advice, for the $$$ you paid better rifles are available.
