What is Tradex? Is this a Internet company or does this place have a store front where you can handle a rifle before purchasing?
ET
It's an internet company. The shop is located in Montreal. I have no idea if you can go in and handle rifles there in the shop. All I've ever heard about is people buying rifles based on the descriptions and some photos. I've bought a few rifles from there. I think 4 in total. Once I was unhappy with the gun and sent it back. That meant I was out shipping dollars both ways. That ticked me off a bit.
These guns are used and these guys import them from Europe. For the most part the descriptions they provide are accurate, but there are usually some surprises. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. They are almost always pretty dirty and need to be cleaned up quite a bit. Most CGN'ers that buy from there say that the descriptions of the blemishes are made to sound worse than they are in reality, so you're pleasantly surprised when the guns shows up. I've not found this. I've found that what they call a small chip, is more like a medium chip. And most blemishes they describe are either equal to their description, or a little worse than you were made to believe. The one gun I sent back was made to sound quite nice, but was pretty rough.
That being said, I still bought one from them a couple weeks ago. It was a Husqvarna lightweight 4100 in 6.5x55. I've been looking for one of those for quite a while, and I couldn't resist when I saw it. Escecially since it didn't have any cracks in the stock, which most of these Huskies do. It showed up and it was pretty nice. But the stock was kind of sticky from what I assume was a refinishing job that was never mentioned. And I don't think the the barrelled action was removed when the stock was refinished because there was some sort of yellow crud all over the metal on the outside. Not grease. It was hard. So some solvent and some elbow grease go all that crud off. The scope bases on the rifle were weird and wouldn't work with weaver rings. I couldn't for the life of me get them off, and I was wrecking the screw heads. I even broke my screwdriver. So I took them to a part time gunsmith and he was able to get them off. These are the kinds of things you get with Trade-ex guns. They're not perfect. They tend to need a lot of attention once you get them. But overall the quality of the Husqvarna steel is worth it.
I own 7 Husqvarna rifles now. So obviously I like them. I've learned a few things.
1: Don't think you can buy a 1600 action with a crappy stock and just find a replacement. They aren't anywhere to be found. Aftermarket or otherwise.
2: It's usually better to buy a 1600 action rifle from a private seller. They tend to be kept in much better condition than Tradex guns. They'll be clean at very least.
3: These 1600 actions usually come with horrendous triggers, and I can't find an aftermarket trigger anywhere. But I've learned how to do a trigger job on these to about 3 to 3.5 pounds nice and crisp. Totally safe too.
4: These guns ARE worth the effort. They are beautiful once the work is put into them. The steel is the best in the world. And I've always been albe to get 1.25" or better at 100 yards. They are good shooters. They're nice to carry.
5: I'd take one of these guns over some current model entry level gun any day of the week.
