Your expectations for buying a $200 antique “as is” “stored in a shed” rifle are too high. You’re taking a gamble and they are too by sending you an uncleaned untouched rifle. I think expecting them to do more than a basic check for handpicking is reasonable but honestly they are just going to tell you to return it, but since you began cleaning it, they may not accept it. That’s how IMA is. As soon as you start cleaning it, their untouched rifles aren’t eligible for return.
$500 dollar antique. It shouldn’t have been a gamble because I paid for hand select. Lesson learned obviously. If you check the part 2 video out on my channel (here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I8Lfig9I844.htmlsi=_uZMl9Ys9xmE5Euw ), they also sent me the wrong gun after returning this one. I wasn’t expecting shooters grade or show-off grade, but something I could shoot without exploding and hang on my wall. With a buldged barrel, kinda hard to shoot safely
I would probably think of hand select as the following. They reach into a pile or rifles of whatever the listed grade is, compare two or three and give you the best. This will not change the grade you receive, it will only change the quality within the grade. RTI is known for giving you a gun on the lower end of what they advertise. I have only gotten one gem from them and it is a SMLE No1 MKiii c grade that I think of as more of a high B grade. It was only assembled wrong and had some light rusting on select parts. I got a true c grade with my hakim rifle. It has all integral parts, but a stock broken beyond repair. A $280 replacement stock and a $50 reproduction mag and I am go after a weekends cleaning job.
I’ve bought from RTI, you just need to have certain expectations. If I see a Carcano posted for $150 I’ll know I’ll most likely get a working rifle that needs a light clean up. If I see a Kar 98 for $400 it’ll probably need a ton of work, have a horrible barrel, or missing parts. You need to gauge the price for what your getting. Since a Kar 98 usually goes for $900 I would know to stay away from a $400 RTI Kar98 as an example. But they have in the past sent very good condition listed to people and they’ve show up as C grade, so it’s really a dice roll 😅😂
@@MunitionsGuyMike Yeah sorry to hear that man, it’s the RTI classic sadly. I’m so tempted to buy their Mausers, Lees, & Lebels but I know they’re gonna be horrible 😅😢.
Wow id be mad if i were you! Thats worse than a B grade considering the barrel is bulged like you said!! That and the other parts being missing. I would contact RTI and let them know. Hopefully theyll make it right!
A Vetterli Vitali would be a great candidate for a .410 chamber insert, the 10.4mm bore is about spot-on. Years ago I bought an insert for a 577/450 Gahendra back when they were still inexpensive. Mine was the smooth bore version and I paid about $35 for the insert on-line. Shot great, was the coolest .410 I ever owned...
What will you plan to do with this one? Of course, I am still buying stuff from RTI but waiting on a sale. It is all a gamble but so far I am doing ok. Only got burnted from a carcan cavalry carbine with a stock crack and broken screwhead, mannlicher 1895 rifle (which I got refunded on through reading their TOS) and maybe the recent vetterli carcano conversion. It has a questionable bore/barrel
I returned this one and it took 3 months to get the replacement (this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I8Lfig9I844.htmlsi=iXH8wlrYYwHXB0ww ) which is the wrong rifle. I plan on modernizing that one and I’m buying a Vetterli from somewhere else now. Where? I do not know, but I will be looking
Ah okay, the issue is hand-select. To be honest, I don't think they even bother looking through their inventory when it comes to hand-select option. It is really a gamble and depends who is behind the computer monitor reading through the order list. They do get the orders right on a specific date or manufacturer but that beside it. The refunded m95 I mentioned previously was a complete sewer pipe but looks nice with no cracks if you haven't checked the bore first. I then tried again but included another 1895 without hand-select (so 2 m95s) for comparison and a 1888/90. One of them had a funny looking surface scratch on the stock and the 1888/90 was missing the safety (as advertised), missing rear sight leaf and a broken firing pin. I kept them all for having good rifling and passing the muzzle test with 8mm mauser and 8x56mmR Mann.
My personal recommendation is unless it's one of the guns imported from Europe (namely the Carcano Cavalry Carbines as I think those are largely the last of the 'European imports'), Id avoid purchasing the stocks of Ethiopian import firearms, as they have dried up and RTI is onto the "bottom of the pile", the guns that were basically originally rejected due to extremely poor condition, and possibly unsafe function. If you do buy an Ethiopian import, expect that, even with their arbitrary highest grade, you will have to referb the gun.
Hand select means they will take the top 5 rifles off the stack, and pick the best one of the 5. It is totally luck if the there is a good one in those 5. Hand Select does not mean you get the best condition gun in the lot. Or guarantee a gun that has a good bore. Those would have been sorted out and sold at a higher grade anyway. Welcome to collecting surplus. My advice has always been to buy a gun of known condition, and buy the best condition gun you can get. Buy in person or auctions with lots of pictures. 🤠
