RTI wronged me on a parts kit sale and refused to send me the missing parts. Instead of owning up to their mistake they scrubbed my review and told me to ship it back with a restocking fee. I am still upset and refuse to do any business with them so buyer be warned on any parts kits along with the shot out barrels for collector price.
Great video guys. I've gotten a couple of rifles from RTI. I paid a premium of $100 extra for one of them to be "hand selected" I was very disappointed at the rusted contraption I received. Missing parts, cracked wood, pitted bore. I think the only thing they hand selected is what they wanted your viewers to see in this video.
I've bought several guns from them. Most are pretty decent given where they came from. I do have a couple gripes about the company. The first is that they curate product reviews. Product reviews should not be curated, as that paints an incomplete/ potentially inaccurate picture for perspective buyers. The second is that a lot of the pricing reflects close to retail/ auction pricing for good condition examples, when they know damn well that most of what they have does not reflect that condition and price point. Third, a couple guns I've gotten appear to have been assaulted with a wire wheel. They need to tell the Ethiopians to not scrub anything and leave them untouched. You can salvage an untouched gun, but not a wire wheeled one. Otherwise, if its from Ethiopia, don't set your expectations too high and buy when things are on sale. The Carcano carbines from Italy are top notch and the price is a steal. Good luck finding ammo, though.
I am very selective and I tend to watch RU-vid reviews for many things I would find desirable. Buying during a sale is a good tactic that has severed me well over the years. Yes those Carcanos are great but the ammo is scarce nowadays
Interesting note on the wire wheeling, I got a mannlicher where the top of the barrel & receiver were obviously wire wheeled - no finish, but not much rust or pitting. However, when I took the stock off, there was heavy pitting & rust on all surfaces under the stock. this leads me to believe the pitting developed AFTER it was wire wheeled, so I think it may have been done quite a while ago
When I started reloading ammo @ 25 yrs ago, one goal, aside from a stockpile for current guns, was to be able to load for anything, assuming dies are available.....reloaded 7.62 X 54 r for Mosan Nagant , just because folks said it was impossible....with steel cases, which necks crack too easily, problematic to be sure....
I think the ratio of two smooth sales to one POS is about right. In my case, Unfortunately, the one that cost the most (arguably too much) was the POS.
I dont really have a strong opinion on RTI one way or another and I do commend them for letting you into their facility but Im sorry I HAVE to call them out for what he says at 10:45. I bought a restored Beretta M1 from them about 10 months ago and they literally wouldnt tell me anything about the ones they had. I did get one with a decent bore (Strong rifling but a bit of frost) but I was really miffed about the heal mark. Its there but you can barely see it. I should have called and made a stink but my Bolt and Barrel were Italian so I didnt. Im also kinda butthurt they dont offer the Berettas in the as found condition like they show at 14:30.
Huh interesting. Might be a miscommunication issue regarding what the front staff can and can’t do. The experience at the warehouse was amazing and Shaw was a knowledgeable tour guide.
@@BattlefieldCurator He seems like a nice guy, I just wish they were a little more transparent with what they have. I payed 2200 for my Beretta shipped. I wasnt expecting factory new but I was still mad. They wouldnt even tell me how many they had. Also, Im gunna be honest, their shipping costs are outrageous.
Just based on the reviews,these clowns need to sell or pass on the business to someone else alot less greedy.More Con than Pro,and that's your customers, doesn't matter what I think ✌️
Awesome collection of imports, wish I could hand pick a few examples for myself but I live pretty far away. Thanks for doing this video and asking a lot of questions most collectors have.
I’m tempted on a Luger but the more affordable ones they’re selling have sewer pipes for barrels. It’s still tempting though, especially since some of them were refinished before, they can be refinished again without harming any collectors value so a good project gun.
I have to say there are some really nice looking guns there. But what id like to see are some realistic prices? A lot of these guns are priced way over industry norms!
What Kinds of Italian Rifles from the 1896 War in Abyssinia? My Dad was the Youngest Boy in a family of Seven Girl’s and five Boy’s. My Grandfather fought and barely escaped capture with His Life at Adwa. He passed away when I was very small. I Have a very nice Vetterli Rifle but read that many Italian’s at Adwa were armed with single shot Remington Rolling Blocks. The Italian’s and their Eritrean Allies were outnumbered by a disparity of over 100 -1 . The Abyssinians were armed with many of the latest and best arms that could be had with advisors.
Wow incredible family history. The Italians at the time would have been armed with Carcano M1891, M91 Cavalry Carbines, and M91 TS Carbines. Maybe some Vetterlis in service still.
He's showing all the ones the employees are going to keep. RTI biggest problem is their grading. A good or fair graded rifle doesn't have missing parts or a sewer pipe bore that tumbles bullets at 20 feet. That is a poor condition rifle but that would probably describe 50% - 70% of RTI's "Ethiopian horde" from what I've heard, read and watched videos from customers. I thought about buying 3 rifles for my collection or just finish out the Carcano line but by the time you have to pay 100$-200$ more for hand select and your back up there at what a good or better quality rifle from another seller or gun show would costs. And RTI's hand select is only the extra money you have to pay to get the rifle in the condition that it was originally described as rather than get a broken rifle, missing parts or an unshootable bore.
Haha! I don’t think the employees would want them. While the grading of the Ethiopian stash can vary, the surplus Carcanos from Italy seem to be in better shape than the ones imported from PWarms a few years back. I have received great quality Carcanos from them recently and I also known a few people who received good ones as well. Hand select bore and condition on their Carcanos is currently $40 to $80.
I might risk a small purchase from them but I've seen so many horror stories about their higher end "refurbished" firearms often having major pitting and completely gone bores. Rifles that they grade as good often times have poor-fair condition bores.
I'm not a fan of a lot of RTI's business practices, when it comes to how they describe condition. Using "Excellent condition" examples as the photos for "Poor condition" rifles. ECT
you are better bidding on gun broker you will get a real collectable all matching and in one hell lot better shape. I mean 1500 for those possibly shooter grade Lugers these should sell for no more than 800.
@@michaelmusson3593 even then GB has gone down hill a lot. Fake bidders, inflated condition evaluations, outrageous reserve prices, and other scams, but if you're placing your bet, unfortunately GB is currently the best place.
Cool video but I went to the site, 1500+ for M1 , that's crazy I had no idea they'd gotten that high, maybe it's time to part with a few, I have a few Inlands
If you check around local shops, they are hard to find. Other online shops have them listed for around 2k or more. Collectible they are indeed, and they’re nice rifles for practical use
@@BattlefieldCurator If you check local shops in Florida or a gun show, you will find at least 2-30 M1's. They aren't that rare to find in Florida, maybe just where you are. I bought a M1 Carbine Inland with a refurbished stock for $550 with tax out the door about a year ago.
I often wonder about all the 1903-A3 Drill Rifles used at Great Lakes Naval Training center -Do they still use Them? If Not, What about their Disposition ?
I have purchased 3 rifles from them. 2 great buys and 1 that was a complete mess. You must roll the dice when buying from them. All in all you will get a piece of History.
Yano i was considering one of RTI's Garands but even with the amount of money they are charging they dont provide a shot of the bore? You would think that someone trying to sell a rifle for at times "over" 1500.00 to 2799.00,bucks would provide a picture of the bores on this individual rifles? But nope!
Go to the cmp store they have m1 garands from 800 and up and you can go examine the bore for yourself. It's really worth it if you're wanting a good garand for a better price than most anywhere else
@@BattlefieldCurator Absolutely. Been watching for awhile. Thank you for what you do. I keep hoping I can come across an FAL, Galil, or VZ 58 for a deal... money's tight Maybe one day 🤞
The Ethiopian surplus they have is going to look rough and it would be best to try and do hand select bore and hand select condition. Honestly, I haven’t bought much from them but you can check out Readiness Reviews on RU-vid and see what he’s gotten from them in the past. I have gotten a few good M1 Carbines from them though.
Oh and some of their Carcanos are from Italy (not Ethiopia) and are really nice, I’ve got a few of those as well. The Swiss K31s from Switzerland look good too
Hello, this is the Battlefield Curator youtube channel. We are not Royal Tiger Imports. Try and reach out to Royal Tiger Imports on their RU-vid channel, Instagram, Facebook, phone, and chat messenger on their website.
At 12:20.. How on earth can you claim that Inland appears to be all correct? The bolt, and slide and rear sight and stock and handguard and barrel band and flip safety are all too late for that serial number. When you say stuff like that, it exposes you as someone who has no clue what you are talking about beyond some very general comments. Aren't you the lead armorer or something for RTI? That Inland isn't even close to being correct. Stop blowing smoke up everyone's you know what.
Awesome video. I like royal tiger. I know they do sell some junk. I wish they were more transparent when sending a rifle with a bad bore or not functioning. But love to support surplus companies
Just stay away from Classic Firearms, they are nothing but a giant scam, whether you're buying modern arms or accessories or old stuff. They'll never pass up an opportunity to nickel and dime you out of an extra $20 to $50. Whether it's something about a modern product that they don't mention on their site that leads to you returning it and getting charged a restocking fee, or buying an old gat listed as good to very good condition and paying extra for hand select, only to receive a gat that has a Classic Firearms tag on it that clearly says "place in FAIR pile". Then they offer to exchange it, charging you shipping again and another FFL fee for their next attempt to get it right, or they just keep it because they "dont have any more" and charge you a restocking fee. They're fairly local to me and I've given them more chances on more products than I like to admit.
Salesi was a religious and secular leader of the African State of Abyssinia/Ethiopia. He led resistance to the Italian invasions' and. for a brief time, worked to make Ethiopia a modern Christian, democratic and tolerant country
I've refurbished 100s and 100s of M1s in the 70s and early 80s. Including a lot of WW II weapons There's still a large stash of M1s and Carbines in England
I bought a m1 garand from them that they stated the ultrasound cleaned and bore gauged at 1.5. When I disassembled it was dirty and had cosmoline everywhere, and the bore was a sewer pipe. I had to replace the bore.
Rti made those AK”s that were complete junk ? I owned one and never had a issue but I always consider rumors to be half truths and don’t like some of the trunnion fails I’ve watched via RU-vid
I made a comment on one of RTIs videos that there seemed to be a lot of videos of people being upset about their purchases and the official RTI page replied with some salty comment 😂. I even wrote in the comments I had no experience with RTI, it was just an impression I have gotten based the number of negative videos made by others.
I am tired of videos complaining about RTI. If you don't like their stuff, don't order it. I do not see many others doing the work to bring this to market. If I had the money, I would buy several of the rifles I see!
I know exactly what you mean I've been on there and looked and if there's going to be flaws or missing parts and such they always state it and the condition so you have a pretty good idea of what you should be getting
Ok . This is a relatively easy question to answer . What is surplus ? Surplus is anything EXTRA , manufactured to repair or replace . But these surplus items started off a platform . So these are incomplete . You’re not going to get a complete system from a warehouse , for civilians . What does a civilian need with this stuff ? Well he can find uses for some of this stuff , and as you can see , this warehouse owner wants to capitalize on that desire . This equipment was designed for a one time use application . It’s coloered green so it’s not imedeately detected . But in a must servive situation , the possessor can leave it behind . And maybe return for it later when the mission is finished .
Bought two rifles from them, condition was abominable. Both rifles came filthy, damaged, missing parts and with bad bores. The magazine housing was so badly dented on the cavalry carbine a clip wouldnt go in. Emails to RT went unanswered. If you want an example of a rifle - just go to a dealer and buy one you can see what kind of shape its in. In the future, I will pay more for a nice example rather than waste money on trash.
Considering RTI likely paid $1 apiece to the Ethiopian gov't, plus perhaps 25 cents to the approving minister, and about the same for shipping/ import licenses, they could sell them very reasonably and still make money....
I talked to Uli about the expenses… there’s so much more to it than that… business operating expenses like 10-20 employee salaries, rent/loan repayment on building, security system, internet/phone bill, and the special taxes that the government takes. Here’s the interview- Uli Wiegand: Why Military Surplus is so Expensive & What You Should Know about Royal Tiger Imports ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hpgfaNvQIds.html
This is awesome! I’m glad someone got to do a tour there. Loves to see behind the scenes. I wish I could be there to see all that surplus ! Thanks for the video and thanks to RTI for bringing it in.
@@BattlefieldCurator I bet it was great to see all that surplus! This video is definitely going to get you a ton of views! Hell ya, so many people are gonna pulverize that like button 🤣. Great job at seeing how they do hand select and bore condition . I know people are always complaining and asking about how they do it?
THANKS ULI SHAW DAN All TREASURE there. So glad you went down there and took the tour of there warehouse ! That pile of M1 Carbines was incredible. THANKS again RTI and Battlefield Curator !!
I could not work at an importer like that. I would have to have a second (and maybe a third) job in order to pay the bills. because all of my salery would go to buy more guns!!!
