The scope was described as perfectly functional. In fact, the mounts would not hold the scope on the gun. The scope had the elevation tourette move on the shaft, the adjustment knobs were stuck. The ocular is moving.
The gun had the rifle barrel relined.
One of the triggers, while working, had a very hard pull and a lot of creep.
I have bought guns in poor condition from other sellers....
The intention of the topic is to bring awareness on this dealer. It might be malitious and unfair to some, but this is my side of the story.
So, the plot thickens. Here we have a pre-war (70-years-old or older) 12-bore Sauer shotgun with rifle barrel attached, and scope detached, priced at $5,500. One might question what element of the $5,500 price a 4X scope contributes to a relatively expensive collector's item of a shotgun/rifle combo with iron sights? Or what is the chance of buying a similar shotgun/rifle combo at any price anywhere else? Or whether or not a relined rifle barrel on a 70+ year-old shotgun is a plus or minus in the eyes of different beholders? Or whether the subjective issue of trigger pull ("...hard pull, creep...") isn't something that different persons might evaluate differently?
I have only met Steve Barnett in passing at such places as the Vintage Cup, and someday, if and when I get to Mississippi, I'd like to see his shop, which from his ads looks like a place to spend a whole day. Steve is a major Parker dealer and to the extent that I have seen his guns displayed and handled a few, he is a top notch dealer with things of value to sell. But this is the Internet, where everybody gets their say, even Silver, who paraphrased says:
"It might be malicious and unfair to some...[for me]...to bring awareness on this dealer...[as I]...have bought guns in poor condition from other sellers...[and]...this is my side of the story."
So here is the solution to this sort of difference of opinion in the future: TO SAVE POSTAGE, get in your car and drive from Montana to Mississippi (or wherever) to look at an antique $5,500 shotgun/rifle combo next time. You can fiddle with the trigger and see if the removable scope suits you; if the cost to the prior owner to "reline" the rifle barrel did not add value to your way of thinking, then walk away...all that's lost is, maybe, 2,500- to 3,000-miles on your vehicle and 4 or 5 days of your time. Or maybe paying postage to look at someone else's $5,500 antique gun and having the stay-at-home option to say "yes, I'll keep it," or "No, I'd like my money back," ain't such a bad deal after all.
My understanding is that dealers like Steve Barnett with actual stores and national reputations always give a right to return for reason or no reason whatsoever. Silver got his money back. The idea that dealers are to pay a potential buyer's postage, which is incurred solely because the buyer chooses not to shop in person at the seller's store, is just plain silly. And the idea that the detachable scope (not even pictured in the auction listing) translates into a gun "...in poor condition" Oh! Poo!
