In this case, as I understand it, normal 3 day inspection period. No firing. I've always assumed snap caps were fine, and in this case, the buyer tried the gun with snap caps upon receiving it, and the ejectors worked fine.
I've never assumed that the inspection period meant you could have your gunsmith disassemble the action--unless that was expressly allowed by the dealer. Your "gunsmith" might be some shade tree local who'd end up buggering screws, etc. However . . . in this case, the buyer has a highly-regarded doublegun smith just down the road. Especially with an older gun (I believe we're talking pre-WWI in this case), I might ask a dealer whether I could have a gunsmith with a good reputation disassemble the gun during the inspection period. (I'd provide the gunsmith's name, of course.) Don't believe my friend did so in this case.
Couple of experiences I've had: Bought a 16ga Greener from Cabela's. On about the 3rd shot, the gun broke through the wrist. Old repair which neither I nor the guy who ran the Gun Library had spotted. (Hidden in the checkering.) I was pretty sure Cabela's would refund my money, but I asked if they would restock it for me. They did . . . on their dime.
Recently bought a 20ga Merkel from Mark Beasland. Fairly new gun, but still "used". Immediately took it to the local gun club. Worked fine stations 1-4. (In fact, I was "straight" with it.) On 5, I couldn't get the safety to disengage. Finally did, but then the gun doubled--after which the safety would not disengage. Called Mark, took it back to him. He showed me the broken part, which he could have repaired. However, he ordered a new part from Merkel, installed it, and I had the gun back in less than 2 weeks. All on his dime.
I agree that you can't offer an open-ended warranty on vintage guns, but it seems to me policies like that will be reported on websites like this one, and are likely to be of benefit to the dealer's business. Shacter's 30 day mechanical warranty sounds like a pretty good "middle of the road" policy. Kind of like the 30 day/1,000 mile warranty many used car dealers offer--or used to.
