An air rifle should function and shoot with no leaks out of the box as advertised. And it should hold POI without having to handle it like a carton of fragile eggs.
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Question for Airgun Enthusiasts
- Thread starter Ezana4CE
- Start date
I expect a new gun to live up to the manufacturer's claims out of the box. If I want more out of it, then that's entirely on me. If a product doesn't do what the manufacturer says it will, I would expect them to fix it. However, sometimes a product will slip past QC. Then it may be easier to fix it myself than send it back. But that's something to be determined on a case by case basis.
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I expect anything I buy to operate within published specifications be it an air rifle, a camera or whatever. I never buy early production numbers of anything because there’s almost always a few bugs. Nikon is infamous for needing firmware updates early on to fix a problem they didn’t catch in testing. Since I got into airgunning I’ve had three new to me rifles that needed adjustment or repair to operate properly, all in the $200-300 range. The work done brought them up to spec and they shoot quite well. If I bought a new Anschutz or other high end gun I would expect it to need very minimal adjustments to fit me and no mechanical problems. $4-6 k for any kind of rifle, it better be perfect.
Rick H.
Rick H.
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I did not find it reasonable when my new Caiman X arrived with a trigger worse than my much less expensive airguns and a regulator that stopped working due to bad assembly. BUT I elected to fix it myself even though that seemed to annoy Utah airguns. They did help, however, with how to disassemble the gun. I just do not like anybody spending what it costs to ship an airgun nor do I want to wait to get it back. With simple adjustment the trigger is better than my other airguns and the regulator works well.
I had the option to send it back which was nice but that doesn't really make up for sending it to me in lousy shape.
I had the option to send it back which was nice but that doesn't really make up for sending it to me in lousy shape.
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If you made a product that guys refuse to send back, would you make any effort to ramp up QC? Thank god we can’t fix scopes.
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There’s nothing worse than when you decide to step only to get kicked in the nads. In late 2015 or early 2016 I decided to step up from my $899 BSA to a $2k Impact. Almost went batty because I never had one problem with previous PCP’s. Didn’t tolerate it, just finally sold it. Eventually it became common to accept issues with new guns and I got groomed into it just like everyone else thanks to YouTube Gunsmithing University. But a friend slapped some sense back into me. No toy is so exciting to not leave my grasp until it’s functional moving forward. If we all think this way and they have as many guns coming back as they are shipping out, I promise you, things will change.
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I'm of a similar opinion. Although several shops charge restocking fees, I figure that some make a decent amount of their money back on garbage guns due to returns and resale. I could be wrong here, BUT I do know of some business owners or designers that stand behind their products. I was in contact with one recently. He seems sincere in wanting me to use and enjoy the product that he created. The man offered me a money back guarantee and offered to work with me on some solutions to unique issues that I may encounter. I enjoy doing business with people like that. I hadn't even thought of returning anything. I only asked questions to be sure that I had enough information to proceed without tearing something up before using my items. He seemed happy to field my questions. I love doing business with folks like that. No fluff or incentivized endorsements - just a useful product(s) and good prompt service backed by a confident designer and business owner.
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"It all depends on what and how reasonable your expectations are?"
Not airguns related, but I must mention it here with this short story.
10 minutes North from my house there is one pretty large car tuning shop. All German cars inside from Porsche to Mercedes's. I don't know what was wrong with that brand new Carera but the owners spending $50K on turbo upgrades.
25 minutes South there is a similar shop for Japanese cars. Last time I was there to get some car polishing paste, one guy just got a new ceramic clutch for $17K for the Subaru.
Will these nasty upgrades or updates make the owners happy now? maybe.... but a placebo...
Not airguns related, but I must mention it here with this short story.
10 minutes North from my house there is one pretty large car tuning shop. All German cars inside from Porsche to Mercedes's. I don't know what was wrong with that brand new Carera but the owners spending $50K on turbo upgrades.
25 minutes South there is a similar shop for Japanese cars. Last time I was there to get some car polishing paste, one guy just got a new ceramic clutch for $17K for the Subaru.
Will these nasty upgrades or updates make the owners happy now? maybe.... but a placebo...
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@Frozenspyder When it may be easier to fix yourself, do you find that an acceptable minor inconvenience or do you still consider it unacceptable? Where do you draw the line? At the purchase price? The magnitude of the solution to the problem?
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From day one I picked my FX or Edgun, my toys never got back to a dealers shop to fix anything.
I will swallow the inconvenience and I will make it even better
I will swallow the inconvenience and I will make it even better
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That's a good question. If I'm being completely honest, it really depends on the level of frustration.
When I get so frustrated with an issue on a new product, either due to the cost, complexity, or time required to fix it, that's when I think it becomes unacceptable.
If I had to quantify such things, I guess it's no longer acceptable if the parts to fix cost more than $20, if it takes more than an evening to fix once I have the parts in hand, if it requires disassembling more than 20 percent of the product, or if it requires repeated disassembly.
I'd imagine those parameters vary greatly from person to person, but there's my personal answer to your question.
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I don’t believe it’s right after spending $2K+ to have to spend hundreds of dollars to make the rifle accurate and user friendly. Hear that FX? All of your Impacts and Mavericks should come with a lower rail extension and stiff backbone.
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Sorry, but I disagree.
While some (minor?) percentage of the people who bought Impacts and Mavericks might have added those accessories I suspect that many people don't have them, don't need them and are happy not to have that cost added to the base price.
As you say, there's hundreds of dollars that could be spent on customizing an airgun to your preferences... but not necessarily mine.
IMHO, my Impact is an excellent commercial grade airgun - right out of the box. There are companies that do market custom products and the extra costs are reflected in the price.
I see the FX Impact as an AUDI/BMW level product that can be upgraded to Formula 1 or Lamborghini performance... for a price.
Cheers!
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A lot may depend on the dealer you buy from when buying new.
If a new air gunner want to get in, but just shoot. No adjusting, nothing. There may not be many that work, efficiently out of the box. Will that guy know he is only getting half the shots he could?
If not a tinker or forum rat, they will never know. Some will continue on not knowing kuz it does shoot. Others may not be as pleased but figure that’s the way it is and not buy that brand again.
It’s easy to say the manufacturers should do this or that. But many of these things would do nothing but drive cost up. The strategic seems to be make as many as cheaply as you can and hope you make more people happy than you make mad. Most inexpensive brands are like this from what I see.
It’s poor business.
If a new air gunner want to get in, but just shoot. No adjusting, nothing. There may not be many that work, efficiently out of the box. Will that guy know he is only getting half the shots he could?
If not a tinker or forum rat, they will never know. Some will continue on not knowing kuz it does shoot. Others may not be as pleased but figure that’s the way it is and not buy that brand again.
It’s easy to say the manufacturers should do this or that. But many of these things would do nothing but drive cost up. The strategic seems to be make as many as cheaply as you can and hope you make more people happy than you make mad. Most inexpensive brands are like this from what I see.
It’s poor business.
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I feel that a product should meet the advertised performance and be fully functional with no issues for (at least) the warranty period... IF used as intended by the manufacturer and without any unauthorized modifications.
I also understand that (in the real world) sh*t happens and that's what warranties are for.
My supplier, AirGun Source (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada) inspects airguns (and pressure tests PCPs) before shipping to the customer. I'm a bit surprised to hear that some sellers (obviously) don't. Very happy with the service and support from AGS!
I think that many people are unhappy with their purchase because the product does not meet their unreasonable expectations. Probably because they set their expectations based on YouTube videos... go figure eh!
A last thought. Airguns, like many products, are designed and mass produced for a specific market. It's up to the consumer to determine whether the product (as sold) meets their needs or if extra cost/effort is required to upgrade to a higher performance.
Cheers!
I also understand that (in the real world) sh*t happens and that's what warranties are for.
My supplier, AirGun Source (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada) inspects airguns (and pressure tests PCPs) before shipping to the customer. I'm a bit surprised to hear that some sellers (obviously) don't. Very happy with the service and support from AGS!
I think that many people are unhappy with their purchase because the product does not meet their unreasonable expectations. Probably because they set their expectations based on YouTube videos... go figure eh!
A last thought. Airguns, like many products, are designed and mass produced for a specific market. It's up to the consumer to determine whether the product (as sold) meets their needs or if extra cost/effort is required to upgrade to a higher performance.
Cheers!
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