Good observation, T-stick. I am constantly amazed at the number of MLers I meet that have never taken the locks out of their guns-- for cleaning or oiling or anything! :shocked2: More than half the locks I work on arrive with screws loose, and obvious rub marks on the lock plate that explains why it takes a "gorilla" to pull that trigger. When I show the owners HOW to remove the lock from their gun, and then have them watch as I inspect it, and then "fix " it in front of their eyes, letting them test the parts and the lock as I tune it, after each change, they are like little kids winning the grand prize at the Candy Store. They leave knowing that it didn't take much polishing, straightening, and occasionally some filing to get that lock working properly.
No, this should not happen even on cheap import guns, but it does. The factories and retailers want to avoid Product Liability suits by producing a product that has lots of problems, and leaves the factory barely able to function. Then, when someone works on the lock to "fix" it, their after-market work is clearly evident, and the company has a defense to any suit.
( Its the same reason that ammo makers of cartridges use a different colored primer in factory ammo, while selling primers for reloaders of a different color. They want to prove that the cartridge is a reload, and not a factory loaded round that blew the gun up. )
Many of the factory guns, sold for much less money than any of the kits or semi-custom made guns can be priced, can be tuned up to shoot quite well. Its very rare today to find a barrel that simply will not shoot. Its just as rare with Foreign barrels as with American made barrels. Everyone is stress relieving barrels, because it allows them to cut the barrels faster, which helps them remain competitive. and making a profit.
I toured a barrel maker's shop here in Illinois, and he even had made up his own "freezer" to do his own kryogenic treatment of his barrels. He had made his own rifling machine, so a lot of things in his shop had that " Rube Goldberg" kind of look, including that "freezer", but he produced outstanding barrels. Unfortunately, he was not set up to make MLer barrels, with their deeper grooves, and was not interested in trying to get into that market.
