New Deerstalker Disappointment

[JetMaxx]

First off let me say that I've learned alot from this board as a lurker but finally joined because I've had a very disappointing start to my Lyman investment. After saving some money, I bought my long sought after Lyman Deerstalker .54. I bought it online and when I got it the barrel would not set into the stock even with the tang completely removed. I called Lyman and they said to send it into them and was told that I had to pay for shipping to Lyman even though it was a new rifle that was clearly faulty out of the box. Both aspects were disappointing but I wanted to get it right so I sent it in on my dime.

2 1/2 weeks later I received my gun back and I look at the packing slip and it says that the "barrel was refit to stock" and it "tested fine". So I begin to inspect it. This is what I now have for a "new" Deerstalker:
End of barrel now has a dimple in it

Rear sight was removed and laying in the bottom of the box, this is how I found it with the sight tightened down in this position:

So I look at the rear sight mount and this is what I find, note the dovetail:

The condition of the barrel:

The bluing all the way around the barrel 3" up from the breech plug has been affected:

The repair apparently was to put 2 unsecured washers under the tang:

The final result? I still have to force the wedge in and can't remove it without pliers. Here is the fit between the barrel and tang:

At this point I don't know if I'm more shocked or disappointed that Lyman would send a "new" rifle back to me in this condition. I bought a Lyman because I was under the impression that they were a quality company but this has really soured me. I have their customer service Contact Us page open and am prepared to put together a lengthy email but I'd like to know if anyone else has had anything similar happen to them and with what result.

 

[duca]

WELL! All I can say is that these are mass produced guns. If you want Quality go with a Custom Gun. There are plenty of Great gun builders on and off the Forum. You are going to pay a little more but you will be happy. Most stand behind there products.

 

[don hepler]

I can see how you would be disappointed, but unless you're going to battle back and forth, I think I would try to make the best of the situation. I'd be upset about the dimple, but would probably just accept that. The sight can be re-tightened and the dove tail should be okay. All my barrels have blueing missing where it fits against the lock. A little cold touch up and it will not be to bad. Now the part that would bother me the most is the washers under the tang.
That is not the way to repair that. I would put the tang back into the stock and fit the hooked breech to line up better. If the lug under the barrel is bolted on, I would shim it down to fit or thin the wedge pin to get the correct pressure on the barrel. That is what the factory should have done. Me personally, I would use it as an opportunity to work on my own rifle. I would tell them how I felt about the rifle. If you're in this game for long, you may wind up building your own rifle.

Probably not the answer you're looking for, but that's what I would do.

 

[Walks with fire]

Lyman does have some Quality issues for sure. I bought one last year and have not shot it yet. On mine everything looks good so far but I have yet to see if the sights on it are going to position correctly.

It does really suck to pay for a new rifle and have it come in like yours and then when shipped back for repair it is not taken care of correctly.
If it were me and I had just bought it I would demand a refund for sure.

I wanted a carbine length .54 flinter for round ball shooting and the deerstalker is about the only thing on the market like that so I rolled the dice. I still hope it works well because I like the rifle and it's features. Should make a pretty decent deer rifle but time will tell all.

I wonder if you could get a refund and look for another rifle?

 

[mooman76]

Where did you buy it? They may swap you out for a good one and be done and over with it.

 

[JetMaxx]

Thanks for all of the responses. If it were not a new rifle I may have settled on a few of the issues. However, this is a considerable investment for me and to have this to look at and use is just ridiculous. I bought it from a PA company that's a sponsor on another forum. I've sent an email to Lyman and will wait for a response. If I can't get anywhere with them I will probably pursue a return but I don't know if they would even accept this mess of a gun as a return now.

 

[greggholmes]

I would send the nasty gram period.
Ya custom guns are nice but 2-3 times the price is a bit steep for me.

 

[nkbj]

And while you're at it include a link to this topic where it is said BOOO Lymans, BOOO Lymans.
People pushing junk on the public need public censure.

 

[Spikebuck]

Based on the pictures and the "fixes" it all looks like shoddy and/or defective workmanship to me. I don't accept things like this new and either have the company make it right (really right...not the fix you got back) or make them take it back for a refund.

Several posts lately on poor Lyman quality. Too bad.

 

[mooman76]

Lyman has seemed to go down hill the past few years. Some companies go through this. When times are good they sometimes let quality slip and eventually they have to improve quality or die. Another board people don't like their new moulds and would rather buy a good used one they know is up to par. Buying one seems to be a manure shoot. You take your chances with them for sure.

 

[rafterob]

I'd be ****** as all get out at this point. I would demand an exchange or full refund, threaten to report to BBB, mention you're ready to badmouth on the internet, etc..

 

[FishDFly]

It's easy to say buy custom when it's not your money that is being spent.

As far as custom goes TVM has had and continues to have their problems, thus custom is not the total answer, especially when you cannot afford one.

As pointed out, Lyman is a total gamble, let the buyer beware.

 

[Terry Fairchild]

I was at my local Gunshop last week and the owner showed me 6 new flinty Deerstalkers. They are priced at $402 which I thought was fair. I started saving my dough to buy one to add to my 6 other muzzleloader rifles. I don't need one but, you folks know what it is when we see something like this!
However,after reading this( and other posts) regarding Lyman quality, I think I'll pass on this.
I enjoy tinkering and fixing my muzzys, and sometimes a used one requires this attention, but a new gun should not require that we do tinkering and maintenance to get them to operate correctly.

 

[rodwha]

My Deerstalker barrel didn't fit into my stock either. I had to hammer the wedge in. I was instructed that all I needed to do was loosen the tang enough that it allowed the wedge to slide through with some tension, and all is good.

 

[Zonie]

Well, I'm not saying you should run out and buy one of those Deerstalkers but you have a big advantage over many other folks. You can hold each one of the 6 rifles the gunshop owner has.

Using your knowledge of some of the problems mentioned in this and other similar posts you have the opportunity to see if any of the guns on hand have similar problems. I'm betting most (if not all) don't.

After looking over what's there, then you can make up your mind about spending money to buy one or not.

 

[JetMaxx]

I heard from Lyman yesterday, the tech was apologetic and offered to replace the gun from a shipment they are receiving this week. Hopefully the new gun won't have the same issues.

 

[Dean2]

While I get being a little ****** over the issues with the first gun, and especially the poor fix, I think what you posted proves Lyman is still a quality company. All companies will have some quality or service problems, what makes the difference is how they respond and fix the issues.

By what you have posted I would say Lyman has treated you right and this deserves to be clear, just like you have done. Too often the OP ends up with a good result but never posts that to the original thread. Good on you for the follow up.

 

[Albertan]

My Deerstalker has never given me any problems, in fact its the rifle that saved me from abandoning flinters altogether (bad experience with a cheap Traditions flinter).

The fit and finish are near perfect and the rifle operates without any problems (so far). I haven't even had any touch hole problems that many complain about with Lyman rifles.

But the rifle I bought wasn't new, in the sense that it sat in the store for years before I bought it.

Good to hear that the tech at Lyman came through for you, though.

 

[JetMaxx]

I finally heard from Lyman yesterday and was told that they have found a rifle for me(with multiple people inspecting it) and would contact me regarding arrangements to return my current rifle for exchange. Still waiting....

 

[JetMaxx]

It's going on almost 2 months since initial purchase and still no gun to shoot or one on the way to replace it. Worse yet I'm still waiting on Lyman to arrange for pickup of the defective rifle I have boxed up. What a horrible experience.