backcountry_draft
Member
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2021
- Messages
- 1
Hi Everyone!
Been shooting for a while, but I'm new to the forum. I've seen a lot of horror stories regarding sending rifles back for repair and wanted to share my experience with Winchester (well... Browning).
I bought a new Model 70 from my LGS. It was a 2020 SHOT Show special Extreme Weather with the Tungsten Cerakote chambered in .30-06. I thought the rifle was beautiful and loved the Cerakote as I'm a backcountry hunter and am pretty rough on my guns.
I took it to the range and WOW! It was an awful shot. I also had my Savage 110 and was shooting sub MOA. I am by no means a great shot, but if I can get sub MOA with one gun, I figure it's not entirely my fault. I was shooting Winchester white box and was getting 8 inch groups. I tried Federal, Remington, some locally made ammo, and whatever else I could get my hands on, and the best I could do was 4 inches at 100 yards. I cleaned the barrel and did everything I could think of to do. Finally I gave up and called Winchester.
Process was fairly straightforward. I filled out their form and sent the rifle back on Aug 13th. A couple days later, I got a service tracking number and an estimated completion date of Sept 12th - not bad.
Well, Sept 12th came and went, and my rifle was still waiting to be worked on. I called them up, and the guy on the other end of phone said that they need another week. Two days later, the same guy called me up and said that his smith couldn't figure out what was wrong with it (which I found to be extremely interesting...), and he offered me a new rifle. As the Cerakoted rifle was no longer in production, I ended up getting the stainless steel version with a threaded muzzle. A couple weeks later, the new rifle appeared on my doorstep on October 4th.
Overall, I thought the process was extremely slow, and I don't even know if someone actually worked on my rifle or if they just decided to send a new one out. This whole thing didn't cost me anything, and I ended up with a similar rifle that I think actually has a higher MSRP. AND I got it all sorted out before Georgia's rifle season opens up this weekend. I haven't shot the new one yet, but I'll be out hoping for a better experience this time around with the rifle.
TL;DR - Got a bad Model 70 and sent it back for repair. Winchester couldn't figure out what was wrong and sent me a new rifle that had a higher MSRP, and I didn't spend a penny.
Been shooting for a while, but I'm new to the forum. I've seen a lot of horror stories regarding sending rifles back for repair and wanted to share my experience with Winchester (well... Browning).
I bought a new Model 70 from my LGS. It was a 2020 SHOT Show special Extreme Weather with the Tungsten Cerakote chambered in .30-06. I thought the rifle was beautiful and loved the Cerakote as I'm a backcountry hunter and am pretty rough on my guns.
I took it to the range and WOW! It was an awful shot. I also had my Savage 110 and was shooting sub MOA. I am by no means a great shot, but if I can get sub MOA with one gun, I figure it's not entirely my fault. I was shooting Winchester white box and was getting 8 inch groups. I tried Federal, Remington, some locally made ammo, and whatever else I could get my hands on, and the best I could do was 4 inches at 100 yards. I cleaned the barrel and did everything I could think of to do. Finally I gave up and called Winchester.
Process was fairly straightforward. I filled out their form and sent the rifle back on Aug 13th. A couple days later, I got a service tracking number and an estimated completion date of Sept 12th - not bad.
Well, Sept 12th came and went, and my rifle was still waiting to be worked on. I called them up, and the guy on the other end of phone said that they need another week. Two days later, the same guy called me up and said that his smith couldn't figure out what was wrong with it (which I found to be extremely interesting...), and he offered me a new rifle. As the Cerakoted rifle was no longer in production, I ended up getting the stainless steel version with a threaded muzzle. A couple weeks later, the new rifle appeared on my doorstep on October 4th.
Overall, I thought the process was extremely slow, and I don't even know if someone actually worked on my rifle or if they just decided to send a new one out. This whole thing didn't cost me anything, and I ended up with a similar rifle that I think actually has a higher MSRP. AND I got it all sorted out before Georgia's rifle season opens up this weekend. I haven't shot the new one yet, but I'll be out hoping for a better experience this time around with the rifle.
TL;DR - Got a bad Model 70 and sent it back for repair. Winchester couldn't figure out what was wrong and sent me a new rifle that had a higher MSRP, and I didn't spend a penny.
