The universe still fucking hates me.
Don't expect to see much in the way of posting the next couple days - I just got kicked in the teeth yet again.
Was with my dad in one of the local toy shops this afternoon, while he did the paperwork on a NM Blackhawk in .357 mag that he picked up to stand in for a light carbine.
Spied a 4-5/8" Super Blackhawk 44 mag, looked at. Trigger job, target hammer; excellent cylinder gap. Most of the bluing gone on the barrel, but mechanically in near new condition (for those of you not used to inspecting firearms, this means it'd been carried a bunch and shot almost never). I decide to hell with it, and blow most of my wad 'o savings on the thing.
Take it up to the range, and off the bat it shoots about a foot and a half to the freaking left at 21'. Eventually, I get it more or less sighted in; but it still isn't grouping real spiffily. Considering the 44's traditionally have a practical range out near a hundred yards, seven yards and not grouping is not a good sign.
Figure I need more practice. Get it home, start inspecting under a good light (and with my clear indoor glasses on) and immediately notice why the thing wasn't sighting in right. It's not a 4-5/8" SBH.
It's a 4-1/2" SBH that someone cut down from a 7-1/2". They did not use a lathe to do so, either. The damned muzzle isn't square, and to top it off the lazy shit didn't even get the front sight brazed on square or TDC.
I am not amused.
So, I have a couple choices. Being as I have no lathe myself, nor anywhere to set up my Oxy-MAPP torch here in the apartment, I can't do the fixing myself. I can send it to someone else to have un-fucked; taking a few months and costing a couple bills. I can trade it off at the store I usually do business at - an option that will cost me a hundred and fifty bucks. Or lastly, I can go back tomorrow and try to get the shit-kicker that sold it to me at the local shit-pile masquerading as a shop to make it right. They used to have a twenty-four hour bring-back period.
Used to. I have no idea if it's still in effect. I have no idea if it's still in effect because I don't do business at this shop, aside from having handguns bought at good stores transferred in (stupid interstate laws). I don't do business there because every time I do, shit like this happens. Every time. For ten years.
A piece of advice: never buy a used firearm in the Pacific Northwest. Just don't. 95% of them are traded off or sold because the previous owner fucked it up somehow. Spend the extra twenty percent and buy new.
I had been tossing around the idea of delving back into the RR master... but my mood is shot completely to shit now. I'm going to eat my microwaved excuse for dinner, and go kill time until the new episode of Burn Notice.
Good luck getting it returned.
ReplyDeleteOne nice thing about smoothbores, they cut down real well. No real range, but they cut down real well....
The Auld Grump, even a buccaneer musket only has a so-so range.
Well, you know I'm no marksman (markswoman? ah, nevermind, you're in no mood for feminist crap :P), but one thing I do know well enough is buying something second-hand to discover later that it's crap and I've been had. That really bites, and I feel your pain.
ReplyDeleteOh that has to suck buddy. Just what was that gun dealers name? Smilling Jack of the real world.
ReplyDeleteSo just whats in your mind for the vault and your girls? Got anything cooking?
You guys were waiting in the wings tonight, eh?
ReplyDelete@Dennis: Even smoothbores benefit from having a squared muzzle :p
The thing seemed to at least be consistent in its suck, and could thus be compensated for; but it's the principle, damn it. I'm sick of getting shafted by these people, and my resources are FAR from infinite to keep losing over and over.
@Herculine: I don't generally mind feminist crap, so long as it's good-natured, and you indulge me in return in the occasional urge to be a misogynist bastard. It does indeed bite, yes. Unfortunately for them, I am becoming less nice the older I get, and plan to raise holy hell over this.
@Sgt: The name of the joint is Columbia Outdoor and Surplus. Ten years ago, it was a decent if uninspiring small-town shop. Nothing spectacular, but you could hang out and BS, indulge in some horse trading, and occasionally run across something neat. Then, it got bought out by a new owner; whose retail experience came from running the local phone company into the ground. She instituted a 5% surcharge and all guns and ammo in the place if bought with a credit card - not tools or DVDs or jewelry; just the evil men and their stupid toys. $670 for a Glock 17. $525 up the road where I normally shop... and she can't figure out why business is dropping off...
Anyhow, as for the mods: you probably won't be happy, but I'm planning on making the next version of the master final, barring any new bugs and whatnot. I plan to finish reworking the NPCs to look less bad, implement the last reliability enhancement I've come up with, and tweak one or two things, and call it good. I just can't think of anything else to do that won't massively break Refurbished; and there are no glaring bugs left to fix.
Few bugs here and there... but I can't seem to reproduce them to even try to fix them, so I have to assume most are either engine problems, or mod conflicts.
Shame, too, I really wanted to work over Chloe's suite to include an inventory room of some sort... even just static crates to make it look like storage... but Fry's modified that whole area, and there's nowhere for me to work without causing a bunch of trouble for him.
As for the other mods... my companions pack isn't done by any means. I'm actually fairly close to the next version of it; just have some dialog to write, and a little scripting.
New companions in the works, as well. I still need to release the plugin I made up for the demo companions from the cosmetic pack, and there are the Mazken and red-skinned Demons I've been playing with. Also tossed around the idea of releasing Kiyo from before, even though she's heavy on mod requirements.
Also thinking about a couple plugins for 20thCW. One for some better realism, a version of the 1911's mod that uses 20thCW to allow suppressed use as well, and I'd like to script up a set of the revolvers that let you switch between loaded cartridges - IE 357mag/38spc, 44mag/spc, 454/45 Colt, 22mag/LR, etc. Also want one of those X-frames set up in 460S&W.
And of course, at SOME point, I have got to get around to editing and updating that damned tutorial.
ReplyDeleteI get so many PMs about that thing...
Just got back from the shop.
ReplyDeleteDidn't have to go fully Antichrist.
Ended up coming home with a 1942 BYF marked K98 in ~70%/ex bore, and a hundred bucks.
Not a horrible day.
...Other than the temp... man I'm still too fat for this desert crap...