Too Good To Be True ?

[Andy]

I don't really have the knowledge to judge but would say I don't believe it for a few reasons.

There are some dents in the stock clearly visible
The trigger guard engraving does look soft as pointed out
The trigger guard screw does not look untouched
It's CSMC so as far as pissing in cheerios, they've done a lot of pissing over the years and they've turned a lot of people off. We all have to go by prior experience and in the past 2-3 years I know more unhappy people than happy people who have dealt with them. The latest is a friends gun they had for nearly 10 months before they told him it was a repair they don't even do.

[78CJ]

The trigger guard is very suspect. That and the dents in the stock clearly take it far from 100% new. Put me in the man I wish they would just be a stand up company crowd. And yes, I have had sour dealings and that was only a $1300 VH......SMH

[Steve Hodges]

These last two posts bashing Connecticut Shotgun are just the reason I hate reading feedback on companies online. It seems that the negative rises to the top and if you let it you would probably never buy from anyone again. I have happened to have had a good experience dealing with them. Six or seven years ago I got an itch for a made in USA modern double for clay, made to my dimensions with the options that I wanted. I live in Central NH so I traveled to Connecticut Shotgun and met with a sales person to have a custom RBL built for me. . I picked out the wood, barrel length, number of triggers, 2, finish type and heel treatment. I said that I wanted it light for a 12, so they built it on a 16 gauge frame. And the stock of course to my fitting. What I received was a wonderful gun that became my go to clays gun. The only issue was that I was not quite happy with the finish, but it was not so bad that I sent it back. Fast forward 5 years and I was at Housemans and walked by the CSMC tent and happed to have my RBL with me. I showed the person the gun and told him how pleased that I was with it and asked him what he thought of the finish on the sock. He did not think that it was up to there standards and took my gun back with him and has the entire stock refinished and sent back to me. I was very pleased with the new results. Good customer service in my book.

[Steve Hodges]

My RBL

[78CJ]

See, the trouble is times are changing. The WWW has offered the opportunity for all to share experiences that normally were just word of mouth at shows. I know my view is unpopular but reality. Ironically there is always talk of the future of collecting and myself and my peers are that future.

The "Good 'ol boys club" is going to lose to the transparency of the internet. Plain and simple.

I wouldn't be surprised to find a Superposed butt plate on this "NIB" Parker just like my all original VH showed up with. YMMV.

[Pa SxS]

I won't comment on anything other than the case colors and wood. The add never said the gun was never handled. Doesn't take much to scratch or dent the wood. In my opinion the case colors are excellent and original. They are what I call the second generation of case colors meaning a different pattern or placement of colors on the metal. Having the box certainly adds to the value. How much I don't know.

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Andrew Sacco

I don't really have the knowledge to judge but would say I don't believe it for a few reasons. Your not alone. There are lots of people out there that lack the knowledge, and yet, there they are, making judgements.

There are some dents in the stock clearly visible Yes, I see them, and saw them with the gun in my hand. Quite shallow, but there.
The trigger guard engraving does look soft as pointed out
The trigger guard screw does not look untouchedThe engraving is crisp, but Remington did not Nitre blue the trigger guards, as was done in Meriden. Cold rust bluing is a micro rusting process, and does have the effect of 'softening' edges. Digital photography depth of field focuses on one edge, but having it in hand and rotating it in good light trups the best picture.
It's CSMC so as far as pissing in cheerios, they've done a lot of pissing over the years and they've turned a lot of people off. We all have to go by prior experience and in the past 2-3 years I know more unhappy people than happy people who have dealt with them. The latest is a friends gun they had for nearly 10 months before they told him it was a repair they don't even do.

Originally Posted by Ryan Brege

The trigger guard is very suspect. I'm sure you mean 'very suspect' to you, though I have yet to see the newest super VGA 1080x760 yada monitor that beats being there. That and the dents in the stock clearly take it far from 100% new. Put me in the man I wish they would just be a stand up company crowd. And yes, I have had sour dealings and that was only a $1300 VH......SMH

Originally Posted by Ryan Brege

See, the trouble is times are changing. The WWW has offered the opportunity for all to share experiences that normally were just word of mouth at shows. I know my view is unpopular but reality. Ironically there is always talk of the future of collecting and myself and my peers are that future.

The "Good 'ol boys club" is going to lose to the transparency of the internet. Plain and simple. Transparency? The internet opens up a world of information. It has also been described as the greatest source of misinformation.The secret is being informed, from other sources, to know the difference.

I wouldn't be surprised to find a Superposed butt plate on this "NIB" Parker just like my all original VH showed up with.I'll spare you the suspence. See my pics of the gun, in the box, on page 2. It's a Dogs Head Butt Plate. I know, I looked it up on the internet. YMMV.

It never fails to amaze me that people insist on a first hand inspection before buying something of import, but are happy to reject something from a few pictures.
The pictures were good enough for me to take a run down there, and spend an hour with the gun in my hand, using my pretty good eyeballs.

[Stan Hoover]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

It never fails to amaze me that people insist on a first hand inspection before buying something of import, but are happy to reject something from a few pictures.
The pictures were good enough for me to take a run down there, and spend an hour with the gun in my hand, using my pretty good eyeballs.

I wish I was as close as your Edgar,
They have had a gun for about a year that has really bugged me, I wish I could inspect it firsthand. So far the distance and the price have made me stay at home.

Very nice RBL there Steve, you did well on the wood!

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Stan Hoover

I wish I was as close as your Edgar,
They have had a gun for about a year that has really bugged me, I wish I could inspect it firsthand. So far the distance and the price have made me stay at home.

Very nice RBL there Steve, you did well on the wood!

Fire up that Piper. 4B9 (Simsbury) is 5 minutes away, and I'll pick you up and go visit that gun.

[ArtS]

My problem is that they try to run a major internet business and have no workable sales system.

I have purchased two RBL's early on from them; a Launch Edition and a custom order. Both turned out great but gatting them was frustrating.

In the past year I have tried to get information from them on three different Beretta SO guns (which I am pretty conversant with). All were for sale on line. All of them were obviously not as advertised, which would have been obvious to any knowledgeable buyer but not to your average gun buyer. They were off in manufacture date by a decade or more. I tried multiple times to contact them via GI and never recieved any response, get lost or otherwise. This was after trying previously to buy guns that were shown in stock and advertised but were out of stock on contact. Oddly, they were never removed from the ads.

I gave up on trying to buy guns from them. A few months ago, I placed orders online for a number of reproduction recoil pads I was buying for current and future projects. I also ordered a square of goatskin for a leather covered pad. It was shown as two orders and both went through the picking and shipping phase. I waited a while and both orders were listed as picked with the first listed as shipped. The second waited several weeks in the packed awaiting shipment catagory. I emailed customer service and after the second question the order was shipped. The expensive goatskin was not in the box. I sent another email. Then a second. Then a third. I gave up because life is just too short.

None of this is opinion or guessing or interpretation. It is fact and it happened. They may be the greatest guys in the world when you go in and schmooz but in my opinion, they are not possible to deal with constructively in the mail order world.