Chantilly Shooter

@Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438, thanks for your input. I understand that you are responding from a lawyer's perspective, where the worst case must always be considered and countered with a legally ironclad response. I appreciate and see the logic in your reply. However, I still don't think, especially in this instance, the action on the part of Stoeger was warranted. I would consider it highly unlikely that they are unaware of the types of modifications commonly done to their firearms. I would also argue that there is, by now, a long and acceptable safety record of their firearms performing adequately with these modifications. If that doesn't offer them any legal backing, then ok, I can still understand that. I'm sure that they have tolerances they are required to reference (SAAMI specs?) which would be considered a legal standard, and that's fine, but this is still extremely poor customer service. Something more along the lines of what @Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 described seems far more customer-friendly while still avoiding both legal responsibility for the allegedly unsafe firearm AND defacement of the customer's personal property. Had they permanently disabled the firearm, I would be causing a far greater ruckus. @Dusty Devil Dale, thanks as well for your input. I have to say though, I respectfully disagree. If I sent a firearm off to a gunsmith and I had little confidence in or knowledge of the actual state of the firearm, I can see accepting the judgment of the gunsmith regarding its integrity. Milsurps with wildly incorrect headspacing come to mind as a common occurrence of this. However, a known and reputable gunsmith had already modified my firearm and deemed it safe. Whom do I trust? Does Stoeger have some type of assumed superiority because it's their design? A flaw in their design and manufacturing is what caused my issue in the first place (stock fitment)! Also, as I mentioned above, the types of modifications done on my shotgun are extremely common in SASS and have been for years. Thousands of shotgun rounds have been put through very similarly modified firearms with few, if any, related serious mishaps. And again, it's not as if I made these modifications on my own as an amateur and decided to blast away in the presence of a crowd; everything was done by an established professional. I appreciate your approach to risk management, but this doesn't seem like an appropriate application.

And that, sir, is how to be a professional. I would have totally accepted that result. Thank you for sharing!

Thanks, Buck! I really missed being at the CAS range and was glad we got to shoot together the other day. I always enjoy watching you shoot and catching up. Hopefully I can make it back out again soon.

Thanks to all those who replied with suggestions on how to remove the ink and repair the stock. I do intend to get it repaired. This was just a story about a 5.5 month circus show. I took it to this gunsmith along with some other non-CAS firearms. Lesson learned; specialty guns go to specialty gunsmiths. Don't misunderstand- I totally understand why they would refuse to work on it. However, there is no excuse for defacing property. They could have easily used one of the red tags @Lawdog Dago Dom mentioned. They must know that we, as SASS shooters, compromise a huge portion of the market for those shotguns. I can't imagine who else is buying them in relevant numbers. One would think they would tread a little more lightly. But maybe this is treading lightly based on some of the painted and engraved guns mentioned by others. Ridiculous!

Yul, I will absolutely take you up on that. Unfortunately I'm out of town again for a couple of weeks, but I'll be sure and reach out when I get back. It was great to see and shoot with you the other day. Thanks for the kind words about my shooting. It seems like you and everyone else got way faster while I was gone!!

Howdy, pards. I shot my first match in just over a year yesterday. Boy, was that nice. The main reason I'd been away was a six-month deployment; however, random work and life commitments kept me from making a match since I got back in late March. Another issue that kept me away from a match or two was that I didn't have my shotgun. I finally got it back about three weeks ago (late Sept); here's the story. I took my shotgun to a gunsmith back in the first week of April hoping to get a crack in the stock repaired (ref. picture 1). I don't normally care too much, but this gouge leaves the action exposed. After a few (alleged) unsuccessful attempts at finding 'the right piece of wood' to splice in or procuring a replacement stock, the gunsmith elected to send the gun to Stoeger for install and fitting of a completely new stock (late July). There was a mix-up in coordinating my consent for that due to the fact that I was underway, but, I should have sought greater clarification and requested the gunsmith not send it off. Regardless, eventually the smiths at Stoeger get to my firearm, and apparently, they did not like what they saw. Stoeger contacted the gunsmith who shipped it to them to say that the gun appeared to have been modified, and they would not work on it in such a state. Frustrating, but ok, I understand that. At this point, it's late August, 4.5 months after this saga began, and I just want my doggone shotgun back. Well, back it comes, and with a cute little surprise. Some clown at Stoeger decided that because they deemed the firearm unsafe, he or she was entitled to scribble on it, in four locations, in what appears to be silver Sharpie, their determination of 'unsafe to fire.' See the attached pictures. Along with that comes the invoice for their 'work,' which includes a nice little list of what they deemed unsafe. I bought this shotgun about three years ago brand new from Longhunter's in Texas. The folks there did the work on it before I ever saw it, and did a great job. Ironically, Stoeger's list of 'unsafe' modifications reads exactly like the bill of sale for what I paid Longhunter's to deliberately modify! Stoeger doesn't want to work on the shotgun due to modifications? Perfectly fine. Stoeger wants to deem it 'unsafe to fire?' Fine. Stoeger wants to deface my property by scribbling their OPINION in four locations across my shotgun?! HELL NO, that's not fine! Further, to have the audacity to say on the invoice that their solution is 'to contact customer about purchasing a new gun-' are you kidding me?! This really got (and gets) my blood boiling. Respect for personal property is a paramount value in my book. To wrap it up: 1. The crack in the stock isn't repaired. 2. There's nonsense scribbled on my shotgun. 3. I haven't yet figured out how to effectively remove it without harming the finish. 4. 5.5 months were wasted. But, to end on a high note, because I try to be happy- at least I have my shotgun back and got to shoot a match. Thanks for reading, Chantilly Shooter

I'm yet to come across one who does want to wear the male uniforms. There is more complaining about the constant changing of the uniforms- be they dress, service, or working- then there is about what they might look like. Buying all of those new uniforms items costs a pretty penny. The servicewomen I know don't exactly find ANY uniform flattering. While male uniforms mimic civilian clothing that would be worn by a male, female uniforms don't. However, they are certainly better for females than the male uniforms are! It's also worth noting that all of the working uniforms (NWU, MARPAT, coveralls, etc) are gender-neutral. If you're here to work, put on your clothes, and do your job. If you want another shock, search some pictures of female Marine officers wearing the male dress blue jacket and cover...!

I used to live in Pensacola about three years ago. I worked on base, and lived not 30 seconds outside the back gate referenced above as the required point of entry. There's a shopping center about a mile up the road, straight out the gate, with a Target, Walmart, and a couple of other stores where you could easily park your car inconspicuously and call an Uber. That being said, I don't know if you can call an Uber onto the base at the end of your visit, so a taxi might be a safer bet. You should definitely not, under any circumstances, attempt to bring the firearm aboard base. Inevitably you would encounter a gate guard named 'Murphy,' and he has a law he has to follow... I'll add to the above with another enthusiastic recommendation for making the museum trip happen somehow. There are a lot of great artifacts, tons of information, and plenty of retired aviators around as docents to answer questions and generally shoot the breeze. Best of luck with the trip!