Bass Pro/Cabelas Deerfoot City Calgary

[u/bleedthedragon]

Hi all, new member here. I was super excited and pumped to purchase my first ever lever action rifle and ended up going to the location as mentioned in the title. They didn't have any Henry models in stock so I automatically switched to Smith and Wesson. I settled on the S&W Model 1854 .44 Magnum. I was being shown the floor model which had clear signs of wear and tear of being handled, for example, there was a VERY clear scratch on the brushed metal finish of the barrel and multiple scratches on the loading gate as if had been used before. Albeit, they assured me that I would be getting a brand new one. Mind you this specific model isn't cheap, costed me ~ $1800. The rep helping me started with the paperwork and asked for my PAL and all that good stuff and got me into small talk about our professions. Another gentleman brings a brand new box of the Model 1854 from the back, unboxes it and then claims that he is having a hard time reading the serial number on the rifle, so he took it to the back again. He comes back out, very hastily shows the rep helping me the serial number, puts the rifle in the box, tapes it up, I pay, they walk me out and have a good day they said. I get home, open the box, and guess what? They had sold me the floor model. I called them back immediately and the person I spoke to (I'm thinking it was the guy who was handling the rifle packaging and was back and forth between the back and the counter) literally tells me that all firearms final sale, and "you can whine and cry to management about it, they're not gonna do anything." In fact I was NOT whining or crying over the phone, I was being very respectful and inquiring how this could be reverted.

Before anyone says it, I am fully aware that the scratches on the loading gate were bound to happen on my first use of the rifle. The body of the rifle is bound to get wear and tear over time. This is about deception from a big name store.

Its been over a month and I'm kinda over it now, but I thought I would prepare others to be more mindful of their interactions with this supposedly big name store with a big reputation.

[u/LumberjackCDN]

So for starters im sorry this was a bad first expierence for you, and i will say the smaller gunshops like ours usually will give you a bit better service than the big box guys, and quite often better pricing too.

But firstly the scratches on the loading gate are probably from factory, the rest not though. They do test fire these things to make sure theyre not going to blow up out of the box. We have brand new levers from all brands on the wall and its not uncommon to see. The other scratches can also be from transport though if theyre the exact same as the floor model they might not be.

And secondly yes firearms usually are final sale almost anywhere you go, and thats a safety thing mostly, as people often return things after monkeying with them and theres no safe way for a gunstore to legally liquidate returned inventory like costco/amazon does.

But yeah sorry you had a bad first go and hopefully im putting your mind at ease at least about the scratches on the load gate

[u/bleedthedragon → u/LumberjackCDN]

Damn next time I'm in Edmonton or area, I'm visiting your store for sure. Thank you for your validation.

[u/LumberjackCDN → u/bleedthedragon]

Anytime! We ship free over 300 too (except powders)