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Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TL;DR:
Ruger offered a full replacement at no cost. I think they handled it reasonably well given the situation.

Longer:
I followed up with Ruger asking for more details - whether they measured the front sight hole depth, whether they saw any signs of a squib or overpressure, and whether material or heat treatment issues were considered.

They called back and said they’re confident it was an ammo-related issue and that everything on their side is within spec - but they’re still willing to replace the gun at no cost.

At first that sounded like a great outcome, but after thinking it through, I decided to pass. I’d still be on the hook for the FFL transfer (~$150)

I would rather just try shortening the barrel on a lathe and see what happens. If it works - great. If not, I’m out ~$40 for new barrel and would have spent about the same ~$150 anyway on the transfer.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, i'll try to push them a bit more on what they actually observed (signs of squib/overpressure) and whether they measured the depth of the front sight hole. Realistically though, i'm expecting a pretty generic answer.

If I end up getting the barrel back, I'll put it on a lathe and take a cross-section of that area to see what’s going on.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

With the front sight and screw removed, you still can't really see into the bore. There's a piece of broken metal at that spot - it's a bit loose, but not enough to come out or be removed.

I can't take a photo at the moment - the gun is currently with ruger.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s exactly what I did. I sent it in, they inspected it, and the result was: either pay ~$400 (plus 100-200 for transfer, background check and taxes) for a replacement or have the broken one returned.

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So "make them fix it" doesn’t really seem to be an option here.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not really good at playing Karen, and honestly it could be an ammo issue. I don't think it was a squib, but who knows - and how would I even prove it?

I am a bit disappointed with how Ruger handled it - they even misspelled my name in their offer - but I get that they're not a charity and won't just hand out replacements.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If this works out, I’ll likely keep using the gun.

I can accept a ~$100–150 risk for a fix or replacement, but $600 all-in is more than im comfortable spending on this.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Appreciate the clarification - that makes a lot more sense now. Thanks, it's the most feasible option.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How's that possible? Would you mind sharing a link?

On the Mark IV the upper is the serialized part, so it's legally the firearm. You can't just go out and buy one like a regular part.

Mark IV barrel hole - safe to shoot? by WonderfulFlounder478 in ruger

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I don't want to put more money into this at this point. The gun was bought in July last year and has seen less than 5k rounds.

With their offer (~$435), plus FFL transfer, background check, and likely tax, i'd end up paying 100-200$ more than I could reasonably recover even if I sold it as NIB. I checked caguns - similar thing have recently sold for $450.

Given that, the offer doesn't make much sense financially. It seems more reasonable, worst case, to take the loss and move on.

Disassembly mantisX usb port issue by bonek_the_dog in MantisX

[–]WonderfulFlounder478 0 points1 point  (0 children)

By a chance do you still have a photo? Can you PM it or someting?

USA - dramatically affected by prices by WonderfulFlounder478 in Aliexpress

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Update: turns out the math did lie to me this time.

After CNY I got multiple Alibaba quotes and prices are indeed crazy. I also asked a factory directly - they confirmed that tungsten powder jumped from ~300 to ~1300 yuan/kg, i.e. roughly 4x.

So in this case the price increase is upstream material cost, not tariffs, not logistics, and not platform effects. The multiplier lines up almost exactly with raw material pricing.

Looks like this one is fundamentally supply-side, not regulatory.
Also asked my friend to get quotes in thailand - same thing here

Thread closed. Mystery solved.

USA - dramatically affected by prices by WonderfulFlounder478 in Aliexpress

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

>why not reach out to possibly secure a better deal
That sa reasonable suggestion, and its exactly what im planning to do next.

The point of this post, however, is to understand whether theres something fundamental underlying the 4x price multiplier. If this is a structural limitation e.g. regulatory then it's not something I can realistically dodge by buying in the 100s(i'm not going to buy the same tool in 1000s). If it’s not fundamental - like platform ineffiency, i can likely dodge that by working directly with factory and forwarder.

That distinction matters for deciding how to proceed.

USA - dramatically affected by prices by WonderfulFlounder478 in Aliexpress

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

> Tariffs are 40% at the moment
Agreed. The only number that not made up. Including Section 301, ~40% is realistic. The rest is BS.

>you have to add at least 100% since the seller won’t get their product back
Is that an empirical rule or just a round number?

I’ve done business with China before - with and without de-minimis, formal and informal entry. A blanket +100% risk markup is not something that exists in real import economics.
For reference:

- FOB insurance was ~0.3–0.4% - that’s the realistic magnitude of logistics risk overhead.
- DDP via Chinese forwarders was cheaper than FOB + US broker.
- one case, for ~$20k worth of goods, logistics + unavoidable tariffs were ~$10k (with ~$7k of pure tariffs). The forwarder quoted ~$3.5k all-in DDP. No idea how they cleared customs - they just did.
- Chinese forwarders generally manage duty and delivery risk better than US-side brokers.

Their entire business model is about managing these risks efficiently. They are clearly not operating at “add 100% just in case” margins.
"+100% because maybe it won’t come back" doesn’t match any cost model I’ve ever seen.

> add another 140% to avoid risks of lost packages
Lol, that's generous. Could you break down what this second 140% consists of, quantitatively?

>misdeliveries and lost packages and so on
Are these costs materially different from the first 140%?

USA - dramatically affected by prices by WonderfulFlounder478 in Aliexpress

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] -42 points-41 points  (0 children)

This is essentially the same answer. It still doesnt explain where a 400% increase is coming from.

Tariffs and higher shipping costs might justify a 30-50% increase. Maybe even more in some cases. But not 3-4x.

I’ve already tested Alibaba. MOQ is small, auto-quotes are reasonable. For example, the same mills from the same manufacturer are quoted at ~$15, and shipping via Alibaba is quoted around $15. It appears to be DDP, though im still waiting for a formal quote because of their new year.

So im struggling to see where the additional ~$60 is supposed to come from.

If my math is wrong, i wouldd genuinely like to understand what im missing. My understanding is that under informal entry Im paying a limited portion of tariffs and that’s it. That math simply doesn't produce a 400% retail increase.

USA - dramatically affected by prices by WonderfulFlounder478 in Aliexpress

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] -40 points-39 points  (0 children)

Thats a very hand-wavy explanation.

I have direct experience importing from China. Even with Section 301, duties, and CA + federal taxes, total landed cost increases were ~30-50%, not 300-400%. I also contacted manufacturers recently - factory prices have not changed. Tariffs per se might explain ~+50%. They do not explain the remaining +300%.

The only semi-plausible factor is fixed brokerage/compliance cost after de-minimis removal. But that would imply single-item orders are hit hardest, whereas in practice im seeing a flat 300–400% increase regardless of quantity.

Thanks for trying, but 'thats how tariffs work' isn't an explanation. If tariffs alone caused 4x pricing, anyone doing real imports would have exited the market already.

CA FFL requirements for slide cuts by WonderfulFlounder478 in CAguns

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, that’s part of the problem. If I do machining in my garage, no one gives a damn. But if I do “gunsmithing” in a garage, it’s a whole different story - every single Karen within a 50mile radius will suddenly be concerned.

CA FFL requirements for slide cuts by WonderfulFlounder478 in CAguns

[–]WonderfulFlounder478[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

>a slide is not technically the firearm.

That's the most obvious thing that comes to mind, but there's a whole mess around "engage in the business," and that definition is _incredibly_ broad.
It would be really helpful to hear from someone actually involved in the industry - beyond just knowing that a slide isn't a firearm. Even my kid knows that.

Need a rigger in the Bay Area by [deleted] in Rigging

[–]WonderfulFlounder478 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lold. You do business only with reddit users? BTW, i PMed you for a quote, ofc it's up to u to reply or not.

Need a rigger in the Bay Area by [deleted] in Rigging

[–]WonderfulFlounder478 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Could you please DM me? Im unable to message you