[Gargoyle]

Am I right to think that if one shoots reloads, that the warranty will not cover any malfunctions with the gun? I see this in most factory manuals. What, can't a guy use cheaper and better ammo in his gun? Or does the warranty imply that if the malfunction is due to a handloaded problem, then that specific problem related to bad handloaded ammo will not be covered?

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If you don't mind being where you are, you are not lost.

 

[ranger]

Kimber sure says it, Reloads void the warranty.

But I'd like to hear if anyone ever had worked turned down, or charged for, because they told Kimber they were shooting reloads.

Contrast this stance with Wilson, who claims to test-fire every pistol with "handloads".
I'll bet not every brass they shoot with is brand new, that would make them "reloads".

I couldn't believe Kimber would let their lawyers put that in their "warranty" book. Mine was voided the first month.

 

[feedramp]

If you think about it for a minute, it makes sense. The gun manufacturers don't have any control over the quality, or lack thereof, of handloads.

Handloaders make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes result in destroyed guns, and injured shooters or worse. There's another thread on the forum that talks about this.

With that in mind, I'd be surprised if there was gun maker that didn't put a stipulation in the warranty that the use of handloads would void any warranty in the event of a malfunction.

The most common malfunction over the years is feed jams when using wadcutters. The 1911 was designed to use hardball (230 g. FMJ) ammo, and will shoot them all day with no feed jams. Put a wadcutter in the mag, and you'll likely see more feed jams than smooth operation. Is the fault of the gun? No. So, why should the manufacturer pay for something that isn't their fault?

If you think about it, the same idea applies to cars with catalytic converters. There are little stickers all over the car that say "UNLEADED GAS ONLY," and for good reason.
Fill up with leaded gas, and you'll burn out the converter. Should the car manufacturer pay for a replacement if the car is still under warranty? No, because the owner did something that he was told not to do, and destroyed the converter in the process.

 

[Electric_Armadillo]

Its also a matter of accountability. If a major ammo manufacturer has a bad round that destroys the gun and injures the shooter, they also have the financial resources to replace the gun, pay for injuries, etc. They probably have millions of dollars of liability insurance for just such a case.

A handloader usually doesn't. Its all about protecting themselves from ravenous lawyers looking to turn a quick buck. Its just a sign of the times.
=Slightly off topic=
Speaking of signs of the times, a coworker recently bought a cub scout handbook for her son. I started reading it to see what if anything had changed in the last 30 years. I was shocked to see that the entire first 15 pages had information about sexual molestation, child abuse, mistreatment policies, and other such topics. I was shocked! Has society dropped so far so fast, or did some important part of life pass my by during the commercial?

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-Electric Armadillo-

 

[Eddie]

With that in mind, I'd be surprised if there was gun maker that didn't put a stipulation in the warranty that the use of handloads would void any warranty in the event of a malfunction.

Dust off your surprized look. Thompson Center makes several barrels for the Contender that you must handload for (if you wish to shoot them). I just returned a frame after several thousand rather warm shilouette loads. TC rebuilt the frame and returned it to me in less than two weeks.

ArmaLite inferred that my handloads were the problem when my M15A2 wouldn't go into battery completely. I explained that I experienced the same problem with factory ammo as well. Turns out the chamber was pretty rough. Combined with being on the tight side of tolerances the bolt would fail to close on about one in five rounds. I polished the chamber and haven't had a malfunction in more than 1,500 rounds.

I'll never tell another manufacturer that I shoot handloads.

Eddie

 

[Gargoyle]

Well, I didn't tell the manufactuer that I shot handloads because my problem would have happened either way. Now, if I blew the damn gun up because of an error in handloads I wouldn't expect the manufacturer to replace or work on it. What burns me is that a guy can shoot perfectly good handloads, then have a common, or problem not related to the quality of round, and then refused service because he voided his warranty by shooting handloads through his gun. Oh well, if you send them a sqeaky clean gun for repair, how are they ever going to prove it?

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If you don't mind being where you are, you are not lost.

 

[feedramp]

Originally posted by Eddie:
Dust off your surprized look. Thompson Center makes several barrels for the Contender that you must handload for (if you wish to shoot them).

(snipped for brevity)

The exception that proves the rule. I had forgotten about the Contender, and I had one once. Oops!

Thanks, Eddie.

 

[jpwright]

I have frequently found that a manufacturer will honor a warranty even when it is technically voided. I think they often say the warranty will be voided in order to give themselves some leeway to decide on a case-by-case basis.


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If God didn't want us to own guns, why did He make the 1911?

 

[Gargoyle]

Originally posted by jpwright:
I have frequently found that a manufacturer will honor a warranty even when it is technically voided. I think they often say the warranty will be voided in order to give themselves some leeway to decide on a case-by-case basis.

I'll run with that.