Has Ilion's Fit-and-finish dropped recently? (looked at a H&R 28 Ga. yesterday)

[MacTech]

I was planning on adding a 28 Ga. Pardner to my collection, for no reason other than I wanted one (good enough reason, dontchathink? ) I was *contemplating* trading my Pardner Compact 20 Ga towards it, but once I had the guns side-by-side, I was taken aback at what I saw....

I picked up the Compact around April or so, and it's been in a soft case in my trunk, my trunk gun, the bluing is in great shape, the wood, albeit plain, does have *some* grain to it, and the fit-and-finish where the stock meets the reciever and the foregrip meets the plastic wedge are decent

The 28 I looked at, let's just say i was *quite* disappointed, the bluing looked thinner than mine, the wood was incredibly plain, no character or grain, but worst of all, it looked like it was unfinished, the beveled edges where the plastic wedge meets the foregrip and where the stock meets reciever looked like they barely had any oil/finish on them, and the buttstock-to-reciever interface, well, let's just say it looked like they took a piece of pallet wood, bolted it to the reciever, and shaped it roughly like a gun stock, there was at least 1/4" of nearly unfinished wood standing proud above the reciever, my Pardner Compact has a little bit of proud wood, but closer to 1/8" or less, it's not immediately obvious to the eye, wheras it was screamingly obvious on the 28 gauge

Did I just happen to find the infamous "Built On a Friday/Monday" gun, or has Remington been forcing their H&R division to cut corners?

[Spanky]

I've seen the same issues with Ilion guns. The Gardner guns had more "pride" built into them.
 
 
 
Spanky

[Doublebass73]

I've seen the same issues with Ilion guns. The Gardner guns had more "pride" built into them.
 
 
 
Spanky

X2

My 16 gauge is Gardner built in 1980 and it is a thing of beauty compared to the Ilion guns.

[iceman59]

I ordered a 28 ga. from Gander a few months back.  Mine is exactly as you described.  I bought it anyway because I had to have it!!  Yes the appearance was disappointing,but it does shoot good.

[grumpyErik]

My recently purchased 12 gauge has a little proud wood, but when I compare it to my 1993 produced NEF 10 gauge there is no comparison.

The 10 gauge is obviously better. The wood has a better finish and the bluing is deeper. To make the wood on my 12 look better I stained the wood darker and refinished it. To improve the metal I lightly went over the barrel with 0000 steel wool, degreased it, then went over the barrel with 44/40 brand cold blue, and oiled it afterwards. Now it looks quite a bit better. The old 10 still has nicer grained pallet wood, but the 12 does not look to bad sitting next to it either.

The fixes were cheap and relatively quick to accomplish, but why should I have to do the work? Charge me $10 more for a gun that is as nicely finished as that old NEF and I won't complain a bit. I hope Remington does not ruin a good thing. 

[gcrank1]

If it was only going to cost $10 more, yeah, Im with you, but to make them 'for a price' and get their profit margin to stay in business, if we want all that nowdays they will probably come with 'Made in China' stamped on them. NO THANX!
I hate to be the one making excuses for this, but I dont need a weatherman to tell me which way the wind blows.

[grumpyErik]

I am sure what ever it takes to meet their profit margin would not require a huge price increase. I don't know the particulars of the Marlin/H&R/NEF buyout, but I think Marlin was profitable and so was H&R. In this instance I think it is greed on the part of Remington. If they want a higher profit margin, fine I will pay for a better finish on my gun. The problem is will anyone else? If it keeps jobs in the U.S. I will continue to "improve" upon what the factory offers.

I will not buy anything but a U.S. made Pardner.

[Rustyinfla]

   That's a real bummer. A 28 ga was going to be next on my list. I guess if I get one I better make sure it's one I can lay my eyes on first instead of just placing an order for one.

[pastorp]

I've got a 28ga H&R. It's real nice blue and a genuine walnut checkered stock... Of course I bought it in pieces and put it together myself.  Got just what I wanted that way.  I thought I might give it to the oldest grandson but it looks so nice..maybe not. We will see.

Regards,