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Thread: Adams Arms "Cosmetically Blemished" Rifle

  1. #1
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    Adams Arms "Cosmetically Blemished" Rifle

    I know that I don't post much on here, but I'd thought that I'd share this anyway to help others make an informed decision if they were thinking about this "deal" on a cosmetically blemished rifle.... I don't post too much online, as I'm usually preoccupied with work and family stuff. I lurk quite a bit though so I can gain more knowledge and read in general when I have some down time.

    I purchased an Adams Arms mid-length "Cosmetic Blemished" rifle from Bud's Gun Shop recently. I actually purchased this rifle as a birthday present for my daughter to use. I also ordered a Samson Evolution 9" rail for it directly from Samson, after first making sure it was compatible. These are the types of rails that come on the AA rifles from the factory. I must say that I am very disappointed, both by the rifle itself and the customer service, or lack thereof on the part of AA. It really surprised me as AA has been known for their stellar customer service. I took delivery and gave it a quick once over and did the paperwork. I noticed some cosmetic issues, (machining marks, differences in the anodizing, and a bright aluminum gouge just under the AA logo on the upper receiver), but I wasn't worried as after all, I did buy a cosmetic blemished rifle. Even with the cosmetic issues on the outside of the rifle, I felt that it was a fair price for the rifle itself. Besides, it's nothing that a bit of paint can't fix, right?

    So, I take it and the Samson rail up to a local gun shop as I work there part time for some extra cash. I get with the shops gunsmith for some guidance on the rail install. That guy has forgotten more about how a firearm works than I will probably ever know. That's a lot given that my combined 19 years of Military & Law Enforcement background. We go to take a look at how tight the barrel nut is from the factory and were amazed that it took less than an estimated 20 lbs of pressure to spin the barrel nut right off. The barrel itself was never removed. We installed the rail and noticed some serious issues with the rifle. Now, I understand that it's a "Cosmetic Blemished" rifle and coming from the factory with it's own battle scars is no big deal given the price paid for the rifle. Cosmetics don't make a rifle go "boom." AA has always has a stellar reputation for making one of the better piston systems on the market. I actually like AA's stuff so much that for a couple of years I have carried their mid-length rifle as a patrol rifle. It's light weight and it has never failed me no matter how hard I beat it during training.
    So, we (the gunsmith & I) start really going over this rifle. We noticed that the upper and lower receiver have a LOT of slop and wiggle to it. You can actually see light in between the two receivers very well. This pictures detail this very well, as you can see the gap. I took it home and tried mating the "blem" upper to two different lowers that I have, one of them being an AA, and had the same result, tons of slop. Then I mated the "blem" lower to my other AA upper and it was pretty tight. So, I diagnosed it as a bad upper. It seemed reasonable to me right? Next, I look at the bolt carrier and was awestruck that this thing ever left the factory. It it looks like when they bored out the carrier tail it had a bad tool or chattered because they ran the machine either too fast or to slow. If they call that bolt carrier a "cosmetic blem" then I am very disappointed.

    Next, I wanted to exhaust every possible option to see what the problem might be, so I took it to the range to test fire it. Well, I cannot tell you how it fires because for the first time, I did not trust an AA rifle. I took three 30 round mags with me (all loaded with 29 rounds each), a steel mag loaded with 55 grain Tulammo, a steel mag loaded with 55 grain PMC (brass), and a pmag loaded with 75 grain Hornady BTHP. Every time I tried to load the rifle, it failed to feed. I loaded it by loading the mag into the magwell and pulling back on the charging handle and letting go, letting the bolt ride it forward on it's own. It would fail to feed every time. Next, I loaded the mag into the magwell, and used the bolt release to load it, and it failed to load approximately 60% of the time. It was at this point that I put everything away and decided not to fire it and instead, contact AA.

    This is where it get's upsetting. Again, I have always known AA to have some of the best customer service on the market. So, being that this is a manufacturing issue, I sent AA an e-mail with pictures and a detailed explanation of what was going on. I received a response the next business day from Cody. I have dealt with Cody before and always found him to be very pleasant. His response shocked me. He told me basically that I bought a blemished rifle and that's what I got. He did not care about the bolt carrier as he said it was "Aesthetic" and said that they won't replace anything as "However, we will not replace any parts due to aesthetic issue being that this is indeed a “Blem” gun as you knew when purchasing." I get it sir, I purchased a blem rifle. In my opinion, rifles are tools, and you use your tools, they aren't going to be pretty. But, not only does the bolt carrier look like utter garbage, but I has to talk the cotter pin back in place after reinstalling the firing pin. It simply did not want to go back in. It must have also been a blem and I "knew what I was getting." Ohh, the charging handle had a small chunk of metal missing on each side. (the bright spots in the pic) I really could give a hoot about the charging handle as I planned on replacing it anyway with a BCM charging handle. But, given the totality of the circumstances, I was a bit bummed. I guess one could say that it's the principal of the matter here.....

    So, I received an RMA and it's on it's way back to AA right now. I'm not willing to give up on AA as I still believe them to have excellent customer service and a top notch product. That being said, I would NOT recommend one of these "cosmetically blemished" rifles to anyone except my enemies. I have dealt with Cody in the past and as well as Jacob, and have always had the highest amount of respect for both of them and their product. So, I'm hoping that Cody was perhaps just having a "bad day" when he responded to me. I understand that there are people out there that try to scam and get something for nothing. I am clearly not one of them as I purchased my own free float rail for this thing. All I asked for is a rifle that works. Instead, I had to send in the rifle to be "inspected" and I will likely not have a rifle to give my daughter on her birthday. This sucks as her birthday is two weeks away. She only shoots under my direct supervision as to be all legal like since it's my rifle that she uses. But, it's her "sweet 16" and I thought that this would be the perfect thing for her. Well, I'll report back and let everyone know how it turned out. Like I said, I'm willing to give AA the benefit of the doubt as I believe them to be a great company. It's just that right now, I am not a happy camper at all.












  2. #2
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    We all await your response. It looks to me like they are using the "cosmetic blem" excuse to flush otherwise unusable parts out through the sales department instead of through the dumpster and line the pockets at the same time. It would be interesting to see a company rep come on this forum and attempt to justify the obvious problems you have documented. Hopefully they will realize the difference and repair the rifle.

  3. #3
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    I will do sir. Adams Arms is already on the defensive on the main website they do the most business on. I'm sure it will be all my fault by the time this is all over with...... The pictures speak for themselves. If a company is going to sell a "Cosmetically Blemished" rifle for less than $200.00 under the cost of a new rifle, then it had better not be as bad as what I received. This abomination should never have left the factory floor.

  4. #4
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    As I have not seen it in person, only going by the pics, I have the same marks on almost EVERY charging handle. Some on brand spanking new rifles from people in the store or shop charging it while looking at or whatever factory testing done. I have a Bolt carrier with the same look on the interior surfaces that does not affect anything. The thing I see wrong is the failure to feed indicating issues with the upper. I have some uppers that you can see through gap but not quite as much as yours. there is a Spec if you do a search that IG states somewhere that you need feeler gauges to test to see if the gap is out of spec. I would imagine it is and what contributes to the feeding issues. Hopefully they will fix what is wrong with your upper functionally.
    Last edited by steyrman13; 07-09-14 at 13:21.

  5. #5
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    I hope so too. Thanks. I seems that I had to hold their feet to the fire to get them to act.. I hate it when companies resort to that....

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by steyrman13 View Post
    As I have not seen it in person, only going by the pics, I have the same marks on almost EVERY charging handle. Some on brand spanking new rifles from people in the store or shop charging it while looking at or whatever factory testing done. I have a Bolt carrier with the same look on the interior surfaces that does not affect anything. The thing I see wrong is the failure to feed indicating issues with the upper. I have some uppers that you can see through gap but not quite as much as yours. there is a Spec if you do a search that IG states somewhere that you need feeler gauges to test to see if the gap is out of spec. I would imagine it is and what contributes to the feeding issues. Hopefully they will fix what is wrong with your upper functionally.
    Yup, the charging handle is not a problem at all. It'll look much worse after a few months of use.

    The machining "chatter" inside of the carrier is not a problem, either, as long as it's in that area alone. If it's anywhere else, such as where the bolt sits or where the cam pin rotates, it could cause functional problems. However, if those spots are good, the carrier is fine.

    It does look like you have an extreme case of tolerance stacking here, and perhaps even improper machining of the upper receiver. Having a gap you can see through is not a big deal, but that one is pretty wide. I suspect that is the reason the BCG is having problems stripping rounds out of the magazine.

    The weapon should come from AA fully functional, regardless of blemishes or tolerance stacking. Let us know what AA does to the rifle upon its return, please.

  7. #7
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    Just follow the thread and all the typical mouthbreathing posts yourself. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_126/6...ed_Rifles.html

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by scoutfsu99 View Post
    Just follow the thread and all the typical mouthbreathing posts yourself. http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_126/6...ed_Rifles.html
    To the OP: why did you make posts on both forums?

  9. #9
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    Wow, it looks like Adams Arms has been completely professional to me. I can't imagine why the OP is so butthurt about the service, being that he sent the e-mail Saturday and he already has received an RMA to fix the rifle, and today is Wednesday. That's pretty good service!

  10. #10
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    I hate to be the one to ask this, but have you given them the proper time to actually work on the rifle? They Issued an RMA so they can check the function issues. The bore of the carrier behind the firing pin isn't critical and the outside of the carrier looked smooth.

    I will admit that the upper to lower receiver gap at the back of the upper looks excessive and that may be a contributing factor in the function issues.

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