5.4 mil SA with HRA bolt

[NuJudge]

How unusual is this?

I bought the rifle this morning at the North Store. It has a ME of just over 1, TE just under 3. Everything else on it is correct. The Bolt color even matches. The stock has a 1/2" DAS, with a lot of dings, so many on the bottom side of the butt it looks stippled.

Not bad for $495.

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[Joe W]

How unusual is this?

I bought the rifle this morning at the North Store. It has a ME of just over 1, TE just under 3. Everything else on it is correct. The Bolt color even matches. The stock has a 1/2" DAS, with a lot of dings, so many on the bottom side of the butt it looks stippled.

Not bad for $495.

I don't think the HRA bolt is "unusual" but to get a rifle as nice as yours sounds for $ 495.00 is unusual I would think. Wish I lived a bit closer to the South store. I would like to be able to pick out a rifle, but as of now, I am waiting on a "luck of the draw" H&R service grade. Congrats.

[cruiserdan]

I have a 5,445,XXX SA that I got on a CMP auction last summer (dutch, with grenade sight mounted). All the metal looks new and the barrel measures new. This rifle has an HRA bolt, op-rod and complete HRA trigger group. The color matches.

[Kirk]

It sounds like you got a Field Grade that is not a Correct Grade. How is the throat erosion? If it is 3 or less the metal would be a Service Grade. The rifle may have been down graded from Service to Field Grade because of the stock.

It appears the CMP swaps parts between SA & HRA Correct Grade rifles to make them into Servce or Field Grade rifles to keep up sales & maintain the value of the Correct Grades.

[cruiserdan]

Are you suggesting that they swap parts out of "correct" rifles to make them mis-matched?

I kinda doubt that. The staff is small and they barely have time to process orders. A more likely explanation would be the Greeks taking apart a bunch of rifles and then mixing the pot before reassembly.

[Dan Wilson]

Actually Orest came out a few months ago on the old CSP and confirmed that they DID swap parts to downgrade a rifle. I don't really remember the rationale but I do remember him confirming that.

Dan

[cruiserdan]

Wow.

That surprises me.

[slamfire1]

Just today, I was talking to a Gentleman who volunteered many days at CMP. This was when they accepted volunteers.

The CMP has been swapping parts on all correct rifles for years. He handled hundreds of rifles. But he got in trouble because too many rifles that he had handled went out all correct. That caused trouble for him down the road when someone who paid extra for a Collector grade was upset when they looked at an all correct standard grade.

Here is how it goes. The all correct “collector” grade rifles are the best. The wood is very good quality, the metal parts high amount of finish. They are really nice.

However, you also have this very large set of all correct rifles that are not in as good as shape. But some are close.

To keep the people who pay a $350 + premium happy, no all correct rifle of a lesser quality leaves as an all correct rifle.

If you notice, barrels are not replaced. Marked items in particular are swapped out: bolts, operating rods, trigger groups. Stocks are changed, HRA for SA, SA for HRA.

I mean if you look at your late model SA or HRA and can’t figure out that it has almost no finish wear, did not go through a rebuild program, and yet the parts are not all correct, well where do you think it most likely happened?

It is a business decision, and if you don't like it, buy a bunch of standard grades and try to swap enough parts around to get a couple of all correct rifles.

[cruiserdan]

If you notice, barrels are not replaced. Marked items in particular are swapped out: bolts, operating rods, trigger groups. Stocks are changed, HRA for SA, SA for HRA.

That could certainly explain why I have an SA with virtually no wear and an HRA bolt, Op-rod and trigger group........
Easy stuff to swap out fast, without tools of any kind required.

I am very sad to think that they have done that.

[cruiserdan]

In the interest of equal time I contacted Orest and asked him point-blank. Here is the exchange:

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Good evening Orest.

I wanted to ask a delicate question and I thought it might be better asked here as opposed to publicly on the CMP forum.

It has been stated on another board that CMP has deliberately swaped parts around in otherwise "correct" rifles in order to downgrade them. IE correct manufacturer bolts, op-rods, trigger groups, have been swapped around (EG an HRA bolt and/or trigger group in an SA rifle) possibly in order to bolster the value of "collector-grade" rifles.

That can't possibly be true, can it?


His reply:
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Dan,

Not only is that statement not true, it is utterly asinine. It is not worth any further comment - people can believe what they want, since they will anyway.

Orest

My response:
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Sir I forgot to ask you if I may quote your answer to my question. I would like to attempt to set the record straight but not without your permission.


His response:
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Dan,

There is no 'setting the record straight'. This topic comes up at least twice each year. Feel free to quote me, but know that it will not stop anything. The only to way to end these threads is to ignore them and they go away.

Orest