What have i done?

[Colonel Enfield]

Not sure on how your return policy works over there but here once you brought it you own it and there ain't no way its going back to the dealer unless you want a court case and try false advertising

I'm afraid that technically that's not actually true - the Australian Consumer Law provides that goods sold by businesses must be fit for their intended purpose, meet their descriptions, etc. In the event they don't, the purchaser is entitled to a replacement, repair or refund.

This is all well and good when buying new goods from established bricks-and-mortar retailers; if you buy a transistor radio (they're still a thing, right?) and it conks out six months later, you can take it back to the shop and are legally entitled to get a new one, get that one fixed or get your money back.

I'm not an expert on consumer law by any stretch of the imagination but it's my understanding it gets a lot murkier with second-hand goods, especially really old stuff and double-especially things from private sales. If the vendor has made it abundantly clear the sale is "as is" (which most private sales generally are, I believe), then it's too bad if turns out that second-hand radio you got turns out to be a knock-off brand held together inside with duct tape and fencing wire, which can only get the Angry Old People talkback AM stations when it's cloudy outside.

Of course, what the consumer legislation says you're entitled to versus how real life actually works can be two different things and as Cinders says, on a second-hand rifle which has been sold in good faith (eg no intent to mislead the buyer) it's possibly going to be a huge pain in the backside to get a refund or rectification unless you're dealing with an established dealer.

Dealers are in the business of buying, selling, and trading. They seldom are detailed experts on one single type of weapon, like the Milsurps experts on this site. The dealer, more often than not, is somewhat familiar with a multitude of guns, new, used, and antique, but not necessarily an expert on a niche gun like yours. If he's an honest, trustworthy dealer, he will thank you, acknowledge the error, apologize, and take some action to make sure it is a fair arrangement. If he's untrustworthy, then you must take other courses of action.

Well said. I agree completely.