Am I being silly?

[Kevin Peacocke]

You may have seen on various posts and replies I have made that I bought a new Verney Carron 375 Flanged Magnum O/U. This is/was my dream rifle, it fits perfectly, it is well regulated and I shoot it well. Nice wood, light, finnesseful. Problem is it has excess head spacing, the top barrel more than the bottom one, 24 thou and 12 thou respectively. The net result is that it shoots fine with new cases, but splits reloads, both top and bottom barrel, on the first or second reload. So all ammo must be new, which is not easy in Zimbabwe, but nevertheless doable.
The question - should I accept this situation and keep the Verney, or write it off and start dreaming of a Heym 89B? Is this a fatal flaw, or just an annoyance that I am over-reacting to? What would you do?

 

[mark-hunter]

Personally, if a dream rifle is not perfect, its not a dream rifle.
For me, personally, gunsmithing, repairs, rebarelling, rechambering, waiting for months to get it fixed - if fixed at all, etc is not an option.
I would go for next option, in your case - Heym89B. Make a fianncial plan, go for it, never look back.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I am leaning that way Mark, a faulty dream is called a nightmare. I forgot to also mention that the action opens on firing when the case splits.

 

[mark-hunter]

O, man!

 

[DG Gunsmith]

Yikes! That is certainly not safe to shoot! Did you buy it new? Regardless I would get into contact with the Manufacturer immediately... If I built a gun for someone, and it did that, I would want to know about it immediately, so that I could remedy the situation... The last thing that I would want, is for a client to lose an eye, or worse! A DG Rifle has to be 100% Reliable, 100% o' the time! This is certainly not a Reliable Rifle... It could get you injured or killed... If that breech were to come open, while you were shooting at Dangerous Game, you could be blinded, removing your ability for a follow up shot, and you could be gored or trampled to death! This is obviously a defective Rifle, and the Manufacturer should remedy this for you...

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Perhaps some of the expert reloaders will chime in, but I am wondering if you don't full length re-size, will that help. I have an old Winchester 30-30 that has excessive headspace and after a few reloads, the base of the case separated the the rest of the case was stuck in the chamber. I don't shoot the 30-30 much and factory ammo is plentiful and cheap (or it was before 2020).

 

[IvW]

Send the report from gunsmith who checked the headspacing and send the info to VC so they can come up with a solution.

 

[Ravensview]

I would call them and hopefully they will fix the issue, then start saving for the heym, it doesn’t sound like a safe gun to shoot with the action opening like that.

 

[NJC]

I was in this exact place a year ago, I had gone through several doubles that were close to “right” but not quite there. I went back and forth quite a bit with myself on the decision because what I had was “good enough”.

However I noticed that I would constantly reach for other (bolt) rifles for hunting and that helped me decide that having a completely reliable double that I had 100% confidence in was way better than just “making do” so I ordered the 89b.

 

[mikecatt13]

New ammo is one thing, the action opening is a whole different level of problems.

I'd start with contacting Verney if it was me.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Yes I did buy it new in Johannesburg and then imported it to Zimbabwe, a huge exercise. I did report it to the gun shop there, but it seems the remedy will involve sending it back to France, ie re-exporting it from here to SA, then another permit to export it from there to France, then the same in reverse. Literally a 1 to 2 year exercise and I dont think I have the energy. I will nevertheless report it formally as I agree they need to know, but I am not holding my breath for a remedy. I am not angry with VC, they make excellent rifles, this was just a mistake I am sure.

 

[mdwest]

My guess is if you bought the VC new, VC will attempt to fix this for you... they advertise here.. and no company that has a reputation based on fine products wants customers upset over faulty results...

I’d start by calling VC, explaining the situation, and seeing what they may be prepared to do about it...

 

[Royal27]

I'd be starting on that 1-2 year exercise now .....

 

[Hogpatrol]

Agree with Royal27, start now with the repair process. Aside that, agree with everyone else in that gun is an accident waiting to happen and something that could forever prevent you from hunting again.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I was in this exact place a year ago, I had gone through several doubles that were close to “right” but not quite there. I went back and forth quite a bit with myself on the decision because what I had was “good enough”.

However I noticed that I would constantly reach for other (bolt) rifles for hunting and that helped me decide that having a completely reliable double that I had 100% confidence in was way better than just “making do” so I ordered the 89b.

Agree. What calibre did you go for NJC? Have you received it yet? Could you please send some photos and info upon what you have hunted? You may have posted this already, if so apologies but I am not good at tying up names to posts.

 

[mikecatt13]

Yes I did buy it new in Johannesburg and then imported it to Zimbabwe, a huge exercise. I did report it to the gun shop there, but it seems the remedy will involve sending it back to France, ie re-exporting it from here to SA, then another permit to export it from there to France, then the same in reverse. Literally a 1 to 2 year exercise and I dont think I have the energy. I will nevertheless report it formally as I agree they need to know, but I am not holding my breath for a remedy. I am not angry with VC, they make excellent rifles, this was just a mistake I am sure.

Despite the inconvenience of doing so, that's the best route IMO. Personally, the only choice to sell it as is requires disclosing the issues (especially in a DG caliber), which is going to mean a lower price.

I'd get it fixed, since it was new I'd hope they would stand behind it (I hope they would even if it was used). If it fits perfectly, you will be happy you we through the trouble in the end.

 

[AZDAVE]

I would start the repair process, VC is a very reputable company and I would imagine they will make it right. And start looking for option B replacement.
A dream rifle that isn't 100% isn't acceptable. And in DG !!!

 

[Pheroze]

@VERNEY-CARRON COLLECTION

 

[NJC]

Agree. What calibre did you go for NJC? Have you received it yet? Could you please send some photos and info upon what you have hunted? You may have posted this already, if so apologies but I am not good at tying up names to posts

I chose to order a 375 flanged (with scope in claw mounts). Chris let me know the rifle shipped to the states the week before Christmas so I should have it in the next couple of weeks. I might be ready for it to get here - as you can see from the picture
As for hunting, I am just a good old boy from Idaho so my hunting has been restricted to DIY western US game, nothing as interesting as the opportunities you have available to you.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Very disappointing to read this. VC has a good reputation and it seems this rifle should never have made it out their door in this condition. Seems the situation is that you can't rely on it and it would be dishonest to not divulge the problems to a potential buyer of the rifle, thus you probably can't sell it without taking a beating on the price. So I agree with the others in getting that 1-2 year clock ticking now and send it back to VC for repair.