wtl

IDK west TN is *so* different from middle or east TN that I don't think I'd do it. I'd hold out for something that would put you back east. West TN doesn't seem a whole lot different than what I've seen of Missouri. I've lived in Memphis and spent enough time in Jackson, now live in middle TN and it's so much better. East TN is even more scenic. I can't see being happy in west TN after living in/near the Smokies.

[quote name="Joseg" post="1173345" timestamp="1406652088"]Maybe they should put several of those along the border in the south, so there's a reminder that this is the United States of America. Just like Mexico has one flying across the border. [/quote] That would be encouragement. Put up Mexican flags and make'em think they took a wrong turn.

nicemac doesn't have Charlie's number, so I guess Charlie must be really out of the loop on his own website. Dustbuster if you want to PM me his contact information I'll get in touch with him, and you are welcome to get involved with the maintenance if you want, since you have his number I guess you must know him better than I do. I just volunteered because we have the resources to host the site and can do it free for Charlie. I enjoyed his range when I lived closer.

I'm happy to get anyone who wants to involved in the site maintenance. I'm basically taking over the hosting for the site (I was a member of Charlie's range when I lived a mile away from him, but I don't have his contact info), but if someone wants to take over the site maintenance that's fine. I can do it but we're a host and not a web design firm, so I'm happy to let someone take on the site maintenance.

I can help with this as the owner of http://www.mediaserve.com

In Franklin Nick's Italian Deli has great NY style pizza and their pepperoni rolls are awesome. Mineo's has great pizza too. I'm in the Gallatin area now and haven't found a substitute for those two.

Ralph and Lina Wetherington are neighbors of us here in Castalian Springs. They operate [url=http://gordysgarbageandrecycling.com]Gordy's Garbage and Recycling.[/url] They are currently hiring--must be 21 with a clean driving record. Drug and background check required. Call Lina Wetherington at 615-451-2805 for more info and tell her Troy sent you. I would say it's a fairly easy commute from Gallatin, Hartsville, Portland, Lebanon areas.

How many are in so far? What happens if we send the money soon but you don't get 50 to commit? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

I don't want anything--never said I did. I just asked for an opinion from everyone here on whether or not they might have sold me a used gun as new. It's all on me for not inspecting the gun better at the store. Funny thing about that that I haven't mentioned before is I was initially looking at a bi-tone TCP and I did look that one over well. I would have bought that one except the slide release was defective--it was impossible to release the slide with it when locked back. Salesman acted surprised when he tried and confirmed it was bad. I guess at that point I figured I'd take the cheaper one with the working slide lock and didn't look at it as hard. I wonder now if they even bothered taking that bi-tone out of the display case. At any rate I've maintained from the start that I should have inspected it more closely. I was looking for nothing other than opinions on the state of the gun. And opinions I got in spades :) I still have yet to shoot it, but I guess Taurus will take care of anything that turns up, so no real harm done other than poor customer service at best. (Dishonesty at worst but no way to prove that.) Sent from my RM-877_nam_att_205 using Tapatalk

Nope, he never asked what I wanted done. No empathy, no apology for the gun being so dirty, nothing. He just "informed" me that the gun was brand new never used, and said Taurus ships dirty guns. Then the excuses about how they wouldn't have rented or fired it in store, etc. I felt like I was a fire he was trying to put out quickly so he could move on to the next one.

I'm kind of left feeling the same way about them. I'm definitely not angry or anything, because it's entirely possible it came from Taurus that way--I don't really have a good reason to not believe the manager I spoke with. He went to great lengths to explain the gun had been purchased from their distributor (Davidson) in mid April, and that they had no reason to shoot it or rent it out because they have handguns worth up to $2,000 in their rental lineup (as if that means anything.) What he didn't have is any sort of empathy. Some businesses try to build good client relationships, and some businesses care about nothing but moving inventory. EW seems to fall squarely into the latter category.   If it was my business I'd have at least started out by saying I understand how someone would wonder about such a dirty gun sold as new, and would have apologized. I basically got the impression he wanted this problem dealt with quickly and for me to know in no uncertain terms that there was no reason for me to even wonder why the gun was so dirty.   I can't really say they've done anything wrong, but there is definitely a better way to handle a customer's concerns.   I guess now I'll clean this little gun up and hope it shoots well.

I did get a call back from Pat the manager, who basically says the gun is new and was never shot by them, end of story. So there you have it, for what it's worth.   Look your guns over well before you leave the store with them. I know I will from now on.

I haven't heard anything yet. Several days ago I emailed their info email address which is listed on their website. I've heard nothing in response. However, another member here PMed me a different email address and name of the manager, and I finally got an email out today to that one. I'll report back what (if) I hear back.   I also promised Dolomite that I'd post a pic of the underneath of the slide. I have taken some pics but for some reason they don't look right--the pictures actually make it look like it's all fouled up, when it isn't, and I don't want to create the wrong impression with a photo. The photos I took of the barrel and mag look exactly like reality, but for some reason the slide pictures look worse. The underneath of the slide is actually in pretty good shape--doesn't suggest that a LOT of rounds have been fired necessarily, but obviously SOME have been.   I'll try to get a better picture with a different camera and post it when I can. I've been crazy busy the last few days and haven't had a lot of spare time.

Please understand I haven't implied I've been screwed, and I'm not bashing EW. I simply came here to ask for advice. When I disassembled the gun, I was surprised to see how dirty it was. I ran through all the possibilities mentally, including maybe they rented it out or test fired it at their range, but then figured if so they should have at least cleaned it back up if they were selling it as new. If they had, I would have been none the wiser, and I don't necessarily have a problem with the store helping me break it in :-). And yes, as I indicated in my first post, I definitely should have looked it over more closely. I hadn't really considered the possibility that Taurus would let it go out their doors in this condition, but maybe that's a possibility too from some of the feedback.   My only reason for posting here was to ask for advice from fellow gun owners. Every other gun I've purchased new has been shiny and clean, so that's kinda what I expect in a new gun. I haven't come to a conclusion how I should feel about it, and I didn't contact the seller because 1) it was the first time I've dealt with them--other than hearing their commercials on WLAC I have no idea what their reputation is. If this is something they routinely do someone here would probably chime in, and 2) I really have no way of proving I haven't fired the thing and dirtied it up myself, so I figured asking for advice here would be beneficial.   I don't use the cesspool that is Facebook (even though I'm in IT) and if I did I wouldn't be hounding EW that way. I'm not angry and I'm not bashing them--just trying to figure out what the appropriate response should be, if any. If the gun works properly I don't really think I have a problem--I was just thrown that it was so dirty on the first disassembly and that's all. I'm also reluctant to fire it now until I decide what I feel about it.   I invited EW here not to stir things up, but because I had some good feedback here from knowledgeable folks plus the pictures handy. I live an hour away from EW now and don't know when I'd be back down there to talk to them face to face. Plus as a LGS they probably should consider the benefits of interacting with the good folks who frequent this place, right?   The salesperson I dealt with was extremely courteous and probably worked with me for a good 20-30 minutes as I handled all of the .380s they had in stock. I had a great in-store experience, and though it was somewhat of an impulse purchase, I *had* been planning on purchasing a TCP for a good couple months at least, and I'm the type of person who will spend a little more at a locally owned store who seems to be professional rather than save a few bucks by going to a big box store. The salesperson was very nice and had spent some time with me, and the little gun felt good in the hand, so I figured why not just go ahead and take it home. I run a small (not retail though) business myself and I tend to look at things from the businessman's perspective--they go out of their way to help a potential customer and then many of them walk out without making a purchase and probably *do* go buy where they can save a few dollars.   The automobile analogy doesn't exactly work. Everyone knows going into a new car purchase that there is some mileage from test drives, moving the vehicle around, etc. Nobody expects to find the car littered with soda cans and fingerprints all over the windows though, which would be more equivalent to this situation.   At any rate, I just want to make it clear that I'm not bashing anyone. I just wanted advice from the knowledgeable and thoughtful fellow gun owners here, and I thank you all for your feedback so far. I have been PMed by a friend of the manager of EW who apparently wants me to email him, so I'll do that and detail here whatever comes of it, as I'm not trying to cast a negative light on EW.

Thanks everyone! I've emailed EW and invited them to comment here. I figured that was easier than calling and trying to describe it, since there are pictures here in the thread. I don't live in Franklin any longer and don't know when I'd be back down there to talk to them in person.   Dolomite I'll take a photo of the slide bottom and post it. It may be tomorrow.