not sure on the shotguns i havebought a 11-87 from wal mart and after removing the wood stocks and replacing with synthetic i love it have shot game and skeet for 12 years or so with it now, never had any problem.
now just recently bought a rem mdl 700 270 from wal mart for a decent deal but then find out from a big dealer that the reason wal-mart's guns are so much cheaper is that they are factory blemishes. which mine was (the front iron sight hole was drilled and tapped about 15 degrees off vertical) gun shoots great after mounting a scope and having the trigger adjusted to a pull > the 8lb from the factory.
Some manufacturers actually make 2 lines of the same model, a Discount (Wal-Mart Dicks etc.) line and a Pro Shop line...
Also dont overlook used, there are numerous idiots like me that will buy a gun take it on one trip or two and trade it for the latest greatest...you can often save 10-20%
I will not get into the different store stuff like that other then to say I have seen a lot of stuff like that and most BIG stores when they sell it to you it is yours. Take it home to find chamber not cut its yours find no bolt in the box it is yours.
That is what sets gun shop different then the Big stores. Just look the gun over real good and make sure everything works as it should and looks 100%. The factory may try to push things off on people that don't know what they are looking, that is why deals get cut, but there name is still on the line.
Gun shops know what to look for and if bad wood or problem is found it gets sent back or fixed and does not hit the shelf at all if not 100% or in my case if I would not be willing to pay for it. We fix and work on a lot of new guns if you know what I'm getting at. Some stores offer warrenty on used guns with a no BS thing, flat out if you don't like the way it shoots take it in and trade for 100% of the cost of the gun.
Jon
