Winchester Sx2 Problem....

[bisonresq]

Hey all,

This is my first post. Great forum - very helpful.

Here's my problem: I bought a Win SX2 practical mk1 at my local Sportsman's Warehouse in OKC,OK in October. Took it out to shoot and with the very first shot the bolt locked in the rearward position. No way to fix it without a disassembly. Took it home, disassembled/reassembled and took it out again in a week or so. Same problem. (Yes, I did verify piston/load compatibility.) Fixed with same procedure. Next time I put some heavy shot through with the "low recoil" piston. Shot fine. Then it did it again a couple of weeks later. I took it back to Sportsman's Warehouse and told them my plight, looking to exchange it for an identical gun. They looked at me like I had three heads. I was told they wouldn't/couldn't do an exchange. "We'll send it in to Winchester for you - but that's it." So we sent it off - and that's been about 2 months ago. Several calls to the repair facility got me nowhere. "Since the gun was sent in by Sportsman's Warehouse we can't tell you anything. It's under their name" was their response. They wouldn't tell me what they were working on - only that it was a "minor repair." Next call they said "a manager was looking at it." Next call they said they were waiting on a new barrel. No hope or end in sight.

So my questions are:

1) If someone sells you a bad/defective gun is there any option other than getting that existing gun fixed? (i.e., exchanging for identical gun). I understand that you can't let people buy the gun, go out and treat it poorly and then hope to return it, but come on...

2) Do I have any options?

3) Would the barrell have anything to do with it not cycling correctly? Why in the heck would they be replacing the barrel?

4) Anyone else had a bad experience with the Winchester service center in Arnold, MO?

They won't let you talk to the actual person fixing your gun. They have no idea what's wrong with the gun. It's been 2 months and I still don't know what was actually wrong with the gun (they won't tell me).

Sorry for the long post.....

Signed,

A frustrated new 3 gunner

(Mike)

[Blockhead]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum. I haven't had to send my SX2 to the factory for service yet but do appreciate your post in case I need to in the future.

Best Regards,

CB

[ken hebert]

Sorry to hear of your plight with the SX2, luck to you in the future with it and the place you bought it from.

Fingers crossed that no such thing happens to mine!

[KentG]

Sorry bout your luck. I like mine and it runs like a champ. Dont throw in the towl, there will be some other owners here who will testify to running several K at least if not more with no real problems. I dont know how many I have thru mine but Ive had it a while and once it was broken in and short of totally filthy it runs great.

[Send The Wolf]

I think you need to apply pressure to the dealer. I wouldn't expect an average dealer to replace a gun, I'm not familiar with 'Sportsman's Warehouse', but I get the impression that it's a typical 'service is our last concern' low price kind of place. There is really something to be said for having a full _service_ gun dealer to work with, and pay a little more for it. I paid more for mine than I could have gotten one from some place like Cabela's, but I also was able to do some gun trading as partial payment etc.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, don't give up on the SX2, in general they are rock solid.

[Mick]

My SX2 ran good for a long time but quit at the Texas 3 gun last year. I found the mag spring had rusted and a pin broke in the receiver that holds the shell latch. With these fixed I now have an occassional shell release under the bolt that keeps me from reloading through the loading port. Winchester has no response. FN now lists the SX2 8 shot gun as the SLP mark 1. I received no response from them either (by email). On this forum there are folks like David Neth and Pat Sweeney who may be able to help you find what you need to get the SX2 running right. I still like mine and want to find the "lighter gas piston" folks are talking about as mine only wants heavy loads and a recent car wreck won't let my neck take the recoil...

I don't know that you'll find a Winchester repair facility who will deal with it. Brownells had parts for awhile and most parts are the same as the Browning Gold (I have one of those too)....Best bet, find a Browning dealer or FN dealer that will help.

Mick

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