Umarex Origin quality control issue on day 1

[PlinkyandtheBrain]

My new Umarex Origin arrived this afternoon. I was practically waiting by the door for it to show up and I unboxed it immediately. Read the directions, put the pump together, mounted my scope and pumped it up (partially). I have space enough in my basement to do the initial 10 yard sight in so I set things up and took the first shot.

Wow, it was waaayyyy to the right and waaayyy low. I started adjusting the windage and elevation iteratively and the shots started moving the right direction. But I ran out of clicks on the scope about halfway there. I thought it might be the less-than stellar scope rings, so I remounted the scope a second time taking every step slow and being super careful. Nothing changed.

I degassed the gun for safety and then started looking at the barrel shroud and cap. Right away I saw that the shroud cap had been damaged. I'll link a picture below but it obviously was clipped by one or more pellets. Then I took the shroud off to look at the barrel itself and found two more issues. One side of the barrel tip looked rifled and the other side looked smooth. How does that happen? On the smooth side there is a huge burr on the exiting edge of the barrel. (see the last two pictures)

I've emailed Umarex with these details, so we'll see what they say. If it weren't for that smooth spot on the barrel where there should have been rifling I would just crown the barrel myself. But I think the problem is bigger than that.

[tracker1955]

Ouch! that's terrible. The same company that makes the Avenger, Liberty, Aspen, Freedom, and all with good barrels. Even with the complaints about Poppets and plastic stocks, the one thing that hasn't been a problem has been the barrels and accuracy.

[ranchibi]

I’m so sorry to hear and see this! I sure hope Umarex takes care of this ASAP for you!

[CraigH]

Get an RMA for return.

[PlinkyandtheBrain]

I called Umarex this morning and got an RMA. They say it takes about a week for their gunsmiths to turn it around once it arrives. I specifically asked them if they shoot the gun after repairing it and he said that they do. I'm just worried that they're going to slap a new shroud cap on it and say it's within spec. I know this is a budget airgun (for PCP's anyways), but to me something that costs $350 shouldn't have glaring issues right out of the box. I'll keep updating this post with any progress.

I'm packing the gun back up and getting it back to FedEx today.

 

[Tucobenedicto]

Get an RMA for return.

+1 can be the rifling is not in better shape inside the barrell.

[PlinkyandtheBrain]

Update 2/1/2021

Shipping the gun back to Umarex took a week and a very inefficient path. They finally took one look at it and shipped me a replacement. So I waited about 3 days for the gun to arrive. It showed up this afternoon, so I unboxed it and got the pump set up. It wouldn't hold air... I made sure the bleed valve was shut and the gun was cocked. Nothing but wind. The air leak sounded like it was coming from the place where the air cylinder meets the upper assembly. So the gun would have to come apart to find it. I'm a mechanical engineer and I'm comfortable tearing this thing apart if I have to, but this is two guns in a row with different quality control issues.
I called Umarex again and was given an express shipping label to send it back in. I also asked for the third gun to be quality checked before being shipped back to me. He said they would test fire a few rounds and do a 48 hour leak test before shipping. I agreed, and am giving it one more chance. If I can just get one gun that works as advertised, I'd be happy. I'll update this thread when the THIRD GUN gets here. If there's an issue with the third gun I'll get a refund and do something crazy like get a marauder. Or save up for a Taipan.

[mrbulk]

Wow, what a bummer of an experience.

Although I cannot say whether my own Origin shot well (or even held air) because out of the box the dang pump itself did not work, I hope you get your issue/s sorted out. As posted above all the guns by this maker (Origin, Avenger, Liberty, etc.) usually shoot very accurately.

Best of luck - and remember the Marauder, if you get one, comes with a 5-year warranty.

[PlinkyandtheBrain]

Update  2/22/2021

Umarex didn't bother trying to fix the gun I sent back. They sent me an entirely new gun again. And this one, the third gun they sent me, works perfectly. I've zeroed in my scope and this thing is shooting very consistently. I'm ready to stretch it out to 35-50 yards as soon as I have the chance.

My thoughts on Umarex customer service:
Other than one phone call, everyone I spoke to was both friendly and helpful. One guy was only helpful, not so much friendly. Not a problem for me. As I've detailed out in other posts, I sent two guns back to Umarex and when the third gun got here I was preparing myself to be disappointed. Third time was the charm.

When I packed up and shipped the first gun back, the customer service agent told me to hang on to everything in the box other than the gun. So I did. Twice. I don't think Umarex has good communication internally because they kept shipping full boxes with all parts included. So now I have 6 magazines, 2 fill probes, 2 pumps... I explicitly made sure to communicate what I was shipping back to them, so that this wouldn't happen. It happened anyways. I'll chalk this one up to the fact that all of these parts are very inexpensive and Umarex probably just didn't care to go through the box and remove parts before shipping. I'm not mad.

So, for those of you thinking about buying an Umarex Origin all I can say is that you may end up trading guns with Umarex until you get one that works. But when you do it is a great gun. Keep in mind, I bought this gun directly from Umarex USA, so I didn't have to work through a 3rd party like Pyramid or AoA, and I think that helped. You will get the warranty work/replacement either way. Just a quicker process when you deal with them directly.

I'll post some pictures when I get a chance to shoot at 50 yards. Anyone in Massachusetts or Maine want to do some small game hunting? I think Snowshoe Hare are in season.

[Madd Hatter]

There was one member that bought a new Liberty and it wouldn't shoot worth a dang. He bought a warranty return and swapped the barrel and was very happy with the results. Don't remember the members name or what was wrong with the barrel. Durn sometimers!!!!!!!

[tracker1955]

Glad to hear you got a good one this time, quality control does seem to be lacking at times. Honestly, I wish every manufacturer would pressure test and shoot each rifle before it ever leaves their facility to go out to the dealers, would stop a lot of customer aggravation and disappointment. I know it wouldn't catch every problem, but it would stop most.

[shibumei]

Only Umerex experience requiring an RMA had a cracked stock and leaked.  Whole thing took about 12 day turnaround.  They sent me a new gun...  No complaints. 

Did you ever attempt some groups without that buggered cap? Man, that had to be a problem... 

[Ribbonstone]

One of the arguments for buying new is that you can send it back (from most dealers) and take another roll of the dice.