Royal Tiger Imports

[Finnished]

Mine turned out pretty good age, fit, and finish wise, but they have a TON of mold under the stocks. Thats likely the discount.

FYI, if you need a mold solution and preventative that doesn't harm finish, definitely use Concrobium. Hit all 5 with it and they still look good and original and no more mold. Discovered it when watching some videos on in home professional mold remediation. Safe on wood floors and furniture

 

[HiredHand]

Mark Novak has a bunch of firearm conservation videos on his YouTube channel. You might find those interesting.

 

[Finnished]

Mark Novak has a bunch of firearm conservation videos on his YouTube channel. You might find those interesting.

That is exactly what I follow. One adaptation I have made however, is to scrub a little bit with the kerosene applied/ still drying. It helps a ton in getting the residual gunk off. Then it all just wipes off.

This is especially true when cleaning a cosmoline encrusted bore. Pass it 3 times, then pass a dry cloth and you will have the dirtiest patch you have ever seen. Then just oil and bam, clean bore.

 

[Jim Stikeleather]

Ever heard the phrase "Caveat Emptor"? Well it appears the Romans may have known a thing or two about shady business practices. "Buyer Beware" has warned shoppers through the centuries that not every seller/business takes the high road in their dealings with customers. Some operate with a skewed moral compass or no compass at all. Case in point: Royal Tiger Imports.

I recently had the misfortune of transacting a C&R
firearm sale with RTI. They listed a Carcano 91/41
rifle for sale, including several good photos and a "detailed" description. Now this wasn't my first milsurp rodeo. I have purchased C&Rs from a number of very reputable companies, including Simpson Ltd., Classic Firearms, Ancestry Guns, Man o' War Firearms, etc. In dealing with these companies I'd come to expect a high degree of transparency and professionalism. I did my due diligence in scouting RTI. They were a high 2 star or low 3 star company. Some customers had good things to say about them while many others, it seemed, were less than complimentary, but I wanted that Carcano to add to my WW II collection.
Of the many Carcanos offered, I was careful to focus on a rifle that had an overall good condition and a very good bore. One rifle seemed to check the items on my list. It was a listing from the RTI
category of Hand Select C&R Firearms. Now I don't know what "hand select " conjures up for you, but
for me it meant that RTI had carefully inspected the rifle for bore quality and overall condition of wood and metal. The description seemed to support the inclusion of this item in a higher quality listing area.
The bore was very good and the overall condition was good, not a single mention of a defect. I did peruse the photos, but nothing jumped out. My bad!!!! I should have seen the damaged sight in the listing photos and not relied on an accurate description being provided. When the rifle arrived at my FFL, I quickly discovered that the rear sight was badly damaged. The Carcano was well packed and cushioned and the box showed no signs of reckless handling. Called RTI and emailed photos and the response was rather shocking. They suggested I take a hammer to the sight on an 82 yr. old gun and try to "straighten it out." I responded that I would do no such thing and preferred a refund instead. Just to clarify, there were no comparable Carcanos (very good bore, etc.) on the Royal Tiger site to replace my rifle. When I later spoke to the customer service manager, she outlined my ONLY options: return the rifle at my expense, suffer a $200 restocking fee to secure the refund OR RTI could send replacement parts to install if the hammer straightening did not work out. Couple of things here. Except in the case of large, heavy items, restocking fees (especially high $) are a contrived way to discourage refunds and line the pockets of, in this case, an amoral business entity.
Now to the replacement part "solution". As a serious collector, I have high standards. I prefer matching serial numbers and all ORIGINAL parts. I did not pay for a hand select Carcano with a sight from a different rifle. Sorry I'm a stickler that way.

So what did I decide? Because of the ridiculous restocking fee, I was forced to accept the replacement parts. Installation of the parts could very possibly result in a gunsmith fee and we all know how little they charge. The moral of this story: BUYER BEWARE of Royal Tiger Imports. Their avowed dedication to excellent customer service is a thin facade for who and what they
really are...an unscrupulous entity committed to
separating you from your money.

 

[HiredHand]

https://www.royaltigerimports.com/product-p/carcano0001-am9678.htm
The damage to the rear sight is pretty obvious from the photos. I’ll admit that I’ve missed obvious damage and missing parts on a firearm that I really wanted. I think RTI did okay by offering you a replacement sight. But, a good gunsmith might be able to straighten out the one on the rifle.

To me hand select is just the best rifle out of the first couple from the pile or crate. I’ve seen hand select rifles that aren’t any nicer than ones that weren’t hand selected. I’ve seen some companies take the time to grade rifles which is more detailed inspection and usually brings an additional premium as well.

The additional time and handling of a returned item is going to add extra expense to the seller. Of course an inspection period would be nice, but the damage to the rear sight was obvious, even if it was easy to overlook.

I think it’s a decent looking rifle for a piece of that age and history. Hopefully, you’ll find some joy in having it in your collection despite the damaged rear sight and issue you have with RTI.

 

[Finnished]

Gollee, if you want a 91/41, I had one listed for sale not long ago with matching bayonet for less than RTI. Still have it if you're interested. Its a vet bring back, duffel cut but excellent bore and also included bayonet. Just shoot me a PM if you're interested

 

[Josh P]

I thought about getting a couple for the actions but they couldn’t make any kind of gurantee of no rust on the action

 

[mr ed]

As the sole importer. Everything passes thru Royal Tiger's hands, all the others are just dealers. The Italians surplussed those years ago and the Ethiopians bought them. Now they got AKs and are surplussing them.

 

[Stonecipher]

Just received a $1500 rifle from them. It has a cracked stock that is not mentioned in the description. When contacted they said it was my fault and that I should have looked at the pictures of the rifle more closely. They said that they have no responsibility in listing defects in the description. This policy is not mentioned anywhere on their website that I have seen. I was not offered a refund but I could return the rifle for a $300 restocking fee. Buyer bewar.

 

[HiredHand]

A good gunsmith may be able to repair the stock on your rifle. I’ve seen videos of Mark Novak repairing old surplus stocks and he is able to do nice repair work.

Since, you haven’t told us what you bought from RTI, it makes it rather difficult to determine if you were mistreated. RTI sells surplus rifles in many different states of condition. Their Terms and Policies page does indicate if they accept a return they deem not due to their error, they will deduct shipping and charge a 20% restocking fee.