Jon Wayne Taylor recently re-reviewed the Metro Arms American Classic II .45ACP 1911 (click here for original review). The “new” gun was reliable, save one malfunction. This is not the first time we’ve re-tested a firearm that initially performed badly. Here’s our policy on re-reviewing firearms . . .
TTAG is ready, willing and able to re-test guns at the manufacturer’s request. Our initial test gun is a single sample, usually sent by the manufacturer to us in our secret above ground bunker. We accept the possibility that an individual test gun may be a “lemon” — a sample that doesn’t represent the quality of the manufacturer’s product generally.
Regardless of how the “new” or repaired gun functions, we do not go back and revise our initial ratings. We publish a review update, like Jon’s.
There are other cases in which we return a defective, poorly or non-functioning firearm before we review it. When that happens, the final review always reveals the return and explains why we sent the gun back.
[NB: while we hope that the original gun sent or the one returned or replaced aren’t “ringers” — firearms carefully massaged by factory technicians — there’s no way to know that. That hasn’t been our experience, but we are situationally aware.]
While we hope that a finished gun review is authoritative, it’s a good idea to read other reviews, owner forums and the always informative comment section underneath our review. Owners sometimes reveal that they had no problems with the exact same model.
One more thing . . .
There’s a Chinese Wall between TTAG’s editorial and advertising. Our ad supplier is contractually obliged not to interfere with our reviews, to refrain from influencing our editorial decisions. They’ve always respected this non-negotiable part of our deal, knowing that we wouldn’t tolerate any such interference.
TTAG operates under the assumption that firearms are a life-or-death proposition. That’s one reason why we will never betray our readers’ trust in the integrity of our reviews. The other reason: we love doing this.
If you want to know the truth about a gun, as best as our no-holds-barred writers can discern and communicate it to you, you’ve come to the right place. Thank you for reading!
RF