burek wrote:From what I gather, they shoot well, and this I guess is most important.
I just hate the idea of rough as guts finishes (external and internal) and nasty triggers I hear about and having to sink more $$$ and effort into something that was supposed to be complete. And they ship this "complete" product with a serious face on, that's all
You get what you pay for; agreed the comparatively cheaper "remlins" are a little rough when it comes to finish and machining, but nothing a bit of wet-and-dry and some elbow grease won't fix up. I think it's important to be comfortable
completely stripping down your rifle anyway, so it's good practice. The more expensive ones are silky smooth our of the box.
I actually believe the gamble is in the accuracy department; all that junk hanging off the barrel means the barrel harmonics can be a bit of a lucky-dip. Some happen to group shockingly tightly, a lot will only give you a minute of deer (which is good enough for many people's needs).
The triggers are usually on the heavier side by-design; the lever gun was designed as a fast-handling tool meant for a saddle scabbard, so a hair trigger would be dangerous. This obviously also doesn't lend itself to pinpoint accuracy, so indeed you likely will need to spend some time and dollars addressing this (if you plan on punching a lot of paper with it).
In summary, horses for courses; just don't be unrealistic with your expectations.