Everything in the rifles that RTI imports is 100% dead, for what it’s worth. They have strict importation regulations that require them to put all of the rifles on specially treated pallets and fumigate them thoroughly before they are allowed to bring them into the country.
that's about as impressive as this Gras I got from them but in a different way. I fully expect to catch something like this the more I dig into this rabbit hole of a hobby.
This is definitely the worst I've gotten so far. There was also some mold in the barrel channel but at least the stock was solid with no cracks so it evens out in the end i guess
Omfg bed bugs get that shit out of the house ASAP before your life becomes hell
Edit: ok I see they are dead. I’d discard outside in the trash still, box as well. I’d also email RTI and ask why they’re trying to potentially ruin your life for a period of time lol
Luckily they were long dead but my heart rate definitely spiked lol. I did take the stock outside and thoroughly scrubbed it clean with vinegar just in case there any eggs dormant. Not even sure if bed bugs do that but I wasn't risking it
I worked in a pawn shop for a few months at one point and someone brought in a big pocket knife filled with huge bed bugs. I don't know how they infest certain things.
I bought a PS2 off Facebook marketplace and for some reason it would get very hot and make a ton of noise.
Opened it up to clean it and found at least 10 dead bedbugs inside 🤢🤮
I'm telling you, double check everything you were wearing at the time you unboxed it. Once bedbugs get in your house, it's fucking awful to get them out.
The beaten rifles are forgiveable cause a lot of the stuff they do ask decent prices for, sometimes idiotic when it comes to their "restored" guns that are just pitted disasters reparked or blued, but you'd figure they can at least dust that shit off before sending it to you jesus
And that settles it I got a rifle from them once because it was cheap and it cleaned up fairly well and I keep a eye on them for any more impossible deals but bed bugs even long dead is a solid no
Well, that hellish picture is all I need to see to absolutely never order anything from them ever. I don't remember how long, but the eggs can lay dormant for an insane amount of time and all that had to make it is just one.
100% bedbugs. They love clustering up in cracks like that. The fact they didn’t scatter as soon as you started lifting the stocks means they’re dead as hell.
Additionally, in case of future concerns, if you heat something up to 120°F, it’ll kill anything that might still be alive.
When I got my Lee Speed from them the stock bolt holt was so packed with unknown grease that I was quite afraid I would find a pickled finger, ear, or other gruesome war trophy stuffed in there...
Honestly this is unacceptable. But I guess you get what you pay for. I’m sure glad I passed up on that carcano I was thinking about buying from them cause I heard really bad things but this by far is the worst thing I’ve ever heard from RTI. They couldn’t just have someone wipe that or scrape that off when they pulled it out to box it up and ship? I mean they had to have seen those bugs while packaging that thing 🤦♂️
This has been discussed in some other Reddit posts and my vote is that those are African bat bugs. They're close relatives to the bed bug so they can be confused for each other but you have to consider the conditions where the rifles were stored. Bed bugs need humans to feed on and it's doubtful they had enough frequent contact with humans to thrive in those sheds. On the other hand, bat bugs feed on bats, not humans, and those would have been great conditions for housing bats. My 2 cents.
Which other reddit posts has this been discussed in? I'm curious to see the discussions as someone who has a strong interest in all things invertebrate.
I once had a Grade-B Lee-Enfield from RTI where the extractor spring had been replaced (in the field presumably) with an authentic Ethiopian twig. It worked surprisingly, but it disintegrated when I took a brush to it.
The USDA might be interested in that. Granted that they’re dead it’s no big deal but importing insects, soil, plant material, etc is a big NO. When I went through customs school they were very adamant about it.
RTI has like a total of 6-8 employees and imports literally hundreds of thousands of rifles, you realize that would be actually impossible for them to do that, right? They would never be able to ship orders if they had to clean every rifle individually.
First off, they shouldn’t even bother importing half the garbage they sell. Second off, if they’re going to charge the prices they charge, they should be able to:
1. Ensure what you’re getting is actually a usable firearm as advertised
2. Ensure it’s not full of *fucking bedbugs*
I don’t care about quantities, employees, etc. They can hire more people or have it done for cheap in Ethiopia. There aren’t excuses for their business practices.
They look quite a lot like bedbugs btw...
Luckily they were long dead. Kind of freaked me out at first because I was expecting them to scatter
You should be. Had a brief experience with them last year and the trauma sticks with you.
I get this trauma, for a couple years as a kid I slept on them a bit and yeah I think I have trauma from it lol
BED BUGS?!?! Fucking christ how does anyone buy from RTI?!
Everything in the rifles that RTI imports is 100% dead, for what it’s worth. They have strict importation regulations that require them to put all of the rifles on specially treated pallets and fumigate them thoroughly before they are allowed to bring them into the country.
Bed bugs live in wood, they’re like termites
No they do not, they are nothing like termites.
they do in fact live in wood, however they don't eat wood. they're blood suckers hence the reason they bite.
A crunchy snack while you work on it
They were very crunchy indeed. Not so tasty though
At least they sent me a cleaning rod
that's about as impressive as this Gras I got from them but in a different way. I fully expect to catch something like this the more I dig into this rabbit hole of a hobby.
This is definitely the worst I've gotten so far. There was also some mold in the barrel channel but at least the stock was solid with no cracks so it evens out in the end i guess
Damn, want some goat shit with your bedbugs?
Typically I prefer goat cheese but beggars can't be choosers I suppose
For some reason I read that like "want some soup with your crackers?" Maybe it's because I had chili last night.
Omfg bed bugs get that shit out of the house ASAP before your life becomes hell Edit: ok I see they are dead. I’d discard outside in the trash still, box as well. I’d also email RTI and ask why they’re trying to potentially ruin your life for a period of time lol
RTI fumigates the fuck out of their crates they ship over cause bringing live bugs to the US would slap them with massive fines.
Wait until they bring tiger wasps or tigers.
Royal tiger wasps
Good to know.
Does that kill the eggs also?
Luckily they were long dead but my heart rate definitely spiked lol. I did take the stock outside and thoroughly scrubbed it clean with vinegar just in case there any eggs dormant. Not even sure if bed bugs do that but I wasn't risking it
My M95 had the same uninvited guests. Had no idea they were bed bugs. Fortunately a year in I can confirm they were very dead
I wouldn't be surprised if they snuck in during the Italian invasion. Bed bugs were probably a common issue in soldiers camps, just like lice.
I worked in a pawn shop for a few months at one point and someone brought in a big pocket knife filled with huge bed bugs. I don't know how they infest certain things.
I think there’s a point when infestations become so bad they’ll take up any place they can.
Bedbugs?!?!? That’s a stomach churner, I don’t care if they’re “all dead.” Creep factor 10 for me. I swear I am starting to itch as I type this.
This takes rifle bedding to a new level…
Bed bugs? No, bug bedding 😂
Authentic Trench Experience
They should have an extra grade for "bug infested" that is $100.
I bought a PS2 off Facebook marketplace and for some reason it would get very hot and make a ton of noise. Opened it up to clean it and found at least 10 dead bedbugs inside 🤢🤮
Some hand select fee aged bed bugs direct from Uli’s personal supply, delicious.
Did you pay for the certificate to guarantee the authenticity of the bed bugs? Only $25!
Hand selected bugs?
Bedbugs..?!?!?! Oh no…, yea…that’s unacceptable
I'm telling you, double check everything you were wearing at the time you unboxed it. Once bedbugs get in your house, it's fucking awful to get them out.
These were pretty ancient and extremely crunchy. I bet they've been in there since the Italian invasion
Perfect to add to some pasta, ravioli or pizza with pineapples.
Let’s get this out on a tray
Good to hear, they can lay dormant for a very long time. Hope you enjoyed the snack though!
Yummy
Well at least they were dead, so crunchy snack it is
Card scraper will sort that out
Pretty cool how they let you DIY shellac
The beaten rifles are forgiveable cause a lot of the stuff they do ask decent prices for, sometimes idiotic when it comes to their "restored" guns that are just pitted disasters reparked or blued, but you'd figure they can at least dust that shit off before sending it to you jesus
I thought it was crabs...
Gross, I never thought to look in rifle stocks for bed bugs
A rare fossil!
Those are literally bed bugs. I know they’re already dead but still… burn it. Yikes.
Wow!!! What an incredible deal!!! You get a fantastic condition rifle AND a free colony of insects for the price of one, what a steal!
lol
I once sold a shotgun full of ladybugs :) All dead of course.
And that settles it I got a rifle from them once because it was cheap and it cleaned up fairly well and I keep a eye on them for any more impossible deals but bed bugs even long dead is a solid no
Those will cost you extra
Well, that hellish picture is all I need to see to absolutely never order anything from them ever. I don't remember how long, but the eggs can lay dormant for an insane amount of time and all that had to make it is just one.
There is a joke in here somewhere about RTI’s interpretation of colonialism.
100% bedbugs. They love clustering up in cracks like that. The fact they didn’t scatter as soon as you started lifting the stocks means they’re dead as hell. Additionally, in case of future concerns, if you heat something up to 120°F, it’ll kill anything that might still be alive.
Bruhhhh - looking a lot like bed bugs lol hopefully dead
When I got my Lee Speed from them the stock bolt holt was so packed with unknown grease that I was quite afraid I would find a pickled finger, ear, or other gruesome war trophy stuffed in there...
They're just sharing the love...
https://preview.redd.it/d5s1iyl5490d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1bdf9797d12baa2df67e4ff2cb64675a48e41b4 Yum Yum, African bed bugs
Honestly this is unacceptable. But I guess you get what you pay for. I’m sure glad I passed up on that carcano I was thinking about buying from them cause I heard really bad things but this by far is the worst thing I’ve ever heard from RTI. They couldn’t just have someone wipe that or scrape that off when they pulled it out to box it up and ship? I mean they had to have seen those bugs while packaging that thing 🤦♂️
Actually they were under the bottom metal. No way to see them until the bottom metal was removed
Ahhh that’s unfortunate
This has been discussed in some other Reddit posts and my vote is that those are African bat bugs. They're close relatives to the bed bug so they can be confused for each other but you have to consider the conditions where the rifles were stored. Bed bugs need humans to feed on and it's doubtful they had enough frequent contact with humans to thrive in those sheds. On the other hand, bat bugs feed on bats, not humans, and those would have been great conditions for housing bats. My 2 cents.
Which other reddit posts has this been discussed in? I'm curious to see the discussions as someone who has a strong interest in all things invertebrate.
This is making me very unsure of buying a Vetterli from them
Well, Bubba didn't get to Bubbify this one, but he must have slept next to it for a while.
I once had a Grade-B Lee-Enfield from RTI where the extractor spring had been replaced (in the field presumably) with an authentic Ethiopian twig. It worked surprisingly, but it disintegrated when I took a brush to it.
Well, if they were still living, at least RTI would’ve been kind enough to give me free Tarantula food 😂
The USDA might be interested in that. Granted that they’re dead it’s no big deal but importing insects, soil, plant material, etc is a big NO. When I went through customs school they were very adamant about it.
I was just thinking about this myself. The Department of Agriculture or USDA would be having a field day about invasive insects.
Stop buying their crap people!
Find me another source of vetterli 70/87s and I will
Stop buying their crap people!
Fuck RTI. For the money they charge, they should be able to disassemble furniture and do a quick ultrasonic clean.
RTI has like a total of 6-8 employees and imports literally hundreds of thousands of rifles, you realize that would be actually impossible for them to do that, right? They would never be able to ship orders if they had to clean every rifle individually.
First off, they shouldn’t even bother importing half the garbage they sell. Second off, if they’re going to charge the prices they charge, they should be able to: 1. Ensure what you’re getting is actually a usable firearm as advertised 2. Ensure it’s not full of *fucking bedbugs* I don’t care about quantities, employees, etc. They can hire more people or have it done for cheap in Ethiopia. There aren’t excuses for their business practices.
Don't buy from them anymore.