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Another Riverbank Armory/George Liakos victim |
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bodie221
Recruit Joined: Sep 15 2022 Location: Grand Rapids Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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Posted: Sep 19 2022 at 3:40pm |
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I purchased a round "Inland" bolt from Riverbank Armory/George Liakos and after 300-400 rounds the right lug sheared completely off, damaging the receiver and deforming both locking lug recesses. After the incident I closely compared the bolt with original USGI Inland bolts and the bolt he sold me appears to be a fake. Google searches regarding his companies show a 10+ year history of selling fake/humped stuff. Backstory - Saginaw S'G' USGI M1 Carbine. In late 2020 I was shooting my carbine and the right lug of my USGI flat bolt cracked and slightly deformed the left locking lug recess of my receiver. At this point I had put about 2000 rounds through my carbine. I had a gunsmith laser weld the small receiver lug recess deformation and re-profile the recess and I began hunting for a replacement bolt. In January of 2021 I purchased this round "Inland" bolt from Riverbank armory. I installed this replacement bolt and checked headspace. Luckily no one was seriously hurt. My friend was shooting at the time and the lug bounced off his forehead and left a small superficial cut. We were all wearing eye-pro, as always. Ammo was Tula steel cased, the cases and primers showed no signs of over-pressure. It has since came to my attention the bolt I purchased from Riverbank was most likely a reproduction part, marked to imitate a USGI Inland bolt. The font/stamping depth of the IO marking do not match an original Inland bolt. I spoke with George Liakos over the phone, owner of Riverbank Armory. I provided him pictures and he told me "I don't sell fake bolts" and he denied all responsibility for the damage. After seeing decades of forum posts I'm shocked that he still has 4+ stars rating on Google for his business Riverbank Armory, located in Riverbank, CA. Full picture album of damage to the bolt/receiver: https://imgur.com/a/mL357Wj Here is a picture of the original left receiver lug recess deformation before I had it laser-welded/repaired. The damage was relatively minor. See the above IMGUR album for pictures of the receiver after the Riverbank Armory bolt failed. |
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floydthecat
Hard Corps Joined: Oct 13 2016 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 1998 |
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Someone here with the skill might can tell you if that looks like a cast bolt?
Sorry for your issue. Since it had previously shedded a GI bolt…..maybe there was a problem in the receiver all along.
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bodie221
Recruit Joined: Sep 15 2022 Location: Grand Rapids Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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It may have been cast before machining, I didn't see any leftover casting marks on the bolt. The "IO" Inland markings don't match any pictures of legit USGI Inland bolts I've seen online. The font and depth of stamping is different.
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New2brass
Moderator Group Dan Pinto, Photo Editor Joined: Nov 29 2015 Location: CT Status: Offline Points: 4660 |
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I wonder if a "letter of intent" to sue from a lawyer would straighten him out? First you would need to prove it is not as advertised, but check as he words things very carefully please post pics of bolt from all sides including the markings
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bodie221
Recruit Joined: Sep 15 2022 Location: Grand Rapids Status: Offline Points: 3 |
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I'm considering it. He advertises it as an "Inland" bolt. Tomorrow I'm going to search his local court records to see if anyone else has sued him. I did a brief search over the weekend and didn't find any civil suits against him personally but I have not yet tried party searches using his business names. Also he's certainly going to see this posting. I posted this on M1 Carbine facebook groups and he saw that, I searched the groups for his name but didn't find him, he must be using an alias on Facebook and I'm certain he's on here as well.
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Why Carbines?
Hard Corps Joined: Dec 27 2015 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 883 |
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George has been around for decades so I can assure that he's been threatened before, possibly even by lawsuits. The point is he's still here and like any other good cockroach will be for the foreseeable future. Besides, lawsuits end up hurting the little guy (often people who have NO connection to them) but some people can't get over their perceived butt-hurt long to think of anyone but themselves.
While it sounds very much like it that's not a personal shot at anyone specific it's just the plain truth. |
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tenOCEE
Hard Corps Knows rear sights! Joined: Jan 01 2016 Location: East Tenn Status: Offline Points: 1330 |
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thanks for posting your experience. It may prevent another person from buying junk parts.
But you would lose a lawsuit. Any trial hearing would reveal the receiver already suffered a similar incident and subsequent repair. You might win enough to recover the loss of the bolt cost. I also wouldn't personally shoot steel cased ammo in my Carbines. Personal choice.
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My sig: Seen an IP or S'G'? Add it to my registry. We'll check consecutives.
https://grandrapids.wufoo.com/forms/zzlnt0519k86xs/ |
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floydthecat
Hard Corps Joined: Oct 13 2016 Location: Mississippi Status: Offline Points: 1998 |
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If the left and right lug recesses don’t match so that both lugs share support, something bad is bound to happen. I’d agree with tenOCEE that previous repairs would seriously cloud the legal issue no matter how good they might have been performed.
I have broken two bolts over the years and both cases can be traced to a burr, or problem in the left lug recess interfering with bolt rotation and lock. Carbines are not suppose to fire unless the bolt is fully rotated…..most won’t, but some will.
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