i would think bolth companys would want to inspect it . if for no other reason , research on thier products. i would try to get ahold of the head person at winchester and try to bypass the phone flunkys. e-mail picts to the pres, be nice but let them see the product. same with federal, see if you can get access to the top dogs. if i was in a position to see a product failure, no mater what the cause, id want want to see it. the phone flunkies always seem to try & put problems in the hands of the user, guess thats thier job. but i had a problem with a shot gun a few years ago & when i finally(pain in the ass) got ahold of the upper management they were shocked(so they said) that i had been treated that way & they got the parts sent to me free.i guess its like any product,those that arent persistant enough or dont get ahold of the right people wont be heard.i would think that gun would be valuable to thier r&d dept no matter what the cause. and if for no other reason to keep it out of the public eye.