Joe, was the gun shipped assembled? I once bought a gun that was shipped assembled by the seller and the same thing happened. The deal went south and I got my money back. According to the gunshop owner where the gun had been sent, mine wasn't the first he'd seen to be damaged similarly. If assembled, the handlers can get more leverage on the stock to damage the gun. My shop buddy said in his instance it took over a year to get the claim paid by USPS. It took a lot of leverage to break the stock and bend the stock bolt of his 870.
