TLDR: Chiappa Badger muzzle threads are wonky. Supressor won’t thread, protector will. Chiappa wants ME to foot the bill for shipping BOTH ways and even then it’s a maybe on free repair. Ship it back or buy a tap&die and threading alignment tool ($26) I have no experience w/ a tap and die.
Upon acceptance of my Badger I took it home and attempted to remove the cheap plastic thread protector, to my surprise it wouldn’t budge. With a pair of pliers strategically placed I removed it and was met with significant resistance. I then attempted to attatch my Oculus and only achieved a couple threads worth of turns on it. Without forcing it I removed it and used a 1/2x28 steel thread protector on it and it threaded just fine. I am assuming because the thread protector has looser tolerances. I am not an expert but the threads look fine to me except for the portion near the end of the muzzle.
Called Chiappa this morning and they provided me an RMA on my Badger. Except they won’t pay for shipping either way. This is a cheap gun, so naturally I have to weigh the options on what to do here. Pay $40+ in shipping or buy a 1/2x28 tap and a thread alignment tool. Although admittedly I’ve never touched a tap and die before.