This is the second Scorpion MD 301 I’ve bought from Japan off eBay. To be honest the other reel I got was much smoother. I’ve played around with the drag settings, spool tension knob, and brakes to see if that might be what was causing the difference but it wasn’t. I looked up the sticker on the reel base plate and it was a year older than the smooth reel so maybe that’s it. The screws were starting to have their paint wear off. Seems fine overall just slightly disappointed it’s not as smooth.
Played with it on the water. It is very light, amazingly smooth and casts very nicely. The drag is nice and smooth. I'm looking forward to putting some salmon on it later this season.