Gunsmithing (lack of) Trust and Patience

[darth_ritis]

I must be a special kind of stupid or something, but the thought of letting a complete stranger keep my rifle from me for up to two years makes me sick to my stomach. I don't know if it's my lack of trust or my lack of patience, or both, but I'm starting to think that if one of my guns needs work it better be something I can do myself. I'm firmly one of those "if you want it done right, do it yourself" kind of guys. Probably more than 95% of the time I do things myself, or they don't get done. As far patience goes, shit, I want to shoot this weekend, and the next, and the next ... no fucking way is someone keeping my rifle for up to two years. I don't know how you guys do it.

I hope I'm not alone in this insanity.

 

[jasonfaz]

What's goin on? I would agree, two years is crazy long. You can build a gun from scratch in far less time than that. What work are you referring to that needs to be done?

 

[Donr13]

why would you need to wait two years for anything unless you were waiting for a unicorn/JAE stock???

I had a complete custom build done by PCR in like 2 months time and its a hammer.

 

[Phezzik]

As long as the parts are available (in stock), a complete build should never take two years, let alone some repairs. Sometimes you have to wait months due to unavailable barrels or what not, but like donr13 said, the unicorn parts are what take so long.

 

[Midwestside]

Did tr.net strike again?

 

[darth_ritis]

What's goin on? I would agree, two years is crazy long. You can build a gun from scratch in far less time than that. What work are you referring to that needs to be done?

Oh, believe me, if I could do it myself, I would, no matter how long it took. And yes, two or three years is on the extreme end, but it's happening to people. I can't imagine being at the end of the line for a smith like that. And when the 18+ month delays are just a lazy smith who has all the parts and necessary tools but just hasn't gotten around to it ... ugh.

I inquired about a re-barrel & trueing for my Rem700 and was quoted $1200 (minimum) & six months. That seems outrageous to me. I politely & immediately walked away from that idea.

My kid's airsoft pistol had a broken spring, so we took it in and they said they could repair it but would need a week to order the part and a couple of days to do the work. That was almost three months ago. A classic example of repair work being a total scam.

Now I have a SureFire muzzle brake for my 308 that needs to be timed properly and I don't have the right vice & tools for that kind of job. (The manual says I need a 3/4" socket - FALSE.) I figure I'd spend more on tools than I'd spend having a smith take 30 minutes to do it right, and I really don't want to mess up my threads because I have a really nice suppressor coming (hopefully sometime this decade). My LGS said they couldn't do it, and referred me to a local smith whom I've never heard of. Perhaps I should just sell the brake at a loss and chalk it up to the cost of another life lesson.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

You can't find any better than here.
R&D Precision | Awesome Gunsmithing Services
Call Randy(Hateca)and let him do it 'rite'.
LG

 

[jasonfaz]

I'm in across the road in Erie. If you'd like id be happy to help you out. Just shoot me a PM...

 

[cal50]

Sometimes waiting for parts is a big part of the wait ( AI magazines , Mac stock, action, barrel, etc.)
If a builder has all the parts to complete the build its all on them for dragging their feet.

The longest I waited for a stock was about 6 months but I was doing my own work and its a painful wait.
2 years , no way I am waiting that long for any parts.

 

[McLarenross]

I agree with you man. Thats why Ive ended up with a freakin machine shop in my garage and people bringing me their shit to work on. So many smiths out there that are lazy/shady. There are a lot of good ones on here though, and Id suggest giving one of them the chance to work on your rifle and get you back shooting.

 

[nso123]

My last build from RWS was quoted at 8 weeks, including him sourcing all of the parts. 6 weeks later I had a brand new custom in my hands.

 

[Sig Marine]

I've got to agree that 2 years is too long. Find another gunsmith. Do a search here on the Hide and you'll find a good number of reputable builders that can/will build you a very good rifle in a lot less time and guarantee their work. Members on this forum don't pull any punches. If a gunsmith is a flake, they "out" him quickly and move on.

 

[damoncali]

If you're waiting 2 years, it's because you are beholden to a specific brand. There are tons of high quality smiths with long track records out there who can get you turned around much faster than that, especially if your'e willing to do a little of the leg work. If you must have a specific name on the barrel, you may have to wait. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not a matter of quality. It's more about artistry at that point. And we all know how much sense the art market makes.

 

[Asperly Aimless]

I wouldn't wait that long either. I also don't leave misc. parts with the smith while I wait on other parts. I collect all the parts, call my preferred smith to see when he has an opening for my box of parts, and then go shoot my other rifles until the agreed upon ship date/opening. He usually has my completed build out the door and back to me in a month. I'd love one of the big name guns, but their wait is long and I doubt their guns will be any better built or more accurate than what my smith currently does.