Gunsmithing WARNING DON'T TRUST CARBON SIX

303Native

Private
Minuteman
Mar 1, 2025
34
47
Colorado
Good morning all, just a general warning not to expect much from carbon six barrels. I tried them out this year and have experienced horrible customer service and they are completely unable to keep their promised posted time line.
I ordered a new barrel for my hunting rifle back in March, i was promised over the phone that it sould be "about" 5 months guaranteed no longer then 6 months (6 months is what's posted online) but they told me it would probably be sooner and guaranteed it to me by 6 and assured me they would have it to me in time for hunting season.
Well....... here we are at 6.5 months and the best answer i can get (after calling for a week straight and sending multiple emails) is its somewhere in production and probably another 4 to 6 weeks. No apologies or comment about them being late or costing me all 3 tags i pulled this year. They just seemed annoyed i was even asking after my order and told me they couldn't give me a date or tell me where in the process it was..... just that it's in production and still quite a ways out.

Now i understand falling behind. People are busy, things change..........i get it. But when you make personal promises on your word, then pretend like you never did and get upset when someone holds you to your word, ignore your emails and don't make any attempt to provide decent customer service (it takes weeks to get an email back if you even receive one, and can spend days calling with no return call) and you don't seem to care about your word as a business owner, i have trouble trusting your work as a craftsman or that you would stand behind any of your products.


Anyway just my experience and 2 cents. Hopefully it can save someone else the same headache.
 
You dont have a back up rifle?

Or a friend you could borrow one from?



That sucks man.
I order from places that have barrels in stock.
Custom order from Bartlein works, but with as busy as everyone is, never with a deadline.
No backup rifle, sold it to build a new. And yes I'm working on borrowing a backup rifle from a neighbor for my deer tag next week. 🤞 Hopefully it works.
 
.I appreciate the support and recommendations guys.No, worries, i'm not giving up on all my tags.Just kind of a perfect storm.This year where everything kind of went wrong. This is my first year, actually hunting.And I don't know a lot of people in that space.Late in life first timer here.So all the gear I had was tactically oriented and too small caliber to hunt with here. Unfortunately, my neighbors have spare rifles, but they had already been promised to others.
And basically just working through some scheduling conflicts, but it's looking like i'm only going to lose out on two tags, and I should be able to borrow a rifle for my other two.Here's to hoping 🤞
 
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Good morning all, just a general warning not to expect much from carbon six barrels. I tried them out this year and have experienced horrible customer service and they are completely unable to keep their promised posted time line.
I ordered a new barrel for my hunting rifle back in March, i was promised over the phone that it sould be "about" 5 months guaranteed no longer then 6 months (6 months is what's posted online) but they told me it would probably be sooner and guaranteed it to me by 6 and assured me they would have it to me in time for hunting season.
Well....... here we are at 6.5 months and the best answer i can get (after calling for a week straight and sending multiple emails) is its somewhere in production and probably another 4 to 6 weeks. No apologies or comment about them being late or costing me all 3 tags i pulled this year. They just seemed annoyed i was even asking after my order and told me they couldn't give me a date or tell me where in the process it was..... just that it's in production and still quite a ways out.

Now i understand falling behind. People are busy, things change..........i get it. But when you make personal promises on your word, then pretend like you never did and get upset when someone holds you to your word, ignore your emails and don't make any attempt to provide decent customer service (it takes weeks to get an email back if you even receive one, and can spend days calling with no return call) and you don't seem to care about your word as a business owner, i have trouble trusting your work as a craftsman or that you would stand behind any of your products.


Anyway just my experience and 2 cents. Hopefully it can save someone else the same headache.
Sorry to hear you're having issues. If we can help get you to the hunt please call and I'll do my best.

484-696-7874
 
@303Native
Get with cc company and cancel that order. Nobody deserves to be sold empty broken promises.

As far as I'm thinking they broke their contract, dump them.

You could get a suitable upper for an existing ar 15 easily. You probably already have scopes in mounts that will swap in minutes and already be on paper .

6mm in a pile of variants, 6mm arc and factory ammo or 6.5 grendel in factory 123 expanding would possibly get you buy if 6mm is too light?

Sell a kidney.
 
Good morning all, just a general warning not to expect much from carbon six barrels. I tried them out this year and have experienced horrible customer service and they are completely unable to keep their promised posted time line.
I ordered a new barrel for my hunting rifle back in March, i was promised over the phone that it sould be "about" 5 months guaranteed no longer then 6 months (6 months is what's posted online) but they told me it would probably be sooner and guaranteed it to me by 6 and assured me they would have it to me in time for hunting season.
Well....... here we are at 6.5 months and the best answer i can get (after calling for a week straight and sending multiple emails) is its somewhere in production and probably another 4 to 6 weeks. No apologies or comment about them being late or costing me all 3 tags i pulled this year. They just seemed annoyed i was even asking after my order and told me they couldn't give me a date or tell me where in the process it was..... just that it's in production and still quite a ways out.

Now i understand falling behind. People are busy, things change..........i get it. But when you make personal promises on your word, then pretend like you never did and get upset when someone holds you to your word, ignore your emails and don't make any attempt to provide decent customer service (it takes weeks to get an email back if you even receive one, and can spend days calling with no return call) and you don't seem to care about your word as a business owner, i have trouble trusting your work as a craftsman or that you would stand behind any of your products.


Anyway just my experience and 2 cents. Hopefully it can save someone else the same headache.
I'm guessing the action is pre-fit capable or did you just order a blank and going to have a local smith chamber/mount it for you?

If pre-fit, Josh at PVA is a good choice as they do have a rush service for chambered barrels (yeah, cost a bit but they actually do deliver). I've a good friend who has used them for this and they really did do what they said.

 
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I also agree with just buying a Tikka and then selling it if you have to later.
yeah really, that's a no-brainer for sure. i wouldn't lose out on a single tag or similar opportunity because i didn't have a rifle ready.

it's been a couple of years but my c6 took a while but came in as promised and has shot well but only a few rounds down it. sorry yours isn't working out.
 
Seems like one off pricing. $$$$

Looks like stacking orders for bulk blanks and product runs?
It would be nice if they stocked popular and trending selections.

Not much info or pictures of wrapping process or machineing capabilities.
 
Good news! Mr neighbor just text and i for a rifle to save my season!
I appreciate all the offers to help, that's why i love this place! Seriously thank you all.
Yes, i didn't end up ordering a prefit for my LPA in a 7prc. So it is a bit of an odd caliber probably out of sink with the compatition and normal hunting calibers.
Like I said, I can see why things run behind, ive spent a lot of time in manufacturing and i understand how it could happen.
My biggest complaint is with the customer service and fact that they're seemingly plenty Willing to leave customers hanging with no communication.Just doesn't seem to vibe with the rest of the craftsman.And industry, i've talked to wanted to give everybody a heads up not to expect much in the way of good service from them. I myself will definitely be moving in a different direction.The next time I need a barrel and definitely be hitting up some of the more trustworthy quality manufacturers like proof or bartlene or bug holes for any of my competition needs in the future.
 
Carbon six uses McGowan blanks. As for sister company, not sure. It took about a year for my 7mm blank to be delivered. By the time it showed up I had already changed my mind on what I wanted to build and ended up selling it. When I needed a carbon barrel I just checked @Front Range Precision and they had what I needed in stock and shipped the next day.
 
Pfft, my last carbon barrel (not c6, but a top shelf brand) had a 10-12wk timeline listed. 9 months later, I got my barrel 3 weeks before my hunt. I’ll look for it in stock next time if I ever ‘want it before next hunting season’.
 
Isn’t Carbon 6 a sister company—or something like that—of McGowen?
Yes, they use McGowen blanks and they're the same owner AFAIK.

I ordered a barrel from Carbon Six in June…of last year…still no update :(
Was it a carbon wrapped DTA blank? I've over promised and under-delivered on that spec once before. Thankfully we have it sorted now and they're shit hot.
 
This is kinda on you. Wait times for all manufacturers have been crazy. As far as carbon six goes, I’ve got one on my nrl hunter rig chambered by Altus and it’s silly accurate. I was in a bit of a rush so I found a blank for sale on here and had Altus chamber it. Nothing is off the shelf anymore and not much is as quick as it used to be. Gotta plan better and have a backup plan. When building my nrl gun early this year I spoke with Altus about proof barrel wait times and they said who knows, sometimes they come in 4-6 weeks but some orders they’ve been waiting a year and still don’t have them so buy more guns 🤣. Also I didn’t hesitate in getting another carbon six barrel (it’s on order)
 
This is kinda on you. Wait times for all manufacturers have been crazy. As far as carbon six goes, I’ve got one on my nrl hunter rig chambered by Altus and it’s silly accurate. I was in a bit of a rush so I found a blank for sale on here and had Altus chamber it. Nothing is off the shelf anymore and not much is as quick as it used to be. Gotta plan better and have a backup plan. When building my nrl gun early this year I spoke with Altus about proof barrel wait times and they said who knows, sometimes they come in 4-6 weeks but some orders they’ve been waiting a year and still don’t have them so buy more guns 🤣. Also I didn’t hesitate in getting another carbon six barrel (it’s on order)
I can see both sides here. I believe OP when he describes the interaction with the vendor. We all know stuff is nuts but when a vendor says what what said to OP, I view that as their word. If a vendor cannot meet their commitment, the client should be advised as soon as possible. The client should not have to chase the vendor for answers after the elapse of quoted lead time.

I do business with PVA and Northland and have bought from TS and LRI. All have solid product for sale but the service and adherence to stated lead times at both PVA and NSS keeps me coming back. Josh at PVA even offers rush services for an upcharge.
 
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Honestly I never trust stated lead times, even if they're "promised" in a conversation with an employee. I got some good advice from a guy who used to be a professional/sponsored shooter: "Take any lead time someone tells you and triple it. You'll never be disappointed that way."

I hope no one takes that as a dig at gunsmiths or barrel mfgs. I know there are a lot of good people in the industry working long hours and trying their best to keep the backlog as short as possible. Just...shit happens for them just like it does for the rest of us. Tooling breaks, they get sick, their kids get sick, the dog eats a golf ball and has to go to the vet, or whatever.
 
Honestly I never trust stated lead times, even if they're "promised" in a conversation with an employee. I got some good advice from a guy who used to be a professional/sponsored shooter: "Take any lead time someone tells you and triple it. You'll never be disappointed that way."

I hope no one takes that as a dig at gunsmiths or barrel mfgs. I know there are a lot of good people in the industry working long hours and trying their best to keep the backlog as short as possible. Just...shit happens for them just like it does for the rest of us. Tooling breaks, they get sick, their kids get sick, the dog eats a golf ball and has to go to the vet, or whatever.
Yes, things happen but if a commitment is made via published policy (pva lists lead times on the site) or by verbal agreement then it is on the vendor to honor. Or at least to notify the client as rapidly as possible of any changes.

Clients at both my jobs make commitments to their clients based on input and commitments from the companies I work for. If we are going to slip, we owe it to our clients to tell them IN ADVANCE of the problem coming up and to mitigate the consequences to them and their downstream clients as much as we we.can. failure to operate this way will (and.has) cost us business. If you are the failure point and you cost a client money or embarrassment, you will likely be fired.
 
If custom work isn’t for you then it isn’t for you which is cool but getting on here and bashing reputable companies isn’t gonna make lots of friends. Welcome to the custom gun world. There’s lots of companies making prefits on the shelf and bass pro is well stocked with hunting rifles. I shoot custom builds almost exclusively but there’s still a savage 308 in the safe for oh shit situations. Sorry you’ve had to wait 5 months for custom barrel but that’s life. Getting all “let me speak to the manager” about it won’t help.
P.s. people wait because they’re worth it, mine shoots anywhere from 1/2” to 1” groups @300. So yeah I will continue doing business with them