How to rate my gunsmith.

[stitchnicklas]

most of my work is 3-4 weeks to delivery.

on basic fix's i can do 1 week or less depending on what guns i have in the stable for refurb.

had a pistol come in Wednesday and returned it today,customer was happy and satisfied.

had a gun come in before t-day and delivered after Christmas,customer was ecstatic .

difference between the two??? one was a slide-stop fix and the other was a complete rust repair with missing parts from a 50yr old ruger .


it always varies on the job

[ChuckDizzle]

Give me his contact
sounds very reasonable to me
N

Shotgun Johnny's in Manteca. They have really nice customer service (especially compared to the tacticool stores popping up in the area). They hooked me up really good with everything I needed when I took the reloading plunge. Also they do their own reloads so I can get cheap target ammo. They are also the only store on my facebook feed that doesn't bait and switch announcing they have 1 box of .22lr for sale just to get you in the door.

[ChuckDizzle]

cut and crown... unless the barrel needs to come off to fit in the lathe, should not take a full hour... and runs about $60-$80

If the barrel has to come off you might add 30-50 bucks.

I've heard the Mini has to come off for a cut on the lathe. I've heard of guys doing cheapo jobs without using a lathe so I'm glad he's taking his time if that is the case.

[RobG]

So I have a rifle in the shop having the barrel cut and recrowned. Decided to go with a local shop and do my part to support the local economy, feel warm and fuzzy, blah blah. It has been over a week and they said it might be done early next week. I feel like this shouldn't have taken so long, but it is my first time having any gun smith work done.

I plan on writing a review for their business upon completion, but I'm not sure if this thing is taking way too long or if I'm just impatient.

How fast of a turn around should I have expected?

Why is that? As you said, you have never utilized gunsmithing services. While it may be an hour long job, you can be certain your gun is not the only one in the shop. Any quality smith is busy. 2 weeks to a month seems to be the norm.

[1flhtk4me]

That is very fast for good work. Six weeks or six months is the norm for good smiths, sometimes years....

I think I had to wait about 3 months to get a new firing pin made for my old Springfield-Savage 187M.
The local smith had some guy in Oregon make it.

[18Dmedic]

A competent smith should be able to do the job in a few hours...after finishing all the other jobs on his bench.

But a month is acceptable. Also, a competent smith will test fire his work every time...and provide you with the feedback on its performance and the target from the range.

Checkout 1911whore on here. He does awesome work. And gives you feedback on your firearm after any work.

You should always get feedback here before giving your firearms to anyone. That way, you have some intel beforehand.

[ChuckDizzle]

Why is that? As you said, you have never utilized gunsmithing services. While it may be an hour long job, you can be certain your gun is not the only one in the shop. Any quality smith is busy. 2 weeks to a month seems to be the norm.

Well on any of the other custom work I've had done to things, whether it was my motorcycle, guitars, or work on my camera gear the deadline given for return to the customer has been held in pretty high regard. But, I can see there is quite a bit of artistry involved in customizing guns and even something that seems simple like a barrel cut can meet unforeseen problems. I'm guessing he just ran into some difficulties with a project ahead of mine in line.

[ChuckDizzle]

A competent smith should be able to do the job in a few hours...after finishing all the other jobs on his bench.

But a month is acceptable. Also, a competent smith will test fire his work every time...and provide you with the feedback on its performance and the target from the range.

Checkout 1911whore on here. He does awesome work. And gives you feedback on your firearm after any work.

You should always get feedback here before giving your firearms to anyone. That way, you have some intel beforehand.

Well, I had good experiences with this store in the past on customer service and purchases and a couple friends have also had minor work done by this individual and been happy about it. I doubt they would test fire it though, so I'll probably be picking it up and heading straight away to the range.

[CRTguns]

I've heard the Mini has to come off for a cut on the lathe. I've heard of guys doing cheapo jobs without using a lathe so I'm glad he's taking his time if that is the case.

OK... min 14 barrel comes off real easy if you have the wrench made up... so its an extra 15 minutes.

[ChuckDizzle]

OK... min 14 barrel comes off real easy if you have the wrench made up... so its an extra 15 minutes.

Stopped in today because I was in the neighborhood. Now they are saying middle of next week. Not happy.

[crob]

Just curious, but is the gunsmith onsite or are they taking it somewhere else? Been in the shop a few times and can't really see there being much room to work on firearms in there, but I may be wrong. The reason that I ask is because the actual gunsmith may not be onsite and the guy you are talking to may have no idea on how long it may actually take or how backlogged the smith is, particularly if he is working at another location. Doesn't make it right, but that may be the reason you are getting your timetable pushed back.

[ChuckDizzle]

Just curious, but is the gunsmith onsite or are they taking it somewhere else? Been in the shop a few times and can't really see there being much room to work on firearms in there, but I may be wrong. The reason that I ask is because the actual gunsmith may not be onsite and the guy you are talking to may have no idea on how long it may actually take or how backlogged the smith is, particularly if he is working at another location. Doesn't make it right, but that may be the reason you are getting your timetable pushed back.

I think it depends on the work, but when I called they said it was on his bench after going to check. I did talk to the guy who does the work because when I asked to speak to the gunsmith the young guy said with a smug attitude "I am the smith." As if I should have known by the way he walked that HE was the gunsmith in the store lol. I should have gone to Barnwood or Outdoor Sportstman.

[Jason_2111]

I think it boils down to 2 things... quality of work (did it come back all scuffed up, etc), and did they finish close to when they said it would be ready.

There's a local gunsmith near me that runs a shop that is a complete mess... drop off a rifle and maybe you'll get it back in a month to 6 months, and they have no idea how long anything will take. (No, I'm not mentioning names, everyone who uses him knows exactly what I'm talking about)
I've been taking all of my stuff down to Templar Sports, and it's exactly the opposite story. Everything I've taken there has been done either on time or sooner... they have a great workload management thing going on.

But keep in mind, the unexpected can happen. If his lathe throws a gear and he has to wait a week or two for parts, that'll push everything out... and it wouldn't make him a bad smith.

If they say a week, and take 2 months... by all means, slam them in a review. But if they say a month and it takes a month + 2 days... you're good to go.

[crob]

The old gunsmith from the Outdoor Sportsman opened his own shop on Fremont off Pershing in Stockton a while ago. Buddy had an issue there having work done on an AR barrel that the smith just wasn't comfortable with, but it wasn't a very common request apparently. I have had him add night sights to a few pistols and they were done the same day. He does keep weird hours, but might be worth a call. Shop is called Huston's.

Edit to add that the smith did not damage the Ar barrel, just took a while letting my buddy know he was uncomfortable doing the work with the tools he had. Buddy wanted a FSB mounted to a barrel but I guess the guy did not have what he needed to properly align it

[NorCalFocus]

The old gunsmith from the Outdoor Sportsman opened his own shop on Fremont off Pershing in Stockton a while ago. Buddy had an issue there having work done on an AR barrel that the smith just wasn't comfortable with, but it wasn't a very common request apparently. I have had him add night sights to a few pistols and they were done the same day. He does keep weird hours, but might be worth a call. Shop is called Huston's.

My family also uses him. He does really good work.