Looks like some folks want you to feel foolish for caring. You can always let it go and feel less foolish. And then, if you don't rough it up yourself and really need two grand in a couple months and have to sell, you can feel foolish all over again for not getting it fixed.
SKS Guy said:
Say what you will but any one of you would beat me up and beat my pricing up if I were to put the gun on here for sale with this mark for the same value as a used gun with no issues.
That's about as well-said as I could do it, too!
Some of us understand your disappointment/frustration in Baer's response time and "advice" (shoot it some more before sending it in). That's the way Baer works. You paid less for your gun than the comparable Wilson or Brown because it's "understood" amongst most 'limited-production' 1911 buyers that Baer doesn't finish their guns' fitment, the buyer does. "Go shoot 500 factory rounds through it" is his "take two aspirin and call me in morning" response. He might recoat it for you gratis; he'll certainly look at it when you send it in on your dime. The difference is, your Baer gun has to be cycled and 'honed' by you (by shooting 500 rounds). That 'factory ammo cost' of ~$230 is the money you saved instead of paying for a Wilson or Brown. Some guys will say, "ya gotta field test it anyway... why pay Wilson or Brown". Sure, that's not the point, the way you see it now--and if you send it in, you're gonna have to field-test it again. But it's part of the reason Wilsons and Browns cost more; they're charging for the "final finish" that your 500 rounds of cycling will accomplish.
I've had some "true" custom guns pass through my hands; Yost, Brian, and Heirloom Precision ... none of them have more than 3,000 rounds through them except for two of the Brians. (One of the Brians has about 15,000 through it now.) None of them show ANY signs of wear externally except on the insides of the rails--but these guns are true customs, and more than twice the cost of a Baer, Wilson, or Brown. The expectation that 'everything fits perfectly' comes with the price--unfortunately, in your case, the $2, -3,000 price range doesn't really guarantee that anymore, especially in the Baer line. It's part of the territory.
As is inferred by many who've posted to your comments, it /is/ a tool; if you expect it to be unblemished (as I would at the $2G level) you'll have to pay extra to get it there. That's just the way it is; perfect $2,000-3,000 1911's went out with Swenson, Behlert, Hoag, and the like. Even then, they had 'bad days', just not as many as Baer, Wilson, and Brown--those brands' usual examples aren't really "custom" guns in spite of their supposed 'reputations'--you'd have to get into their flagship guns to get that quality (Brown's Classic Custom, Wilson's Super Grade and Baer's Presentation [though I've not seen the Presentation]).
By the way, one thing that hasn't been mentioned--the money jump from 'limited-production' to true 'custom' work--the much higher prices should bring orgasmic accuracy, aside from all the frills. That's what your money should be paying for, not looks; looks are "done" at ~$1700. From there on, it's all fitment. Two of the C. T. Brian guns I have held 5/8" at 50 yd from a Ransom Rest after field-testing (1500-2000 round count). They're real shooters; they better be, for the price. Accuracy in 1911's is like 1/10th's of a second at the 1/4 mile... the more you shave off, the higher the cost (almost geometrically), to the point of diminishing returns.
Conceptually, it seems that you might not have understood all this. I intend it not to come across as presumptuous.
