I hate having to make this post and I don't want to talk shit about a gunsmith, but I need to show the work Alan Brown is currently putting out. Many people have been happy with his Mk13 builds over the years, but this has changed in the past year or so. Multiple people have contacted me regarding the quality of his builds and there's definitely issues with them. So much so that everyone had to send their Alan builds to other gunsmiths in order to be fixed. I'm not sure what's happened to Alan, but I hope he can improve his quality and regain our trust/confidence.
This is not a shit post, I just want my fellow collectors to see the work that coming out of Alan's shop. Money doesn't grow on trees and you should always do your due diligence when selecting a gunsmith for your build. I don't want to start any fights, so I'm not going to say who is currently rebuilding this Alan Brown built Mk13 Mod 2. Until Alan is able to turn his build quality around, I won't be able to recommend him as a gunsmith. There are some great builders out there, I highly suggest looking to them if you need to complete a build.
Lets start with the receiver, which was never trued. It's common practice for gunsmiths to true the receiver, chase the threads and lap the bolt lugs, etc. However, none of that work was done on this receiver, even though it was supposed to have been done. The finish is also subpar and appears to have discoloring or runs in the finish.
Next up is the barrel, which was especially bad. My friend said the rifle shot very poorly and that's what really tipped him off to have the rifle checked out by another gunsmith. Alan only cut the front part of the barrel, he didn't remove ANY material from the chamber end. In fact, some of the numbers Lilja stamped on the face of that end are still visible! I've seen this on a few of his other builds, but I've never heard of another gunsmith doing this. A barrel should always be cut at both ends of the blank.
Since the barrel was only shortened from the muzzle end of the blank, this led to another problem. When the barrel is only cut from the muzzle end, you end up with a larger outer diameter at that end. This problem doesn't occur with a properly cut blank that had material removed from both ends. Because the outer diameter was larger towards the barrel's muzzle end, it caused the barrel to come into contact with the nightvision front rail.
This contact led to poor accuracy and scratched the hell out of the barrel. Alan knew about this mistake because he used a dremel tool to remove metal from the underside of the front rail..... and then colored the bare metal with a sharpie marker. After all this extra "work," the barrel was still contacting the front rail!
The crown/threads were poorly cut and the custom thread protector is an absolute joke. The protective cover has 2 very shallow threads cut into it, so it doesn't do too much protecting when it doesn't stay in place.
This is not a good way to run a business. I don't have any problems with the man living and enjoying his life, I just have a problem with the unprofessional attitude towards his customers. There's been a lot of lies, broken promises, no communication and shoddy craftsmanship. All he has to do is update his customers and put out quality work in a timely manner.
The market for custom built rifles has absolutely exploded over the past decade and a simple Google search puts people in contact with dozens of amazing gunsmiths. There is absolutely no reason why anyone has to wait 2+ years for a build, with no communication and terrible quality. I get texts and emails from people every single week asking me if I've heard from Alan and we've seen people ask the same question across a few forums.
Even if he's older and not in the best health, the business problems he has can easily be remedied, but apparently he's just choosing not to do anything about it. I've personally sent 50+ people over to him for Mk13 builds, I had the trust and confidence in him to take care of my friends and customers. I also waited 2 years for my rifles be built and I got sick of the runaround, so I asked for my parts back a few months ago. I can't in good conscience recommend him for builds.
I hope you guys find this information useful and I hope Alan is able to turn his shop around. Do not wait 2+ years for a build with this type of work!
