Realistic Expectations when ordering a custom gun

[armorpl8chikn]

My smith is a close personal friend. He and I have shot together for going on seven years now. Being in the "inner circle" I get to hear some fantastic stories. He is a small builder but in mine and about 50 other folk's eyes, he is one of the best in the southeast. I am very careful in "who" I send his way. He has excellent customer service for a small shop and often spends more time than he probably should, trying to educate the clueless. YOU have to convince HIM he should build your rifle. Sorry, he is not much on having large cash waved in his face to do something he has doubts about. Maybe that is why I have never known him to build anything except an absolute hammer, whether it be an XP pistol or hunting rifle or tactical rifle. Not every smith is like Burger King where you "have it your way". A smith has a reputation to uphold. The best way to get a good reputation is to build great rifles for great shooters who aren't trying to reinvent the wheel."Well I want something unique." Unique doesn't always make for a great custom firearm.
I wish he could get on here and tell some of the stories I have heard. He prefers to stay in the shadows and I kinda like it that way. More likely my next build will get to my hands quicker than all the others that scratch and claw for a "definate date".
Bottom line. I want to be the kind of customer that a smith wants to build a rifle for, it works a lot better that way.

 

[chefcam864]

I"m sorry chop, customers like you are the reason shops stop answering their phone. I don't agree with you at all, their job is to build guns. For the skill involved in what they do and the time involved in building each gun i don't think they ask unreasonable prices. Think about the cost of a custom action, barrel, stock, trigger, mag, box, sling, whatever is included in a gun. I bet your paying about 100 dollars an hour for their time, if that (and thats on the high side i think). 100 dollars an hour is not unreasonable for the skill involved. if you don't like it then buy a factory gun like a 5r, FN, AI, TRG, Barret, etc. I fully agree that customer service is paramount, if when you receive your rifle, there is a issue and they send you a shipping label and fix their problem that is customer service. I do not think customer service is a weekly update on your rifle through email, if shops hire more staff, the price goes up on the rifle, that is more people and more time spent per gun, simple as that. I know ken really well, and Dustin at GAP. those two BUST THEIR ASS dealing with the daily service of people who really just need to let the time go by. Order and be happy, if you want a pat on the back that you ordered the right rifle or your money was well spent, post a thread on here like everyone else. There is what is considered normal, there is above and beyond and i know for a fact that most of the smiths on here will go above and beyond for anyone, i'm just trying to make some people think before they bother then needlessly. Especially when after bothering them monthly/weekly/daily they post on here about how they don't like the timelines.

Can someone please tell me of a single other industry (besides street level crack sales) where this kind of attitude will do anything but get you run out of business?? Seriously, customers can be a pain in the ass.But guess what? That's business, and it comes with the territory. The problem is that many, many guys think this work the smiths do is some kind of magic. Well I got some news for you all; it aint! It's competent maching and nothing more. No voodoo, no secret knowledge unobtainable by lay-folk. It's just good machining. I, for one, have ordered a few custom pistols, and have a rifle build in the works now. I cannot stand for a builder to quote me 16 weeks, take $2k worth of parts, $1k of my cash, only to feed me excuse after excuse until 10 months pass and I finally get my project. That is shit customer service, and it is pervasive in the industry because we put these guys on a pedestal. Seriously, if your mechanic did this you'd fire his ass. If anyone has a build in progress and has a question, the gunsmith had damn well better take his call (when he is able to), and see to it that your concerns are met. Of course, some people just call due to impatience, but that's just part of the game.

 

[VJJPunisher]

There are two smiths i use that are local to me, they both can take as long as they need and i will wait my turn. i consider myself friends with both of them and know how hard they work to make an amazing product, no need for a nobody like me taking up their time. Good things come to those who wait patiently, sometimes just sometimes extra dick coils included at no additional cost

 

[Finris]

I have wanted a Dave Tooley's rifle build. I have called and talk to the man, great guy and very knowledgeable!! I have not had him build me a rifle yet...1 reason is his wait time which isn't getting any shorter and the other is money. He very rarely talks e-mail and no longer has a phone in the shop that he answers. Why, he spends his time making very precision Bench rest and hunting guns. The man is a one man shop. Leave a message and he will get back to you. I'm sure that is the best way to get things done. Yes there are pistol people out here who will take your expensive parts and do some machining and a lot of your money. Most are not building world record shooters. I guess I will stop rambling.

 

[RobertB]

When I buy a custom rifle it is mostly for 1 reason.....to get a rifle built bby an excellent smith exactly the way I want it from bbl contour to trigger, to stock, to bolt handle, to flutes, to threaded bbl to what ever. So why would I want to change that. I do my homework, I know what I want, I know what will work, I'm not trying to experiment. So that part is covered. Rifle is set up to be exactly this. OK, next thing, how long is this gonna take? 1 year, now is my time to either agree or say no. If I agree, that's the deal, He has atleast that long before I feel I should question it. IF its a shop like GAP with some people that can help me and I'm not slowing things down. I might call about the deadline to check as I'm always traveling the country and I might can swing buy. I give them the time they say cause they're not pulling numbers out of their asses. They have an idea of the time and I happen to want the gun with the bbl. If they got everything but the bbl what can they do? That's just how it works.

If you don't wqant to wait then go AI or get one of the rifles ready to go from Surgeon or GAP. But then, you didn't have the gun built exactly how you wanted it and you have to accept things the way they are. Pick one. Cant have it all.

If they say and year and I'm 5 months past that time, you better answer my calls and have a decent story. A deal is a deal no matter the price you pay. You can tell yourself your paying for CS and a consultant but your paying for detailed work. What can you possibly do by calling?