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Joined: Dec 2013
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OP
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Hey guys. I'm looking for a little advice.
At the beginning of the year I sent a Stevens 200 action off to a gunsmith/builder that does a lot of work with savages to get blueprinted. I paid the money for the service at the same time.
In that time I have heard from the builder one time and that was over a month ago. I asked for an update and he said that my action was done and that I should receive it soon. Again that was over a month ago and have not yet received the action or have I received any other communication from the builder. I have tried emailing him, PMing him on forums that he is a member of, calling him and no matter what I try I can not get a response from the guy.
If he was local I would just go to his shop but I live in Oklahoma and his shop is in SD.
I have tried calling the local sheriff and they apologized but said all the could do is server him papers if I took him to court (which I'm considering).
Does anyone have any advice?
Brandon
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
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He's probably out hunting, post the city and maybe a fire member will go by his place and check for you.
Mike
God, Family, and Country.
NRA Endowment Member
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Joined: Dec 2013
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OP
New Member
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That would be Watertown SD. I would rather not post any of his personal information in the posting.
If someone is willing to help, PM me and I will send what I know.
Thanks
-Brandon
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
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Good call a friendly visit to check on him wouldn't be out of order, he may have health issues, be hunting, be typical gunsmith! (operate in a 3 foot world) Who knows.
Hope it turns out well, what are you going to build?
Welcome to the Fire!
Mike
God, Family, and Country.
NRA Endowment Member
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Joined: Dec 2013
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New Member
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I am hoping it is something like that. I guess time will tell.
I'm building a 243 AI for my wife. That's the plan anyway. :-)
-Brandon
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
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Cool
I did a .338-06 on a Stevens 200, good starting point for sure, wish I had a couple more around I plan on checking the local shops after deer season to see if I can snag a couple cheap.
Mike
God, Family, and Country.
NRA Endowment Member
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Joined: Dec 2013
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New Member
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I have been looking for another one to build a 22-250 for my daughter. I think the secret is out on them because the ones I find locally, which aren't many, have doubled in price over the last couple years. I paid 200 for my first one. All the ones I have found lately are anywhere from 350 up to 500. But it is right before deer season though. I will have to
see what I can find after the first of the year. I wouldn't mind having a couple laying around either. Might have to get a bigger gun safe, though. Oh darn :-)
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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Whatever a gunsmith says multiply by 4 then add 1 month....
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Joined: Nov 2007
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Nov 2007
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I'm trying to understand why you need to have a Savage action blueprinted. I've built quite a few rifles on Savage/Stevens actions. Never blueprinted one, and all of them were tack driving machines.
Kelly
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Joined: Dec 2013
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Not sure if he got word I was asking around or what, but when I get home from work last night I had received the action in the mail. And to the gentleman's credit, the machine work looks great. The guy is just slow and doesn't communicate very well. I'm new to this so that might be normal, I'm really not sure.
I guess the real test will be when I get a barrel put on it...
Kelly,
I wasn't going to have it blueprinted but I had found this guy doing a sale on the blueprinting and I looked him up and found that he had a reputation for doing good work so I had it done. I figured for the price it was "Cheap insurance".
One thing I will say is that before the blue printing the recoil lugs were only making about 30% contact. Now they are at 100%.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
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I had a real misadventure several years ago, there was a firm that had a good reputation for installing rifled barrels on shotguns, this was long before they were offered by the factory. They had been written up in many of the outdoor magazines so I figured they were a reputable firm to do business with. I packed up my shotgun along with the required funds and sent it to them, promised delivery at the time was six months. You guessed it, six months go by and no shotgun so I wait patiently another sixty days before contacting them to inquire about delivery. One year turned into two years, lots of promises, your shotgun is at the bluer, etc.. Then calls went unanswered for a long time, when I was able to get someone to answer it was the guys mother with more excuses. After two plus years I had enough and contacted the State Attorney General's office, they had multiple complaints similar to mine and were putting together a class action suit against the guy to try to recover customers money and guns. This dragged on for another eighteen months or so, then one day my gunsmith called to say that he had received a package from the firm. When I opened the package, inside was my original package that had never been opened. The shotgun had never been removed from the package much less had the promised barrel installed. I never got my money back but was happy enough to have my shotgun back. After that experience, I get multiple references when considering a gunsmith, I contact these people and question especially regarding delivery, communication and overall experience before making a selection. There are some gunsmiths with national reputations for their work who are just not good business men, just because they have big reputations for their work or are members of the gunsmith guild does not guarantee you will have a satisfactory experience. Due diligence in checking them out is always necessary, talk to as many former clients about their experience before making your selection.
Last edited by gunswizard; 11/17/15.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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Campfire Regular
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Not sure if he got word I was asking around or what, but when I get home from work last night I had received the action in the mail. And to the gentleman's credit, the machine work looks great. The guy is just slow and doesn't communicate very well. I'm new to this so that might be normal, I'm really not sure.
I guess the real test will be when I get a barrel put on it...
Kelly,
I wasn't going to have it blueprinted but I had found this guy doing a sale on the blueprinting and I looked him up and found that he had a reputation for doing good work so I had it done. I figured for the price it was "Cheap insurance".
One thing I will say is that before the blue printing the recoil lugs were only making about 30% contact. Now they are at 100%. The reason I questioned it is that Savage actions have a floating bolt head so there isn't a need to face the action. Lug contact is a different matter though. Does that lighten the bolt lift, or make it heavier?
Kelly
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 5,749
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
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This, in my experiance, is typical.
If you ever find one who will do what he says he will do (time frames)...hold on to him.
Your first mistake may have been to pay up front.
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Joined: Jul 2003
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jul 2003
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Whatever a gunsmith says multiply by 4 then add 1 month.... One of a very few business that get that kind of leaway. In the construction business, late work costs the contractor!
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Joined: Dec 2005
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2005
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Had a slow gunsmith once, when i finally called he was recovering from a five way heart bypass. I told him to finish it whenever he chose to. It showed up some time later with a sincere note of appreciation.
"We are building a dictatorship of relativism which recoqnizes nothing as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of ones own self ego and desires."Cardinal Rathzinger
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Oct 2002
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I had a real misadventure several years ago, there was a firm that had a good reputation for installing rifled barrels on shotguns, this was long before they were offered by the factory. They had been written up in many of the outdoor magazines so I figured they were a reputable firm to do business with. I packed up my shotgun along with the required funds and sent it to them, promised delivery at the time was six months. You guessed it, six months go by and no shotgun so I wait patiently another sixty days before contacting them to inquire about delivery. One year turned into two years, lots of promises, your shotgun is at the bluer, etc.. Then calls went unanswered for a long time, when I was able to get someone to answer it was the guys mother with more excuses. After two plus years I had enough and contacted the State Attorney General's office, they had multiple complaints similar to mine and were putting together a class action suit against the guy to try to recover customers money and guns. This dragged on for another eighteen months or so, then one day my gunsmith called to say that he had received a package from the firm. When I opened the package, inside was my original package that had never been opened. The shotgun had never been removed from the package much less had the promised barrel installed. I never got my money back but was happy enough to have my shotgun back. After that experience, I get multiple references when considering a gunsmith, I contact these people and question especially regarding delivery, communication and overall experience before making a selection. There are some gunsmiths with national reputations for their work who are just not good business men, just because they have big reputations for their work or are members of the gunsmith guild does not guarantee you will have a satisfactory experience. Due diligence in checking them out is always necessary, talk to as many former clients about their experience before making your selection. Paragraph breaks, check them out.
"Dear Lord, save me from Your followers"
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Joined: May 2011
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 56,280 |
Well, not much luck with 60% of the gunsmiths I've used, the other 40% were not only good, they were great. I am currently completely stumped as the two good ones I used are retired or unavailable.
Wanna talk about taxidermists?
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An 8 dollar driveway boy living in a T-111 shack
LOL
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,785
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,785 |
"I didn't realize we had so many snipers in this country." by J23
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Joined: May 2011
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 56,280 |
I had one of them Israeli Arms Pump 357 rifles that I took to a gunsmith to have d&t for a scout scope mount. He buggered up all the holes so bad he had to epoxy the mounts on. I figured it out right away but he did nothing to make it right. I sold it at a $400 loss.
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An 8 dollar driveway boy living in a T-111 shack
LOL
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 8,454
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Nov 2007
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That sounds like a Russco special.  I lucked out .. the other shops warned me before I had him do any work. The said one crappy gunsmith in town could keep all the other gunsmiths in business just fixing his mistakes. It was no exaggeration.
Anyone who thinks there's two sides to everything hasn't met a M�bius strip.
Here be dragons ...
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