Based on my experience, some of these problems come from the gunsmith subbing out certain jobs, and/or assigning tasks to poorly trained and supervised employees. I also strongly suspect that some of the "big name" gunsmiths have one set of standards for their high roller regular customers, like top competitive shooters, and a lower standard for Joe Sportsman who just wants one special rifle done by a top tier 'smith.
The psychology motivating this is pretty simple. Money. The 'smith makes a minor error, might throw accuracy off a bit, or a cosmetic flaw. He has hundreds of dollars in, say, a barrel, plus his labor. It would be human nature to be tempted to pass it off, hoping the customer wouldn't notice. One of the old time barrel makers was quoted as saying some people didn't deserve his barrels. Peasants?
Plus, these days communication as well as customer service seem to have vanished into history, and gunsmiths are no exception.
Paul
