Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Burned by gunsmith hourly rate

Now just wait a dam minute.

He charged $125/hr and took three hours to bed your rifle, poorly.
You feel ripped off, justifiably so.

He now has multiple projects you are going to have him do?

I didn’t even know there was a gunsmith in No. VA. Who is this I should be avoiding?

I don't think $125 an hour is unreasonable for a professional gunsmith shop. Now 3 hours to bed a stock, that is unreasonable.

Phucqk yeah.

I was going to say something about Chad's process and thereby price. Sometimes, it just is what it is and there is a price to it. The finish lines on the bedding job by LRI is incredible. No, I haven't paid that for bedding, but I have seen them first hand in his shop...There is not a cleaner fit, that I have seen anyways.

Yep, I am scratching my head as well.

Whats the old saying?....if ya gotta Ask the price , you can't afford it...



Ive never asked the hr/rate. It was always just how much the requested completed work will cost in the end.

i think the main problem was that you did not get an idea of his price or his work before you dropped it off. i agree that it was too high using my area for comparison though. but you can't blame the man for making a decent living. gunsmith training ain't cheap. you have to be a machinist, a woodworker and a mechanic all rolled into one to do it right and have the patience of a saint. a good buddy of mine went the whole route and couldn't make a living. he did it for 10 years or so and got a another job and he does it on the side for himself and good friends.

No offence but wouldn't you get an estimate before he began. I understand small business and the costs.
I know if I billed 40.00 hour for my work I would go broke. A bedding job takes time, imo

So......how does it shoot?

So it is clear this is a new gunshop that also offers gunsmith services not a single smith shop.

I also had a recoil pad install, a barreled action that I wanted pulled apart and a M77 MKII Ruger that needed a Timney. After the issue we had with the bedding job, the smith wanted to keep me as a customer so we negotiated on the other three. We settled on $75 for the pad install, $75 for the trigger install and he would pull the barrel free. I was hesitant but knew that I could not get the jobs done for less by mailing them off to another guy. So we agreed. As he was taking them to the back he took the work order for the Ruger trigger and tore it up. He said, "This one is on me."

I went to pick up these projects and settle the bill yesterday. I met the other owner, He tried to size me up and we had a heated discussion about the rates and quality of smith work compared to the cost of local skilled labor. He ultimately told me that there would be no more freebees and suggested that I was demanding free work. They are working on a fixed price work list.. I don't think the smith told him that he had offered to do the other three projects for the price he did

He was quickly corrected, paid and I left the shop with four jobs complete for a total of $450.

So I paid $75 for a pad install, pulling a barrel and installing the trigger. Plus the $375 for the bedding. It was obvious the smith was trying to make it right and keep me as a patron. It was also obvious that the "other owner" that I met yesterday was the one pulling the strings.

I am happy with the quality of work for the other three projects.

I have not shot the 9.3 yet. I scoped it last night and will get it out soon...

Good update haverluk. Sounds like that gunsmith would be miles ahead to cut ties with the other guy ASAP. It also sounds like he needs to hone his bedding skills.

Gunsmith and gas price threads. The best there is.

You and Ren need to get that RV fired up and go on the road. You could do chimbleys and Ren could do gunwork, and the stories would merit a forum of their own, Start in Maine and end in San Diego. Sell the RV, TN for the off season, fly to Washington, buy a beater RV,patch it up and head for DeFlave in FL.

Damn reality TeeVee show in the making , right there.

Estimates up front, call if you hit some chit! so easy a caveman can do it!

When is the Trump administration going to roll back the onerous burden of ITAR on gunsmiths?

Pretty much killed ITD and I'm sure a host of others.

Sycamore

Sometimes, people (including me) have a hard time reading between the lines.

Any gun shop/Smith that charges $375 for a standard bedding job is really telling you;
“We don’t want your business”.

Advice: Pick up the rest of the work, pay the bill and never go back.
Re-course: none, pay the bill and walk away.
$125 an hour is reasonable for professional work, but assumes the skill and tools to do such a job in an hour, maybe 1 ½ tops.

It's hard to do firearms work and getting harder by the day thanks to our government. If you are dealing with a larger shop you will be paying a little more than a one man shop because he has less overhead. Gunsmith work is largely thankless. Lots of ways to get ranted on by the customer than praised. People drag up with all kinds of odd stuff like a 1908 single shot 12 ga. grandad bought for $12 way back when and has been abused over the years. He wants you to make it into a masterpiece for $25 or less. If you want to get rich don't go into gunsmithing. A good custom Mauser 98 done by an artist in the trade will set you back more than a covey of factory guns and he still won't make what a GM factory union worker makes and he must provide his own benefits.

Yeah they don't make money working on junkers. I charge $95 just to show up but a gunsmith has to do quite a bit for the same $95.