Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Where is my Mcmillan?!?! Post if you are waiting for one.

Should be interesting to see what I get then. I've seen tikka varmints dropped in A5s before.

Order

Products
1 x C] McMillan Tactical, BR, Competition & High-Power Stocks
- 7b. International Shipping:: No
- 8. Pillar Installation:: Factory-Installed Machined Pilla
- 7a. Deposit:: $25 deposit
- 6a. Cheekpieces:: Select Cheekpiece
- 6b. Recoil Pads & Butt Plates:: 1-inch Pachmayr Decelerator Pad
- 5c. Sling Studs:: Stainless Steel Studs
- 3a. Rifle Caliber:: .223
- 4b. Length of Pull:: 13 3/4
- 5a. Finish:: Molded-In Rhino Camo (New)
- 2c. Bottom Metal Inlet:: CDI Tikka Short Action
- 2d. Barrel Channel Inlet:: Tikka Varmint Contour
- 2b. Select Action Orientation:: Right-handed
- 2a. Action Inlet:: Tikka T3
- 1c. Construction/Fill Weight:: Fiberglass/Standard Fill
- 1b. Select Stock Orientation:: Right-handed
- 1a. Stock Pattern:: A-3 $132.00

Let me tell you how I run this plant. For the last 4 or 5 years we have taken orders for and produced about the same number of stocks in a year. I have the plant balanced to produce about 1/12 of that number every month. The right number of CNC mills and the right number of people and the stocks flow thru the plant in a fairly steady flow. However the orders are very cyclic, we get about 60% to 70% of the orders in a five month period from about Feb. thru June, then they slow way down during the fall and winter months. So, during the high period we are taking orders for about 200 stocks a month more than we can make and we get some long lead times building up. Then the incoming orders start to slow down about June or so and we start to get caught up. During the Aug. thru Jan. period the incoming orders are only about 2/3's of our capacity and by November or so we are down to about 6 to 8 weeks which is about what it takes for a stock to flow thru our one-of-a-kind custom hand-made-to-order
stock process.
Now, there is another way to run a business. I could buy two or three more $60,000 CNC mills, and every Feb. start trying to hire and train 12 or 15 more people, and try to keep caught up with the incoming orders. Then every Aug. or Sept I could let two or three of those expensive machines set idle gathering dust and lay about 12 or 15 people off for 6 months while we produce just the orders that are coming in. The type of people I hire you usually won't get back, they just go find another job. So you go thru this same hire and fire cycle every year and just absorb the material losses you get during the training cycle of new people.
Sorry, but I prefer it my way. I've got a good well-trained steady workforce. We pay them a bit above average for the area, they have good benfits and most of them have been with us for 10 to 20 years and they know that they have good job security so they are very loyal employees. I only hire about two or three people a year to maintain a workforce of about 70.
If you don't like the long leadtimes right now call and order a stock about November, you will probably get it in about 6 to 8 weeks. Your gunsmith will probably tell you the same thing about the barrel installation.
Dick at McMillans

This from not quite a year ago......

The issue with this is that there are a bunch of guys on here who ordered during the slow period around November.....and are 6 months out on stocks. Hoping that doesn't mean those who ordered during the peak have to wait even longer.

If you don't like the long leadtimes right now call and order a stock about November, you will probably get it in about 6 to 8 weeks.

Who knew you wouldn't be able to walk in any store and buy 22 ammo after Nov.....

No, I was asking if that's what you were suggesting. I edited my post for clarity.

Again, that was Dick's response from July of last year.

Are you suggesting that McMillan is/was immune from the mass hysteria???

I am fairly tolerant, and its good to know there are better times of year to order. But his unwillingness to keep up with demand, which they created with the price increase, at the sacrifice of customer satisfaction is very telling for a company so proud of their reputation. Not even a simple [bleep] sympathy letter/email regarding increased lead times! Bad business, not just for regular joes but smiths also who deal with tight schedules. Unless a helluva deal comes along this is my first and last.

I think he explained the management practices well and I agree with the way McMillan manages. If they put out 1/12th of the yearly order of stocks per month then things are good. No need to hire temp work for the rush times...it will lead to problems with quality...and a lot of other issues, especially $'s for McMillan.

If they aren't putting out 1/12th of the yearly orders per month then they should hire more and/or purchase new equipment.