Anyone else have a firearm at the gunsmith?

[LedFowl]

My beat up but beloved CZ83 is currently at the gunsmith. It's not feeding properly. I'd tried a variety of ammo and different mags, but there was no improvement.

I say currently, but it's been there for 6 months. Last report, they had taken it to the range, and it still had problems.

I wonder what it's doing right now? I can't even remember what it looks like.

Oh, here's a photo.



Anyone else have a firearm getting some work done?

 

[Targets Guy]

I've got one that has to go in. Very hard to get the cylinder to open. And the trigger hangs up; not good.

 

[JayFramer]

My beat up but beloved CZ83 is currently at the gunsmith. It's not feeding properly. I'd tried a variety of ammo and different mags, but there was no improvement.

I say currently, but it's been there for 6 months. Last report, they had taken it to the range, and it still had problems.

I wonder what it's doing right now? I can't even remember what it looks like.

Oh, here's a photo.



Anyone else have a firearm getting some work done?

6 months? Please tell us whom you sent it to so we can avoid them.

These are simple guns. Probably needed nothing more than a new mainspring or something small like that. I always attempt to fix the gun first if it's something like that, worth a try and more often than not the problem is solved with the proper diagnosis before hand. Has saved me a ton of money and time vs going to a gunsmith.

 

[John Fugate]

You always have the chance the gunsmith misplaces it, goes out of business or loses your phone number. The best advise I can give you is just close your eyes and try not to think about it. Let another 6 months roll around, you might even forget where you sent it by then. If that happens its like it never happened. Then it becomes a win, win, for you and the gunsmith but not really a win for you per say.

J.F.

Not all gunsmiths are slow, you got the ones that are slow and the ones that are slower. You got the ones, that wont take on anymore work and the ones that shouldnt take on anymore work. You got very few full timers, and lots of part timers. You got the ones who will take on anything and never finish anything. You got the ones who say they can but really cant. You get the ones who try but fail. You get the ones who think Tung oil and cold blue are two of the seven wonders of the world. Last but not least,,,,,,,

You also get the ones " True professional craftsman of the trade " who do exactly what they are supposed to for a reasonable price in a timely fashion,,,and do a hell of a job. The problem with those guys are they are 1-2 years out and may retire within the next year of so, or they are atleast they are thinking about it.

 

[AzShooter]

Try as I might, I can't get it to work 100 % so it's back at Volquartsen.
I'm sure they will be able to fix it so, at least I'll know a professional is at it.

My apostrophe is not working.

 

[bigchuck83]

At the moment I have one that probably needs to have a trip to the gunsmith, has a lockup problem and I am not sure If i can fix it or not yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Wingmaster]

On May 5th of last year I took a rifle (model 70 Winchester) to my gunsmith for a rebarrel, replace stock, True and bed the action into the stock, and cerekote the whole thing.

I checked on it almost every week. I started out hearing how long it took to get a barrel. Then that he got the wrong barrel. Then he had to order a reamer. This went on and on.

Finally on January 13th, 8 months and 8 days after I took it to his shop, He called and said it was finished.

As it turned out, He did a great job and I am still working up loads, but it is looking like it's going to be the most accurate rifle I have ever shot.

I guess my thinking is that it seemed like it was taking forever, but after the wait was over and I shot it, I am starting to forget about the waiting time.

I hope this makes you feel better.

Wingmaster

 

[kimporter]

Had a Garand I needed glass bedded and my shooting buddy knew just the guy,stopped by his shop,talked price,was satisfied so I left weapon,he said he'd call when done.6 months later I was fishing close by so I just dropped by to see how it was going,it wasn't, rifle was right where he set it in rack behind about 10 to15 others that were there before me,needless to say it came home that day

 

[madmikeb]

I just had the cylinder for my 629 Competitor cut for moonclips at Tk Customs. About 10 days from the day I mailed it to the day it was back in my mailbox. First rate job too.

 

[LedFowl]

6 months? Please tell us whom you sent it to so we can avoid them.

I've used him a number of times before without issue. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.

 

[Dieseltech56]

Only one time I had to take my Taurus 941 in for a broken transfer bar. I would have done the work myself except the part was not available for purchase. It took longer than I wanted (over a month) but it came back repaired.

Everything else so far I've been able to handle myself. One of my 686s has a lighter rebound spring and my 29-3 has a new cylinder stop spring. I buy Savage bolt action rifles so I can switch the barrels myself. I put lighter springs in my one Rossi 92 also.

 

[Rick_A]

I sent a barrel and a barreled receiver out for some work recently.

This 22/45 got cut to 4.5" and threaded.
20180122_072424(1) by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

The barrel of my ban era AR finally got threaded and re-profiled from a heavy to a medium contour. It took 1/2 pound off the front of the gun.
20180209_103454 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

It turned out okay.
20180209_170420 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

Both were back well within two weeks.

I've only had one gun stop working and it was a simple fix. My 10/22 built up a glaze in the chamber after decades of use. It required a lot of lube, a bronze brush, and hand drill to clean it up. I ordered a replacement recoil spring, but it was the exact same length as the original. Crazy how that works.

A few mags have needed springs.

Semi auto pistols should have recoil springs replaced periodically if you shoot them a lot.

 

[MichiganScott]

Had a Garand I needed glass bedded and my shooting buddy knew just the guy,stopped by his shop,talked price,was satisfied so I left weapon,he said he'd call when done.6 months later I was fishing close by so I just dropped by to see how it was going,it wasn't, rifle was right where he set it in rack behind about 10 to15 others that were there before me,needless to say it came home that day

I pulled a M70 out of a shop after 6 months that had been dropped of for glass bedding a new stock and promised in 3-4 weeks. Turns out the 'smith was more involved with riding his Harley in the summer than he was at working.

 

[apollo99]

I had a hammer push off issue with my 686-3, took it to Frank Glenn in Phoenix, AZ. 15 minutes later I was walking out with fixed 686. Frank Glenn is a true professional , as well as a gentleman. If you find a gunsmith like him, it is like finding gold. They are out there , but they are becoming rarer and rarer.

 

[Tom S.]

A lot of feeding issues can be traced back to the magazine. Do you or the smith happen to have another magazine to try?

 

[LedFowl]

A lot of feeding issues can be traced back to the magazine. Do you or the smith happen to have another magazine to try?

Yes, I bought a new mag and had the same result. I also cleaned the first mag, but no improvement. I gave both mags to the gunsmith.

Rounds jam nose up. Not all, but at least one from each mag load. The spent casing ejects cleanly.

 

[GeoJelly]

+1 +1 +1 to what Tom said - it took a number of tries to get my CZ-82 working. Turns out, there are a bunch of Czech-made, but aftermarket, magazines floating around out there. They are stamped "mfg CZ" on the floorplate and are absolute junk - not even worth 1¢!! If you haven't already bought from him, the only place to get good and reasonable CZ mags is from Greg Cote. CZ sells mags but their markup is too high.

 

[NewToGuns17]

No offense meant to anybody but i think the only time I'd bring my gun to a gunsmith would be to have something machined. Otherwise I'd rather fix it myself. I have a guard time trusting tradesman so I tend to learn whatever it is and fix it myself. But as far as custom work, I'd rather not learn that on my gun lol.

 

[LLOYD17]

This 27-5 needed 5-6 months to correct the warped frame, barrel setback, fit the yoke and cylinder, polish and reblue. He only reblues every now and again since there aren't many of those jobs coming in so that drove some of the timeline.

It was well worth the wait and I knew he knows what's he's doing so it was fine.

I've got another project out at a different smith with no set timeline. I'm not worried and looking forward to getting it back eventually. I'm already planning on a second project to the same guy.

 

[mnrivrat]

It is all about the Gunsmith. His knowledge, experience, attitude, talent, and equipment are all important factors. Some aren't worth spit and others like gods. The trick is finding the right one for the needs you have. Most work should be completed within 30 days.

Personally I want my gun fixed within 3 months max. My opinion is that a good smith will not take in the work if he can't do it within that time frame, or if he tells you straight out it will be longer than that and you are good with that, then OK , so be it.

Look at the mess created by D. Chicoine when he became ill. Not his fault getting ill and passing away, but a good many of his customers paid a significant price. Too much backlog can end up a disaster.