What did I buy? Did I get taken?

[Girodin]

Keep in mind most of the people thinking you got ripped off probably could not afford a $1,200 shotgun if they wanted one. I typed out a post and then read a few and noticed that Hawk had basically posted the exact same thing (and probably put it better).

You paid a fair price for the high end gun you got. Whether a less expensive gun would have met your needs is a different issue.

 

[snooperman]

You did not get taken

You bought an excellent defense gun . There is nothing wrong with that at all. I paid $2350.00 for a winchester model 12 20 ga several years ago. It is beautiful and I enjoy hunting with it. I could have bought another cheap gun to hunt with, such as a Mossberg, which would do the job just as well. But, I had to have the Winchester. That said, how is that any different than someone who wants a first class HD shotgun that is made extremely well ?

 

[oneounceload]

I'll say it again -
you did fine - maybe not according to the bubbas who would duct-tape a maglight on the barrel and call it good....but to those of us who CAN appreciate it, there's no issue.

You bought a quality gun from a quality company with a reputation that substantiates it...

Shoot it and have fun

 

[52grain]

You bought a high end, tactical custom shotgun. You paid more or less the going rate for that quality of gun. Yes it would have been possible for you to put a similar package together yourself, but by the time you pay for all of the parts, pay for shipping, gas, and your time, it would not have been much (if any cheaper). From your later post, it sounds like you NEED a reliable shotgun, and that's what you bought. Could you have spent less money? Yes, but what's the fun in that?

We need pictures, some of us have to live vicariously.

 

[Mr Kablammo]

If you like it, then YOU bought good. Take it out and shoot it a bunch so you don't inflame the feeling of buyer's remorse. The more that you use it, the more you'll feel like you are getting something back out of it.

Girodin has a good point.

 

[unterseeboot]

Sorry for the delayed response. I had to drive 13 hours to get home today and I could not check for responses until now, but WOW, I sure feel better about my purchase based on the generally positive opinions about my new Wilson Combat 870 shotgun. I have more to say and ask, but it is late and I am tired from driving all day. Tomorrow I will try to post a few pictures of it. Thanks so much for the input. Negative or positive, it is all very helpful and for the most part has made me feel much less violated.

 

[blatantsubtlety]

"I decided I needed something better than my revolver."


i would too if my neighbor had a 7 foot bear beating down his door! hope you enjoy your new shotgun.

 

[b.thomas]

What I've read about Wilson is they build their shotgun on the Wingmaster version of the 870, NOT the express. Even then they break it down completely and rebuild/fine tune it, add/improve it with custom Wilson parts as needed and sell as a package deal.
A guy will buy a stock 1911 and pay $800 bucks for it, then add another two grand just to customize it and not think anything of it!
..................No difference with the Wilson 870.

 

[snooperman]

Let's see those pictures

Heck, you have even got me interested in the Wilson. They are super nice guns.

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

I gotta say, if I had the budget and needed a uber-reliable shotgun, Wilson'd be on the short list.

 

[lions]

If I had 7 foot bears breaking down doors in the same zip code as me I'd be awful glad to have a shotgun like yours!

You already spent the money on it, quit worrying about that and just enjoy the gun. You get to decide if the gun was worth it to you, my opinion and the MSRP don't mean squat if you like the gun.

 

[AcceptableUserName]

You got hosed. Anyone who buys those does. You get a quality gun...however you get it at a hugely inflated price. Most of their nifty names for what they do are simple techniques you could do at home with some household materials, and unlike some others, I do feel with the right-now how you could approximate the gun on your own for cheaper, with the exception of any barrel mods Wilson may do (and for that price it better have a custom lengthened forcing cone AND porting). I'm not saying Wilson is low quality by any means, I'm saying you're paying for the name. Also, the "Scattergun Tech" shotguns I've seen are actually based on plain jane 870 Magnums or even Express guns. Maybe they do some guns based on an 870p or Wingmaster but not the ones I have personally held and inspected. Everyone overpays at one point in their life. As said before, just enjoy what you got. But when it comes to Wilson products and their prices, I'm not a fan.

 

[ArmedBear]

Most of their nifty names for what they do are simple techniques you could do at home with some household materials

You could build a whole gun from some steel stock, in theory. So what?

I have fitted a recoil pad to an O/U, but not everyone has or has access to the equipment.

It costs about $75-100 to have it done, because the guy who does it has to pay for the equipment and his time, along with the risk of screwing up your recoil pad and having to pay for a new one.

Is $100 a ripoff if you could do it yourself?

You can clean your house yourself, too. But at the times in my life when I have the money, I don't feel "ripped off" when I pay a housekeeper to come in every two weeks and save me the time so I can do something else.

I'm a DIY person, much of the time, in part because I like it. It makes me feel less like a helpless cog in a big machine, and keeps me more self-sufficient in skill and attitude.

But if I had no spare time, and plenty of spare cash, it wouldn't be a "ripoff" if I paid someone else for every home repair, gunsmith task, car repair or chore, just because I could, in theory, do it myself.

 

[Hawk]

Most of their nifty names for what they do are simple techniques you could do at home with some household materials, and unlike some others, I do feel with the right-now how you could approximate the gun on your own for cheaper, with the exception of any barrel mods Wilson may do (and for that price it better have a custom lengthened forcing cone AND porting).

I suppose the same could be said about Wilson's 1911s though a lot would depend on whether one wanted a firearm or a hobby.

There's certainly nothing wrong with parts swapping and amateur gunsmithing as a hobby but a lot of people would prefer to buy something with a good reputation that's already put together. I suspect this plays a role in why Wilson, Baer and Brown remain in business.

It may be a bitter pill for some and irrelevant to others but something from Wilson will invariably sell better and maintain its value better than a Donny Dremel Shadetree Special Ops rendition.

One's assessment of the worth of one's own time and skills is a personal matter and just because you'd prefer a DIY project is a poor reason to assert someone else got "hosed".

"hugely inflated price" is also a personal assessment and, if I'm not telling tales out of school as it were, is coming from someone that started off not even willing to consider an HK for a suppressed firearm even though it would appeal to many as a path of little resistance. There's nothing wrong with the Glock for such an application and many may prefer it for good reasons but your assessment of the worth of your own personal time and / or willingness to pound square (or at least slightly out-of-round) pegs into round holes is not something that can be readily projected onto others randomly.

Wilson shotguns, Baer handguns and Wild West guide guns among a host of other products will always enjoy appeal among those that appreciate quality and don't harbor intentions of serving as one's own gunsmith.

I once liked to tinker with firearms but model trains are easier. On a totally OT note, I would personally pay anyone extra to NOT port a shotgun barrel.
I have a Cynergy sporting with ported barrels and it grinds on me just a little.

 

[oneounceload]

On a totally OT note, I would personally pay anyone extra to NOT port a shotgun barrel.

Amen to THAT

But when it comes to Wilson products and their prices, I'm not a fan.

So that means they are junk - because YOU have a problem with them? - Are you one of those who feels you shouldn't have to pay more than $100 for an exhibition grade firearm and ammunition should be priced like it was 4 years ago? - If so, maybe you need another hobby....

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

Totally ot, I once drooled for a moment over a matched set of Colt Delta Elites (1911 in 10mm) one blue, one stainless. The drool dried up pretty quick when I noticed the Magna-Ported slides.

Whoever paid the $800 and $950 for those got taken.

 

[post_apocalyptic]

~$1200 for an upgraded Rem pump-gun. For that much, they ought to at least chrome the barrel.

Then again, I've paid ~$1k, (Arsenal SGL-20), for what could be a ~$450 rifle, ("sporter" Saiga 7.62x39), because I appreciate the many additional military features offered on the Arsenal model over a standard RAAC Saiga.

So.. I get paying a bit more for a superior version of a given weapon.

Go shoot it and I bet you'll feel less buyer's remorse.

 

[Hawk]

Then again, I've paid ~$1k, (Arsenal SGL-20), for what could be a ~$450 rifle, ("sporter" Saiga 7.62x39), because I appreciate the many additional military features offered on the Arsenal model over a standard RAAC Saiga.

Good example.

Speaking of Saiga, I believe there are several on this forum that own Tromix' product. Nothing like a 1,400.00 Saiga to go with that 1,200.00 Remington.
http://www.tromix.com/Welcome.htm

Inappropriate for the shotgun section but here's a 1,300.00 Marlin 1895:
http://www.wildwestguns.com/alaskanguide.html

Lots of folks getting hosed, suckered, taken and bamboozled out there - last I checked Wild West was running an eight month backlog on their little piece of highway robbery.


'Course Tromix has that beat:

Due to our extreme back order situation we are no longer accepting any new orders for complete guns, customer built guns, or sales of gun parts until further notice. Our waiting list is also completely full. If you already have an order booked with us, or are on our waiting list, we will contact you when your slot nears the top of the build schedule. There is no need to remind us that you are still waiting.

 

[Ben Shepherd]

Speaking of Saiga, I believe there are several on this forum that own Tromix' product.

Guilty. And even though they were spendy for me, it was money well spent. Example: One of them in 223 Tony did for me is now over 7,000 rounds with no malfunctions. And it's very accurate to boot. Money well spent.

 

[chas08]

a lot of people would prefer to buy something with a good reputation that's already put together. I suspect this plays a role in why Wilson, Baer and Brown remain in business.

You're right, the tacticool crowd keeps Wilson, Baer and Brown in business. If there were no demand they would disapear. The 870 is as good a platform to do a build on as any around I suppose. I've heard it described on this forum and others as;"The finest assemblege of cheap parts to ever manifest themselves in the form of a shotgun" So what do you really have? an already great $600 shotgun with $600 of Trinkets, DooDads, and Autographs added to it. I've experienced buyers remorse. With a $1200 benelli sbe1 that I sold a perfectly good 1100 to help finance. I tried to love it, even through two in the field failures, that left me "boomless" with Geese in the air. The good news was that it had retained it's value so well that I didn't take too big a hit when I sold it. As I'm sure the OP's Wilson will, to some other tacticool lover, if he becomes disenchanted. And if he keeps it forever, then he got his moneys worth, and this is all moot. A good friend of mine's son said he carried a Mossberg Pump in Iraq. Thats a pretty basic weapon for a helluva job.

 

[NYShooter]

You spent $1,200 and got a great gun. Wilson, Vang Comp, Nighthawk and AI&P all build superior shotguns at around the same price point. Yes, if you had the time and gun smithing skills to DIY, you might be able to do a comparable job for less, but not that much less if you price-out all the add-ons. Enjoy you new gun!

 

[unterseeboot]

OK, getting back to the Wilson, here is a picture of the shotgun in question.

 

[unterseeboot]

Aside to "Hub" ....... Thank you for the list of Wilson accessory costs that apply to my shotgun that you itimized in Post #26. That was extremely interesting and definitely made me feel better. Thanks for taking the time to research and post that information.

 

[Rshooter]

Funny people will pay thousands for over-unders and think nothing of it. Enjoy it and use it.

 

[tkopp]

Note that the list is off on one item. No over-sized safety on that shotgun. You can't use one with a Knoxx stock.

Still, pretty sweet shotgun. With all the accessories I've dropped into my own 870 I'm approaching your pricetag, without the hand fitting! Those little nifty doodads add up faster than you'd think...