Gunsmith repair policy

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earplug

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I have a older Hamden built, High Standard Target pistol that has been acting up, not feeding, light strikes, just not running right.
Took it to a reputable gunsmith who charged me $250.00 for new springs, firing pin, sear and tuning my four magazines. I supplied 100 rounds of CCI standard blue box ammo to test function. This being my normal target load.
After two range sessions with problems and one 60 round match with problems I took the pistol back to the Gunsmith for repair, with another 100 box of CCI blue box. This was within ten days of picking it up after the first time.
Gunsmith called me today and said pistol's problem was the CCI ammo and he was going to charge me close to around $85.00 for this news, this was to pay for his shop time.
I had shot about four hundred rounds of a case of this CCI ammo and it suddenly stopped working in my pistol, along with the broken firing pin.
Am I out of line in thinking that I'm getting hosed by this shop.
This is a shop that caters to Olympic shooters and has very good clients and high prices.
Anyone have a problem with a shop such as this and what recourse does one have.
 
Does the shop warranty their work? Some states require that repairs be warrantied. Failing that, the gunsmith may choose to reconsider alienating a good customer. Asking why $85.00 is a fair sum considering the previous repair may get you started in the right direction. I hope it works out for you.
 
No warranty is written on the repair order.
Their online sales mentions a satifaction garrantee. This might not apply to the repair side of the business.
 
If he claims the problems are due to CCI ammo, then I'd logically presume he's found ammo that works well with the gun. When you pick it up, ask him to shoot both CCI and whatever ammo he recommends at his range or trap setup to prove his claims and compare the results. I bet that outcome won't reflect what he's telling you at this point :uhoh:
 
I'm guessing that he can't fit a spring to run the ammo?

In the rifle end, we've got the bloopers... Not sure how you guys adjust the pistols.

How is it malfing, anyway? fail to feed, fail to eject? Or does the accuracy just suck? Because in my rifle world, if you change -anything- you may as well start cranking on the blooper or start hunting for new lots of ammo...
 
Sounds like you got ripped off by a " Gunsmith ". Not much recourse but to not darken their door again...

New recoil and hammer spring and a thorough cleaning is all you should have needed, HS spring kit from Brownells is like $25-30. Magazine tune is a simple task you could do yourself, go to rimfirecentral.com there is some how to tune HS magazine threads there...

Ask around at matches, most will have a few old timers who know how to work on HS's or could give you advice.

$335 is half way to a replacement High Standard...FGS...
 
Ask what his hourly rate is. That may tell you how much time he's put into it.

As others have said, I'd also ask him a few questions like how he determined it was the ammo, and why the ammo worked well in the gun in the past. Unfortunately, I think if he's put in the time you'll have to pay him.

What you may want to do is bring it to another smith and see what he says, and then return to the first smith and see what his response is. Maybe tell the first smith that that is what you plan to do and see what he says.

Smiths, especially busy ones, jump to conclusions sometimes rather than spend the time to find the right answer. I'm not sure there's much you can do about it.
 
That sounds like a brutal reaming to me. 250.00 to replace some springs, firing pins, and sear? and it didn't fix anything? what did he do, have his six year old nephew put them in for him?

It just sounds like he shouldn't be charging you another 85.00 considering you just dropped 250.00 on his faulty repairs.

But maybe it wasn't anything he did wrong, maybe maybe maybe. I couldn't see asking someone for 85.00 to tell them to use different ammo.
 
Seems a bit high to me. Sounds like he has his nose in the air about CCI ammo. I wouldn't be shocked if he tells you your HS will only run Eley Tenex.

I'm guessing he didn't want to do it in the frist place, didn't spend time investigating it, and charged you way out of line to keep you from coming back. Sadly, I know gunsmiths wo do so, instead of just saying up front they can't or won't work on it. (every gunsmith has a model or two he /she will notwork on._) I'd find someone else, and keep mentioning the bad service to all your shooting friends.
 
22 caliber firearms are notorious for being picky about what ammo they will reliably chomp on. They also tend to be a little picky about how you hold the firearm. A limp wristed hold can make a HS not function as well as it should.

Before whining too much, try a firmer grip. Try to hold the thing at arms length with both the wrist and the elbow locked in place and see how well it shoots.
 
Guys, the "olympic quality" stuff can also be noticeably more finicky than others... This probably isn't just a case of limp wristing, or of drop-in parts not working - no such thing as a drop-in part for these.

Is it malfing, or did the accuracy go south? Since you had stuff change, you may have to start looking for a new lot of ammo.
 
Sounds like a bit of hose to me.
I don't beleive he test fired anywhere near 100 rds either. If so, why are you having trouble so soon after firing the same ammo a few days after repair. If what he is telling you is true (about the ammo being a problem) why did he not have any problems after a 100 or so rds of test firing, but you seem to almost immeadiatly have the "problem"? Sounds to me like he just wants to collect the money and be done with you. :fire:
So shoot a good quanity of different ammo, or several brands. If the problem goes away, great. If it does not, I'd call him on it, ask for a sizable refund and maybe an apology to boot. If he's unwilling, let the world know about it, let your range/club know about it, file a complaint with the BBB. Or maybe ask him if he has any experience in a small claims court. :what:
 
In my view, $250 and another $85 on top of it for the work described seems like a vile scorching. This is a good example of why it pays to be on good terms with your local gunsmith. The one I use from time to time, just a few blocks down the road, is also a big reloader who pays for spent cartridges by weight. I drop off my empty brass from time to time and never take a dime in return. When the time comes when I need an adjustment made or a new spring inserted in a place I'd rather not go, I take it over and always get a low-ball rate in exchange.
 
I disagree... With the level of quality that is expected with a piece like that, the charge is likely just fine. However, we need to know more - were there changes made which would alter how it would group with that lot of ammo? Or is the thing malfing?
 
Well My 1911 mechanic is a world known shooter and builder and his shop rate is $60/hr. I am not familliar with the pistol in this thread but based on a $60 an hour rate I would think the prices are fair. My mechanic knows me and has tossed some freebies here and there. I would think to tell you its an ammo problem after the initial repair an hour charge would be fair. I would also like to think your gun needed the itmes that were replaced any way.
 
I visited the shop today and talked to the Gunsmith, it wasn't pleasant after he started calling me names. He all but threw the pistol towards me. No charge, get out of the shop etc.

In the original bill I was charged $75 of the $250 bill for testing, using my supplied 100 rounds of CCI Blue box. I gave them my four magazines with the instructions to make it run.
The second time, I asked them what part of the new bills price of $80 plus dollars was not covered in the previous bill under testing. I had given them another package of CCI Blue box the second time. All supplied ammunition was from the same case of 3K.
He blamed the malfunctions on the ammo and one bad magaizine spring and accused me of dry firing the gun. Not true. Of course if the gun won't feed a round in the chamber, I did drop the hammer on a empty unknowingly.
I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS EMPTY! I know thats hell on a RF.
Today I'm not a happy camper, even if I didn't have to pay twice. The gun still won't run.
 
Have you tried different ammo? Have you considered that after the work from the first visit, then the ammo preference of the gun may have changed. If this is a high end gun the perhaps the ammo it takes to make it run has changed.

I personally don't think it will matter, but am curious as to whether the smith's recommendation of different ammo would work or if you have tried it.
 
Calling you names? I can't imagine my local shop doing that to anyone short of a crazed moonbat that can't find the door on their own.

Sorry to hear about this, I suppose that depending on the time spent the price might have been fair, had he managed to get it to work with the 200 rounds of CCI and 300 worth of effort he put into it, or at least been a little more helpful/less combative.
 
Question is the cci the standard or high velocity, my friend has a high standard like the one you describe and it just does not shoot the high velocity well. Also he had the same issues he replaced teh extractor spring and the hammer spring and I think the return spring is what he told me. Gun shoots fine now, we use aquila golden eagle match which is the black box of standard velocity.
 
I had a P22 that did somthing similar, ran fine for about 10,000 rounds on federal ammo, then suddenly refused to cycle it. I tried a box of remington and the cycling problems dissapeared. I couldn't explain why then any more than I can now.
 
I feel $250.00 is awful high for the work performed.
Tacking more onto the bill is insult to injury.

I worked a High Standard Duramatic in the not too distant past that involved replacing the extractor assembly and tuning two magazines for proper function.
Ammunition type did not matter, the gun should function with all standard and high velocity offerings as long as they are of good quality and CCI is high quality ammunition.
Cost of repair $60.00

If the firing pin and spring was replaced was the gun excessively dry fired beating the chamber up in the process?
If a firing pin spring replacement doesn't cure light strikes, it generally indicates a shortened/flattened firing pin or a misdimension in the chamber.
 
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