Gun goes to a Gunsmith... you find it was used and dirty

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I'm of the 'test-fire is expected and appropriate' group.

As an armorer I've had a number of manufacturers stress the importance of test firing service weapons after parts replacement.

It would seem perfectly reasonable (and desirable) for a licensed gunsmith to check the work done by test firing the gun.

I'd also imagine the ammunition used for test fire might be reloaded/remanufactured and not use the cleanest burning of powders. ;)
 
I have to side with the OP.

This gunsmith runs a business, and he should NEVER assume that ANY customer knows what is to be done to HIS gun.

It is the gunsmiths responsibility, just like any other business, to inform the owner of what the cost and service entails.

Whether right or wrong for "test firing", if a customer is not told what service they will or will not recieve, its bad business.

Quote:
Get a new gunsmith.

One that doesn't test fire after working on customers' guns?
Click to expand...

One that knows how to communicate.
 
One that knows how to communicate.
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I guess thats what it all comes down to for me. I had no idea he/they were going to do it. A while back i was looking at a used 1911 there on consignment and the guy was telling me how nice the trigger was and how well it fired. He stated "We shoot these guns all the time"....

I should have known better from that point on.... Id be pissed if my gun was on consignment and they were using the consignment guns as their own personal collection.

Overall the quality of the job was good, and the price was good/fair. Communication sucked from day one and them firing my gun on what "I" thought was only an asthetic modification struck me as odd.

As to why I didn't call them instead of coming online to complain about them is simple. I picked it up, came home... they closed, today's Thanksgiving... Don't think their in the shop today.

Someone said its not a Fabrige Egg.... well it is my favorite gun. It may not be a super high end gun but its the nicest gun I own and I just want it taken care of... i have 40+ guns and its the ONLY one im super careful with because Yes... I like it that much. Part of the reason it was at the smith was to make it my dream gun. Next will be custom grips, engraving and then a custom holster... call it my "BBQ gun" if you will. So don't be so quick to judge.

I would have understood if they had to shoot it and they TOLD me that in advance. In my mind when i posted this, They modded it and then someone from the shop went shooting and brought mine with just because.... had I known it was expected and or part of the process to make sure i was returned a functional gun. I would have understood.

Thanks for the Reply's...

JOe
 
It doesnt matter what kind of a car you drive, a Toyota, or a Ferrari. would you waant a mechanic to do a brake job and not test drive the car? The gunsmith did you a favor, its not a good feeling to need something that doesn't work. The work you had done was not only cosmetic.
 
posted by Dihappy
This gunsmith runs a business, and he should NEVER assume that ANY customer knows what is to be done to HIS gun.

It is the gunsmiths responsibility, just like any other business, to inform the owner of what the cost and service entails.

Whether right or wrong for "test firing", if a customer is not told what service they will or will not recieve, its bad business.
Click to expand...

unless a customer comes in and starts with, "i don't know anything about how this works, you you explain it to me so i'll be comfortable", i don't think it is the gunsmiths job to educate every customer who comes in.

asking to have a 1911 "bobtailed" is a fairly advanced request...unless the customer is just going for "bling" or "mod of the month".

it would never occur to me that a 1911 owner who requested that mod would not understand that it would have an impact on function.

it would be like a high performance car owner asking for a change to Brembo brake calipers and the tech taking him aside to explain how the hydraulics of the brake system cause the interaction of the calipers and pad with the cross-drilled rotors...most owners would be offended that the tech perceived them as less than knowledgeable, when a tech than asked permission to test the brakes after installation.

i used to hang out at a gun shop which has a gunsmith on staff...this was before the days of internet research...and their standing policy was that if a customer ever came in with their gun in pieces and admitted that they had taken it apart and weren't knowledgeable enough to get it back together, the gunsmith would perform whatever need to be done at no cost to the customer. it never happened...it was usually blamed on the gun or a "friend"

folks just don't want to tell other folks that they don't understand how their gun works. it's an example of the communication model: "one up, one down"
 
kingofthehill,
if the smith hadn't tested the gun and there was a problem would you be on here bashing him as an incompetent hack?
if there would have been a problem would you rather try to describe the problem to your smith then have him try to fix it then you take it to the range to make sure it functions properly because you don't want him to shoot your gun. then if it doesn't function you have to bring it back and repeat the process over & over again while being charged over & over again because you don't want the smith to test the gun after making modifications that are known to affect how the pistol functions.
 
Did you pay for the ammo? If not, we can assume they did..

In today's not so spectacular economy, you can be sure that the gunsmith probably didn't dump cases of ammo through it. Barring that, it's obvious a test fire was done for the purpose of test firing it.

So what? Is your pistol going to die in < 250 rounds? Have you already put millions through it?

It's just like car service.. You get some stuff done and the mechanic test drives it. Sometimes they'll test drive it before starting.
It's a necessary step in any mechanical repair situation.
 
could be worse, I took my 1911 to a gunsmith with a great reputation where I live, asked them to lighten and smooth the trigger. After four weeks I went in and asked if they were done. The guy brought it out and was dry firing it, he handed it to me and said he thought it was done. charged me something like 50.00 I think..... they hadn't even touched it.....
 
The smith did a good thing. Of course he is going to test fire it, like pointed out earlier do you assume a mechanic will test drive your car or do they have to tell you?
 
My Gunsmith asked ahead of time if I was OK with him test-firing my weapons after he works on them. I told him "please do". I offer to pay him for the ammo, he declines, saying he considers it's part of the job. He also asked me if I want him to clean it after firing, I told him "no thanks".

I think this is how it should work in the real world.

Les
 
The only thing the Smith did wrong was not cleaning the gun.

Test firing is mandatory with that kind of work.

You should have remarked about the dirty pistol when you picked it up, they might
have thrown something in like a box of ammo.
 
It is also in the 'smith's interest to know that the gun would fire when it was brought in. I have seen car/truck owners bring a vehicle in for a tune-up,etc., and then accuse the shop of tearing up the a/c and wind up getting the a/c fixed on the shop's dime(when it didn't work before). "The proof of the pudding is in the eating" or so they say.
 
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