Have you required gunsmithing services?

[Bubbles]

#8 - my husband gets to deal with the major repairs; I just have to keep mine clean. He used to work for HK and has armorer's certifications from most of the major manufacturers.

 

[Deanimator]

Last year, I bought a 4" S&W Model 29-2 back from a friend after ten years. It had "spit" with magnums from the day I bought it used. I had my local smith try to fix it, but it needed to have the forcing cone re-cut and the barrel hood turned back. He didn't have the lathe he needed, so I sent it to S&W.

S&W re-cut the forcing cone, turned back the hood... and put a deep cut in the barrel. They didn't even bother to mention it before they returned it.

To make a long story short, the barrel had to be replaced and the gun refinished (after a long fight with S&W). I now have a Model 29 with the box and all the accessories that's worth about $400... <sigh>.

Several people told me I just should have bought another one. Strangely, I didn't think that eating $900+ for a replacement because of somebody else's incompetence was a good idea...

 

[Mr White]

I'm from your area hokkmike. I know a few local gunsmiths.
PM sent.

I don't use gunsmiths very often, Part of my enjoyment with my gun obsession is the tinkering side of it. My main interest is old milsurps, so there's not much to routine maintenance. They can all be torn down into individual gun molecules and erassembled pretty easily.

For rebarreling, reblueing, headspace checks, I'll go to a 'smith, otherwise, I just do the work myself and let my buddy shoot it first on the next range trip.

I still have all my fingers and both eyes, and my buddies Lefty and Patch haven't caught on yet, so I guess its working out.

 

[DMK]

I had a 1911 with a cracked slide. I sent it to a 1911 specialist who put a new slide, barrel, sights and basically rebuilt the whole gun.

I also had a CMP Service Grade Garand that was doubling and it also needed a new barrel. I sent it to Deans Gun restorations. Got it rebuilt with all new wood, trigger job and a .308/7.62x51 conversion.

I had extremely pleasant experiences with those two 'smiths(and they were carefully chosen), but I still do most of my work myself. I've built, rebuilt, rebarreled, recrowned, headspaced, refinished, and done other work on my guns. Those two were special cases(and special guns) where I felt a professional would do a much better job, I didn't have the tool s necessary and the cost was worth it for me.

 

[Tyris]

Thankfully never on a handgun for functionality reasons.

1. CETME that needed some work to get up and running for reliability reasons. Problems strangely developed after 600 rounds.
2. Mac11 that had problems with "the trip bouncing" (or some such) giving me unsatisfying 2 and 3 round bursts
3. lots of barrels threaded, one fitted and threaded
4. FAL getting free float handguards and barrel threaded now
5. One 22 cal silencer made user-serviceable and had another baffle added -- wow, what a difference that made!
6. Mac11 silencer was coated with line-x truck bed-liner, does that count ??

-T

 

[flashman70]

Just stuff like putting night sights on and a short trigger for a Sig P229.

 

[yesit'sloaded]

Stock repair on a .22. Everything else I do myself.

 

[PPGMD]

Lets see #1 replaced a bad trigger return spring, #2 Trigger job, and #4 Duracoating and Engraving my SBR AR.

 

[Hokkmike]

I hadn't answer my own post yet, so here it is. I had a spring set replaced in a Vaquero to make it a better "cowboy" trigger. I also had a double barrel Sears SXS that failed to ignite on one side. After repair, it failed again - so I got rid of it. All of my other guns have been RELIABLE.

 

[Roccobro]

Both "Improvements" and "cosmetics" at the same time.

Every once in a while have them inspect a suspect gun for safety.

Justin

 

[bumm]

I do small stuff myself, but I've used a gunsmith twice. Once, to have the little bracket that holds the front sight on my Colt Woodsman soldered... I just couldn't trust myself with a torch on a barrel like that. Another time to have the barrel relined on my old Stevens #10 target pistol.
Marty