Lancaster AK-47: Has anyone ordered direct from factory?

[rm86]

Hey everyone, I've been a long time lurker on THR and thought it would be about time to join everybody. I was curious if any of your have had any experience with ordering an AK direct from Lancaster Arms. (Also if you have one of their rifles I'd love to hear how you like it) I understand that these are busy times for everyone in the firearms industry, but I feel that they've been giving me the runaround for a few weeks now, and my experience is quite similar to those I have read on other forums on the web.

I ordered a rifle from them back in February and was told it would be 30-60 days for my order. Completely understandable and I would've still ordered it if they had told me it would have been even longer than that. I really can't justify spending over $600 on a WASR-10 and figured the Lancaster would be worth the higher price. I've called numerous times and each time I get a different excuse for why they can't check my order status. They told me to email them and I'd get a reply within 72 hours. Two emails and three weeks later, still no word. I don't mind waiting and I'm not trying to complain, but some decent customer service would be nice. Anyone have any similar experiences with these guys?

 

[jpwilly]

I picked one up over a year ago from them and it took them a few weeks to build. It's been the best AK I've owned. They aren't very well organized from what I gathered though. I hope they get your rifle done. Stay on top of it! The only reason I purchased directly was because I could drive there to pick it up.

 

[coop4u2c]

I ordered one direct and it took forever!!! About 6 months. Everytime I called there was a different reason, like no stocks or no recievers. I got very frustrated and threatend to cancel my order and spread news of their service. I soon got a call from the owner who promised to take my rifle out of another order and ship it that day. He even gave me his personal cell number! Sure enough, he called with a tracking number the next day. That being said, this is the best AK I have ever put my hands on. Quality in every part and this thing is a shooter right out of the box!!!

 

[Matrix187]

I bought mine about 1.5 years ago. It's a great AK. The gun has only had 3 failure to feeds out of 3000 rounds, which happened a long time ago when it was never cleaned after shooting 2k+ rounds.

 

[chrisf8657]

Stay the hell away from them. I have one of their AK's, it's a nice gun, but when I tried to order a milled variant, got the same crap coop4u above did. They also tried to cheat our local dealer by selling a rifle for $600 and then calling and saying they want $750 for it AFTER the sale.

It's been 8 months, complained to the BBB, and still nothing.

Arsenal makes a good AK too.

 

[mikey_gunz]

My dealings with Lancaster (still have yet to get my AK):

End of March I call to ask a few questions and they say it'll take about 20 days for delivery. I call the next day to place the order and they said it'll take 4-6 weeks. I called a week later about something else and they said they have a ton of AKs, they're just waiting on the russian red wood. They tell me if I wanted they could slap some plastic on their receiver and ship it out to me tomorrow. They also tell me the price is going up, so don't cancel your order (it did go up $100 a week later). Not too long after that I see they're selling the russian red wood on their website for those that have their own receivers, barrels, etc. At the 4 week mark I email them about delivery time and they say they don't know, get back in a couple of weeks. At the 6 week mark I email them and I get it's lookin like the end of May, email me on the 28th. Which is where I'm at right now. A buddy of mine, who hasn't placed an order emailed on the 18th them about delivery time if he did order one and they got back right away to say 10 - 12 days. At least that lines up with the end of May like they told me, but it could of been the salesman in em, as my buddy hadn't paid for one yet (like I have). So, I'm waiting to the end of May with my fingers crossed. I just hope I get it soon and not months from now. But I don't want to cancel the order cause I really want that rifle and I already paid a price $100 cheaper than what they're going for now.

 

[mikey_gunz]

I might have to pull the same stuff as Coop4u did come the end of May. Maybe that rifle they pulled was mine

 

[buck00]

Sorry to hear about the poor customer service.

I got one of the last Lancaster Polish underfolder kits last fall (before the election) and it is by far the most beautiful and well made AKs I've ever handled. In fact, it was so nice I designated it as a safe queen.

The finish they use (moly over park?) not sure, but its really nice. The polished bolts are sweeeeet and everything is crisp and well put together.


I know it is frustrating, but I'd wait things out- they make top quality AKs.

 

[rm86]

It seems from what I've read hear and on other forums, Lancaster likes to tell you one date before you order and then wait until a few months after that date to actually ship your gun. Perhaps all the shipping delays and customer complaints are the reason that they are no longer selling direct to customers as of May 15th. Mickey consider yourself lucky that they've at least replied to your email, I haven't even gotten that yet! Hopefully they do start shipping by the end of may like you've said. They look like nice rifles and everyone has good things to say about them. It will be a nice one to have in the collection.

 

[winchester '97]

what are they charging for the rifles, and do they make a 5.45 version?