My experince with gun company customer service.

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wideym

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Since starting work at a local gunshop, I have consitently contacting gun company customer service reps about sending guns in for warrenty repair or factory recalls.

So far I it's been enlighting. The major gun makers seen to only have a one year warrenty, while the cheaper gun makers have a lifetime warrenty.

So far I would rate the following gun companies:

Crimson Trace-Excellent (Sent replacement grip a return postage envelope for broken one)
Taurus-Bad (Called every week for three weeks for a shipping label to send three new pistols back for repair-Judge, 1911, and TCP)
H&R, NEF- Average to Good (Will only work on pre 87 guns and doesn't even carry parts for older guns)
S&W, Walther-Excellent (Repaired an out of warrenty P-22 for free and is sending shipping label for a recalled PPKS)
Kahr,AutoOrdance-Excellent (Covered an out of warrenty M1 carbine that appears to be out of headspace. I bought this gun for my niece)

There are still other broken guns I need to work on, but I'm slowly getting to them.
 
I have only dealt with S&W - they were friendly, prompt, helpful, courteous - kindof like Boy Scouts... I was basically told - "No problem, send it in and we'll take care of it for you..."
 
gun companies

ruger was nice to me when i sent in a broken old army i gave 200 buks for at a auction.they auctually sent me back a nice brand new 45 blackhawk werth 2+ time what i got in it
 
I've heard many times that S&W's customer service is first rate. Fast turnaround. Modest cost, sometimes no cost. I can't say, myself; I've been using Smiths for decades and never needed customer service... Hmm! Do you suppose that's their secret? :what:

If you don't screw up very often, you can afford to be real good to the customer when you do.
 
Here's my experience . . .

Winchester (ammo related) - good (Replaced ammo)
S&W - good service on a recall.
Bushmaster - good service, prompt fix under warranty (barrel indexing problem)
DSA - good service, prompt fix under warranty (again, a barrel indexing problem)
Kahr - good service, tried repeatedly to fix a bad gun, ultimately replaced it.
Colt - :cuss: Insert long string of expletives. :cuss:
 
I have had excellent experiences with Springfield Armory (Paid Shipping both ways, and extra magazine to boot) Sig Sauer (Replaced p238 magazine)

I have had issues with Kahr (front site loose on brand new CW40)
 
Anybody have any experience with Weatherby?


Mossberg- Made me feel like I was inconveniencing them by asking them to send me a owners manual for a used firearm I had purchased. Provided me with no information on a barrel I had purchased either. Was a generally rude person. I still never received that manual.
 
For what it's worth, I recently purchased a Stoeger Cougar full size in 9mm and had catastrophic failure right out of the box - less than 10 rnds. fired total, sent it back the next day. Called yesterday and was told that 4 smiths had tried it and worked on it and to no avail. A replacement will be in my hands early next week. That's less than a two week turnaround. I'll update when it does arrive.

wideym - Have you dealt with Rock Island Armory yet, I've read and heard in person their customer service is Awesome.
 
So far I've only dealt with gun companies reps about broken guns in the shop, although I have ordered parts from other companies and have had good results.

DSA- Excellent (Ordered FAL, UZI, and Galil mags that turned out better than described in ad, along with various FAL parts)

Bushmaster-Average (Ordered AR parts from current cataloge only to have them raise prices without notice, parts were new and promptly shipped though)

Mossberg-Above average (Ordered 500A parts, customer service got the order wrong, yet they promptly sent out the right parts telling me to keep the other parts instead of sending them back without charging me for them or additional postage.
 
Smith & Wesson: excellent (for the guns I've actually had to use CS for).

Sig-Sauer: excellent (although the gun - one of their 1911s - was a lemon). But they were 100% professional on the phone (especially Victoria Martin), paid the shipping, returned the gun in a timely fashion and voluntarily replaced it after the third repair.

Ruger: excellent; repaired a 35-year-old gun at no charge. I have no experience with CS on a new gun.

Kahr: good. I would give them a higher mark except that it took a month to return the gun, for which I paid my own shipping. But at least it was repaired properly the first time.

Taurus: very poor (although, to be fair, this was in 1995). Lemon gun, repairs unsuccessful. :rolleyes:
 
No personal experience in the matter, but I know Davidson's, a distributor, offers a lifetime warranty of all guns sold through their GunGenie / Gallery Of Guns program. They carry most of the major brands, so if a warranty is important to you, you could check them out.
 
Sent a Taurus M85 in for warranty repair and had no problems with CS. Repaired and returned to me in about two weeks.
 
I had a Taurus 445 (fixed sight) that wouldn't shoot to point of aim. Back in four weeks shooting spot on.

I bought a used Beretta 92 and the trigger spring broke during dry fire before I ever got to the range. I called 'em and got a free replacement spring in the mail 3 days later.

Blew the barrel off a NAA Black Widow, never did find all the pieces. NAA fixed it for free, turnaround was about 3 weeks. A friend of mine had an OLD NAA magnum that was worn out. NAA rebuilt it for the cost of shipping it to them, turnaround time 3 weeks.
 
I bought a Weatherby Mark V Deluxe back in the late 90s and the stocks had issues with the sealer/varnish. I sent it in when I lived in Georgia and in the meantime my house sold and I moved to Texas. No problems and the replacement stock was prettier in grain and figure than the original. It was not a fast process, but the recall affected many rifles. I was very satisfied with CS even though it took a while. They made sure I had the rifle back for deer season.
 
I know the OP was about guns, but ammo's related, right? Can't say I was too thrilled with the customer service from Federal (and it was right here in my hometown) I bought some shotgun shells that were all messed up - crumpled, crimped wrong, brass cut and bent. They basically said - "huh, thanks for letting us know..." (a coupon for at least a replacement box would have been nice, I thought.)
 
Kel-Tec. Bought a used .380 off an individual. No paperwork. Recoil spring peened out of the slide after about 100 rounds. Called the company, was told to send in the slide only. Less than 3 weeks later, a new slide, barrel, spring and recoil rod showed up at my door.

Taurus. Had a PT709 that had a mag that would drop without touching the mag release. They told me to send the mag to them. Two weeks later, brand new mag showed up.

Springfield Armory. Bought 2 XD 9mm mags used. They wouldn't cycle ammo. Called them up, sent the mags in, about 4 weeks later, two new mags.
 
Where should I start?
Ruger...I bought a brand new MKIII Hunter that had scratches all over the cocobolo grips. I called them, and they told me that there was no way that the gun was "Brand New" because according to the SN, it was made 2 years prior. They told me the grips were my problem.

Smith and Wesson...I was presented with a 629 CLDX by my wife as a father's day gift 11 years ago. This gun was in excellent shape, but the wood grips were broke and the front sight was damaged. S&W was very courteous and sent replacements for no cost. No problems since, and none are expected!!!

Springfield Armory...I purchased a SA Loaded Operator Champion 4"1911 in excellent condition. I messed up a grip panel by overtightening it after putting on a pearce rubber fingergrip addition. No matter, the lady was so understanding and sent out a new set in the mail.

Traditions...I bought a Vortek muzzleloader that had a large section of the protective coating scratched off the reciever. I returned the unfired gun to the deal, and they sent me a brand new one and upgraded it to the thumbhole model.

These are all very minor instances/issues. However, all the makers except Ruger that I have dealt with have been positive and helpful. Maybe thats why I only have 22's made by Ruger now and refuse to by anymore of their products...........

Springfield Armory...
 
Only dealt with two:

S&W: Great service. Fast.
CZ: Terrible. 28ga Shotgun. New. Took forever to fix. They sent back empty 20ga shells to prove they fixed the 28ga gun. Gee, thanks.
 
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