Would you skip your guns warranty to fix a small issue yourself?

[DasFriek]

Ive always done that with my 1911's as i feel they are "Owners repair" type gun unless it was to be a major defect like a frame or slide issue.
That wouldnt raise to many eyebrows, But this next move i think has made some people think im a little odd.

I have a Kahr MK9 and it shot perfectly until round 150 then i would get 1 stovepipe per 100 rounds. Im now at round 600 and figured its not the type issue thats gonna work its way out.
So after much diagnostics and then inspection i found that the initial extractor tension was too high and it eventually worn the extractor thin and and jagged.

So me being me i took pics for proof then i filed the extractor back to its correct shape and thickness best i could and then took some material off to get its depth correct after the re-profiling.

Today i called Kahr and requested if they would just send me the new parts to replace then myself and i sent them pics of the worn part also.
They would only offer to prepay to ship them the gun so their gunsmith could see it and fix it. I told them the parts are $25 on their site and they could save time and my patience by letting me fix the issue.
But they sent the prepaid Fedex label and didn't want to ship the parts.
Really i cant ask for anything more than that as thats usually the best case scenario for most people.

I on the other hand went to the website and ordered the parts myself.
I also felt it would be wrong to send the gun in for repair after i already did a short term repair and they would never see the original issue anyhow.
BTW im very impressed with Kahr's warranty dept with very fast phone and email responses and they tried hard to make me happy, Im just hard headed and had to do it my way. So they lived upto my expectations of what a company should do in handling an issue, Even tho i didnt get to do it the way i wanted.

Thats my story and it may sound dumb to others, But i really hate people touching my guns. Even those more qualified than me as i want to know everything they did and stand behind them and see everything they do if that was possible.
Im no gunsmith, Just a hobbiest at heart and love working on guns. The gun teaches me as we go along, And the 1911 has taught me alot.

So do you have a tendency to fix you own gun and bypass the warranty or use the warranty no matter what?

 

[CraigC]

I only return guns to the manufacturer as an absolute last resort. If I can fix it, I will.

 

[jcwit]

I skip the manufactures warrenty by shooting reloads.

 

[tyeo098]

None of my surplus rifles HAVE warranties.
My newest rifle is a 70's Remington 700 XD

 

[x_wrench]

WAY to much hassle to ship a firearm for little things. just fix it yourself and be done with it.

 

[killchain]

Don't feel like paying $80+ to send the gun back to the manufacturer.

 

[FROGO207]

I fix anything that I can in any of my firearms. I think that the Manufacturer is covering his you know what, as a fudd job could be the results of improper repair . The only absolute way that they can guarantee "as manufactured" is to do it themselves. They are trying to make it as painless as possible by providing a method of return that will not cost the consumer and that is good policy IMHO.
You do realize that a large portion of consumers do not have a good understanding of firearms design let alone an engineering degree that goes along with correct design/diagnosis/repair of particular firearm so the manufacturer will say sorry, no go to DIY saving potential lawsuits.

+1 on shooting reloads will void a guarantee as I do that also.

 

[Mike J]

I have done some repairs myself. I research things & see if it something I can do first. I have a Kel Tec I had some difficulties with. Kel Tec is very generous with parts though.

 

[DasFriek]

The count is 53 -3 in people who will skip warranty work and do it themselves.
That seems pretty one sided when you read the forums and people talk about sending a gun in as much as 3 times to get it adjusted or fixed.
Do you think its just people that only use the forum when they have an issue and then send it in for repair and not come back? Or come back just to complain about how the company couldn't fix their issues?

I don't hold it against Kahr for not just shipping me the parts worth $25 retail priced on their site in parts to fix my issue when they are offering to pay shipping both ways for a repair.

I do it as i like diagnosing and fixing my own guns, And i don't like anyone else working on them doing something i don't know about that may need my attention in how it wears later.

 

[The Bushmaster]

It depends...If I have to send it back to the factory just to have a little tweek done. No, I'll do it myself. If the local gun shop where I purchased the weapon will do it. Then yes, I'll let them do the tweeking for me.

Major repair will definately go back to the gun shop or to the factory.

 

[Kenneth]

i want to know everything they did and stand behind them and see everything they do

Watching a gunsmith work is not for the feint of heart, you will probably wish you where watching your wife get a C section the first time you see a gunsmith stick your prized Smith in a two ton arbor press or start whacking it with a lead or Babbitt beater. Gunsmiths who let people watch should keep smelling salts around.
As for your question, it depends. If there is a factory warranty station nearby, take it in and let the factory trained qualified gunsmith take care of the problem. He may notice other issues and address them as well. He gets the headache, you get to have fun.
If it’s a pistol for self defense, take it in! If it’s a rifle and you hunt in areas where you might encounter dangerous animals, again, take it in! You can do everything you know how to do and it will be what you didn’t know that will wreck your day. A simple thing like the engagement angle of a magazine catch can cost a person his or her life.
If it’s not a self defense gun, go to town. If you get into trouble the worse that can happen is that your gunsmith will look over the top of his glasses at you while thinking of ways to separate you from your Midway USA catalog.

 

[unknwn]

I would have avoided the go-around with the company IF I had already tampered with the firearm myself.
Of course they want the gun in thier hands to determine the need for, and to provide thier warranty coverage.
By dismantleing beyond field strip stage for standard cleaning/inspection/maintenance (much less taking a file to it) you have voided warranty coverage available from 99-9/10ths. of the companies out there.
If you want to fall back on them for warranty, follow the rules outlined in that warranty.
Granted, you aren't asking for much monetary value, but that is not the point.
I hope that you don't suffer a catastrophic failure (broken / cracked /fatigued ___?, of some other major part or sub-assembly) because if you do, you have got to hope that someone in warranty repair isn't taking notes about this prior occasion.
You may just have likely voided any further warranty coverage.
If you are going to do something yourself, be prepared to eat the costs of parts, ect.. Or maybe, contact them prior to changing something to see if they will accomodate you.
And whatever else you do, don't leave tool marks!

 

[highorder]

Watching a gunsmith work is not for the feint of heart, you will probably wish you where watching your wife get a C section the first time you see a gunsmith stick your prized Smith in a two ton arbor press or start whacking it with a lead or Babbitt beater. Gunsmiths who let people watch should keep smelling salts around.

It's true. Sometimes what need to be done isn't pretty.

On topic, if I can fix it myself, I will.

 

[arcticap]

I'm not skilled enough to do repairs myself and going to a gunsmith is expensive. If the company is liable then they should fix it.

I've bought several new guns that I thought needed some work.

One brand new revolver once fired was consigned at a loss rather than to send it in to get checked out. The new owner would have been able to send it in to the reputable company for a repair if they felt that it was necessary.

Another new revolver got send back to the same company for repairs and it came back fixed but more reworked then I thought was necessary. But since it really wasn't to my satisfaction, I sold it. The new owner liked it but if he didn't, the reputable company would certainly have fixed it again.

Another gun needed a small part replaced. It was an unfired NIB gun bought 2nd hand. A call tag was issued by the same company as above and it was satisfactorily repaired end of story.

The trigger return spring broke on an expensive new break open shotgun after less than 1 year. You bet that I sent it back to the company on my dime to get fixed gratis!

A new imported .22 rifle had defective stock inletting. The wood wasn't warrantied and I didn't even take it out of the box to shoot it for a long time before discovering the issue. Because I didn't notice it from the beginning I now need to bed the action to fix it.
I won't do that myself either because I want it done right or I will just sell it as is to someone who is willing to fix it.
So l've let a company off the hook for repairs, I've used their warranty services and I've gotten stuck with needing to repair a defective stock.
Every situation is different but when my car needs to get fixed I go to a licensed mechanic.

 

[wishin]

If I can fix it myself as an ex-armorer, I'd rather not go through the trouble of sending it off.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

My biased personal observations seems to be that repairs made by individuals seem to cause more gun issues than if repairs are done by compotent gunsmiths. Also, the more a firearms has aftermarket parts added, the more unreliable they seem to be. Again, only my personal observations.

 

[Ben86]

If it's something I know I can fix I will, if not I visit my local smith, only at step three do I send it off. I hate doing that though because of the risk of loosing the gun and the time it takes to come back as well as the fact they may fail to fix it. My local gunshop gives me access to an in-house smith, so I very rarely ever send anything back (mainly only if I bought it from someone else).

 

[DasFriek]

By dismantleing beyond field strip stage for standard cleaning/inspection/maintenance (much less taking a file to it) you have voided warranty coverage available from 99-9/10ths. of the companies out there.
If you want to fall back on them for warranty, follow the rules outlined in that warranty.

IMO i have only voided the warranty on the extractor by reprofiling the old one until my new one arrives in a few days.
To say i voided the warranty on the gun would be a bit too far.

I will say Kahr was told that i did a temporary fix on the old extractor so i could still carry the gun, Its a bug so im no so strict on it as if it were my main gun.
But i am fixing it asap as a repaired part should never be in a ccw gun, Only new parts.

Even tho they knew the extractor didn't look like it did in the pictures i sent of how it looked when i first took it out of the gun, They still would have replaced it with no argument imo. Heck they even wanted to pay shipping both ways.
So i can only say good things about them even tho things didnt go the way i would have liked. But 98% of the population would have been more than happy to send it in unlike me.

My biased personal observations seems to be that repairs made by individuals seem to cause more gun issues than if repairs are done by competent gunsmiths. Also, the more a firearms has aftermarket parts added, the more unreliable they seem to be. Again, only my personal observations.

Im with you about 50% of agreement, Many noobs with guns make changes which seem simple but they affect so many things all at once that it can make a once reliable gun a paper weight.
When i first got back into guns a few years back i had a Glock 20C and i was adding extra power mag springs and +2 extensions. And the gun was about as reliable as a worn out Lorcin, I put it back to stock and swore no more mods to that gun would be done.

Fast forward too today i can almost build a 1911 from scratch if i had some machining tools. But i know its not simple and ive found that by changing one part you have affected 3 others by doing it.
When i make a mod it takes usually 3 individual test sessions whether that be hand and bench testing or actual firing as fine tuning is always needed no matter how easy it seems.

 

[Kenneth]

i have only voided the warranty on the extractor by reprofiling the old one until my new one arrives in a few days.

Im no gunsmith, Just a hobbiest at heart

Most replacement extractors require some some fitting. If you don't know all the principles and rules of extractor function and fit, then I suggest that you have a qualified gunsmith fit it for you. If you do it yourself at least function test it first with some action proving dummies then shoot about fifty rounds rounds out of it before you even think about depending on it for personal protection.

 

[therewolf]

I'm generally going to exercise my warranty privileges, while they are in effect.

The broken gun isn't the only thing I have to shoot.

 

[Guns and more]

I think you will find guns don't have warranties, they have the good faith of the manufacturer. "If it breaks, we'll fix it."
Otherwise, you would have a date when the warranty expires, and you would have the full benefit of the Magnussen Moss Act.

Some manufacturers are better than others at standing behind their product.

 

[PRM]

Depends on what it is. Downside, once the warranty is voided, you can't get it back. I bought a Cimarron Lightning a few years back that had a short firing pin when I got it. Would barely dent the primers. They offered to fix it, but considering the cost of shipping and turn around time, I had a local gunsmith fabricate one and in two days I was back in business for $25. That one worked out.

Later, I bought a Cimarron Bisley that would up having a complete rebuild before it was right. I spent more on the rebuild than I did on the gun originally.

I realize you can get a lemon with any brand. I've shot Uberti revolvers for years without problems. Cimarron is supposed to be the cream of the crop, and they are nice folks. I would just say be very careful before you do anything that voids a warranty.

 

[Lakeshore]

Warranty repair service is included in the price of a new gun so I'm going to utilize it unless it's something real simple that I can fix myself. I also factor in whether the company is agreeable to paying the shipping charges both ways. If I'll have to fork out $40 to UPS I might make a little extra effort to resolve the problem myself.

I've used S&W, KelTec, Ruger warranty service - all very good.

 

[DasFriek]

Most replacement extractors require some some fitting. If you don't know all the principles and rules of extractor function and fit, then I suggest that you have a qualified gunsmith fit it for you. If you do it yourself at least function test it first with some action proving dummies then shoot about fifty rounds rounds out of it before you even think about depending on it for personal protection.

While im just a hobbyist, We all are until we get a gunsmiths qualification.
Since i don't take for granted that i don't know everything, I will be triple checking and test firing and even fine tuning after that.
1. Test fit and adjust for correct tolerances.
2. Set tension and adjust, recheck fit since pressure will move things physically even slightly.
3. Hand cycle the gun for function, Adjust if necessary.
4. Test with a live fire session.
5. Disassemble and inspect for wear and tension and adjust if needed.

I just recently rebuilt a 1911 with just a bare frame/slide and barrel. It took me over 1 month to do all the fitting and testing. It ran perfect when i sent it off to be refinished, But i had to tear it down and inspect and check the guns specs when it came home and i took it out for a test fire before ever carrying it.
Guess what? The finish was just barely thick enough to not allow ammo to slide under the extractor, some lite sanding and buffing and it was perfecto.

Even tho i did that i know im just a noob so thats why i have so many steps in how i fit a new part. Heck i did 3 hours of bench diagnostics on the Kahr to even lead to the extractor before i ever disassembled the slide to see it better and see it was the issue.

What im saying is i try and work with methodology in diagnosing and repairing so the gun teaches me how it works and then i can see what it needs to be fixed. I don't blindly throw parts at anything. So far this has proven to work pretty well for me even tho its way more time consuming than need be. But i cant afford mistakes and wasted money or making an issue worse.

 

[230RN]

Going through this issue right now with two of 'em. Royal PITA to ship back and forth. Used to be you could just mail them.

There are so many things in the GCA of 68 that we have by now become "acculturated" to, and even hard-core 2A devotees accept as "that's the way things are, and it's a part of nature," and can't remember when the new regulations about mailing guns did not exist.

Or when serial numbers were not required on most firearms... serial numbers were used by firearms manufacturers for quality control purposes, like the S/Ns on your washing machine.

Or...

...snarl.

However, I voted for fixing by myself if practical.

Terry, 230RN