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I understand we cannot speak ill of vendors or gunsmiths. But, what is reasonable? I sent 3 shotguns to a Top Named 97 Specialist based on previous recommendations on the forum. When I first talked with him, he said as soon as we receive them we will disassembled them send you a detailed breakdown with a cost estimate. Six months later, he said he had been real busy and would get to them very soon. At 13 months I got the quote on the first one. At 14 months I received one back and was told the other two would follow soon and things had been delayed and that this was not normal. At 16 months I asked about the status and received a 1 line response saying “working on it”. At 21 months I sent another email and received no response. Now we are approaching the 2 year mark. I liked the work performed on the first one, but thought it had taken longer than normal. Is this normal? Am I just being impatient? I don’t think so. I think a Man should be as good as his word. I think a vendor should stand behind his reputation. I think that a Man should tell the truth. If it’s going to be 2 years then tell me and let me decide if I want to wait or go somewhere else. I understand gunsmiths are busy. The other 75 or more gunsmiths I’ve dealt with over the years I’ve only had to wait a month or two. Most are honest, hard working and will go out of their way to make sure the customer is satisfied. I do not feel that the way this gunsmith is doing is the Cowboy Way, and I do not think it is the SASS way. I have not mentioned any names and not used any bad language, I have expressed my opinion. I also think like others on the Forum have stated that we need somewhere that we can post vendor feedback and ratings so that others will not be mislead. Thanks for reading BC

You've been waiting for hats since you were 12?

Just the simple fact of storing customer’s guns that long is no way to run a business and neither is such poor communication. The time that he quoted you, plus a small grace period, is the appropriate length of time for him to take. Anything beyond that should come with good communication to explain why and a clearly revised timeline. In my personal business experience (I’m not a gunsmith) I’ve learned that the best way to deal with bad news is to stay on top of it by being forthcoming about it. Not only is honesty the best policy in general it’s the best policy in business. It all comes back to setting expectations (and occasionally resetting them) and ultimately delivering on them, two actions that the vendor is in complete control of.

And this is why I do all my own work. There's something going on with this guy and he should have stepped up the communication.

Gunner's method in re-establishing proper timing on the Marlin carrier is 1st rate and in my opinion, the best method available. HINT: if you are having the Marlin jam and, if you are shooting short OAL in your ammo caliber, you may want to consider asking Gunner to give you a .005 height increase in his fix. If you are shooting Long OAL ammo for your caliber, resetting factory timing should work fine for you. ..........Widder

I did not ask for pictures. I have given him this much time I will see if he follows through with “almost done and ready to test fire” or if it continues to drag, I will take the other offered advice and follow up with a certified letter. I see from all of the other posts that I am not the only one that has experienced this type of issue. As SASS is our organization I would think they would want this type of information shared to help prevent it from occurring. Thanks BC

It's hard for me to wait for a quoted timeline when it comes to getting a gun worked on. Having to wait longer with no explanation would aggravate the heck out of me. How long is too long? Longer than quoted by the gunsmith. If they are going to take longer a simple email/phonecall goes a long way. I have a rifle at a gunsmith now, and I am antsy to get it, but I know it will be another 2 months likely. I was told that going in. But one thing I know for sure is when you are quoted a couple of months and it ends up being a couple of weeks, it's like winning the lottery. Totes

I agree 100%, if you tell me two years up front I can decide if I want to wait or find someone else. If you have health or other issues and tell me i’m patient and will wait a realistic amount of time. If you don’t tell me anything or tell me one thing and keep moving it out I do not think that is right. After sending another email and posting this, I received an email stating that he thought he had emailed me and that both of my 97’s are on the bench and one is almost ready to test fire. As I said earlier, he does great work, but needs to communicate and set true expectations. Thanks to all of those have read and contributed BC

Way too long. I try to turn thing around as quick as possible. Usually waiting on or finding parts is what slows thing down, but I communicate that to the customer. I have had one gun in the shop since January because of a back-ordered part.

Phantom I agree, I Should not have included a state. I have removed it. I know several gunsmiths in that state. I think he is a good gunsmith. I’m not doubting his abilities. Just the timeline and promises. If I crossed the line then the moderator can delete the post. BC

Your a patient man I would have told him to send me my guns back and took my business elsewhere.

Well-contacting a member here is not as easy as it was. OLG

I messaged him on facebook and let him know you were looking for him.

@Gunner Gatlin, SASS # 10274 I'll send him a message on Facebook in a bit, but he'll probably see that ^ first.