Balwolley Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 my otherMods please move if this is in wrong topic. I need some advice on what to do. I'm having my first open pistol built by a smith. He has built several guns before and there are a few pictured here on this forum. I have never handled one of his particular guns gut have heard from the owners and they couldn't be happier. So I contacted this smith at the beginning of the season ( and a few others) and he walked me through a build sheet, I got the gun setup the way I wanted it. He said 2 months or sooner, i thought that was pretty quick but ok. I sent him the check for the pistol (deposit). About a month later I called a couple times, left voicemails and sent a couple text messages telling him I had the rest of the money for the pistol, and I would bring it to him. No responses. So a few days later I called a couple more times, same thing, no answer. Somewhere along he way he sent me a couple short texts saying he had a family emergency he was dealing with. Also 5 min later he said he was on a business trip And he'd contact me at the end of the week. Well over a month later and several unanswered and non returned calls and texts my wife is starting to get on me about this guy. Not to mention I'm getting pretty upset too. So I send him a final message letting him know I was pretty displeased with the communication. He finally returned a call (first time in 4 months) and left me a voicemail saying he was "overloaded, and dealing with stuff" he said he'd send my deposit back, or he'd finish the gun. I understand life happens, but I wouldn't think that it should take 4 months to return a 5 min phone call. To me that sounds like he's to busy to even touch the pistol. I would like to have a custom pistol belt but I'm afraid if there's a problem I won't be able to send back to him and not know how long the wait will be to get it fixed . what would you do ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcc7x7 Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Get your cash if you can and get another builder. Bedell Gans Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Get your money back and find another builder. While good gun builders are not a dime a dozen, there are plenty enough choices to not put up with poor customer service. Heck, you can order a CK arms and have it this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecil Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Get your money back... its apparent this gun builder is not on the up & up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3gunDQ Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 58 minutes ago, jcc7x7 said: Get your cash if you can and get another builder. Bedell ^this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackntucson Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Get your money back if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balwolley Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 Well it's pretty apparent everyone's thought is in line with my own. I've left the builder a message asking for my deposit back. If he does indeed refund me like he said I'll probably be looking into the bedell guns like has been mentioned. If not I will be sure to let everyone know who this guy is. Thanks for all the responses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trent1k1 Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 Plenty of good gunsmiths. Not all of them are good business people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
191138sc Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 1 hour ago, jcc7x7 said: Get your cash if you can and get another builder. Bedell Gans I have had Gary at Gans do work for me. Great guy and super customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&W686 Posted September 6, 2017 Share Posted September 6, 2017 I would get my money back and go to shooters connection and pick up a CK Arms Open gun. They have several 9 major and 38 super guns available. If you get your order in before 4 o'clock eastern time you'll have it tomorrow afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balwolley Posted September 6, 2017 Author Share Posted September 6, 2017 (edited) Thanks for all the replies. I guess right now I'm in a waiting game to see what the next move will be. Before I decided to have a full custom gun I almost pulled the trigger on a CK from ShootersConnection. Im almost thinking that still might be my best bet, order something that's in stock and deal with any problem I have after I get the gun. I've read plenty of times about ck arms guns being fixed quickly without hassle.. I'll keep the thread updated eight the situation. Thanks again for all the replies. Edited September 6, 2017 by Balwolley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S&W686 Posted September 7, 2017 Share Posted September 7, 2017 I own own 2 Freedom Gunworks guns and 4 Ck Arms guns and have never had any issues with any of them. Maybe I am the lucky one, but all have ran flawlessly for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 I've had a couple of small issues with my 2 ck arms open guns but nothing I couldn't take care of easily. Overall I'm happy with how the guns perform, feel and look. I do still think the ck product has better qc and offers better value than other off the shelf guns from sti. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abb1 Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 I am a little late getting into this, but first off, this behavior is unacceptable from a gunsmith. I would let people know who he is, so that they can be warned. It goes far beyond the building of the gun, what happens when you get it and you have issues, and he is still too busy with other things? You will have a $5K paperweight that looks nice. Another red flag is that he said he was on a business trip. Obviously gunsmithing is a hobby and not his full time work, meaning when does he have the time to do the work? Sounds to me like he operates out of his basement. If I were you, I would get your deposit back and go with a reputable company like CK Arms. Let people know who this is! I would! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glockman75 Posted September 27, 2017 Share Posted September 27, 2017 Get your money back. This is your opportunity to get out before you really regret it.A Part time smith with no reputation to worry about sounds like a potential disaster after a long drawn out build and never ending waste of your time.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balwolley Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 Thanks for more replies, I'm still waiting too see what's going to happen. A bit of a downside to me: I give people too many chances I think. So I'll keep everyone informed as things unfold. I finally got ahold of the smith, and told him I was going to think about it for a bit. Called him the next day and decided to have him finish the build, but I wanted updates. ( I'm sure most of you are smacking your forehead and screaming "WHY?) So, he has been giving me updates, and one of them was a hiccup with the barrel, supposedly KKM sent the wrong one. Don't know, just what I was told. Maybe that's a way to buy time, or maybe KKM sent the wrong barrel. The pistol should be finished by the end of the week/ beginning of next week. I'll continue to keep everyone posted. Again, thanks for the replies and I do value everyone's input. If I were in someone else's shoes looking at me, I would have given the same opinion. I just try my best not to burn any bridges, you never know when one might need to be crossed again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mountbkr Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 Well he put you in a tough place to make a decision about if you should continue to wait on him or not. You had several months invested in it by the time you started questioning him and if you should continue to wait or not. I guess the not being able to at least respond to you for several months would have been the deciding factor for me, thats not good business at all. I know things happen to everyone from time to time but as a business owner, you have to at least try and take responsibility for the customers needs. I hope you get the call in the next few days and everything is smooth sailing from here on out..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zinger4040 Posted September 28, 2017 Share Posted September 28, 2017 I've purchased from two smiths. Adam from Atlas has great customer service. The other....not so much. When it comes time for an open blaster, I'll be going with Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatjoe123111 Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 I would get out and find anouther builder. The guy sounds like he is flakey. Plus you don't want him to rush on the gun and no have it turn out perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody6477 Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Well, I'm wondering how it all turned out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RGC Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 On 9/6/2017 at 9:07 AM, 3gunDQ said: ^this X3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balwolley Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 Alright, so apparently my last reply with the update didn't post. About two weeks ago I posted the rest of the story and some pictures. So, short version is: Communication got way better, better ban I expected. He finished the build, but a couple weeks after the second promise date, BUT he had problems with the barrel and had to send it back and get a new one. No big deal, because of the communication. He kept me informed pretty regularly after our "conversation". I have had the gun a few weeks now, put 500ish rounds through it without a single hint of problem. The gun is super tight and I can't find any problems at all. I do think that he took his time and did everything correct. I don't know what the story or reason was for the poor communication at first, but everything went very smooth toward the end. At least one other member here is currently having a gun built by him and says everything is going smooth. I do think I would have another gun built by him if the funds allow. ( and this one holds up to use) I've received many PM's asking who the smith was and wanted to keep it quiet, but I feel like it was handled pretty well after the original upsets. So, Blackdog Gunworks was the smith (Brad). Like I said before I would have another gun built by him, and I don't want to run anyone off from choosing him. Maybe just mention up front that you'd like some good communication. Thanks for all the replies and help along the way. Sorry my update didn't post a couple weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balwolley Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balwolley Posted November 19, 2017 Author Share Posted November 19, 2017 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wicasa Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Great news :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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