I have a bunch. But the most recent is the purchase of an FN Mauser that I went blind on when looking to buy it. I will end up using the action, but little if anything else. DW

Took a perfect g33-40 action with canjar trigger and 7x57 barrel to a well known benchrest gunsmith to have it instaled and headspaced, after a year got barrel back says he can't find action, he did give me 750.00 but ,come on!

I confess ; I had a momentary lapse of reason !.

As I was nearing completion of fitting an action too my stock , I slipped with a small but extremely

sharp chisel !. Right across the rear tang portion of the action !. Now instead of simply finishing the stock

I have to file the metal and then refinish BOTH the metal ( hot bluing ) and the stock !!!.

A making of my own stupidity !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

I was fitting the triggerguard in my little Oberndorf clone. I was nearly finished, I just had to remove a tiny bit from one side. Of course when I turned the stock over I removed wood from the wrong side. It was almost perfect to that point!

Back to Harry Pope. In his time, he was generally thought to be the absolutly best barrel maker in the world, from black powder Scheutzen rifles to Internatioal Match Springfields. If he was arrogant, he was entitled to be.

I'll take the 5th best if he isn't a prick. Not much difference in today's world. Perhaps back then the choices were more limited

I dropped a nearly finished 99 stock last year and it cracked and I had to start again. The time lost hurt much more than losing the wood. But shit happens I guess.

apprently having a 22 pistol rebarreled takes 16months and COUNTING

What a great thread, though nearly dead, to confess my faults:

I purchased a 1917 Remington custom 458 Lott from Collector's Firearms. When it arrived I shucked a few rounds through it ; worked OK.

Then I took the MPI stock off for inspection inside. Looked good. Then I tried to cycle another couple of cartridges through it. It would not function!!!

Collector's firearms has a 30 day guarantee --bless 'em. So I left the rifle with a smith to fix..."might need rail work and other stuff," he said.

The seller sent me a check to cover repair. I spent it on other stuff since the rifle would not be done for 45 days. I'm good with money!

Two weeks after leaving the rifle to be fixed, I was cleaning up under my desk...THERE was a cartridge box. When I removed the stock weeks before, it had fallen under my desk, and I reassembled the rifle without it!! DUH!

I rushed to the smith, who thankfully hadn't yet begun "repair," put the box in and closed it up..behold, NOW IT WORKS GREAT.

So I need to return the fix-it money to Collector's Firearm as I called them and confessed to them what I now have confessed to you.

Lesson learned again (as so often before):

You may have a PhD Bill, but basically you're still an idiot.

Well. 2 words Bill Soverns

I had 2 projects in the works when Bill began his downward spiral. It took me a year to get the parts back...hmm....around 5, 6 maybe 7 years after they were started. Needless to say I've had rifles built by Charlie Sisk and Kevin Weaver during that time. And I have 2 Patrick Holehans getting their final touches as I type, should be ready after DSC. This was discussed on this site.

Problem is, I don't need a third .300 Win or a sixth .270 Win (that's why I had those other ones built). One is a G33/40 the other a Pre War Mod 70 action. The .270 also has a LW barrel, which I was talked into and regret.



The other is a Pre War Mod 70 with a looooong throat, that wouldn't feed worth a shit, had the wrong follower, etc etc etc Yet despite it being in essence a single shot, the fn POS still doesn't shoot worth a shit (also a LW barrel). This too will be pulled, rechambered and re-done. This too has been discussed on this site. (the final straw......hence my complete disregard/disinterest for the ACGG label).




The only good that has come of this is I have bought enough Pre War Mod 70s that I can replace all my Pre 64s

quote:

Originally posted by Bill G. in Oregon:
What a great thread, though nearly dead, to confess my faults:

I purchased a 1917 Remington custom 458 Lott from Collector's Firearms. When it arrived I shucked a few rounds through it ; worked OK.

Then I took the MPI stock off for inspection inside. Looked good. Then I tried to cycle another couple of cartridges through it. It would not function!!!

Collector's firearms has a 30 day guarantee --bless 'em. So I left the rifle with a smith to fix..."might need rail work and other stuff," he said.

The seller sent me a check to cover repair. I spent it on other stuff since the rifle would not be done for 45 days. I'm good with money!

Two weeks after leaving the rifle to be fixed, I was cleaning up under my desk...THERE was a cartridge box. When I removed the stock weeks before, it had fallen under my desk, and I reassembled the rifle without it!! DUH!

I rushed to the smith, who thankfully hadn't yet begun "repair," put the box in and closed it up..behold, NOW IT WORKS GREAT.

So I need to return the fix-it money to Collector's Firearm as I called them and confessed to them what I now have confessed to you.

Lesson learned again (as so often before):

You may have a PhD Bill, but basically you're still an idiot.

At least you're honest enough to admit it and return the cash I know a few people that wouldn't loose any sleep over something like that. Just consider it found money

I once entrusted a nice DST Stevens 44 1/2 barrelled action to a gunsmith with a national reputation to be rebored and rechambered to .28-30 (from a shotout .25-20 single shot). Some time elapsed, and a friend of mine asked me "Did you hear about so-and-so? (the gunsmith). He's gone bankrupt."

Sure enough, I contacted the gentleman and discovered that, becuase I handed the rifle to him personally at a gun show, it was not in a box with my name on it, and consequently had been auctioned off with the rest of the contents of his shop. No restitution, of course.

Another time I sent a target rifle barrelled action and a laminated blank to my stocker, with whom I had done business for years. I also sent a three way adjustable buttplate and directions to create a Marksman style stock with the adjustable buttplate, which would require large holes to be drilled in the buttstock to accomodate the adjustment mechanism.

Unfortunately, my stockmaker had never stocked a high power target rifle before, only small bore prone rifles, so what I got back was a high poweer rifle on a small bore stock, suitable only for prone shooting. Moreover, when we tried to lower the comb to the point that the rifle sould be shot off-hand, we ran into the hole drilled for the buttplate.
the stock ended up firewood. My fault, for not being specific enough.

Lastly, there is the ongoing saga of my BRNO 602 .375 H&H, which I sent to a Wyoming gunsmith to be converted to .500 Jeffery. Although I paid a healthy deposit, and a subsequent progress payment, I have not heard from that gentleman since October 2009, when he announced that he had moved to Kalispell, MT, and would be finishing up my job shortly. Since he asked for and received dummy cartridges to correct the feed in January 2009, presumably he should have been pretty far along at that point.
He does not have a listed telephone number and will not respond to emails.

I may have taken Harry Pope's warning too seriously.

quote:

The .270 also has a LW barrel, which I was talked into and regret.

LOL!

I've been pretty lucky so far. Got completely screwed over by Bill Dowtin on a couple walnut blanks, but outside that my experiences have been positive.

Can't belive no one has mentioned this disaster yet.

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:


I may have taken Harry Pope's warning too seriously.

Yes but at least Mr. Pope delivered on his work and from what I read it was worth the wait. Some low rate half assed smith that never intends to make good on old promises. well that another story

quote:

Originally posted by kcstott:
Yes but at least Mr. Pope delivered on his work and from what I read it was worth the wait. Some low rate half assed smith that never intends to make good on old promises. well that another story

The second mistake was that everyone with a reputation as a gunsmith was as honest and upright as Harry Pope.

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:

quote:

Originally posted by kcstott:
Yes but at least Mr. Pope delivered on his work and from what I read it was worth the wait. Some low rate half assed smith that never intends to make good on old promises. well that another story

The second mistake was that everyone with a reputation as a gunsmith was as honest and upright as Harry Pope.

Yep!!!! just because they do good work doesn't mean they give a rats ass about your schedule. Nor would they care about being honest with you materials and money.

Keep in mind I'd say 99% of true licensed Smiths are good guys on the up and up, but there is a bad apple in every bunch and it should not discourage you from getting work done.

Just ask for references or post a question here. The bad ones get weeded out quick around here

Mine was,after a 2 year wait,I got back a nice SR Mauser that had been barreled in .284 Win,great work,but would NOT feed and the "Blacksmith" did not how to fix it and cut so much metal out,it was useless, later it was rebarreled to .30/06 and sold.

The dumbest was my first; re-barreling a Hakim 8MM semi-auto to 7.62 x 51. Surplus 8MM was drying up and there was no such thing as AR-10s back then.