If so, I would like for you to check and see if he has made any progress on my rifle. As you may know, he is not very conversant on the phone, and a live body may get better information than what I have been able to get so far.

If you are going and are willing to ask, PM me and I'll give you the info.

Thanks.

Had Dennis had your rifle for a long time?

GAHUNTER-

Good things come to those who wait. I have always been pleased with his work and have a rifle with him now.

While there is no such thing as a "sure thing" Dennis has never steered me wrong. Dennis is very efficient in his conversation but, his work is Grade A.

My dos centavos.

He's had it 10 months. When I call him, he says he's looked at it, but it's not finished. I have a strong suspicion that he will not be able to fix this one. Too much metal has been taken out and the feed ramp altered too much.

This is a rifle that well could have gotten me killed in Zimbabwe last year.

quote:

Originally posted by GAHUNTER:
He's had it 10 months.

You asked the forum for recommendations on who to send that rifle to back in November. Subsequently you decided to send it to Dennis.

That's not been 10 months. More like 5.

GV

I would guess your project is in the schedule. Dennis is busy, and doesn't put down someone elses' project that was there firt, to move another ahead. Good things come, to those who wait.

GAHunter - I feel your pain! Dennis has had my rifle since the last week of August last year (8+ months) and no word from him yet. I called him about a month ago and asked him if he had any feeling for how much longer and he said "not much longer". Oh, well, if his work is as good as the time he takes to do it, I won't complain (too much).

GV,

You are correct. I thought I had sent it within a couple of months of returning from Zim (last May) where I experienced the near catastrophic feeding failure. But I looked back and found I waited until later. Not sure why I waited so long.

Still I would like to find out if it is fixable.

So you been bugging him on the phone, now you want someone to stop by and pester him about your rifle? You may get it back alright, in exactly the condition you sent it to him in. To many customers like that and he won't get anyone work done.

Just be patient and let the man do his job.

John

quote:

To many customers like that and he won't get anyone work done.

Yes, like my stuff.

GAHUNTER

Anything can be fixed if a person is willing to spend enough money on it. Fixing it for the least amount and still have it reliable would be what I would want if it were mine.

Your rifle has been messed up pretty good by your own words. Furthermore, Dennis has told me before that 404s are about the hardest rifles to get perfect feeding from, so you have handed him a double whammy. I would give him all the time he needs to fix it if it were mine because I'm positive he will not return it to you if it is not right. Evidentely the last person who worked on it wasn't quite that fussy.

Let me give you this perspective. If you are working on a rifle, with a straight up repair, that is one thing. If you are working on a feeding problem, that is a huge problem. It takes days, or weeks, to figure out what is going on. There are so many things in the geometry of a rifle action, feed angles, and just plain black magic vodoo, that solving a feed problem will take some time. You do not just start filing and grinding on the action, feed ramp, or magazine. The only true magician I have seen on this so far, is Rod, at Serengeti.
How much time? Who knows?
Dennis has a lot of experience behind him, but things like this are why you pay the big bucks, to a master gunsmith. If you are in a big hurry, ask for the rifle back, and send it to someone else. Then, next year, when it still isn't functioning properly, send it back to Dennis again, and it will be fixed.
A trueism of life. Do not ask a gunsmith how long it will take to do a job. The amount of calls made to a gunsmith about a project, adds proportionately to the time involved with your project, and can delay it. If you have a piece of crap rifle, any Joe Blow can probably kinda do the job. If you have a GOOD rifle, and want it done right, send it to someone like Dennis, and practice patience. If a rifle is in an African caliber, DO NOT rush things. They are very finicky, and must be tuned with the utmost care.