I've about given up on receiving my left handed, stainless, short action that I ordered last May. Once a month I emailed them for asking for an update on delivery and for the last few months I was told "a couple of weeks and they'll start shipping them out". Now, they've stopped answering emails and we don't get updates here so I'll guess I'll just right it off as a bad investment.

I know that I would have a hard time enjoying a rifle built on this action because using it would always remind me of what a pain in the ass it was to get it.

Don't give up. I got my cm left hand several weeks ago.
Maybe they have not done the ss yet.
I have received two actions to date (one right and one left)

Fjold,
I also ordered actions on the charter program. I just received my left hand cm short action(to become a classic 7x57 mountain rifle). I am very pleased with it. It was a little frustrating for 15 months, but I got it finally. I wasn't in a great big hurry for it so it was not a real issue for me. I am still waiting on the LH cm long action. It is being barreled to 375H&H. They said about another month. I certainly feel I got my money's worth in these actions. Let's face it, it would be tough to find a LH crf action for that price anywhere. I will not have any trouble enjoying my rifles at all. In fact the wait will make it a little sweeter I think. MRC was very good about answering my emails and phone calls over the last year+. I really can't complain. Mart

I once sent to M 71 Winchesters to the old A&M Rifle Company of Prescott AZ for reboring to .450 Alaskan. It took over two years to get them back. They did a superb job and as .450's, the rifles were very accurate, but the wait was excruciating!!

Fjold, they don't answer my emails either but they have been very responsive to my phone calls. On 7/2/04 via phone I was told my LH SS short would ship by 7/9/04. My credit card was not charged and there was no notice, so I guess it didn't happen. They said they rectified the problem with the supplier and Brian Sipe said ALL LH actions would be shipped by 7/31/04. Anyone want to take bets?

They have been spouting this type of drivel for months if not years!

Is there anyone here that has these actions ordered who haven't been charged for them yet?

Chuck

I still have two more coming...no charges yet.

Funny, I was billed in Feb 03 for mine. Cancelled the order in Nov and lost a bunch of money in the process.

Chuck

It sounds like MRC is struggling to stay afloat.

Chuck, I'm sorry that you lost money on this deal.....

AD

It took about a year to get my SS, standard bolt face, short action, but it was worth it.

I hope MRC survives and improves. They do have a good design and offer many options that are not available elsewhere. After all they are gun guys. Given the circumstances I feel MRC has been doing the best they can.

It's not that easy to keep track of emails and they get lost so call them.

As for myself I don't need a custom rifle. I can tweak a factory rifle and make it work very well. As to others, to each his own.

I did also wait for my short action magnum face for over one year. It was a good wait, no doubt about that.

Ron, Dan and now Jeff have always replayed my e-mail quickly and I have all my trust to does guys (hope that I did not misspell that one).. In fact I'm in a process of ordering a new 375Rum barrelled action from MRC.

I ordered my stainless, standard bolt face, left handed short action in May of 2003. (I think I wasn't charged until June of 2003 though) I didn't know that any of the stainless, lefty, short actions were being delivered at all, so it's nice to hear that some have gotten theirs already. Obviously they must have ordered before me.



I'd really like to build a 375 H&H on a long action also but I don't know if I could put up with this again. Anyone want to trade an invisible SS, lefty, short action for a SS, lefty, long action?



EDIT: I just used the search function and I discovered that I ordered my LH, SS, short action on Feb 6th, 2003 and they charged my credit card in the month of March of 2003.

I've been waiting on a LH LA SS since the initial offering; I even asked for MRC to barrel it to .375 H&H. Also, I had a fit of optimism last fall and ordered a LH SA SS to be made into a 7x57 by John Ricks. To date, no guns, one or two emails, and John Ricks is retired from gunsmithing.

It's my year.

Ricks is not retiring. He's just not taking in any small jobs. He will still build rifles to owner's specs.

George

This may help with a bit of perspective. In 1994 I was visiting a friend in Hardin, MT. He let me shoot his Shiloh Sharps rifle. It was a nice gun and fun to shoot so I ordered one that May. It was delivered in June, of 1999. They sent it with a new catalog that said a 50% deposit would be required with any new orders....
I hear that their wait time is now much shorter; I don't understand why...
JCN

My left handed barreled action was sent over to Serengeti stocks last week. I requested they send it over unblued so Serengeti could do all the inletting and glassing without worring about scratching the blue job.
I received a nice e-mail from Serengeting letting me know they received my action and the stock work was in progress.
It will be returned to MRC to get a matte blue finish.
I had them install one of their barrels, (358 win.)
I have two more lefties on order and neither have be charged to my cc.
The hold up now is Serengeti, they told me 12-14 weeks.
I'm in no hurry, the wait for MCR was over a year, but I have plenty of other rifles to play with during the wait.

I'd really like to know why some where charged in advance while some where not and many that have been charged in advance are behind in line to those who will be charged on delivery.

Chuck

I asked the same question and got an explanation. They offered several different deals, some included deferring payment until shipment and others paid up front. I got in on the original charter subscription and I understood I wouldn't be charged till it was shipped. Somehow that changed and my credit card was charged in March of that year. Maybe I misunderstood which deal it was. I got my RH SS SA in early October. I was pissed, having been told May, then July, then "soon", but when I got it that all changed. To say I was more than satisfied is an understatement. Great action. I'm already on the second barrel!

Somewhere in all that they decided they needed the money, I guess, or at least I misunderstood. No matter, all's well that ends well. For that price ($350)I'd take another one from anyone who is unhappy.

Fjold:

I hope you will give MRC the benefit of every doubt. These guys are trying. They are honest and what they are attempting to achieve is not easy. I hope the gun fraternity will be patient and give these guys the benefit of the doubt as they seek to become a viable business. If they succeed, we will all benefit from their products.


Jordan

I have been treated well in all of my dealings with MRC. I'm relatively pleased with the product and can work with them.
I've seen the SS left hand short actions sitting in the shop. They were awaiting bottom metal at the time. My LH CM action is sitting there until I get around to getting it!
Over the years I have never been burned by any firearms supplier. I think that's because they are mostly good folks. I don't think the guys at MRC are any exception. They may be having some occasional organizational difficulties but I'm pretty tolerant of this. I personally have trouble organising a dinner for one! Regards, Bill.

Waaay back in November of 2000, the folks at Ruger told me that what "we" (I was with MRC at the time) were about to attempt was not likely to succeed. (bring a new action to market at this price point).

They said many had tried and failed and the list was long and impressive. It was a sobering discussion, and laid the foundation for 8 months of procurement analysis for all 43 parts from four or five vendors before we could even complete the design.

And then designing a part numbering scheme to support 32 different models and building an engineering repository to manage change orders and new variants. Felt like organizing for a space shuttle launch.

Delay of short and long LH product has never been a funding issue. It has always been a vendor issue and a price issue. The product is a vessel that must constrain 30 tons of pressure per square inch repetively for decades, if not longer. Every part must be to specification, and if it's not, it gets sent back to be done over again. A bigger company might have had more engineering resources to help anticipate problems. The cost of those resources would be reflected in the price. In the end, to deliver at a specific price (especially this specific price), you do what you can with what you have and send it back if it's not right.

The Charter idea was to get the SA molds started about six months early using customer money for tooling. In exchange, the price was reduced from approx. $500 to $350. I don't know how that evolved after I left in April of 03, but it always seemed a fair deal to me. My money was in there too.

Lefties have had a long wait relative to the original promise date (July 03) - a date that was more based on hope rather than reality. BUT... no one else is even trying. Charles Daly says "ETA = blank" and the word is around end of year for Stainless with no Chrome Moly planned. CZ doesn't believe in LH - they told me so. Everyone else is well over a kilobuck and many of those aren't CRF. So here's this little company in boonies doing what no one else wants to. Good on 'em, I say.

I am humbled. My snarky comment earlier was out of line.
JCN

I didn't get in on the charter, because I know how I am: too damn impulsive and impatient. I knew that if MRC promised me a date of XXX, that I would be chompin' at the bit the day before XXX and highly P.O.ed the day after, if I didn't have my action. That said, I decided to wait and see, for both delivery to start and bugs to be ferreted out. I bought mine from a charter buyer, paid $435, and have it in my hot little hands. I think it's awesome and CAN'T WAIT to touch that .375 Taylor off the first time.

In spite of all the delays and postponements, we in the shooting/hunting community ALWAYS need more choices, not less. Especially so with products that seem to be well designed and executed by people who are trying hard to do the right thing. So, cut the boys at MRC a little slack, they're trying.

Just my 2 cents. For a buck more, you can still get a large coffee at McDonalds.....

MKane160 aka BigDogMK

I have nothing but good things to say about MRC. I recently received my completed ss rifle back from McMillan after being barreled, lapped etc by Montana and I love it.
Rem 280

The only problem was my fault, I gave McMillan my color preference and when I received the rifle it was butt ugly, I immediately dissasembled the rifle and sent it off to be camo dipped. Some may say so what about the color, that's just me.

I will shortly be placing my order for a new 375 H&H

Doug

I have three of the Montana actions and for the money they are pretty nice. Most of them can stand a little tweaking for optimum performance but that can be said for almost any action made.
I currently have one made up into a rifle, a .375H&H, and it has shot and functioned very well. Shot many 1/2" 3 shot groups with various bullets. And the action as well as the barrel, stock and bedding have to be "up to snuff" for that kind of consistent accuracy, in my opinion. I'm glad that we have the Montana actions to choose from..

I think my disappointment with MRC is not in their product, because I can't judge it. I've never seen one. But more in their change in their communications and customer service. They went from one of the best communicating companies I have ever dealt with to one of the worst. The excuse that they're busy doesn't fly, we're all busy. If I didn't answer half of my emails from my customers or repeatedly gave them incorrect dates for when their product would be delivered I wouldn't have any customers left.
I've been told that the left handed, stainless, short actions would be starting to be delivered in "2-4 weeks" for the last 6 months.

I waited over five (5) years to get two Krag triggers from Canjar which had been paid for with the order.

You guessed it, they told me "a couple of weeks".

Fjold, did they just tell you that today? Are they still waiting on the bottom metal? It will only be another couple of weeks...

Yep, I called them today about 3 hours ago but that's the same answer I've been told for the last two months. Tomorrow morning I leave for a week to Georgia and Florida while Wifezilla visits her family and me and the Brother in law play golf. Then it's off for a week's deep sea fishing off of Mexico. I'll be back home on August 1st and I'll see if my FFL dealer has my action then.