Gunsmiths why does it take so long?

Mike Eversole

New member
Why does it so long for a gunsmith to do work on guns?

I'm having my 22-250 rebarreled ,I talked to 2 smiths one said 4 months the other 5-6 months.
I can build a big house and have the family moved in in that amount of time.
Just curious here as to why?
Thanks to the smith i "had" to have another 22-250 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif I mean a guy can't go around empty handed right /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-006.gif.Mike
 
Hunt ,

I'm not really complaining about the time moreless curious as to why.
Mickey Coleman is doing my work and gave me a good price to boot.He's a great guy to talk to also.
He was a top benchrest competitor/builder by the way.

I saw in the testemonials section of Ga precision the 260AI was done in 3 weeks.That is a quick turn-around for sure.
If i had talked to them first i'd say they would have got my business. Mike
 
Truth be known...it's probably in our best interest financial wise that they take awhile....if they truly clocked their hours, the price of their work would go up... just my thoughts.
 
Quote:
"They will sell no wine, before it's time."A quote that I can't remember who said.



Orson Wells, in the wine commercials...JOHN
 
If you are having a "Match Grade" barrel installed, most barrel manufacturers take up to 3 mos. to send the barrel. Some take even longer. Some stock makers take just as long. The actual time working on the rifle is short, compared to the time it takes to assemble the components.
 
I have my own theory on it based on being involved with my fathers custom gun business many years ago.

To put it in a "nut shell" It's a "labor of love" I think the true "gunsmiths" love to build rifles, or at least, re-barrel, detail and so on. The amount of time my father would spend on a custom build was no where near compensated for. In order to do a good job, you just couldn't bill out, at shop rates, on a custom gun. My father ran almost 2 years behind at his peak. I don't think he ever made any real amount of money on the custom guns, he made it on the quick repairs, cleanings, drilling and tapping etc..

The custom guns were what my father loved to do but it was the small, day-to-day shop repairs that he made money on. I learned that from his business. Now I am trying to occupy his shoes and have made a cognizant decision not to do custom bolt-action rifles. I build my own, and that's just enough to reinforce my business decision.
 
There are lots of reasons I think for the time frames, but here is my experience...

Some supplyers as mentioned above take a wile to deliver parts...like barrels, stocks...

The other thing I have observed is that smiths tend to stock pile jobs...as in this week he is working triggers, and the tools for that get pulled out and all the trigger work gets done...Then next week is stock work, and the shop space gets cleared and staged with tools and supplies.

My local smith only turns his bluing tanks on once a quarter, so if its bluing, you have to have it to him with enough lead time to get the metal stripped, polished and preped, prior to his bluing week, or its the next quarter before he will get to it...so you could be 5 1/2 months out on a bluing job.
 
Quote:
Why does it so long for a gunsmith to do work on guns?
Mike



Because if they are any good, they are very busy... if they have plenty of time, there's a reason for it.

Same in every field..

CatShooter
 
There is also the problem that many people don't know what they want. They say they want one thing and 3 days later want something different. Sometimes you can spot these types and give them a few months to change their minds several times. Hopefully you haven't already ordered parts they no longer want.

Jack
 


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