Terry Lightle
Active member
Would suspect that the days are numbered for these folks,mistakes can be fixed but a bad reputation for bad customer service will follow a long long time.
Tactical Ordnance Barrels HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE!!!
- Thread starter Kino M
- Start date
varminter .223
Well-known member
I've seen some issues from one of the highly praised barrel manufacturers here as well.
Originally Posted By: tj66So did they get the chamber issues resolved? How do they shoot?
Funny you should ask, on the FOURTH attempt making my two barrels and Randy's, my gunsmith told me ALL THREE chambers was crooked!! The saving grace part is this time you can actually get a round to chamber, the bolts actually lock in, they did look better through the borescope and my two barrels are acceptable shooters. We haven't shot Randy's yet but will next weekend.
Funny you should ask, on the FOURTH attempt making my two barrels and Randy's, my gunsmith told me ALL THREE chambers was crooked!! The saving grace part is this time you can actually get a round to chamber, the bolts actually lock in, they did look better through the borescope and my two barrels are acceptable shooters. We haven't shot Randy's yet but will next weekend.
Coyote-conquest
Active member
I kind of agree about TO. I bought a 6x6.8. the first one I received shot about 6 foot to the right @ 100yds vs. where I had it pointed. That was with the scope adjusted all the way.
You could see it was bent over to the side compared to the handguard. I'm not sure if they cross threaded the extension or what. I switched receivers and still the same thing.
I sent it back and I received another that isn't the right profile. It's a little heavier than it was suppose to be.
It also has a bad spot machined in it a couple inches up from the gas port. I'm not sure what went on but they tried to polish it out. I had a [beeep] of a time getting the gas block over it.
On top of that it doesn't have the caliber on it anywhere but the first barrel did. I just hoped it was right the first time I shot it.
I'm not sure what will happen if something ever happens to me and my family tries to do something with it. There isn't anything on it to tell you what it is.
I was sick of waiting so I kept the second. It does shoot good but I think about the weight Everytime I carry it out coyote hunting.
I don't think I'll get another from them and Im Really wanting a 6x45.
You could see it was bent over to the side compared to the handguard. I'm not sure if they cross threaded the extension or what. I switched receivers and still the same thing.
I sent it back and I received another that isn't the right profile. It's a little heavier than it was suppose to be.
It also has a bad spot machined in it a couple inches up from the gas port. I'm not sure what went on but they tried to polish it out. I had a [beeep] of a time getting the gas block over it.
On top of that it doesn't have the caliber on it anywhere but the first barrel did. I just hoped it was right the first time I shot it.
I'm not sure what will happen if something ever happens to me and my family tries to do something with it. There isn't anything on it to tell you what it is.
I was sick of waiting so I kept the second. It does shoot good but I think about the weight Everytime I carry it out coyote hunting.
I don't think I'll get another from them and Im Really wanting a 6x45.
varminter .223
Well-known member
I have 2 6x6.8s from them that shoot well with 70 ballistic tips and varmageddons but I'd say I'm not gonna take anymore chances with them.
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Originally Posted By: Kino MOriginally Posted By: tj66So did they get the chamber issues resolved? How do they shoot?
Funny you should ask, on the FOURTH attempt making my two barrels and Randy's, my gunsmith told me ALL THREE chambers was crooked!! The saving grace part is this time you can actually get a round to chamber, the bolts actually lock in, they did look better through the borescope and my two barrels are acceptable shooters. We haven't shot Randy's yet but will next weekend.
Funny you should ask, on the FOURTH attempt making my two barrels and Randy's, my gunsmith told me ALL THREE chambers was crooked!! The saving grace part is this time you can actually get a round to chamber, the bolts actually lock in, they did look better through the borescope and my two barrels are acceptable shooters. We haven't shot Randy's yet but will next weekend.
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Kinda makes you wonder how many other bad barrels are out there that no one has complained about and just sent them down the road? Or how many chambers were cut with a reamer before some one decided it was time to sharpen it or swap it out for a new one? As far as QC and lack of, if he worked for me, he'd be looking for work. Probably the same for the guy cutting chambers as well. I understand a bad product gets by once in a while but four or more??? I was R&D/Fabrication for 28 years in an oil field related production shop and a faulty product does happen and does get sent out but there was he11 to pay when it did. I feel bad for Ritch being the middle man. He buys a product in good faith then catch's the heat and his business suffers from buying from a company with no integrity for putting out a quality product and standing behind it.
DiRTY DOG
Well-known member
Originally Posted By: varminter .223I have 2 6x6.8s from them that shoot well with 70 ballistic tips and varmageddons but I'd say I'm not gonna take anymore chances with them. I could be mistaken, but I thought it was your barrels that won't shoot anything except those 70's. That limitation would frustrate a lot of shooters wishing to shoot 55s or 80s, especially considering Rich designed the 6x6.8 to shoot 58gr Vmax bullets.
G Anderson
Active member
Originally Posted By: pyscodogKinda makes you wonder how many other bad barrels are out there that no one has complained about and just sent them down the road? Or how many chambers were cut with a reamer before some one decided it was time to sharpen it or swap it out for a new one? As far as QC and lack of, if he worked for me, he'd be looking for work. Probably the same for the guy cutting chambers as well. I understand a bad product gets by once in a while but four or more??? I was R&D/Fabrication for 28 years in an oil field related production shop and a faulty product does happen and does get sent out but there was he11 to pay when it did. I feel bad for Ritch being the middle man. He buys a product in good faith then catch's the heat and his business suffers from buying from a company with no integrity for putting out a quality product and standing behind it.
Ritch should be making a trip to TO and getting this straightened out if he is at all worried about his reputation. He also has the ability to get any number of other quality barrel manufacturers to supply him. Why he isn't doing so is puzzling to say the least, because he seems to be the kind of person that would not accept this product. I cannot believe he just picked TO out of thin air to do his work...surely to god he did due diligence before allowing them to be associated with his chamberings. Maybe he has lost interest...but it's his business.
Ritch should be making a trip to TO and getting this straightened out if he is at all worried about his reputation. He also has the ability to get any number of other quality barrel manufacturers to supply him. Why he isn't doing so is puzzling to say the least, because he seems to be the kind of person that would not accept this product. I cannot believe he just picked TO out of thin air to do his work...surely to god he did due diligence before allowing them to be associated with his chamberings. Maybe he has lost interest...but it's his business.
varminter .223
Well-known member
Ya the 22" only likes the 70 bts and the 18" shoots the bt's and the varmageddons basically the same with the edge maybe going to the varmageddons. The 18" will shoot 5 shot round groups maybe just under 1". I never could get either of them or the 22" bhw 6x6.8 to shoot 58's. The bhw will only shoot 55 hp varmageddons well. I think the 70 BT's are the ticket though in that cartridge. On top of that 58's have to be seated 2.220 to keep off of the lands. That eats powder space.
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baitpile
Active member
I've got a TO 6x45 barrel from Ritch that shoots very well, zero issues. Do we know, is this isolated to the 6x6.8 chambering? My barrel is a couple years old, so maybe TO went down the sh!tter. I realize a specific chamber problem is no excuse for the customer service experienced. Just watching with interest, as I was gearing up to order a .243 barrel. Will have to reconsider this I guess.
Ritch, can you chime in please?? Shed some light on this fiasco. What's going on at Tactical Ordinance??
Ritch, can you chime in please?? Shed some light on this fiasco. What's going on at Tactical Ordinance??
randy merta
New member
So when Kino got the barrels only to find the chambers were not cut deep enough he was sending the barrels back immediately. TO would get the barrels and tell Kino they will make up two more barrels and get them out immediately. So after a few days Kino would call and see where the barrels were at in regards to production or shipping. They would tell him the barrels will be shipped that day but they couldn’t give a tracking number until FedEx scanned the packages. They said they would call him back later with the tracking number. They never did. So on average it would take at least two weeks for the barrels to ship.
So I called Rich and asked him if they (TO) couldn’t get Kinos barrels right and the turn around time was ridiculous what am I in for. He said that they had to get Kinos barrels right before they could start on mine. I said why are they not making all three at the same time? I told Rich that TO could make all three and send them to Kino or our gunsmith. Rich said he would talk to them and get back with me. I asked him when he planned to speak to TO and he said tomorrow. So I gave him a day and I sent him a text asking about the barrels. No answer. The next day I sent a text and asked what he found out. No answer.
Kino called me later that day and said Rich called him and wanted to know what it was going to take to get me off his back.
Something else to add. When the first four barrels that came and were sent back all four had different size gas port holes for the gas block.
So I called Rich and asked him if they (TO) couldn’t get Kinos barrels right and the turn around time was ridiculous what am I in for. He said that they had to get Kinos barrels right before they could start on mine. I said why are they not making all three at the same time? I told Rich that TO could make all three and send them to Kino or our gunsmith. Rich said he would talk to them and get back with me. I asked him when he planned to speak to TO and he said tomorrow. So I gave him a day and I sent him a text asking about the barrels. No answer. The next day I sent a text and asked what he found out. No answer.
Kino called me later that day and said Rich called him and wanted to know what it was going to take to get me off his back.
Something else to add. When the first four barrels that came and were sent back all four had different size gas port holes for the gas block.
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randy merta
New member
Oh yeah before we learned that TO made the barrels for Rich…
I did a internet search and seen where people got barrels from Rich that were made by BHW. I reached out to Black Hole Weaponry to see if they could build a 6x6.8 barrel. They said yes they could. I asked them if they made barrels for Rich’s Precision Rifles? They said they don’t have nothing to do with that outfit.
I did a internet search and seen where people got barrels from Rich that were made by BHW. I reached out to Black Hole Weaponry to see if they could build a 6x6.8 barrel. They said yes they could. I asked them if they made barrels for Rich’s Precision Rifles? They said they don’t have nothing to do with that outfit.
204 AR
Well-known member
I hate to hear of all this. I've had nothing but good experiences with Ritch, back in the BHW days. I got a 243 lbc barrel that was lights out, and still going good for another member here. Another time he went above and beyond on an upper I bought second hand.
Not to make excuses for the barrels, but I'm guessing help is hard to find for those guys as it is for everyone these days.
Not to make excuses for the barrels, but I'm guessing help is hard to find for those guys as it is for everyone these days.