Anyone ever use VRA Gunsmithing? (Need two holes drilled to mount a front sight)

[Redhorse]

Hey everyone,

Have any of you ever had work done by the gunsmiths at VRA in New Castle? I bought iron sights form my Ruger American Ranch Rifle and need two holes drilled to mount the front sight. I reached out to a machinist in Indy but I feel $200 is a little steep to drill two 0.100" holes. Maybe I'm wrong but yikes that's a little steep imo. VRA's website says they will install sights for $35 per gun Anyways, what says the INGO crowd?

Also, any other suggestions? I wanted iron sites and figured for the 350 Legend's effective range that iron sights would be a good option. I went with Dove's Custom Guns LLC Ruger American Peep Sights if anyone would like to check them out. I attached a picture as well.

Thanks!

 

[Shoots4Fun]

If you're willing to come to the Indianapolis area, Zach at ZR Tactical Solutions in Noblesville. He's excellent, I've found him reasonable, and usually very quick, excellent work.

He is menzzer37 here on INGO.

 

[Alpo]

$200 is too much and $35 sounds too low.

Seriously, setup on your firearm ensuring proper alignment and spacing and tapping two holes in a barrel could take an hour and a half. Figuring a minimum of $50 per hour, a cost of $50 to $75 is what I might expect. If they aren't tapping the holes, then $35 is probably reasonable.

 

[Hawkeye7br]

I can personally attest, getting a discount from a garage mechanic on drilling sight holes is not the value it appears to be. I had a "Bubba" gunsmith drill & tap front sight holes, only to find they were about 5-10 degrees off perpendicular. When I mounted the sight (a tall target sight on a precision gun) the thing was unusable.

 

[drillsgt]

Try Highsmiths in Greenfield, they have two full-time gunsmiths and it's not too far from New Castle.

 

[Twangbanger]

Echo the above. I have found VRA to be a reputable company from my gunshop dealings with them in Ohio and here. But in gunsmithing, many shops cannot sustain a real-deal 'smith on staff, and the usual practice is to sub out to a local 'smith, then add an upcharge. It's worth a reasonable middleman adder if they will insure and stand behind the work. But your quoted price does seem a little hefty. I would see if you can deal directly with a smith recommended by others.

Added thought: finding and developing a relationship with a local smith you can deal with directly is worth its weight in gold. If you can find somebody like that and send them everything you got, it will usually be rewarded in terms of cost & leadtime.

 

[DocIndy]

You can check with Rob Stenski of Ski Rifles in Pendleton. Might be a quick turn around for what you need.

 

[drillsgt]

Hey everyone,

Have any of you ever had work done by the gunsmiths at VRA in New Castle? I bought iron sights form my Ruger American Ranch Rifle and need two holes drilled to mount the front sight. I reached out to a machinist in Indy but I feel $200 is a little steep to drill two 0.100" holes. Maybe I'm wrong but yikes that's a little steep imo. VRA's website says they will install sights for $35 per gun Anyways, what says the INGO crowd?

Also, any other suggestions? I wanted iron sites and figured for the 350 Legend's effective range that iron sights would be a good option. I went with Dove's Custom Guns LLC Ruger American Peep Sights if anyone would like to check them out. I attached a picture as well.

Thanks!

The 35.00 sight installation from VRA likely means if you brought in night sights to be put on your glock or something like that, not real gunsmithing.

 

[Redhorse]

Echo the above. I have found VRA to be a reputable company from my gunshop dealings with them in Ohio and here. But in gunsmithing, many shops cannot sustain a real-deal 'smith on staff, and the usual practice is to sub out to a local 'smith, then add an upcharge. It's worth a reasonable middleman adder if they will insure and stand behind the work. But your quoted price does seem a little hefty. I would see if you can deal directly with a smith recommended by others.

Added thought: finding and developing a relationship with a local smith you can deal with directly is worth its weight in gold. If you can find somebody like that and send them everything you got, it will usually be rewarded in terms of cost & leadtime.

I cannot stress that enough. I had a good relationship with a gunsmith and machinist who did spectacular work. However, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and only lived for about a year after that. If he were still with us, I'd go to him.

 

[Redhorse]

The 35.00 sight installation from VRA likely means if you brought in night sights to be put on your glock or something like that, not real gunsmithing.

This is my thought as well. I figured they would quote me a different price once I said what I needed done.

 

[Redhorse]

I found a place in the Terre Haute Area, Mitchel Weaponry and Gunsmithing LLC, and they said they should be able to do the job. Based on their pictures on Facebook, I think they're a sure bet. I'll share feedback of them on here in a separate thread when I review the iron sights on my rifle; however, if you live in this area I wouldn't hesitate to go consult with them at least.

 

[chubbs]

VRA doesn't drill and tap. Their $35 is to install pistol sights(glock,m&p,xd,1911, etc)

 

[Redhorse]

VRA doesn't drill and tap. Their $35 is to install pistol sights(glock,m&p,xd,1911, etc)

Thank you! That's what I figured after the guy there told me that their gunsmith wasn't there. Luckily I think I found someone so I hope it works out.

 

[drillsgt]

I found a place in the Terre Haute Area, Mitchel Weaponry and Gunsmithing LLC, and they said they should be able to do the job. Based on their pictures on Facebook, I think they're a sure bet. I'll share feedback of them on here in a separate thread when I review the iron sights on my rifle; however, if you live in this area I wouldn't hesitate to go consult with them at least.

Terre Haute, is that where you live?