Repairs to my handguns, cost $$$

[gunman41mag]

Took my SAFARI ARMS ENFORCER to the gunsmith, some idiot had grinded the hammer spur off, & the sear spring was messed up, then on my CASPIAN, I put a new SLIDE RELEASE, THUMB SAFETY, PLUNGER TUBE
I bought the WILSON HAMMER, (SEAR SPRING & PLUNGER TUBE don't know which name brand he used} from the gunsmith, The SLIDE RELEASE & THUMB SAFETY are WILSON, but I brought them in so he can install them. With parts & labor he charged me $120. I think that was too much money for parts & labor

 

[AllenM]

I don't know, doesn't sound that bad to me. If he had to mate the sear and hammer and fit the safety it takes time.

 

[the1kidd03]

not a bad price......think of how much time it would have taken you to do that....and that $120...how much hourly would that be...probably not much...granted he probably did it faster...but it's his job too

 

[Robert Richardson]

Not a bad price.Are you happy with the work? Remember with most good gunsmiths,you get what you pay for.

 

[walt o]

I think you got a bargain, he had to buy the parts (payout) his experience and skill cost what @40 per hr.If its too much i suggest the time you do it your self .Not being a smart Ass just the facts.He is a business man &a skilled worker who needs to feed his family .He has to pay all his S.S. tax, utilities taxes on his business and property keep records for the FED's.
buy his insurance ,$40 per hr don't go far. Oh and if he doe's break a part guess who pays for it.

 

[Bunnykid68]

So, you tried to modify your gun and screwed it up?

 

[rockhopper46038]

I think that's a reasonable price, so long as the job is done right. Swaging the plunger tube on correctly takes a tool you probably don't have. Making sure the safety engages correctly is a job I'd want a gunsmith to check even if I did it myself. Swapping the hammer and sear spring you could have done yourself though, but it may have taken you a few tries to get the sear spring properly oriented. Frankly, I think you got a pretty good deal.

 

[gunman41mag]

Yeah he used some special tools I don't have, I bought these guns cheap cause some one messed with them I paid $500 for the SAFARI ARMS & $675 for the CASPIAN with CLARK barrel with comp, BO-MAR sites, checking on the front & rear of grip & around the trigger guard, My rant is I wasn't in his shop an hour how much can a hammer, plunger tube, & sear cost, bet he has less than $45 in parts, & made $75 in labor in less that an hour.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Wilson hammer is $30-$60 (depending on which you choose), plunger tube $20, sear $30.

 

[IndyGunworks]

120 seems like a very fair price.

 

[mrjarrell]

Doesn't sound like a bad deal to me. The one time I took a firearm in for a fix it cost $50. Money well spent, considering I'm not a gunsmith.

 

[WebSnyper]

Let's see some pics... also, did you not ask him how much it would be before he started? At least you did not have to pay for shipping and it sounds like he did it while you waited on it? Sounds like a decent deal for $120 to me. I could be in a gun shop and spend a heck of a lot more than that in an hour and not had someone do the work ;-)

 

[gunman41mag]

He told me that it would be $50 for the hammer & labor, The hammer was "NEW", but the PLUNGER TUBE & SEAR SPRING were not in a sealed baggie, the where in a plastic parts cabinet, The SLIDE RELEASE & THUMB SAFETY was mine, he had to use the dremel tool on the THUMB SAFETY to make it fit, & both those parts are WILSON.

 

[abraham743]

plumbers electricians and auto techs all charge more per hour

 

[ruger44srh]

How much time and money did you save by not shipping it back to china to get it fixed??

 

[AllenM]

If your not happy don't use him again

 

[IndyGunworks]

He told me that it would be $50 for the hammer & labor, The hammer was "NEW", but the PLUNGER TUBE & SEAR SPRING were not in a sealed baggie, the where in a plastic parts cabinet, The SLIDE RELEASE & THUMB SAFETY was mine, he had to use the dremel tool on the THUMB SAFETY to make it fit, & both those parts are WILSON.

that doesnt mean anything. I have a bunch of 1911 parts that i bought in bulk so i would always have them for a repair. they also sit in a plastic parts cabinet.

we would have charged close to 120 if not more for all that work, and the turn around would have been nowhere even close to "while you wait" given everything listed i think its a fair shake.

i dont use a dremmel when fitting a thumb saftey, but you HAVE to fit the saftey, so its either a file or a dremel. either way its not something that just anyone can do, it takes a bit of experience to get it right.

 

[dom1104]

FYI Gunman, you are kinda coming off as a cheap douche.

And kinda whiney.

Just thought I would... give you a heads up there.




1. You bought guns with issues.
2. You dont know how to do the work yourself.
3. You take it to a gunsmith who charges a reasonable rate.
4. You come to the internet to complain he didnt do it for 10 bucks, and he was too quick.

This is why you never fix a gun while the customer waits, and always have them come back the next day.

They want you to slave over it, forge it in a hot bed of coals, reblue the entire gun after replaceing an internal part, and charge you 20 bucks.

 

[IndyGunworks]

1. You bought guns with issues.
2. You dont know how to do the work yourself.
3. You take it to a gunsmith who charges a reasonable rate.
4. You come to the internet to complain he didnt do it for 10 bucks, and he was too quick.

This is why you never fix a gun while the customer waits, and always have them come back the next day.

They want you to slave over it, forge it in a hot bed of coals, reblue the entire gun after replaceing an internal part, and charge you 20 bucks.

this is the most correct statement about gunsmithing i have read on an internet forum yet.

in this business its hard enough to make a reasonable profit.
you have two choices
make a reasonable profit, and charge what every customer thinks is to much
or
go out of business.

it takes YEARS to get to a point where a gunsmith is confidant in their abilities. I have been smithing for almost 5 years, and am nowhere near where i would need to be if i were doing it full time.

If you want walmart prices, use their gunsmith.

 

[FERLACH]

I feel it is a fair price.