Firearms company customer service

[sigsooie]

We hear lots of good and bad stories about customer service from firearms manufacturers. In 44 years of owning and shooting guns, I have had to send guns back for service 4 times.

A Browning 22 rifle- They took forever but fixed it fine.
A Kimber 84M .243- Not very friendly folks. They finally got the gun back to me, but the bolt still siezes after 5 or 6 shots. I'll never own another Kimber.
A Benelli Legacy 12ga- Brand new gun that I ordered had silver solder oozed out beside the ventilated rib. They did not believe me and made me send digital pics before I could return it. They finally did fix it and did a good job but it was a major hassle with multiple emails and phone calls.
A Glock 21, 45ACP- Discovered the gun had a recall on it. Called them and they acted like I was royalty. EXCELLENT service. It was fixed pronto and they even sent me little gifts like stickers and key chains when they sent it back looking like a brand new gun.

Wondering of any other stories of really good or bad warranty or customer service from gun manufacturers???

 

[TheBluesMan]

Taurus - Cracked polymer frame on a PT145. There were LOTS of these in the early part of the century. Replaced the frame free in about three weeks. Rating: A

Kel-Tec - Bought a used P3-AT - first generation - it was a stovepipe manufacturing facility. Sent it back for repair. They replaced the entire slide, including a newly redesigned extractor and effectively made it a second generation piece. No charge. Rating: A

 

[JohnKSa]

I got a Ruger P97 with a defective part. The small lever that deactivates the firing pin safety was missing enough of the end that it wasn't doing its job 100% of the time. A call to Ruger had the part in the mail at no charge to me. I can't recall how long it took to get the part to me. I did have to fit the part myself, it wasn't just a drop-in.

 

[Monkeyleg]

I had very good service from Kimber, especially considering that both pistols had been out of warranty for a long time.

Every time I break something on my RCBS press, I call RCBS and they send me a new part...for free.

A customer of mine who bought a set of Crimson Trace grips cracked them while trying to install them. He asked if he could get a credit, a refund, or something. Fat chance, right?

I called Crimson Trace and they told me to have the customer contact them directly. They would have the grips the customer cracked picked up, and would send him a new set of grips for free.

Service above and beyond the call seems to be almost the norm in the gun industry. I don't know why. Maybe because the gun community is relatively small, and news travels fast.

 

[aaalaska]

MY old S&W 22A cracked the frame last spring after many many thousands of rounds ,called S&W toll free # was told they would email me a shipping label that arrived in about 15 min Monday morning I took the gun to UPS , Thursday morning I had a note said they had my gun and should be in touch in 6 to 10 days that afternoon UPS showed up with my gun new frame and all don't know how they even had time to ship it both ways.I know with the airlines these days getting coast to coast both ways would take me that long.

 

[Lurch37]

Ruger - SR9 Recall that I think was handled very professionally, great communication, great shipping arrangements, great people! Got a free Magazine, hat, sticker too. A+

Ruger - I have a Red Label shotgun that when the barrel filler ribs became loose, I tried to fix. Ended up messing up 2 tiny screws and tried to buy replacements. They refused my money and sent 4 new screws, 2 new ribs, and 2 new mounting blocks, all free. A+

Springfield Armory - I was shooting an older mid 70's model M1A when the bolt came apart. Called S.A. to purchase a new one and was instructed to send in the old one. When that didn't work for them they wanted the entire barreled action, so I sent that too. A week or so later I got it all back with a new bolt installed/fitted. NO CHARGE A+

 

[JWT]

FNH USA - Purchased a new FNP and noticed excessive scoring on the return rod second time I cleaned the gun. Called FN, they had UPS pick it up next day, replaced parts, and returned the gun in less than a week. Also sent me a complimentary cap and T-shirt (for the inconvenience).

Browning - Forearm on BT-99 cracked (about 2 years ago). Returned gun to Browning. They did replace the forearm and covered it under warranty, but it took them 9 months to return the gun. (I've heard they now have a system to allow customer to 'track' progress on guns returned for repair and that they have also greatly improved turn around time).

 

[CraigC]

Excellent treatment from Cimarron Firearms about eight months ago. Bought an 1860 Richards Type II cartridge conversion .44Colt with serious finish problems. They sent me a new one.

 

[Jeffenwulf]

My only experience with a faulty firearm was a Bersa Thunder .45 Compact. It seems that the disconnector was bad and it simply wouldn't fire when it was supposed to. Had to pay to send it next day air ($50 for a $300 gun?) and I didn't get it back for several months. The main hangup is that it was the version with gold parts which took an extremely long time to get in country.

I've got over 1,000 rounds through it since then with no problems, but I don't think I'd buy another Bersa unless I got a heck of a deal on the .380. It's the best of the lot. I just don't want to deal with the warranty service again, especially when the cost of shipping adds almost 20% to the cost of the weapon.

 

[B. Lahey]

Rock River Arms- CAR-A2 mag release problem (it would drop the mag when the bolt was cycled). They immediately sent a shipping tag for a UPS home pickup. Got it back in not much over a week, it's been flawless ever since then. I would not hesitate to buy RRA again, although my next AR will be a Colt.

Kahr- top-of-the-line Thompson experienced every type of malfunction possible, and several types I would have thought impossible. Improperly heat-treated receiver, bad warping and stripping of screws during normal operation. Developed a habit of firing bursts. Four trips back to the factory did not fix any of the problems except the full-auto issue. After over a year of the runaround treatment and finally some threats from my dealer to stop payment on all Kahr-related accounts, they finally sent me a new rifle. I sold it and never looked back. I will NEVER buy ANYTHING from Kahr again. They are totally incompetent in every way.

Allied Armament- PPSH41- light strikes, feeding and ejection issues, rifle arrived at my dealer without a front sight, rifle left factory without a bolt-key installed (prevents firing pin from backing out of the bolt). Mine was an early-production rifle and they were still getting the bugs worked out. After the second trip back to the factory, mine now has the second-generation striker system, and has been ok. Nice folks, I would buy from them again, but only a model that has been on the market a while.

Browning- A-Bolt recall. Took a while, but they got it done. Rifle has been flawless both before and after the recall.

Edit- I just noticed I mentioned shipping for RRA, but not for the others. Getting Kahr to do anything was a terrible ordeal, shipping was no different. AA was cool about shipping. Browning was slow, but free also.

 

[Stagger Lee]

I bought a used Henry .22 rifle at a pawn shop for like $125.00. It shot WAY to the right. I e-mailed Henry and they sent a UPS call tag for it then replaced the barrel and sights and had it back to me in a week no charge. And they knew that it was just an old beater that I'd bought used. Gotta love that kind of service. if they'll stand behind a used rifle, they'll certainly take care of people who buy new ones from them.

Glock has also done me very, very well. I had a Glock stolen and recovered once. The gun was exposed to the weather after the creeps ditched it and had some rusting. Glock took it back, rebuilt and refinished it for free, and when I casually inquired about the cost of putting night sights on since it was in their shop, they added those at no charge. Gun was back to me in less than two weeks to boot.

Colt, on the other hand... They took a pre-ban AR back for the same reason as the Glock above. It was badly damaged in some areas but being a pre-ban (during the ban) I wanted to save it. Tey refused to give me a price until they finished, held the rifle for 10 months (they shut down in the summer and kept it over shut-down). When they called and said it was done, the charge was several hundred dollars, and when it came back, I saw that they'd just re-parkerized and re-annodized many of the damaged parts without replacing them or doing more than maybe taking a wire wheel to them. Even the flash hider had been re-parked over severe pitting. How much could it have cost and how hard would it have been to simply replace the damned flash-hider? But Colt couldn't be bothered, despite the three-figure bill and 10 months. The gun looked like total crap--to the point where I actually took it to several gun shows and displayed it on my table as an example of their pride and workmanship. I finally sold it for parts since my insurance company had paid off on it and declined to take it, but I'll never buy another Colt product if I live to be 100.

 

[Hemicuda]

Had the transfer bar in a Smitty 637-2 break... I called them, & told them what was wrong...

3 business days later, in my mailbox, was a new redesigned part, a new keychain, a catalog, a $25.00 gift certificate to spend, AND a letter of apology...

Smith & Wesson is A-1 in my book!

 

[wingman]

My experience,

Ruger-- good.

Springfield--excellent

EAA----horrible.

 

[RickB]

I've returned two guns to the makers. The first time, upon receipt they (Colt) sent me a notice that I should have it back in 30 days. 33 days later, the gun arrived after having been properly repaired. They paid shipping, both ways.
The second time, different gun, different company (S&W), it was the same result. Gun fixed, reasonable turnaround, and they paid shipping.
I've called Dillon for parts on three or four occasions, and they usually arrive within three or four days.

 

[M14fan]

Springfield Armory:OUTSTANDING!!!
Bought a used V-10 compact. Felt and handled fine in the store. Got it home and it would not strip a round from a magazine. Called them just for suggestions, they suggested sending it in. I was very clear that it was used and may have been internally altered by a previous owner. The man I spoke with said 'Does it say Springfield Armory on the slide?' I answered yes and he said 'Does it say Springfield Armory on the frame?'. I assured him it did. He said 'Send it in and we'll fix whatever is wrong with it.'

Total cost to me: Less than 20 dollars to ship it to SA. All Repairs Free!!!

 

[LionHunter]

Ruger MK I - 7mmRM: Took months and months. They did a lot of work on it but the trigger is so bad (common on Rugers) you can't hold groups. It may get a new trigger from Timney.

Remington - .375UltraMag: Took 2 factory trips and additional authorized service provider visits. Never would shoot 3 round group rapid fire without #3 being a flyer. I ONLY ASKED FOR 5" AT 50 YARDS! Problem was they had a sporterized barrel rather than a large bore barrel on the rifle. Barrel over-heated after 2 rounds. No good as a Dangerous game rifle. I sold it after investing over $1000 trying to fix it.

Smith&Wesson - 9mm: Wouldn't shoot accurately at 50 yards. S&W response was it was never designed to shoot at 50 yards. Sold it.

 

[hockeysew]

Ruger-
A buddy of mine had an old Vaquero (I think) that was his outfitting sidearm. Very well worn finish, typical outfitter guide abuse. I mean it was USED hard. Mainspring broke and he sent it back to Ruger. 1 month timeframe and he opened the box to find that the entire pistol had been re-done and looked as good as new. Grips had been replaced along with the barrel and all the internals.
His cost-Shipping one way. There was a note in with the pistol. They were glad to see that he had gotten so much use out of it and hoped he would use the "renewed" pistol with as much enjoyment as before.

 

[Sgt.Fathead]

RUGER: I had to send a Ruger GP100 back last year, just couldn't get it to zero. Had it back with a new barrel, cleaned and ready to go, in short order. Shoots like a champ now. Ruger paid the shipping both ways and included a Ruger decal with the return.

REMINGTON: I bought a NIB Remington 870 Express Synthetic 8-shot from Bud's last Christmas that has a defect wherein successive rounds will chamber but not seat into battery and fire. I've tried calls, emails and even a letter. I'm getting nowhere fast and of the (4) 870s in my long gun safe, this is the only stinker. I may have to transfer my loyalties to Mossberg!

Too bad Ruger doesn't make a pump gun.....

 

[outbreak722]

Haven't dealt with a return yet, but I have one soon coming and I'm not looking forward to it. I have a Taurus PT111 with a big FTE problem. Being on temporary duty with the AF, I'm waiting to send it back till I'm permanently stationed back in TX. I like the gun's comfort in my hands and concealability, but judging from the accounts I've heard here and on other forums, I'm expecting a painful experience with the Taurus "Lifetime Warranty."

 

[chris in va]

Ruger: 22/45 kept shaving 'smilies' off the bullet, not feeding right. Sent me a new bolt (for some reason), didn't fix the issue. Sold the gun. C.

HiPoint: Sent in my carbine, replaced the receiver. Shot it a while, safety snapped off. Sent it in again, replaced just about everything, but misaligned the barrel/receiver. Sent it in a third time. Total cost of shipping...$150. Cost of carbine at gun show...$120. No reimbursement. Drawer full of mags though. Whoopee. F.

CZ: Sent in malfunctioning carbine mags, sent back new ones. Had same issue, they didn't want to know what the real fix was (burrs). Had/have light primer strikes, sent me a new factory firing pin spring. Same problem. Sent in 75BD for FTE with factory range ammo. Sent it back saying nothing is wrong, test fired normally. D.