Trops and my 1911 *update*

[6SPEED]

Update in post #11

So I bought a RIA 1911 about a month ago from a gun show. I decided I wanted to change some parts and ended up getting a trigger, hammer, disconnector from cylinder and slide. My stock thumb safety didn't work with these new parts as I expected them not to anyways. Instead of fitting the safety to the parts I decided that I will just order my ambi safety and fit that since I needed one anyways since I'm left handed. I decided to have a gunsmith do it since everyone I asked said that I shouldn't try it myself.

I took it to Trops even though I had a bad experience there a few years back as I heard it changed hands. Well I was told that it should be about $25 but they ended up charging me $75 because they said they ran into problems. They also broke my original thumb safety somehow trying to get it in the gun or something. The smith that worked on my gun wasn't there so i'm not sure, but he shouldn't have been even messing with my original safety anyways, I just put it back in the gun to hold it together so I didn't give him a "gun in a bag". On top of all that my new safety feels horrible, it goes up half way and the needs a good bit of force to get it to go the rest of the way. I showed it to the other smith there and he didn't think it felt right either and said I could leave it but I wasn't going to leave it with someone who would let work like that pass and breaking my other parts. Also as I was ranting to the cashier girl about it she told me that the gunsmith that worked on my gun broke her gun the day before.

To sup it all up i'm pretty pissed, I'm not very confrontational so I hoped that by me displaying my dissatisfaction that someone would have said that what happened wasn't right and offered some sort of reimbursement for it but everyone acted like I it wasn't a big deal. The jump in price wouldn't have been a big deal if he hadn't broke my other safety that he shouldn't have been messing with and if the the new safety felt good at all.

/rant

[Urban_Redneck]

I have found speaking with owner about a problem much more effective than ranting to employees that are unlikely empowered to effect a solution. I would have left the gun and asked the owner to call me when he had the gun in hand.

FWIW, $25 for work described seems a bit cheap.

Just my $0.02

[6SPEED]

Yea I thought $25 was a bit cheap too, and I wasn't really upset about the price jump as much as I was about everything else.

[Urban_Redneck]

IMHO, you should have left the gun until you spoke with the owner for the following reasons/ possible outcomes:

1. The gun may "magically" get fixed by the time the owner sees it.

2. The owner evaluates it and has the gun fixed before he calls you back.

3. The owner calls and states he will expedite the repair.

4. The owner decides that, it is as good as gets and you get to pick up the gun and tell him that the next time you walk in to the shop it will be for the going out of business sale.

Once you leave with gun, even if you said you weren't happy, someone can say you tried to "fix" it yourself and did more damage. It's silly I know, but it happens.

Good Luck

[BrowningBoy]

When you have a bad experience with a gunsmith don't go back. Give the business to someone who knows what they are doing.

[MOUNTAINORACLE]

First: I would have never went back to a gunsmith or gunshop that I bad experience with in the past.

Second: If a gunsmith/mechanic/roofer has agreed to do the job for X amount of dollars that what he will earn period!

Third: I would have never accepted the job unless it was done correctly to my satisfaction and there is no way in hell I would agree to the price being tripled.

Fourth: I would meet with the owner and he or she would be replacing the broken part with a new one & I would paying less than originally agreed one because of the my having to make a second trip to pick up my firearm and for the price being tripled without my approval.

[cdi]

....and in the future, I would mail my 1911 pistols to C.D.I. for proper repair...

[6SPEED]

Thanks everyone for the responses, I kinda realized that after I took the gun home taking it back would cause alot of what if's. Also like I said I wouldn't want him to have my gun again with what has already happened.

I ended up taking it all apart and working on it last night. I polished off some bur's that were on the inside if the safety that was scratching my frame and lightly filed the part that holds the sear. It feels alot better and I've checked it for sear movement and it's rock solid.

I really wanted to email them and ask about my broken part but they don't seem to list any email on there site, do you think it's to late to stop in and talk to someone about compensation for this?

[snuffy19608]

For 1911 work in the E-town area I recommend Steve at Bullseye Shooters Supply across from Kmart in E-town. He did some great work on mine, and has gotten so busy he hired another smith to help him catch up.

I don't go in Trops anymore, didn't like it much before and been hearing lots of bad about it now. And with Bullseye and Lanco Tactical up and running, no need anyway.

[NoHackrLtd]

Go back and talk to Dave Dunn (the new owner) - I'm sure he'll make it right. Just be polite and professional when you talk to him - goes a long way.