The Gunsmith Thread

If you change your mind, an MC312 feels like 20 ga. when you shoot it. Not kidding. 7 pounds (as opposed to the 5.2 pound CZ)
eaacorp.com

Girsan MC312

Your go-to, every-day or truck-gun is here. The Girsan MC312 12 GA, 28” inertia S/A shotgun is an unbelievable value for a shotgun that will never let you down. As proof of its never-ending performance, EAA ran a 5000-round test with no cleaning. Not a problem. EAA loaded up more punishment, a...
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And a good late 70s or early 80s Remington 1100 in 20 ga.is the cat's meow.
Just my opinion!!

I am not a fan of straight sticks. They have too much recoil. I get the reliability issue and less parts, though.
 
THParent said:
If you change your mind, an MC312 feels like 20 ga. when you shoot it. Not kidding. 7 pounds.
eaacorp.com

Girsan MC312

Your go-to, every-day or truck-gun is here. The Girsan MC312 12 GA, 28” inertia S/A shotgun is an unbelievable value for a shotgun that will never let you down. As proof of its never-ending performance, EAA ran a 5000-round test with no cleaning. Not a problem. EAA loaded up more punishment, a...
eaacorp.com eaacorp.com
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I am looking for a sub 6 pound over/under to carry all day through the woods for grouse. I was wondering if, as a gunsmith, you are seeing a line of people bringing in broken Turkish shotguns. Because it sounds like you have a clientel that could f_€k up a wet dream. So if anyone could break them it sounds like your people would.

P.S. - I already have a couple of Winchester Super X Model 1’s in 12 gauge. I don’t need another automatic
 
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Gotcha. Well then, don't get a TriStar. ;)
 
THParent said:
There is nothing wrong with the Turkish guns. They are built rock solid, but lack the refinement in appearance of Browning, Beretta, or Benelli.
In other words... Fit and finish is just okay but not something that will make your heart go pitter-patter. Kind of like Glock.

The Churchill is only in 12ga.
eaacorp.com

The Churchill 812 Field Over/Under Shotgun - EAA Corp.

European American Armory Corporation (EAA Corp.), importers of select quality and affordable handguns, rifles, and shotguns, introduce classic styling in an over/under 12GA 3” shotgun with the Churchill 812 Field O/U. It is perfect for the serious hunter or clay target shooter with its...
eaacorp.com eaacorp.com

The Stoeger Condor is built like a tank and affordable:

Over/Under Shotguns | Stoeger Shotguns Pistols and Airguns

stoegerindustries.com stoegerindustries.com
The hinge is very stiff out of the box, but loosens up over time.

Another good one is CZ (in the $650 range)
cz-usa.com

CZ Upland Ultralight - CZ-USA

Discontinued 2023. A true ultralight, this field gun weighs just 5.2 lbs in 20 gauge and 6 lbs in 12!
cz-usa.com cz-usa.com

And there is TriStar too, but I am not a fan of TriStar. I fix a lot of them.

I have not had a Stevens 555E in my hands, so I can't comment. Savage has always had a good reputation, though.
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I would never recommend a Steoger to anyone. Build quality is shoddy at best. Bought a 12 gauge slug gun from them where the buckhorn sights were so misaligned to the barrel that it had to be removed and reset to make it usable. Out of the box, I couldn’t even get a slug on paper at 25 yards. Had to start shooting from 10 yards to even hit the paper and figure out what was happening.
 
Korab said:
I would never recommend a Steoger to anyone. Build quality is shoddy at best. Bought a 12 gauge slug gun from them where the buckhorn sights were so misaligned to the barrel that it had to be removed and reset to make it usable. Out of the box, I couldn’t even get a slug on paper at 25 yards. Had to start shooting from 10 yards to even hit the paper and figure out what was happening.
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I hear a lot of stories complaining about Turkish guns. I think there is a certain amount of prejudice against them and that criticism maybe exaggerated. Nevertheless, I went with a used Miroku-built gun. For those who may not know, the Browning Citori line (and many other types) has been made by Miroku in Japan for approximately the last 40 years. Miroku has a peerless reputation.
 
New straw blue project. Not my cup of tea, but the customer liked it.

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THParent said:
New gunsmith story!


Guy brings this in and drops it off:

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He says "it doesn't feed" and has "a lot of issues extracting and firing". I think to myself: A GLOCK? HOW COULD THAT BE????!!!!

Then it hits me...

View attachment 12662
View attachment 12663

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Can you guess where I'm going here?

As Bill Engvall would say: "HERE'S YOUR SIGN".

View attachment 12665

$40 diagnosis fee. Thank you, sir. Please refer your friends.
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No way you gave it back. Sir on behalf of the American People this gun is being Repo!
 
Usually I just chuckle when someone brings in a Glock pistol or AR-15 for a detail strip and cleaning. That particular service means all parts out and cleaned ultrasonically, re-lubricated, and reassembled for $125. That's a really good deal if you have something like a Browning A5 (which you have no business taking apart unless you have the right tools and really know what you're doing), but if it's a Glock pistol or an AR-15 rifle, it takes me 20 minutes, so my efficiency and profitability go through the roof. Yes please, bring me more of those!

Last night however, was the best one ever. A customer brought in a semi-auto 12 gauge shotgun with a separate 18" deer barrel. The gun was clean, so I read the work ticket; "Install shorter barrel". Yes, that was it.

I timed myself.
Two (2) minutes.
$30.00
Thank you, please tell your friends. :)
 
@THParent Your stories kinda make me worry. Someone who doesn’t have the basic aptitude to change barrels on a semi auto shotgun probably doesn’t have enough knowledge about the firearm to operate it safely, clean it, or maintain it.
 
I agree 100%, but it's a lot like cars. Most people think all you have to do is put gas in them. I know people who have admitted to me that they have never raised the hood on their cars and have no idea how to do it.
 
By the way, I own four (4) cars. I know. It's a real First World problem. :p
I only mention this because I replaced brake pads and rotated the tires on 3 of them this past weekend and now my arms feel like they belong to John McCain. But hey, I saved about $1,000, which is nice!
 
THParent said:
By the way, I own four (4) cars. I know. It's a real First World problem. :p
I only mention this because I replaced brake pads and rotated the tires on 3 of them this past weekend and now my arms feel like they belong to John McCain. But hey, I saved about $1,000, which is nice!
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I do all my own auto repair. If you don’t have one, get a code reader. Between a code reader, Google and YouTube anyone with mechanical ability should be able to fix almost anything on a car nowadays (Short of total transmission or engine failure which are both exceedingly rare)
 
NJROTC-CC said:
I do all my own auto repair. If you don’t have one, get a code reader. Between a code reader, Google and YouTube anyone with mechanical ability should be able to fix almost anything on a car nowadays (Short of total transmission or engine failure which are both exceedingly rare)
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Every time I diy fix something I make sure to tell my wife how much $ I saved. Every time I break something trying to diy it I don’t say a word.
 
I rock one of these:

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and I have replaced transmissions before. :)
 
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