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Quick question I am posing before some decisions are made

How far would you drive for a gun shop or a gunsmith shop?

Is the old Dollars Corner (for those of you not familiar with Vancouver, take I-5 to Battle Ground exit, go East for about 5 min) too far out or would the extra 15-20 min drive be too much vs a shop that is in town? I know some of you live in the Battle Ground area so you would probably love it but what about those of you who live in Vancouver, or Portland for that matter. I know Dollars corner is pretty synonymous with a gun shop (the old LL Guns) and just curious is there was another shop out there if people would make the drive.

Thanks for your input!
 
Just opinion now but everyone is different. What draws a customer is to have what they want or need. As a 65 year old I don't need any Glocks or the latest greatest wonder plastic gun. I like old stuff made with real fit and finish and any gunsmith work should have that same great fit and finish.

I drive about 30 miles round trip to look in my favorite shop about once a month. I live a mile and a half from Sportsman Warehouse and go there about once every six months. I go to three gun shows a year now and all in my town. I am sure younger folks have far different shopping habits.:)
 
I would drive up to an hour away for a really good smith & shop. BUT...if you were anywhere near the old LL Guns I would probably be there at least 1xday as that is only about 10 minutes away.
 
IMO, I don't see an extra ten, fifteen, twenty miles ruining a business with a great reputation and faithful customer base ( such as yours).

It may effect new customers but again, many will have been referred by happy customers.
 
I drive close to 2 hours each way to my Gunsmith........at least once or twice a month. It took me a long time to find a competent quality craftsman........and have driven up to 8 hrs for specific work.
 
I disagree........fit and finish illustrate the quality put into a product by craftsmen and manufacturers.
And I disagree. If fit and finish is the only thing that can be said about a gun, then the quality isn't there.

I.O has nice fit and finish. I.O is nowhere close to being as good as a worn out AK buried in the desert for a decade. As an example.
 
Just opinion now but everyone is different. What draws a customer is to have what they want or need. As a 65 year old I don't need any Glocks or the latest greatest wonder plastic gun. I like old stuff made with real fit and finish and any gunsmith work should have that same great fit and finish.

I drive about 30 miles round trip to look in my favorite shop about once a month. I live a mile and a half from Sportsman Warehouse and go there about once every six months. I go to three gun shows a year now and all in my town. I am sure younger folks have far different shopping habits.:)
At our age.......we are not into the latest cheep whiz bang garbage intended to separate us from our cash.
 
And I disagree. If fit and finish is the only thing that can be said about a gun, then the quality isn't there.

I.O has nice fit and finish. I.O is nowhere close to being as good as a worn out AK buried in the desert for a decade. As an example.
I have no idea what an IO is.......but no one puts time into quality fit and finish without time spent on a quality foundation. Very few AK platforms are quality. They are designed to be cheep to manufacture and distribute to untrained troops. They operate well but so does a Sten gun , a Savage 110, and a myriad of other cheep guns.
 
Careful with that though... Fit and finish does not always come with quality.

I sent a Colt 2nd Gen SAA to a gunsmith in Arizona who was said to do the finest trigger job you can buy on an SAA. I talked with him for some time because he is a great guy and he does everything with a special file. The gun came back with the best action job I have ever felt in all my years. The bolt polished with a file, that is a craftsman.
 
I have no idea what an IO is.......but no one puts time into quality fit and finish without time spent on a quality foundation. Very few AK platforms are quality. They are designed to be cheep to manufacture and distribute to untrained troops. They operate well but so does a Sten gun , a Savage 110, and a myriad of other cheep guns.
I.O are American made AKs made by I.O... And are crap compared to foreign made AKs.

If there wasn't quality with AKs, they wouldn't function. Function is a big part of quality. Not functioning properly? It isn't quality regardless of fit and finish.

Also what country are you in now where new imported AKs are actually cheap? NPAPs aside, which have their QC issues.

I sent a Colt 2nd Gen SAA to a gunsmith in Arizona who was said to do the finest trigger job you can buy on an SAA. I talked with him for some time because he is a great guy and he does everything with a special file. The gun came back with the best action job I have ever felt in all my years. The bolt polished with a file, that is a craftsman.
Re-read what I said. I said fit and finish does not always equal good quality. Fit and finish may come with good quality, but fit and finish alone does not dictate good quality. While that gunsmith is good, my point was referring to the product rather than service.
 
And I disagree. If fit and finish is the only thing that can be said about a gun, then the quality isn't there.

I.O has nice fit and finish. I.O is nowhere close to being as good as a worn out AK buried in the desert for a decade. As an example.

Apples vs 'taters IMO. Have an IO, as well as a whole bunch (approaching a bushel...) of other AK's. Saiga, Vepr, Norinco, Arsenal, etc.


Do not have an Elk gun, the type of gun I'd invest a lot of time finding a trusted smith to work on should it develop issues. The kind of gun that bluing is like glass, the wood is like stone et. Etc etc.
 
Apples vs 'taters IMO. Have an IO, as well as a whole bunch (approaching a bushel...) of other AK's. Saiga, Vepr, Norinco, Arsenal, etc.


Do not have an Elk gun, the type of gun I'd invest a lot of time finding a trusted smith to work on should it develop issues. The kind of gun that bluing is like glass, the wood is like stone et. Etc etc.
The point I was making was that fit and finish alone does not mean good quality. Not all guns are alike either. I consider new DSA FALs to have a nice fit and finish, but would not say they are the same quality as the FNs, STGs (which had some of the best barrels a FAL could have), etc.

You can have good quality with fit and finish of course, but fit and finish alone doesn't make good quality.
 
I.O are American made AKs made by I.O... And are crap compared to foreign made AKs.

If there wasn't quality with AKs, they wouldn't function. Function is a big part of quality. Not functioning properly? It isn't quality regardless of fit and finish.

Also what country are you in now where new imported AKs are actually cheap? NPAPs aside, which have their QC issues.


Re-read what I said. I said fit and finish does not always equal good quality. Fit and finish may come with good quality, but fit and finish alone does not dictate good quality. While that gunsmith is good, my point was referring to the product rather than service.

Of course good looks does not mean a good product. I guess it's how we each measure what quality is. Glocks are very good but when it comes to fit and finish they are very ugly. I have never seen anyone who loves a Glock enough to engrave it. A gunsmith can drop in parts and the gun runs but fit and finish of the job isn't that of a craftsman. Craftsmen are so few and far between now that few would recognie one in my opinion.
 
Of course good looks does not mean a good product. I guess it's how we each measure what quality is. Glocks are very good but when it comes to fit and finish they are very ugly. I have never seen anyone who loves a Glock enough to engrave it. A gunsmith can drop in parts and the gun runs but fit and finish of the job isn't that of a craftsman. Craftsmen are so few and far between now that few would recognie one in my opinion.
Well, I like my Colt 1911 much more than any glock (or any pistol with a double action trigger). But fit and finish alone wasn't what made me get it.

I'm picky with gunsmiths though. I might trust some of the local ones to remove a muzzle brake that was soldered on, but that's it. Luckily, short of breaking welds and such, I don't need a gunsmith.
 

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