Bubba the Gunsmith

[kbstenberg]

I brought a Savage 340 to have to G.S. drill and tap for a scope mount. Today I picked it up. Sure enough Bubba got payed to damage my gun.
All 4 of the screw heads had damage to the heads where the screwdriver slipped off of the head. Bubba also cracked the glass on my 40 year old Weaver K-4.
Now I am worried he mounted the scope base is in the correct spot.
I have not contacted him yet. But I will Monday.
I know the screws can be replaced with new ones. But its the point that nothing was said when I picked the gun up.
Kevin

[Certaindeaf]

Wow. Be prepared for him to deny the breaking. Good luck.

[Bloodman14]

What size boot do you wear? Will it fit up his a$$? I hope you will make it fit!

[starmac]

What size boot do you wear? Will it fit up his a$$? I hope you will make it fit!

They all fit if the right amount of pressure is applied. lol

[mooman76]

I hope it doesn't fit. At least not on the first few trys!

[Mooseman]

I bet he headspaces with tape and a cartridge too....LOL

[sbowers]

Bawhahahahahahahah.
Steve

[waksupi]

What does he charge? $2-3 bucks an hour? If he told you he is a gun smith, he lied.

I seem to be seeing a real trend in the posts from other gunsmiths on this topic! ;o)

[HeavyMetal]

Odd I've got 3 340's and sold to or three more and they were all D&T for a side mount, because of the split reciever.

Yours wasn't? What caliber are we talking here?

[fecmech]

I have one that is not D&T"d in 30-30.

[RayinNH]

The sign over the door should have been a give away "Bubba's Gunsmithing and Plumbing"

Sorry for your troubles sir...Ray

[scb]

340's (and 325's) are a real PITA to D&T properly. They require a lot of time to do it right. For every one (that wasn't done at the factory) that was done correctly I've seen 3 or 4 that were butchered.

[DCM]

I bet he headspaces with tape and a cartridge too....LOL

I heard of that technique "somewhere". [smilie=1::shock::shock: YIKES!!
[smilie=l:

[stubshaft]

The sign over the door should have been a give away "Bubba's Gunsmithing and Plumbing"




I thought it said Bubbas Butcher Shop. (we work on guns too.)

[Stephen Cohen]

My grandad often said, some people should not touch anything other than rocks. I got a cheap Mauser actioned 243 that owner said he could not get on target. I used jig to check mounts, while front mount was fine, the front screw for rear mount was 3mm off and rear screw 4mm, the binding bolt was fixed when long screws were removed. Your not alone my friend.

[sbowers]

My grandad often said, some people should not touch anything other than rocks. I got a cheap Mauser actioned 243 that owner said he could not get on target. I used jig to check mounts, while front mount was fine, the front screw for rear mount was 3mm off and rear screw 4mm, the binding bolt was fixed when long screws were removed. Your not alone my friend.

I have no idea how far that would be as I work in inches or thousandth of an inch as most gunsmith do.
Steve

[chuckbuster]

I'm guessing the Gunsmiths in Australia likely work in mm Steve.....

[SharpsShooter]

Jeez...another ham handed would be smith that buys his screwdrivers at the hardware store.

SS

[Kskybroom]

Let us know what happens
Who is Bubba...

[Pigslayer]

I brought a Savage 340 to have to G.S. drill and tap for a scope mount. Today I picked it up. Sure enough Bubba got payed to damage my gun.
All 4 of the screw heads had damage to the heads where the screwdriver slipped off of the head. Bubba also cracked the glass on my 40 year old Weaver K-4.
Now I am worried he mounted the scope base is in the correct spot.
I have not contacted him yet. But I will Monday.
I know the screws can be replaced with new ones. But its the point that nothing was said when I picked the gun up.
Kevin
I'm not a gunsmith but I do know that screwdrivers used by "competant" gunsmiths are specialized & expensive. They are cut precisely to fit the screw slots so as not to cam out.
Obviously his were the run of the mill mechanics type. How he damaged your scope . . . I don't know but it may be that he didn't have a gun vise. I'm sorry for your loss. I would have been livid.

[Tazman1602]

First off you don't work on guns unless you have a quality set of flat ground screwdrivers. Second I can tell you the *most likely* reason the glass is cracked.

When D&T'ing, after you install the bases you MUST check scope ring alignment with a scope ring alignment tool -- this can be a a commercial rig or a couple of wood dowels turned down to points on the ends. If the "tips" do not line up *exactly* then you need to "hone" the rings with another tool in order to GET them to line up properly. Otherwise you WILL pinch the scope tube and that is where I'm guessing the glass got cracked on your scope.

I have NEVER, EVER let a gun go out of my shop that I have worked on with my name on it (and make NO mistake, once you TOUCH a customers gun your name WILL be associated with any mistakes you have made.....) leave the shop with anything but PERFECT screw heads. Anything less is a sign of shoddy work which I want nothing to do with.

Third? NO WAY would I attempt to D&T a receiver that I did not have the PROPER AND CORRECT jig in order to do so..............but that's just me..........

Last, to let a gun go out of the shop and not tell the customer I screwed something up --- IMHO is an absolutely unforgivable thing to do to someone.

Art

[GT27]

Sorry to hear about the misfortune!!! I always ask to see some work first! If they are legit they don't have a problem showing you! If they do or act really independent,time to beat feet fast!!!! I use 2 local machinists that on the first visit there took me for a shop tour,these are the congenial professionals to use IMHO! A true Gunsmith/Machinist takes a lot of pride in their work,and it will show as clear as crystal, their reputation is their biggest form of advertisement!!! GT27

[kbstenberg]

Here are the pictures of Bubbas handy work. The piece that is screwed to the receiver was new, still in the package so there were no marks on it.
I cant complain about the price because I didn't ask for one. But he said it would depend on any problems he would encounter. He charged 12.50 per screw.
My first tip off that something was amiss. As I was leaving he said he bore sighted the scope. But how can a scope be bore-sighted if it isn't tight in the rings?
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[Ozarklongshot]

First off you don't work on guns unless you have a quality set of flat ground screwdrivers.
Art


I assume thats a typo and you meant "hollow ground"

Or is "flat ground" just a regional term for the same thing as hollow ground.

[morgans]

I do not get how any man could live with doing that type of work, and tooling is not cheap,betcha he got them on line from Wally-mart. On the right note I would post his shop name so others know, I hope this guy makes it right, but sadly anyone that does that work will like other said deny it. Well thats what courts are for. And let us know how you made out.I wish you best of luck with this one.

[Bloodman14]

Those links don't appear to work.

[jim147]

Here are the pictures of Bubbas handy work. The piece that is screwed to the receiver was new, still in the package so there were no marks on it.
I cant complain about the price because I didn't ask for one. But he said it would depend on any problems he would encounter. He charged 12.50 per screw.
My first tip off that something was amiss. As I was leaving he said he bore sighted the scope. But how can a scope be bore-sighted if it isn't tight in the rings?
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42621

Your pictures aren't working for me, but reading this part tells me you paid for it and left without looking at it. That doesn't make any sense to me. You've left Bubba an out to say "It wasn't like that when it left here."

I'm not a fan of airing dirty laundry in public until you at least talk to the other party.

jim

[swheeler]

Here are the pictures of Bubbas handy work. The piece that is screwed to the receiver was new, still in the package so there were no marks on it.
I cant complain about the price because I didn't ask for one. But he said it would depend on any problems he would encounter. He charged 12.50 per screw.
My first tip off that something was amiss. As I was leaving he said he bore sighted the scope. But how can a scope be bore-sighted if it isn't tight in the rings?
42617

42618

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42621

I'd like to see some pictures, but guess that isn't going to happen. How did you manage to pick the gun up, pay for the work and not notice buggered screw heads, broken glass in the scope or that the rings weren't tight?:veryconfu

[Stephen Cohen]

I'm guessing the Gunsmiths in Australia likely work in mm Steve.....

The good ones work in both inches and MM, we changed to the metric system back in early 70s.

[Stephen Cohen]

I have no idea how far that would be as I work in inches or thousandth of an inch as most gunsmith do.
Steve

3mm is around an eights of inch, not something one can miss with naked eye assuming they were open at time.

[Tazman1602]

I assume thats a typo and you meant "hollow ground"

Or is "flat ground" just a regional term for the same thing as hollow ground.

Picky picky picky. Sorry if I used the incorrect terminology. How about you don't work on guns unless you have a set of these here thangs:

Brownells Magna Tip set (http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=417/Product/MAGNA-TIP-SUPER-SETS-trade-)

Art

[429421Cowboy]

[smilie=b: ...It's a great day to whoop somebody's @$$...
Man alive, i couldn't sleep at night if i did that to one of my own guns, much less someone else's, then actually charge them for it! On the plus side, you know he didn't over pay for his screwdrivers... Or swiss army knife,Leatherman,Russian M91 Infantrymans knife/wrench/screwdriver tool that he got with the purchase of his last Mosin, or whatever he used to "unstall" your hardware! That is exactly why my guns get a trip two counties away when they get sick, because i only trust one person to touch them!
I sure hope he makes things right with you!

[bootsnthejeep]

Graduate with High Honors from the Wile E Coyote School of Gunsmithing!

We've all done some haggard stuff on our own. And I have a good friend that is a mechanical genius and if you were to watch his gunsmithing methods you might call them "questionable", but he always makes it work.

HOWEVER, there's a gulf of difference between doing something yourself, for yourself, or free or cheap for a friend, and doing something "professionally" for money as a service! Good lord!

I'm surprised the scope doesn't have pipe wrench marks on it. Check his bench and see if he has one padded with duct tape.

[rockrat]

IIRC a mm is about .039"

[Tazman1602]

Good Lord. I'd hide my face if anything like that ever left my shop...............

Art

[ErikO]

I could do that quality level now, be glad I'm not working on any gun I do not own.

I do have an interest in gunsmithing. I'll be keeping a set of those pics so I know what NOT to do...

[Certaindeaf]

Maybe he needs a new prescription.

Any word back from the feller?

[HangFireW8]

I'm not a gunsmith but I do know that screwdrivers used by "competant" gunsmiths are specialized & expensive. They are cut precisely to fit the screw slots so as not to cam out.

I hear what you're saying, but another valid route is to take old screwdrivers and grind them to fit. After a while you build up quite a collection of "custom ground" screwdrivers.

I have a few, but Chapman takes care of most all my needs, especially since I got their new master kit.

[ErikO]

My brother's been a master-level Tool & Die fellow for a few decades. He swears by his Craftsman screwdrivers and a very fine grinding wheel and AT his 'expensive' T&D-specific driver sets. ;)

[casterofboolits]

1mm= .03937 inches

[Charley]

Jeez, he sucks bigtime, the 340 isn't particularly difficult to D&T. No alingement problems with the scope/mount, because it is a one piece design. The broken lense looks like impact damge to me...the clumsy SOB likely dropped the rifle/scope while buggering the screwheads.

[kbstenberg]

My daughter is re-composing a professional type letter to send to the BBB an the "Gunsmith"
Like I told Tazman last night. I don't want to be re-inversed for the money I spent. I just don't want anyone else to have a good weapon damaged.