J G Sales Gun smith specials

[lead collector]

Hello everyone, Sort of a rant here, but also info to any one about to jump into this deal.

So about a month ago, I broke my own rule of not buying fixer-up-er guns, and bought one of these barrel-less model 10's.
The old gun arrived in record time, of about two days. Man are they fast... Myself and two others, ordered these projects. So these 3 old model 10's all really look good, other than a lot of blue was missing. No twisted frames, when the barrels were removed, or damages at all, that we can see.
So before it arrived, I ordered a barrel. At the time the Gun Parts had barrels, and other than the the long wait, and the cost being almost what the gun cost me, it seemed ok. So with the help of my friend, and all pieces, I will still be in for $300 more or less, so here we go...
I figure a 10 with a 2 inch barrel, and blue wear would be great for a house gun. I was going to give the finished project away to my 84 year old Mother, and she don't care about pretty anyway..


So last week, the long awaited barrel arrived, or was supposed to. Well the envelope arrived with nothing but the packing slip inside. I was not happy!! So a call to Gun Parts and long hold time, and finally a short visit with the nice lady on the other end, began my aggravating saga.
I told her of my woes, and ask them to ship another barrel while they sorted this out. Also, I asked why would anyone ship $139.00 worth of parts in an paper envelope? No solid answer... I guess it is hard to get smart workers in New York too..

I am now into week two, and so far there have been 3 calls to them with no resolution. They have no more 2 inch barrels, and will not refund my money until their claim is resolved with FedEx. It sure looks like some one is getting the shaft here, and I think I know who.
This is reminiscent of a few years ago when I sent some parts back that I ordered wrong and they denied getting them... and never refunded any money.
So long story... Just wondering if I am the only one who has problems with these people, and has any one else had problems?
Also a heads up, that while the gun smith special guns are no doubt a good deal, way worth the money to have for parts. Maybe not to fix up, unless you have a barrel on hand for it..
I suspect that I will never recover any money from these people, just like the last time, and I will have a model 10 in my junk drawer for a long time that needs a barrel.
So for now, I will call every day from here on and check the status. I figure I will tie up their phone lines and waste their time until I have recovered my money... It will take some time, for me to get my money's worth..

L. C.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I understand your problem. Right now J&G is selling Star BM frames for something like $9.95 each. Check out their prices on all of the missing parts, and you would be way ahead to buy a complete pistol. Sometimes, if learning and enjoyment is of more value than money, then it's fun to resurrect a parts gun; but there's always the fact that when such pistols were originally assembled in their factory they underwent several inspections before being released, and when the hobbyist is assembling one there is not guarantee that it will have the best parts available, that they will all be compatible, and that the finished product will function properly.

I had a BM frame in my parts drawers for perhaps 20 years that I purchased for $45 from a source other than J&G, but it had many of the parts still in the frame. I completed it with parts from J&G and the end cost was about $25 more than if I had purchased one of their assembled pistols. The project turned out rather well, but the slide and frame have mismatched serial numbers.

As for the Mod. 10s without barrels, I addressed this in a post awhile back (where and which one I'm not certain) and confessed that I was tempted to get one. I also discovered that at that time Gun Parts Corp. had a good selection of barrels, and advised those interested in building one to order one immediately, as they were bound to sell out quickly. You can be certain that if you are contemplating a project there are at least 100 more shooters thinking the same thing.

I believe that your problem with GPC will eventually be resolved and that you'll get a barrel or a refund, but it will take time. That's how most mail order business are now days, in that they rely on the carrier to make good. Meanwhile, my only suggestions for you are: (1) Check other parts sources like Jack First, Bob's, or SARCO for what you need, but you can bet that the other 99 shooters are checking there also, (2) check the parts vendors at gun shows, (3) check the parts for sale at the on line gun auctions like Gunbroker, (4) just put the project away and very likely eventually a barrel will come your way or an opportunity to sell the other parts.

Here's my Star BM parts pistol:

[BigAlofPa.]

I ordered some wood grips supposed to be new from gun parts. They came and looked like they were through a war. I called about them. I had to send them back on my dime. But they did send new ones that were new.

[Green Frog]

Apparently GPC has a hard time getting and keeping parts pickers... especially if you order a small part that can be mistaken for something similar. I’ll order from them only rarely, then have hit or miss results. Last time was awful so I’ll have to be very desperate before I order from them again, although I have to admit, the previous order was actually pretty good. It’s definitely a ****shoot!

Froggie

[Walks]

I have several horror stories about fed-ex.
Heard many more from others.
So much so that if shipping by fed-ex is the only way to get an item, I will just do without.

[Wolfram Malukker]

I've had nothing but gold standard service from GPC over the years. I was super tempted by those model 10's but I've never barreled a revolver, and would want a 4 or 5" barrel anyway.

Now, some other vendors over the past years I've definitely had issues with...and now that I am a vendor of some parts, I hope I'm never the cause of one of these kinds of posts!

[Tracy]

I just received my 2" barrel from GPC, yesterday. Took about 3 weeks. It looks fine, but it's not new as advertised. That doesn't make any difference to me; just a point worth mentioning.
For those who bought one of these revolvers and are having difficulty finding a 2" barrel: there are plenty of 4" barrels out there for much less money than a 2". All you have to do is replace the ejector rod and its internal pin.

[lead collector]

Thank you everyone for hearing my rant, and I am sorry if I offended anyone. This has really got me peeved...
That Star would be fun to play with. I have looked at the those, and they seem to be really well made. Truthfully though I have not met too many guns that I did not like. Anyone else have this trouble?
I have done this, one piece at a time, fix-er-upper... crap on other stuff, and it can go either way.
Its my own fault for buying the thing... No one held a gun on me to do it, so I blame me.
I see that the price on these have increased to 179 now... Not sure it they were on sale when we bought or not. That would make it harder to balance the budget on this project..
It is frustrating that things like ordering a barrel and having the empty envelope arrive, happen. Since a few more bucks and a better box could have prevented a the loss of a valuable barrel.
What really pains me is that some where there is a FEDEX driver that cleaned out his truck, and said what is this piece of metal off of? Oh well trash can here you go! makes me sick.
Tracy, I would be sore, as hell if my new barrel came in as a used barrel. After all that is what we paid for! I would be calling asking what the deal is.. They were clearly advertised as new.. That said, they dont seem to feel bad about taking my money and sending me an empty envelope, so for the sake of lower blood pressure its probably best not to call..
I might opt for a 4 inch barrel some day, and change the ejector rod. Another 25 bucks worth of parts, and the barrels are cheaper and easier to find. Also I have an exit, as my buddy that is providing the gun smith skills to put these together, say he will buy me out. If I can get the 66 snub that I saw a while back, bought this week end then I will not be in any hurry to make any moves.

[waksupi]

It makes you wonder about people sending things in a paper envelope. I went in to the office at Serengeti one day to retrieve a package from Craig Boddington. It was a left hand P.O. Ackley Mauser action, only 100 ever made. The envelope was in rags, and the action fell out when I picked it up.

[farmbif]

ive also has less than pristine "new" parts come from gun parts corp but they have one of the biggest selections thats easy to find on inter web
have you tried poppert's gun parts?

[reddog81]

Did you pay with a credit card? If so just dispute the charge through them.

[smithnframe]

Every gun I ever bought from J&G Sales was from the bottom of the barrel. Even the few times I paid a premium for "hand select".

[firebyprolong]

I ordered some of the same frames from j&g, then parts from numeric with the idea of building some 3 inch pistols. Numeric can't tell the difference between a 38 k frame center pin and a L frame center pin. The two will not interchange, but you sure can't tell them that. 40$ worth of parts I just get to sit on. Hate to say it but pretty much par for the course with GPC anymore.

[hiram]

Check out the following site for household firearms.

https://www.allans-armory.com/aa.php

[Patrick L]

I must say, I've dealt with GPC for years and never had a problem. In fact I only live about an hour away, used to actually go there when they had a retail store back in the 90s. You could go to the parts window, hand them a paper order form, then browse the store while someone assembled your order.

Give them a chance to make it right, I think they will.

[lead collector]

Sorry for delay in getting back to you all on my project. Life sort of got in the way... work.. kids.. aging parents and other responsibilities.
Gun Parts did issue a refund for my empty envelope, just not quite as quickly as I had hoped. Once the funds were available again, the hunt for another barrel began. Another barrel was located from a forum member on another forum.
So with some help of my gun smith buddy it was fitted on to the frame. Since it was an older barrel, and possibly not from the same model some fitment was required.
We ran out of time, the night we started, before we were finished, so I trimmed the forcing cone end my self, with a safe file and lots of care, and set the cylinder clearance.
I am about .006 now, and I have polished the forcing cone slightly with a ball bearing and valve lapping compound, and then jewelers polish. Very slow and carefully and I think it turned out well.
I have been to the range and have fired about 100 rounds of my reloads through it. Nothing hot, just my 3.5 of bullseye and a 160 gr round nose.
No leading, spitting of lead, or any thing weird!! Point of impact is a little to the right, but up and down is just fine. It ran a little stiff, so my cousin and I took it apart, and polished up the internals, in a effort to make it smoother. Most of the drag turned out to me old dried rusty looking crap that was inside. I ordered a Wilson combat spring kit for it, with the hope of reducing the double action pull.
These parts have not been installed yet, and should be an improvement. When we had it apart for cleaning my cousin noticed the barrel was clocked just slightly to the left, so that explains the bullet strikes being to the right side.
It groups pretty well for a short barreled gun, and a put together out of pieces junker..
As soon as time allows the new springs and an attempted barrel adjustment will finish off the project and then if all goes well, after a trip to the range, it will be my Mom's house gun.
Over all this was a fun project, and I wish I would have bought two of them, and put one back for a rainy day project. J G Sales has raised the price to 179.00 now, so the bargain is not what it was..
Thank again for all the replys and advice that was given...
LC

[trenches]

Glad you got it together finally. I bought one of them when they were the cheaper price. Ordered a 2" barrel from Numrich and had to wait on it because of the flu.
I also bought a K frame frame insert. And made my own holder for it. I already had some Brownells S&W tools. All went well and the Mod.10 shoots fine.
BTW they came from Spain. I did some research on the stamps on the bottom of the frame. Apparently they were Spanish police revolvers. To be imported to here the barrels had to be removed.