LongRifles Inc, slow service

[HouseCL]

I hate to make this post, but feel people should be aware so I wanted to share my experience.

I’ve seen many rave reviews about LRI including quality gunsmithing work and fast service. In particular, many people mentioned turnaround times within a week or two.

I sent them a Tikka action/bolt and a prefit barrel to have them install/headspace the barrel and flute the bolt. This is not highly custom work and should be pretty routine, nothing really out of the ordinary.

Throughout the process, they have been very slow to respond to my emails. In the status portal, it took over a week after the action was delivered for them to mark it as received. It has now been in their possession for more than 2 months without any work being done. I emailed them about 2 weeks ago to make sure my work order hadn’t gotten lost in the shuffle and it took over a week to get a response that it’s still in the queue.

This is not necessarily to bash them as it seems they have just gotten a lot busier. I guess this is expected as a smaller company gains recognition for their excellent work, inevitably they will begin to get a lot more business which they may or may not be able to keep up with. However part of the reason that I sent my business to them instead of other options was that prior experiences of people on RS was that the turnaround would be very efficient.

If you don’t mind waiting 2+ months to get your rifle back, then go for it. Otherwise, I would probably look for other options. The 1-2 week turnaround seems to be a thing of the past unfortunately, probably best not to have that expectation anymore.

 

[realunlucky]

What was the timeline they quoted you before you sent everything to them?

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[HouseCL]

What was the timeline they quoted you before you sent everything to them?

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They did not quote me a timeline because I did not ask. I relied on posts from this board that the turnaround would be relatively quick. I suppose that is my fault. However whether they quoted me a timeline or not, I guess this post should remind people to ask, and temper expectations for a fast turnaround.

 

[rayporter]

when i want work i plan ahead. just before hunting season everyone is busy, so if you wait until just after season and they are late getting to your work it wont impact season. i dont expect to get it until spring---that way if it is sooner i feel lucky.


when things get busy few smiths can stick to predicted times.

 

[HouseCL]

when i want work i plan ahead. just before hunting season everyone is busy, so if you wait until just after season and they are late getting to your work it wont impact season. i dont expect to get it until spring---that way if it is sooner i feel lucky.


when things get busy few smiths can stick to predicted times.

That’s fair. I wasn’t planning to use this rifle to hunt this season anyway, so it didn’t really factor in. I just didn’t expect it to take months when everyone on here was saying it only took 1-2 weeks.

 

[SDHNTR]

2+ months IS quick. Especially quick. Even twice that would still be reasonable in my experience. Anyone good is busy. I’ve had rifles at gunsmiths for 6-8months before. Perhaps it’s your expectations that are out of line?

FWIW, only sent one rifle to LRI for rebarreling and Cerakote and the timeline was just about what you have experienced so far.

 

[Wrench]

Fwiw, many many custom smiths are several months to potentially years out.

 

[HouseCL]

Fair. Certainly possible. I stand corrected. So as not to harm their reputation, mods may delete this thread so it doesn’t come up in future search results.

 

[Lawnboi]

Call them. I bet you get some answers if you called.

I wouldn’t be upset about the timeline so far. It’s that time of the year. Their lead times fluctuate, normally call and ask before getting anything done.

 

[WeiserBucks]

LRI is usually pretty quick, especially compared to many of the well known one man shops. My last custom took 15 months from a well known builder.

 

[wyosam]

That’s the thing with smiths that do good work- might be a period of quick turnaround times as they grow, but good work grows more work-especially as quick as word spreads on forums. Margins aren’t huge, so having the steady work a little backlog provides means you can absorb lulls in new orders.


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[vonb]

It happens with all of them. However, I had a new found appreciation for just how busy they were when I dropped my rifle off for a rebarrel. That place was humming! People moving all about. It was very different than when I first visited them in 2012. I’d recommend calling them and ask for an ETA.

 

[Catter]

I think the post should stay. Many that are not dealing with quality gunsmiths find wait periods to long when they are really pretty good! Like others have said, I've waited over a year for some builds. But you should always do your homework, make sure to add a little more time than they are telling you! Many times your work relies on components from other suppliers the gunsmiths have no control over!

At anytime a reamer, or tooling can be unexpectedly needed, not just main components. But any Gunsmith worth his salt understands it takes more than good work to stay in demand. They don't slow walk their work, and small jobs don't push back larger jobs, and one never knows how many larger jobs ahead of you can put a twist in the works.

Also remember, the more time they take answering phones and emails,,,, the less time there spending on machine work! I never rush my surgeon's or my gunsmith, I want to give all the time they feel they need, but in the end all I expect is there work is as good as it can be.

 

[eoperator]

In my experience with 6 different smiths over the years, 3x's quoted time is about average.

 

[rayporter]

my last stock took a year

when i asked about another his head snapped around and he said-----------i hope you aren't in a hurry

 

[waspocrew]

While I understand it’s takes a while to have work done, what the OP was requesting shouldn’t take 2 months. I’ve had LRI flute bolts in the past, I had them back within 2 weeks of mailing (across the country).

Installing a prefit barrel and checking headspace takes 5 min in my basement.

I’d give them a call, you’ll likely get a better answer. But at this point, either wait it out or ask to have the parts sent elsewhere.

 

[KChunter71]

Can’t rush greatness. I’ll wait for a reputable SMITH to work on my stuff. My last one sucks and is in jail. Had two buddies take their guns to a shop north of KC and a 1 1/2 years later. One got a completed gun and the other just got the gun back no new barrel.

I’ll wait for a well known smith and stock maker to get my work done.

Patience is hard with how fast life moves and we get Amazon packages these days.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Just a heads up on anyone having or considering stock work… they are doing inletting for McMillan and are quoting a year out for turn around time on any stock inletting.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Give them a call, I had some work done, I heard nothing for a few months, I didn’t want to be “that guy” so I didn’t call too soon.

When I finally called they had no record of anything being done for me, once they looked into it the problem was solved in like 5 minutes and my barreled action was on its way back to me. If I’d called sooner I’d have had it sooner.

 

[blksno]

I hate to make this post, but feel people should be aware so I wanted to share my experience.

I guess this is expected as a smaller company gains recognition for their excellent work, inevitably they will begin to get a lot more business which they may or may not be able to keep up with.

If you don’t mind waiting 2+ months to get your rifle back, then go for it. Otherwise, I would probably look for other options. The 1-2 week turnaround seems to be a thing of the past unfortunately, probably best not to have that expectation anymore.

LRI is in no way, a "smaller company gaining recognition for their excellent work" They exploded onto the scene and shook up the industry quite some time ago. Anyone that did any amount of research would have known...email is not the way to contact LRI.

If you want to get answers, pick up the phone.

I don't know the situation or the reason for the delay, but communication via a phone call will give you all the answers you need.