gunsmith has my gun no responses

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swfan

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1 month ago I dropped off my firearm a beretta 92 at a local gunsmith that does work out of his home. no references, I only just searched the internet and found him.

I needed him to do a refinishing on the gun. I talked to him for about 2 hours he seemed knowledgeable. He has a valid FFL and also a blackpowder license. He said his computer was broken and gave me a hand printed invoice with the cost and mine and his info and what he was going to do to repair the firearm.

Now 1 month later no response. No calls back, I've called and emailed him, no calls and no updates.

Am I screwed?
 
There's a chance there could have been some kind of emergency. But after over a month, it's likely that someone would have responded, if nothing else, that they acknowledge you contacted him.

Having consider that...

I'd be at his door tomorrow before he's had a chance to have coffee.

And the conversation would be, I've come for my gun, right now. I'll wait here for you to bring it to me now.

If no answer, leave a note on the door with appropriate instructions.

If no response by the next a.m., time to call the guys with the gun and badge and have them visit with you because at this point, you have no idea on the whereabouts of your firearm. Much cheaper than a lawyer and probably get better faster results.

Good luck.


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thank you for the responses
yes correct at least i know where it's supposed to be

im debating if leo or lawyers is better

i wonder if having an ffl prohibits you from taking other people's guns and keeping them or selling them because
ffls come into contact with weapons for transfers everyday

what if they just decide to keep some and say well "it never came"
do they lose their ffl?
 
1 month ago I dropped off my firearm a beretta 92 at a local gunsmith that does work out of his home. no references, I only just searched the internet and found him.
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why would you bring your gun in to someone that has no references and runs his "business" out of his home?
 
Home based gunsmiths are not unusual.
There's not always enough business to support the cost of renting a shop.
A one month delay for gunsmithing is not unusual, either.
It can easily take that long if an essential part is back ordered, or the wrong one is delivered.
And, like as been suggested, some kind of personal emergency could be involved.
Heck, he might be in the hospital, or worse.
To tide you over, you now have an excuse to buy another gun.
 
Visit him at his home. Be firm but not confrontational.
If that fails you can file a small claims lawsuit.
Police probably will not get involved. This is a civil matter not criminal.
 
yes in hindsight i probably wouldn't have used him

i didn't know at the time it was run from his home he had a nice website with pictures of his work testimonials and he was very communicative by phone and email prior to dropping off the gun

when i met him was the moment i saw it was a home business

i just trust people. i'm honest i believe other people are honest

i do believe maybe some emergency or backup of work is possible still trying to contact him so we'll see what happens

and i'll update but the best part is i did get tired of waiting so got an identical beretta 92 to replace that one already i'll post pictures of them if i ever get it back
 
One month isn't long. My local smith is 5 mos out on basic things and even longer on custom builds.
Many gunsmiths, like gunshops, have terrible service. The first local gunsmith I tried was an older gentleman who I think just enjoyed tinkering with guns. he didn't seem to care about the business side at all. Drove me crazy. I tried to contact him by phone and even made a visit to his house but he wasn't home. It was quite a drive. Due to his age I was beginning to worry he had passed or had severe health problems and I was going to have to fight through probate for my gun. I ended up posting about it here and someone else was able to get a hold of him.

If your smith is a tinkering gun guy he may have a friend on the forum who can check things out for you. Since there are so few gunsmiths out there today, if you post your general location you will probably connect with any relevant people pretty quickly by PM. I wouldn't suggest posting his business info or name here.
 
I don't think the issue is the length of time the smith has had the firearm as it is the lack of communication. That would annoy the hell out of me as well. You have every right to pay him a visit and claim your pistol.
 
1 month isn't too long. Some repairs like that can take 6 months to a year depending. It is a lot of trouble to refinish 1 gun. They often wait until they have several and do them all at the same time. I'd just drop in and see how things are progressing.

I left a shotgun years ago at a small shop for repair. After 6 months I returned to find the shop closed and out of business. I visited the police dept., not to file a report, but just to ask if anyone knew where he was now located. The officer at the front went into the back room and I heard him asking other officers about my situation.

Another officer came out who knew the gunsmith and advised me that he and his wife had split, and he had left the state. He told me that his ex-wife was working at resturant in a neighboring town and might be of some help. Gave me her name and told me to contact her.

I drove the 15 miles and caught her just as she was getting off work. Followed her home where she had a room full of guns. I found mine repaired. She didn't want any money, but I paid her $30 and left.
 
i just trust people. i'm honest i believe other people are honest
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I'm the same way swfan and I don't see anything wrong with it.

As stated above, 1 month for a refinishing job is not very long. If bluing is involved most gunsmiths want a bunch to do all at once so they get the most out of their tanks for a days work. Out of curiosity did you ask him how long it would be until you gun was finished?
 
gee its time you went to the county sherriffs office or the local office of your states state police. And went over to his house with an officer. That gun is in your name. all you have is a piece of paper from the guy saying he took it from you to do some repairs to it. even though you have that paper, your the one who gets blamed if it turns up next to a dead body with a 9mm hole in their head.
 
Some people have terrible follow up skills. Go visit the guy. If he isn't home, leave a note asking for a return call. If that doesn't work, then I would explore other options.

Most people are honest. I'd visit first and that will likely clear things up.
 
It IS summer time and folks DO go on vacations - before coming on like an A-hole, be polite and ask him how your gun is coming along - there may very well be a legit reason.

Some repair places, like Cylinder and Slide, will have your gun for 6 months to a year or more
 
Regarding refinishing, I don't know what his setup is. A business savvy gunsmith will let refinish jobs pile up to a point where there's enough to make it profitable for him to do. He then fires up the tanks (or the oven) and refinishes them in one shot. That beats heating up the tanks or oven for just one gun.

Hey, energy is expensive.
 
^^^^ the same is true for things like recoil pads - one smith I used did pads one day per week, and he did a lot of them that day - just made sense, so your thought is also an excellent possibility
 
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