Big Brown rolled in today returning my 44mag Handi Rifle from the repair shop at Ilion, NY. In general, I would say their service was not exceptional, but I am happy enough, though there were a couple of glitches that H&R/Remington has already agreed to rectify. I initially sent the rifle in because I felt it should be more accurate, and I simply asked them to check the fit, crown, etc to make sure everything was within specs. A detailed analysis of my experience with the new repair shop follows. (This is long, so you can stop reading now if you want. Those contemplating sending a gun in might want to slog through it all, though. )
Turn-around Time:
Ship-out date was 7/2/08. UPS tracking showed Ilion received it on 7/4/08. It was checked into the repair shop and given a repair number on 7/15/08. I called CS on 8/5/08, and was told the gun was repaired and was at the testing gallery. Since they seemed to be working fairly quickly (by my standards), I then asked if they could fit an accessory 223 barrel to the receiver while they had it there. They said they could, but it would have to go back to the end of the line. So, in fairness, my turn-around time should be calculated from this date of 8/5/08. The rifle with both barrels was delivered to my house on 9/18/08. Total turn-around was 11 weeks, but turn-around time from the accessory barrel request was only 6 weeks. I consider this reasonable, since their web site has always stated that accessory barrel fitting will take 6-8 weeks, and given the recent move I’ll give them a B+.
Customer Service Communication:
I think everyone already knows that the CS phone operators are physically distant from the repair shop, and can’t answer detailed questions such as “did they find out where my barrel was out of spec?” But every time I talked to them, they were very courteous to me, and told me whatever their computer screens could tell them. Maybe it’s due to my rural Southern Indiana upbringing, but I actually found the new CS people to be more polite than the CS people at the old Gardner plant. (Sorry. That’s just my impression, and it may just be cultural.) A nice touch is the customer accessible web site, where you can enter your repair number, and it will tell you if your repair is finished. Unfortunately, it’s not very informative. The entire time that Remington/H&R had my gun, the web site said that my gun was on the repairman’s bench. Only when they shipped my gun did the message change, telling me the date the gun was shipped and the UPS tracking number. The phone operators can give slightly more detailed information (i.e. “its in the testing gallery”, or “its in final inspection”, or “its in shipping”). I’m sure their just reading this off the computer screen. It would be nice if the computer would put this information on the customer accessible web site. I must say, a mistake did occur with the accessory barrel order. I had ordered a 22” standard contour 223 barrel and was told I would be charged $120. Instead, I received a 24” bull barrel, and I am being charged $147. Not a big deal to me, as I’m just as happy with the bull barrel. But it was a mistake in the processing of my order, and someone on a tighter budget might be upset with this kind of mistake. Also, everyone should be aware that in addition to the cost of the barrel, they charge a $15 fitting fee, and a $15 proofing fee. But, it looks like there’s no shipping fee (maybe the warranty repair covered this). In summary, I would rate the customer service as not exceptional but good enough, and I give them a B
Quality of Workmanship:
I sent the gun in for disappointing accuracy and debated sending it because it was “good enough” for deep woods deer hunting (4” groups), but it was unsatisfying for target shooting. I finally decided it wouldn’t hurt to have them check it out before any warranty expired to ensure the gun met factory specifications. The note returned with my gun said “rifling rough/poorly cut/inaccurate”, and indicated the barrel was replaced. It is a new (at least different) 44 magnum barrel. (Oddly, the crown looks like it may have been recut. The crown recess does not match that on my other factory barrels.) The barrel does seem to lock up tight and fit nicely to the receiver, and so does the new 223 accessory barrel. I previously had a 28 gauge barrel fitted to this same receiver. Given concerns raised by others about previously-fitted barrels, I pulled that barrel out of the closet and tried it on the frame. It fits just as tightly as it always did. The gun was returned to me with a 44 magnum test target that showed a 2” group, with “50 yds” handwritten on the target. That’s the equivalent of a 4” group at 100 yards, possibly no improvement from the previous barrel, but I’ll have to shoot it myself to see what the barrel can actually do. I have not had a chance to test accuracy yet, and will have to report on that later. The returned gun did have a couple of problems that I must mention. First, the new 44 magnum barrel lacked the extractor. (Yup, just wasn’t there, don’t know how they test-fired it.) Second, the accessory barrel was loose in the box, with no cardboard or other packing around it, and it dinged the butt stock pretty good during shipping. I immediately called CS about this, and they are shipping me an extractor assembly and a new butt stock. If I find that I can’t install the extractor myself, then they will give me a call tag to ship the barrel and extractor back to them, and they will install it at their cost. So, how do I summarize the quality of workmanship? Well, I am happy with the fit of the barrels to the receiver, but disappointed that a barrel left the repair bench without an extractor. I’ll give the repair bench a C+. But I find it inexcusable that a barrel could make it through test-firing and final inspection without an extractor. The test gallery and final inspector both get a D-. I’m also disappointed that the shipping department packed a loose barrel next to a wooden stock, so I give shipping a C. But, Rem/H&R is responding to these problems. So in summary, I guess I’ll give my overall experience a B-.
Well, that’s my long and detailed summary. I hope some of you find this useful.
Duane
