quote:

Originally posted by ulsterman:
I've had numerous triggers worked on by the gentleman in question and never had an issue.

So have I, at least a half-dozen. More probably. But I’ve had one, on a FAL, that got a little frisky in short order. I sent it to Mark Graham at ARS to be put right.

I’ve met the man in question in person several times. He is super nice and his service is excellent. However, based on my experience, I can only conclude that sometimes he gets a little too close to the edge on the stoning and polishing.

SIGWolf, the OP, has yet to confirm who the gunsmith was that worked on the trigger pack...perhaps with good reason.

IF the gunsmith in question is indeed BS, then I will say that I have withheld commenting on him or his work when discussed in various threads over the years here.

I consider besmirching a person's professional skills or character to be a serious thing and I don't do it lightly...and so I'm going to be intentionally vague in my comments now in an open forum.

I will simply say that in dealing with "BS" you should proceed with extreme caution...if at all.

For those that require more detail you may contact me through email and I can provide both first-hand and second-hand accounts to justify my statement.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:
SIGWolf, the OP, has yet to confirm who the gunsmith was that worked on the trigger pack...perhaps with good reason.

IF the gunsmith in question is indeed BS, then I will say that I have withheld commenting on him or his work when discussed in various threads over the years here.

I consider besmirching a person's professional skills or character to be a serious thing and I don't do it lightly...and so I'm going to be intentionally vague in my comments now in an open forum.

I will simply say that in dealing with "BS" you should proceed with extreme caution...if at all.

For those that require more detail you may contact me through email and I can provide both first-hand and second-hand accounts to justify my statement.

I think as you do. I'm very careful about defaming someones reputation, especially based on anecdotes (in this case only my own experience) and here say (the opinion of others).

However, the opinions I did receive were told directly to me and had to do specifically with the person who did the work. These were shared in private emails and not for public consumption. That is the other reason I'm intentionally vague about both the gunsmith who did the work and the two gunsmiths who warned me about the work.

Besides, my point had to do with how I should proceed given that I, personally, am not confident of the work that was done. Who did the work, is not primarily the question.

The other consideration is that of the two gunsmiths I spoke with one, I believe, had most of his experience with pistol work that had been done, while the other, who was equally vehement, dealt primarily with HK and with rifle work. I consider both to be unquestionable experts.

Most of the negative anecdotes I've read have had to do with pistols and not rifles, so that is one consideration.

However, I realized no one here in this thread can really evaluate the sources without knowing who they are. Suffice it to say, personally, it was enough to unsettle me. I sent the trigger group to the person in question based on recommendation and reputation which was overwhelmingly good at that point. It was like whiplash to then get the personal and expert warnings I received.

Anecdotes are not evidence, even if they are multiple. Subject expertise and experience with the specific issue in question is evidence.

So, no, I'm not going to confirm who the gunsmith is, nor who his critics were. I'm looking to determine how I proceed given my uncertainty, which I feel is highly warranted.

I appreciate all the replies so far.

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
Why not take it to a local, reputable gunsmith and have it checked out? I imagine it doesn't take a HK specialist to check a rifle out and say "functioning properly" or "broken".

Bruce

I've considered that. I do have someone here I trust. I asked him if he would be willing to evaluate it. At the time he was rather non-committal, but I may ask him again.

He works mostly on pistols, but he has built some custom rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by gearhounds:
Load a mag with 3 or 4 rounds at a time and go shoot it. If it doesn’t give any multiple round bursts, increase the capacity and enjoy it. Just don’t throw a full 20 in it for the first hammer drop.

I had thought this the best course if I choose to shoot it. My concern is that even if it doesn't fail immediately, if the work is a "dangerously hackjob" then a range trip or two might not prove out the safety of the work.

quote:

Originally posted by testfire:
Quite some time ago I had BS work on the trigger on my PTR as well. Worked fine a few trips to the range, but ONE DAY, I had a string of 8 rounds go off in a row. Although it was entertaining, I really didn't want to risk going to jail over something unintended. I sent it back to him and have not had issues since (although I haven't fire it in years - may need to try it out again).

That is my concern. I've gone to the range once with it, fired off a few rounds using the method recommended here and it seemed to work fine. At that point, I had not received the negative evaluations. I thought everything was fine.

I could go to the range again, do the same, have the same result, but it's no guarantee the work is reliable.

After all, the original trigger was find for years and years.

quote:

Originally posted by Mettlepig:
Who would you have evaluate it? A little more info on who that is would be helpful. I would start over with a new pack and send the old one off for "Re-evaluation". I own plenty of packs, so would like to know who gave it the O.K. before giving my recomendation.

There is a local gunsmith here who would do it and whose work I trust. I could also send it off to one of the two gunsmiths who warned me about the work. They could evaluate it and repair if needed.

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:
I've converted several HK packs to semi ... It's not that big of a deal. Unless there was something broken in your pack it's hard to see how that would happen, but I know I haven't seen everything.

I've got a registered sear that I put in my PTR91 and by the 3rd round, the muzzle was 2feet over the top of my target ... I was in complete control and expecting it ... I didn't consider it exhilarating at all, in fact I ont shoot 308 in FA after that, it just wasn't any fun.

9mm, 223 & 7.62x39 sure, that's fun.

Yeah, I was being sarcastic. I wasn't any fun at all.

quote:

Originally posted by kimberkid:

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
If I have something go 'NFA' on me, I either send it to the MFG for action or replace it. Period. Once is enough. Twice is silly.

Ditto, the price is too high to "F" around with it.
I'm not talking about the "up to $250,000" ... I'm talking about loosing my legal right to own a firearm for the rest of my life.
(Although the $250K would sting)

Not to mention the danger to someone else's life should it get out of control.

I can't actually believe we are into page 2 on this. Buy a new trigger pack. Why are we still discussing this? Since in this case the part is EASILY replaced. If I had some rare exotic not replaceable item ok maybe you do something else. Just my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by hrcjon:
I can't actually believe we are into page 2 on this. Buy a new trigger pack. Why are we still discussing this? Since in this case the part is EASILY replaced. If I had some rare exotic not replaceable item ok maybe you do something else. Just my opinion.

Thanks for the response. The more I consider it, the more I move in that direction, even though it will cost me. But then, there is peace of mind and an end to the quandary.

Bought a new trigger group today. Cleaned the rifle and when it comes will take it to the range to end my estrangement with this rifle.

Thank you for all your thoughtful replies. They helped me to solidify my thinking.

As mentioned, I just bought another trigger pack. Went to the range this afternoon, ran about six or seven 20 round magazines through it and had a great time.

I'm going to see if someone can resurrect the old one, verify it is safe or make it so, but for now, it's back to being a functional rifle in which I have confidence.

Always good to have a firearm back in the lineup, fully repaired and verified at the range!