Straight Shot Gunsmithing - endorsement

[308 nate]

**What , who , is this Phoenix action ?**
Phoenix actions are made by Glen Harrison. I have been extremely happy with his actions and he has been super good to work with and has been very good with me as far as time frames. I have found dealing with a lot of manufactures and customers, it is always "somebody else's" fault. I will not mention any names as I'm not looking to cut people down as some people seem to thrive on. Glen Harrison makes a superior product. But don't think you can throw any off the shelf bolts and handles at this receiver and think they will have a perfect fit. There are currently four different Remington handle specs that PTG is making just for Remington alone. When Glen started making these receivers. They were made to some specific parts he had on hand and they fit perfect. Problem is they weren't the majority and the tolerances on the replacement bolts by PTG were about .008 on the major dia. of the locking lugs. therefore there were some interference problems with the battery cam in the action. if you want to label Glen's quality stop looking at the receiver bodies he sells to other gunsmiths that don't know what they are doing and try to mangle them together with parts that don't fit properly, instead look at the complete actions with his one piece bolts all done by Glen you will be hard pressed to find anything better!


***Number one : Nate ... you need to develop a way to respond to your clients in a timely fashion . As a budding young SMITH you will need to apportion a certain amount of your day to those that are providing you with work .***

Thanks for you help, but I find it's a lot easier to talk about making something work than actually making it work. I tend to be a very personable person. When I do answer the phone I rarely ever cut them short if i have to I do my darndest to call them back. Just the other day I was curious how many call I was getting a day so at 3 in the afternoon I checked my phone and it was over 40 calls! of course I could only answer about half of them. It is easy to spend 1/2 - 1 hr. on the phone with one customer! I love to talk to my customers. there are a lot of gunsmiths out there who do not talk to their customers as they know it is time consuming. I could easily spend 8 hrs. a day talking to customers but, I am a one man shop and someone needs to build their rifles they like to talk about. I have also found that people tend to listen to only what they want to hear. I have never guaranteed an exact finish date! I just give an estimated delivery time as there are a lot of things in life I cannot control. My recommendation to customers, if your not willing to wait just go buy a rifle and have fun. Custom rifles take time to build. I very much enjoy building rifles and my heart goes into every one I build!

I am not telling people to stop calling, I very much enjoy talking about their build or a new build an I'm not trying to ignore anyone when I do not answer my phone
it just means I am either on the other line with someone or I am trying to get my customers rifles/products finished in a timely fashion which everyone wants!!
If I don't call back within two days it was because I had more messages than I could possibly get back to so please try again. In an emergency leave an urgent message and even write an e-mail and I will get back to you as fast as I can.


***It doesn't matter what period of your day you choose ........................just make it consistent . Your clients need ....DESERVE rapid response from you . regarding their projects . ***

I could be consistent if my customers were consistent!


***One of the best out there I know of in this regard is George Gardner a t GA Precision . He makes himself available for a hour or so every day to all those that have sent him their hopes and dreams ( and their cash ) . He has been willing to discuss the project at depth and gives no indication of wanting to " move on " . Definitely a plus in my book . ****

This is great! But I give more than 3 hrs. a day by phone to my customers. I am a one man shop Is George a one man shop? or does he have people working while he is on the phone??

***I have invested in work from Nate by sending him a project that I want smithed . As i said the time frame me mentioned in the original contacts is a good ways away I have noticed the difficulty in contacting Nate : " at will " so to speak . ***

I am sorry you can not contact me at your will but, there is nothing I can do about this as I am not working solely for one person, so when you get through to me you are keeping others from getting through to me and visa- versa.


***That is to say that I may cal several times a day or a time or two a week and no one answers . Thats not what " I " as the consumer want . BUT ................. " I " as the custom rifle consumer may need to slow down a bit . This is not the corporate world nor is the product a corporate product .***

Some people are really unlucky when it comes to getting through to me. I think I have customers who have gotten through every single time they call and then I have some that always call when I am ordering parts, on the phone with another customer or out of the shop...... So e-mail me if this happens. I rarely have an e-mail that goes over two weeks unanswered and if it is urgent I answer the same day.

***Even so ...........as James H ? said , time frames given should be time frames met unless communication to the contrary is in place .***

This post by James H did shock me. I never received a single e-mail from him. I am careful to tell my customers "APPROXIMATE" when giving a time frame, as life happens. Is a week and a half past approx. finish date grounds for blabbing on a public forum?? maybe so? (I got the receiver into my shop on the 12th) This winter has been extremely out of the normal for snowfall in North Dakota, in the time I have spent removeing snow I could have build 10 rifles. this is not something I had scheduled in, therefore it has set me back a little, In fact I could not ship James H's receiver the next day as it was blizzarding and I was snowed in with no visability.( I did ship the day after though and even had to blow out my road three times as the wind kept filling it in.) Sometimes I wonder if people would examine themselves a little more before they go talking about other peoples problems it would be a better world....

***Nate , no slam here . Quite the opposite . I just want to use the thread to share what I see as " problems " between the Smith and the client and offer ways that I think can alleviate those problems . ****

Thanks for the input. no offense taken.
****I guess I am saying that I am on both Nate's side and James H . There is a way !****

Yes, there is a way but, it requires loves virtues on both sides patience,kindness, gentleness, not self seeking, not easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs.

****Now .......... Nate !! is that rifle I sent you last week ready to go yet !!! No !!!!!! Well gold urnit !! Get that puppy going or .......... ***

Well, I have to call 40 people back, answer 100 e-mails and have 50 other rifles to finish first,...... so I should be on it tomorrow. Oh ya' and the McMillan stock I ordered a couple days ago should be here tomorrow as well as they were going to stop production of everybody else's stock just to do yours. So all you other guys out there that ordered stocks from McMillan, it's going to be a 6 month wait instead of the 5 months you were quoted.. all in fun

***thanks Nate for taking on my project , may He bless and speed you , ****

My thanks to you for letting me work on your rifle.

308nate

 

[grit]

James and Jimba,

You folks are killing me. James your issue was resolved instantly. You were also offered a genuine heartfealt apology (treasure it, these are rare), you still complained.

Jimba,

You have to be realistic here. There is not a SINGLE quality smith available who isn't falling behind. When you call SSG, you talk to who? Nate! Nate will take as much time as you like and never offer a hint of needing to move on. What happens to the others who call during this conversation? Guesse what, they have to wait. It simply isn't possible to do it all at the same time!

You suggest an hour a day? The poor fellow spends six hours a day on the phone. Not to mention 8+ hours building rifles.

You want to talk to your gunsmith "at will", yet you want him to hold a schedule. You better pick my friend. Frankly, MOST of us take advantage of our smiths time. WE act as though they've nothing to do but talk to us and work on OUR project.

I agree, every business needs a system. But, let's be realistic. And let's give credit where credit is due!! The fact is you will look long hard to find better customer service and better quality in any game!!!!!


THE PURPOSE OF THIS THREAD WAS TO OFFER SINCERE THANKS TO A RARE GENTLEMAN FOR SHOWING ME AN EXCEPTIONAL KINDNESS.

I WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF THOSE WHO HAVE OTHER AGENDAS WOULD PURSUE THEM ELSEWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[eddybo]

I deal with Nate a bit and have found him to be a genuine and honorable guy. I have not had any problems reaching him. His communication has always been great and he has always been timely when dealing with me.
He has also been very free with his knowledge. I just started doing bit of gun plumbing myself and Nate's advice has always been spot on.

I do not know a lot of things but I do know this, you can't provide something if you can't get the parts and also know that mistakes happen. How a person reacts when those mistakes happen tells the tale. I reccomend Nate without hesitation to anyone. If it were not for the fact that I consider my current smith to be my mentor and one of the best friends I have ever had, Nate would be my full time gunsmith.

 

[trueblue]

After reading James H's post, I would like to distance myself from his posted handle.

My name is JAMES HURST, but go by "TRUEBLUE" on this site.
Do not confuse me with this guy.

Nate is building me a rifle at the present, and I am impressed with his patience he has had with me. As Nate stated, time spent on the phone is time away from building rifles, but all part of business. While I have not met him personally, I gather from our phone conversations that he is a quality guy with good character. He is working on something different for me and he has been flexible when I have discussed some changes. He has strived to build me a rifle to what I want, while making good recommendations along the way. What more could a customer ask for. From my experience with Nate so far, I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone.

 

[Coyboy]

Nate is a stand-up guy, I'm know he has alot going on right now, please understand he is doing his very best to get your work completed.

One of our (custom smiths) biggest problems is time managment. We try to dedicate times of the day to accomplish work, but we also feel a commitment to answer the phone during that time. Like Nate I'm a one man show, I understand some of the frustrations in this post, but we are all human, and that means occasionally something slips our mind. I've been there as well, some customers are more demanding than others, we try to adjust and move forward.

For things to work the best, Customers should contact by e-mail when ever possible, this leaves a written record of contact and is referable if somthing slips our mind. I like talking to my customers on the phone as well, and when the details of the project are commpleted and the barrel will take 8 weeks and the work will take another 6, please refrain from calling on week 4 and asking how the project is going, unless you have a change in the scope of work.

Unfortunatly, for every hour we spend on the phone, an hour of production is lost. That we can only make up by working nights and weekends. That creates a problem because, as Nate would agree we still like to have some familly time.

I hope no one sees this as a wineing session, I am going to implemenmt some changes in my system, to try and free up more time to get work completed. unfortunatly this may incude leting the answering machine pick-up more often, and limiting my "walk-in" hours. Don't take that as a snub, if it's urgent say so, if it can be put in an e-mail, GREAT.

 

[blipelt]

Richard Schatz is the one who pointed my in the direction of Nate. If you don't know who Richard is he is a multiple World Record Holder in ND. He shot with Nate once in an F-class tournament.


Brent

 

[Jimm]

Nate ,

I see I have failed miserably to do what I was hoping to do . That is to lighten the mood of the thread at the same time pointing out things on both sides .

I have no problem with the fact that you are not available any time I call . I treat that as part of the mechanism of having a custom rifle built , especially when dealing with a "one man show " . I was stating what my experience has been to show others that it can and does happen . I also pointed ouyt that those that are in such a hurry need to " slow down " .

Much of what I said was in fun and was hoping to cause folks to laugh ,not gripe or snipe . Just didnt do a good job of that either .

Please accept my apologies if I have offended anyone , if I can delete that mess I will !

jim b

 

[James Jones]

Its funny (or sad) to see how some folks expect for a smith to jump through hoops to finish their build as soon as they send in their stuff. I'd say that 95% of the better smiths out their are a one man opperation and for those of you who think that these guy drag their sorry butts out of bed at 9-10 am to get started then take a 2hr lunch break and knock off at 4pm your saddly mistaken , you must also relize that these guys have a life also , that involves kids and a wife generaly , I'm not sure about you but my son comes first and formost to me so if he gets sick then my job gets put on hold.
Also if you think that building a rifle is just a matter to throwing some stuff togther , again your wrong. Most people have no idea whats involved when your setting up parts for machining when the tolerances are held to .0002" , if Nate sets up a barrel to be chambered has it all dialed in ready for cutting then takes a phone call and chats with a customer for an hr alot of things can happen , if the temp in his shop goes up 5-10 degs then the barrel will most likely have to be redialed.

Nathan has built a couple guns for me and done a good bit of other work for me as well , I reccomend him to anybody that needs work done , from somthing as minor as bolt fluting to a full custom build.
George Gardener's shop produces some fine rifles as well , but GAP also has several guys working all at the same time , if George sudden'y had to do it all by himself then it would well take more than a year to get a rifle from him. I'm sure that Nate could probably have his wife answer the phone all the time and take notes and messages but I know that when I send sombody a build i want to talk to the guy making the chips !!

Here is some pics of a Phoenix Machine action and some of Nathan's machine work

 

[James Jones]

Here is the finished product and some groups fired with it.
NOTE : these groups were shot with factory loaded ammo , shooting prone with a Harris Bi-Pod and a sand sock rear bag

with custom suppressor mounted

Groups

 

[dirtball]

I have never had Nate work on one of my guns, BUT I have purchased several of his brakes, every time I have called he has been courteous and very helpful to determine just which of his brakes would best serve my purpose and has ALWAYS delivered within the time frame he said he would. If he is willing to take the time with me for the very few dollars he is making on a brake, I can NOT believe he would intentionally mislead any one or put their work off for a higher paying project.

THANKS NATE

Dave

 

[308 nate]

Nate ,

I see I have failed miserably to do what I was hoping to do . That is to lighten the mood of the thread at the same time pointing out things on both sides .

I have no problem with the fact that you are not available any time I call . I treat that as part of the mechanism of having a custom rifle built , especially when dealing with a "one man show " . I was stating what my experience has been to show others that it can and does happen . I also pointed ouyt that those that are in such a hurry need to " slow down " .

Much of what I said was in fun and was hoping to cause folks to laugh ,not gripe or snipe . Just didnt do a good job of that either .

Please accept my apologies if I have offended anyone , if I can delete that mess I will !

jim b

Jim,
on the contrary, I took no offense to your post. I just thought I would use it to explain my side. My reply was not directed at you personally, but to the general public. More than anything I like to keep finish dates and be able to reply to all my customers in a timely fashion. My organization skills are probably lacking and as much as I try to keep on a schedule, there are always things that seem to throw me off schedule. I am thankful to all you guys that have given me the chance to build guns for a living. My goal is to continually build a better rifle than the last one I built and offering better service. I am truly grateful for all the kind words and support, but I'm afraid when you deal with Nathan Dagley you will be dealing with an ordinary human being who is subject to imperfections........

Nate

 

[Dano1]

Nate,

You sound like one Helluva guy! Your patience and understanding remarkable!

With that being said, my smith is probablly sick of hearing from me too! Fortunately for me, We're good friends and I grew up with his younger brothers, and I'm friends with his father as well.

Friends (especially those who are exceptional Gunsmiths), are hard to come by and it sounds like you've made a lot of them.

Dan

 

[CHARLIEDUECE65]

I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY, I HAVE USED 4 DIFFERENT GUNSMITHS INCLUDING NATE AND NOT ONE OF THEM HAS COMPLETED A PROJECT THAT TOOK SOME TIME TO ACCOMPLISH. SO, THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED. I DONT GET UPSET ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THEM RUSHING MY JOB EITHER. I WANT THEIR BEST WORK BEING DONE TO MY RIFLE. AS FAR AS NATE BEING AVAILABE OR RETURNING CALLS, EMAILS, HE HAS RETURNED ALL MY EMAILS IN A TIMELY MANNER AND EVEN RETURNED CALLS THAT I DIDN'T LEAVE MESSAGES TO. MUST HAVE CALLER ID! I AM EAGERLY AWAITING MY BOLT HANDLES. THANKS NATE.gun)

 

[Ksmirk]

Seems like some folks think a custom build you just take some parts and screw them together! while I would NOT cosider myself a gunsmith I have built a couple of rifles and there are a ton of things that take a serious amount of time, funny I'm 16 weeks out on my stock, 3 weeks on my barrel, a month on the scope I'm getting, so on etc. etc. good things take time! if you want it fast deal with a off the shelf rifle.

Nate did some bolt shroud work for me a couple months back and I was very impressed! my day to day job is Quality Control and that makes me a very picky person and his work was something I would be proud to pass on. I just got my donor action today for a 338 Edge build and I'm pretty much sure that I will be getting with Nate for some of the work I'll need that I just don't feel right doing myself. I have not dealt with him much but I can tell you that he is a stand up guy that I could see calling a friend so to the folks that complained about turn around time all I can think of is maybe you should have sent it off sooner! take your blood pressure meds and relax the product you get from Nate may be a week or two late but your going to get a dang great product. Later,

Kirk