Apache Barrel

[Robot]

I'm in the same boat as some of you are waiting for a barrel. I hesitated to make the order from Apache as I saw some posts complaining of excessive waits and poor communication from him a couple years back. I also saw many of posts praising the quality of his work. For a while there was a message on his website explaining the errant customer service as growing pains and saying how he was going to keep things a small one man show from then on so that he wouldn't become so far behind again. He seemed to be making a genuine effort to do better and the price was decent, so I decided to roll the dice and give him a chance. I made a order in July of 2017 and am still waiting. I understand these things take time, but 9+ months for a Savage pre-fit barrel seems excessive. I expected to wait around 4-6 months. After about 6 months I would occasionally send inquires on the order status by email or telephone message. Most were ignored or went into some email and voicemail "black hole". I've gotten some responses back, always polite, apologetic, and promising to look into the situation and complete the work. Then nothing happens. He's told me in email that he's had the barrel blank for quite awhile now, but still hasn't completed the work and sent it out. I've politely asking for a refund if he can't complete the work. No refund has been issued. It's been a frustrating experience to say the least. I can't afford to eat the money I paid him. I can't order from another vendor without a refund. I understand that it's a one man show and life events can happen that can cause delays. But it seems to me that if you're willing to take people's hard earned cash in advance there would be some sense of responsibility to get them what they paid for in a reasonable time. Is he a genius on the lathe who is just terribly disorganized? People say he's a stand up guy who will come through...........eventually. It certainly seems that I've been getting the run around so far. It would be nice to get this rifle back together in time to salvage some of this year's shooting season. As far as I can tell my options are to keep waiting and hope that it's worth the wait. Alternatively, I could try to get a chargeback done through Paypal or my credit card company. I'm not sure what the time limits are for chargebacks on goods ordered but never delivered though. Do any other forum members have any suggestions or experiences to share?

[BlueDog]

Do any other forum members have any suggestions or experiences to share?

Hello Robot! Did you ever make any headway? I’m still waiting for my barrel (currently on day 348). I’m doubting I get it before my 1 year anniversary wait date. Insert sad face here: ->

[Robot]

To update, I did finally receive the barrel from Jim at Apache. It ended up taking about 10 months to receive it. For the last several months I would send an email or call every couple of weeks to inquire on the status of the order. I usually didn't get a response back, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to keep checking. I don't think he's a crook or rip-off man. He just seems very disorganized on the administrative side of the business. In my opinion, if you're going to take people's hard-earned money for pre-orders you should make every effort to get them what they paid for in a timely fashion. But as they say...good, cheap, and quick, pick any two. The the machine work on the barrel looks good. I did run into an issue installing it though. The barrel threads have a sharper point or "peaks" on them then the factory barrel has and the new barrel it won't thread onto the rifle action. I put never-seize on everything. The factory barrel comes off and threads back onto the action with no problem. The factory barrel nut threads onto the Apache barrel with no issue. The recoil lug slides over the threads with no issue. However, when the Apache barrel is threaded onto the action it will only go on about half a turn. I stopped there as I didn't want to force anything. I did some research and it seems the issue is the "peaks" of the threads are cut a little taller and sharper then the factory barrel. Visual inspection seemed to confirm this. A known issue with tolerance stacking that some people can run into with prefits? The most often recommended remedy seemed to be lightly sanding the threads with very fine grit sandpaper/emery cloth to knock the peaks down a couple .001", cleaning the grit off thoroughly, and test fitting until it fits properly. Has anyone else run into this issue? I'm a little apprehensive to start sanding on the thing after it's finally arrived looking so nice, but a barrel I can't install onto the action isn't doing me any good. Any other suggestions?