Spence Gunsmithing

"Brought my rifle to Ryan to have a new barrel repopulated, installed. The only problem was on my end, the new made in USA barrel did not fit the rear sight base. So Ryan ordered one, but after I got home I found one of the right size and he told me to bring it the next day and he would return the othe RSB. He also said he would refund my money for the ordered ESB which was cancled, which he did, no problem. I feel he is honest and kept his word with me. For all the work he did I feel the price was fair. For those that complain that it is a cash only business you have no idea how much more expense and complications credit cards cause for a small family run business. I know, I run one with my Father. For those that complain that he is unproffessional and rude I say you have no appreciation for the artistic personality. And Ryan's work is a piece of art. It's better than watching a master at the Khyber Pass. He's not rude, just straight too the point, no nonsense. He has a great sense of humor, you just have to watch for it. And YES, I recommend him. Just be prepared to wait. Good things come to those who wait."

"Installed night sights on my pistol while standing there. Perfect job, no scratches. The other Smiths wanted me to leave my daily carry for several weeks until they got around to it. Highly recommend!"

"The professionalism and capability of John and Ryan are outstanding. They are very fair in pricing, have a can do spirit, and a no bull assessment of what needs to be done. They were able to cut my Glock 19 slide for a red dot optic easily, have it survive a competition shooting (The Tactical Games) without loss of zero, and do it in a timely manner. They also helped me construct my M92 PAP AK into a mean machine by drill and tapping to allow for affixture of brace and 1913 rail and removing the thread protector to attach a flash hider. Anytime I need something repaired, modified, cut, cerekoted, or tested I go to these guys. You should too because it is it is cheaper and equivalent to sending it off to somewhere on the east or west coasts by big name gunsmiths only to have it take forever and you have to hope they do it right the first time and if you need any correction done, it takes forever for that to happen. Be smart, shop and support local. Especially when they are the better option."

"This was my first experience with Spence Gunsmithing. There won't be a second. He did complete the task asked of him. Please remove 1 screw that was holding a scope bracket on. He charged $50. However, that wasn't the issue I have. His poor communication is why I won't be back. Over the phone, I told him I would be out, since he is apparently only by appointment. When I arrived, no one was there. I called him and he told me to leave it in the back seat of his truck. Which I reluctantly did. He stated that his friend was coming to get it (he was in the shower). He stated that he would call which he never did. When I texted him later to see if he had it since I was a bit anxious after leaving it. His reply was one word. Yup! I then asked him to let me know when I could pick it up He never responded. The next day I texted him if I could pick it up the day after and again his response was, Yup! When I arrived, he was not there but his friend gave me my gun. The rail for the scope was not in the box. If I had not looked, I would have left without it. Very poor customer service. Friend, if you want to run a business, people skills are part of the equation. I hope you take this a feedback to help develop your business and your professionalism. Many businesses are destroyed for bad word of mouth reviews. I hope you do better with the next person."

"I would highly discourage anyone from using Spence Gunsmithing's services. I have had my own issues as well as seeing others in the community having issues who do not seem to speak up. I had Spence work on two AKs. The first AK was having the barrel chopped, crowned, pinned, and welded. The second, being a pistol, was chopped, crowned, and threaded. Clear instructions were left printed out on paper to which I was told they wouldn't be necessary and he "knows what he's doing." It is important to note that I mentioned on paper these firearms would be shot suppressed almost exclusively. The first AK appeared fine at first and inspection showed a fairly centered alignment with a bore guide when checked with the suppressor. After multiple trips to the range however an issue arose. I ended up with a suppressor down range with the mount still captured in the locking collar. Pictures are attached for reference for what the threads and related looked like. Incredibly shallow threads, no crown, and poor workmanship was present. There was also no sign of a pin for the pin and weld, but there was a poorly executed weld. Luckily, the suppressor was not damaged by a baffle strike. Sadly this rifle was a 14.5" pin/weld, so I will have to purchase and press in a new barrel as it was never my intention to SBR this particular rifle. The other AK, the pistol, had its own set of issues related to threading. I picked it up and was informed I needed to wait a couple of days for the epoxy to dry. I was curious to why there was epoxy but figured he had rockset the mount as is typical with suppressor mounts, but he had done so with a flash hider and left the suppressor mount in the bag the gun had been dropped off in. I thought it was no big deal and I could quickly switch the flash hider and mount as I have done plenty of times. Once the flash hider was removed I cleaned the threads. Upon inspection the threads were incredibly crusty and difficult to turn as if metal chips were in the threads. Sadly, they were just terrible threads which were incredibly thin. The flash hider was in fact installed with epoxy to make up for nearly non existent material left as threads. I installed the suppressor mount and began to check alignment (knowing this would not work) and the alignment rod was so far to one side that it was touching baffles. When asked why the threads were not concentric I was simply told over the phone “I didn’t know it needed to be concentric”. First, I left instructions and informed him of the use. Second, why wouldn’t threads need to be concentric to bore in general? A picture of the bore guide shown off center is included as well. The gunsmith attempted to rectify this mistake but it was still not concentric and this firearm will be sent out for a new barrel as well as there is not enough material left to thread farther back to the front sight gas block combo. Please note, the gunsmith told me to be careful with this particular gun now that he threaded it again and I should not shoot it too much. I should not forget the terrible turn around time where I went months without hearing from this gunsmith when reaching out. I understand wait times as gunsmiths are in short supply, especially quality ones, but I have had entirely custom builds take less time from much better operations who are busier. I would expect quality work if it takes months to complete. To sum things up, If you actually shoot and use your firearms on a regular basis (or care about quality) it is wise to seek services elsewhere. I understand there are plenty who do not shoot on a regular basis and need little work done, but I would not want this gunsmith’s work done on even the cheapest of firearms or “range toys”. I typically do not write reviews, but having heard this gunsmith recommended locally in conversation, on social media, etc. has convinced me it is necessary to warn others. Spend your money elsewhere on quality services to mitigate risk of damaging your firearms or injury to yourself and others."