TargetTalk

Had a custom 45 built by Dave Wells of Wells Custom Gunmaker,Nicholson,Pa. Would not recommed him as a "SMITH" or any other pistol work.After posting a report on his pistol-I received no less than 10 complaining emails from shooters involved with him.Two questions-why don't more dissatisfied customers of these unethical/questionable pistolsmiths post their stories so that our shooting friends can avoid these characters.And when a person is considering a custom pistol-WHY don't they research the many forums to see which pistolsmith are undesireable and which have many complimentary comments. If a pistolsmith has 2/3 negative emails posted,or more, you would be wise to consider someone else to build your pistol.

Tested this KKM barreled pistol at 50 yards-Best group was about 6".Sent the pistol to a well known pistol smith in the SE and on our forum-asked what is wrong with this pistol-although I suspected what the answer was. His report was-the bbl WAS NOT a KKM bbl(which I requested and paid for),bushing/slide fit was loose,bushing/bbl fit was loose,rear hood area was sloppy AND rear of bbl was locking up on link and NOT the 2 lugs like a target pistol should be constructed.Called Dave Wells and said I would drop the issue if he had the KKM company send me a new bbl-he refused.He wanted me to send the pistol to him to take care of-I found that totally ludicrous.Sent bbl to Kevin,of KKM Precision to verify-sure enough-it was not his bbl. I am sending this warning out to our shooting friends-Dave Wells -of custom guns is not a good gunsmith,is dishonest an greedy. He has victimized at least 8 shooters and let us hope he does not find any more victims. I will send Dave Wells the legal definition of fraud and I have everything I wrote documented.

All I wanted from Dave Wells was a new KKM barrel-which I paid for.Seeing no cooperation from him-I submitted a complaint to the BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU-Washington DC/Eastern Pa District. Within 3 weeks,Dave Wells sent me a new KKM barrel-guess he felt it was the "right" thing to do :-) I am OK with this,learned a lesson and won't have to deal with him again-ever. Cheers

That's great you got the barrel you paid for, Ernie. I've filed two complaints with the BBB and nothing ever happened. The BBB said they couldn't do anything more than send a letter.

Freepistol-I am glad I got the KKM barrel too.The thing with the BBB is if the issue IS NOT resolved-it remains on their records. Now if a consumer wants to inquire about a business or an open complaint-I believe all they have to do is call the BBB and inquire about the business.Naturally if there are unresolved complaints against a busness-that is a RED flag.I hope the word gets around about this alleged "gunsmith"-Dave Wells.Perhaps there will be less victims involved with his work

Had Dave Salyer-a S.C. gunsmith install/fit new barrel/bushing.Had to shorten elevation screw on rear sight-was interfering with firing pin movement.I installed a Ed Brown hammer,sear,extended ejector, modified sear spring and polished all internal parts. Did a proper trigger job,adj to 3.5lbs and trigger breaks like glass with no creep.All these things Dave Wells should have done-but didn't. Gun now functions perfectly,is accurate and reliable.

Ernie Rodriguez wrote:...Glad my dealings with Dave Wells is over.

Glad this thread will end.