Dave Wells Custom Guns

[Ernie Rodriguez]

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.

[Ernie Rodriguez]

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.

[Ernie Rodriguez]

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

[Freepistol]

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.

[Ernie Rodriguez]

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

[Ernie Rodriguez]

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.

[slofyr]

...Glad my dealings with Dave Wells is over.

Glad this thread will end.