Not sure if this goes here but I didn't think it fit under "built it yourself"

I was thinking about it and it seemed like a neat idea for my own gratification that if I had an AK parts kit built into a gun to look into having Red Jacket do it since I am a fan of the show.

My main concerns would be

1. Lead time.
2. Customer service (or lack there of)
3. Quality of build.

Can anyone who has actually done business with them tell me about their experiences?

have you watched the TV show?   You want those guys building you a gun?

     Ha ha.  This should be quite funny as most on the board have a pretty low opinion of them.  Maybe they have changed but I would not be going there.

I would think that they most likely have a separate shop you never see or hear about on TV where they actually do work staffed by competent people and CS.   Then again, maybe they don't.

Maybe Flem can chime in.

It was my understanding that they recently got out of the AK building business.

ETA: After looking at their website it says they still do them, so I guess I got bogus info.

I know for a while there their turnaround time was really high and they had a few QC issues pop up. Haven't seen anything recently from them though.

I for one cannot stand the finish they use.

I hate the show. Those guys are morons. The daughter is annoying as hell. You can tell she thinks she's a bad ass. I wouldn't have those guys build me a match box.

I have a polish UF built by them the same year their first season came out. Sold by Atlantic Firearms. It was a non matching #'s kit but it was still built perfectly and functioned as it should. They used GunKote for the finish and its been pretty good so far.

Also im pretty sure the guys on the show arent the only employees. I could have sworn someone on here said they have a whole side of the building for a production line of guns with more employees. Who knows.

Good luck OP There are numerous reports of bad products and customer service, however I have no idea if they have changed that since the last few years.

My understanding of it is the show is not the same place they do the real ak &ar builds. Not sure if its true now but that was what it was a few years ago.

Joe is the only decent person on that show every other person is a dumbass

If you want a build completed correctly with excellent customer service, at a good price, and high quality, contact Quentin at Iron Curtain Creations.  He's a great guy and builds a very nice AK.  He built a Polish PMKMS for me that is perfect.

http://www.ironcurtain.us/



CMS

How times change. I have a Bulgarian sidefolder 74 and Polish underfolder both built by Red Jacket/Will from around 2005-2006.  Both are great builds, the work was timely, and Will was an absolute pleasure to work with.  The only thing I'm not happy with is I had to use the Armory USA receivers with those funky mag well dimples since NDS didn't exist at the time.

I'm sure the TV show has changed things though, but back then they were one of the places folks thought pretty highly about.

Yeah.....back before they went Hollywood, I used them for a few AK builds (2006-2009) and one conversion, and all of them were top notch builds in terms of Fit and Finish. I used to even give them referrals. But once they went Hollywood, they no longer had time for me. I also started hearing of less-than-perfect work from other forum members. Personally, I'm done with them, and have moved on to other reputable builders.

After seeing what theyve done with some NFA items in the past, they can shove it. Bunch of dumbasses.Kinda like when they built the gay ass turret with 2 M16's. What a joke.

They had a great reputation before the show started. I had them do some work on a 223 arsenal, build a 5.45 sbr out of a bulgy side folder kit I supplied, and I bought one of their 24 mm 30 cal ak suppressors. I mainly used them because I live in La and figured it would make the transfers easier. I used Rifle Dynamics before on a krink I form 1ed but since I was buying these on form 4s I liked the idea of them beiing in La. They were pleasant to deal with and everything they did turned out great. I sent them the 223 a little before the show started, and sent the 5.45 kit and bought the can about 6 month later. There were several miss communications, and they lost the build notes for the sbr. There were also a few issues when I went to pick up the sbr and can but they took care of that really quick. I dont like the show and dont think I would use them again just because the miss communitactions made me worry about what I was going to end up getting. I also have a local guy that does excellent work and is fast and reasonably priced. The red jacket stuff took forever but was only a little over what they quoted. The red jacket prices were pretty good. The base for the side folder build was around 400 with a refinnish. The can was 750ish for a stainless take apart 24 mm thread 30 cal. The can works very well I used it on the 5.45 sbr(11.5) barrel and it was great, no ear ringing. I also use it on my black out ar sbr with an adaptor and it works good(until my sdn6 is approved).  The  sbr build is very nice. It is a bulgy 74 side folder kit with original barrel on a nodak reciever with 105 fs/gb combo with amd65 gas port. Barrel came out to 11.5.  The 223 had a fs/gb installed with a perm fh on a 14.5 barrel and refinnished fde. Im happy with all three items and really like the can since it just threads straight on the my aks. I useit on the 5.45 sbr, 556 krink sbr, 7.62 krink sbr, saiga  308 with 74 fsb. The can is simple and prob works as well as it does because it is big and has lots of volume.

So anyway I think the wait times are long, and they are a litlle un organized and the show is stupid, but they do some stuff pretty good. Good price on ak build, and pretty nice ak can.

James

They said on the shoe that, "Rifle Dynamics got the AK contract so they were out of the business".  That makes absolutely no sense what so ever.  Like only one company can make AKs at one time.  Its complete horse shit.

I was thinking how bad I always wanted a drill-powered rotary Saiga-12 gating gun.  

The used to get great reviews, but it seems like once they became TV stars they started cranking out a lot of garbage.  Probably grew too fast and hired some people who suck at building guns.

I had an order for their ZK 22, waited 11 months after being told it would ship in 3 months. I finally cancelled and got it from SG.  Some guys are still waiting over a year for orders to ship . I would assume a build project would be as long with poor communication

I live 10 minutes from them. Simply, NO.

Find a local gun builder. Look on local boards, ask around at local shops. If someone is recommended a few times, start from there.

Vince (the guy that left the show) has his own shop now in Gonzales, LA. He is a top notch builder. Last I spoke with him, its a 3-4  week lead time. Kyber Pass is the name of his shop. If you really want a LA built ak, call him.

I've been amazed at how Will could let his "good reputation" business turn to a "bad reputation" business.....all over a TV show. He should have known from day one that TV shows are temporary (i.e. 15 minutes of fame). Hopefully he has a really fabulous master plan to "try" and earn back all the loyal customers that jumped ship.

anybody got the picture of the PSL that on the first round completely destroyed the flash hider?  Red Jacket at its finest

Well at least now I know. My solution will probably be to buy all the tools I need to do the work myself and just build three or four aks in order to help me sleep better at night not having to worry myself about the tools going to waste after just one build. Funny how I make myself feel better about spending money by spending more money.

At least if I build it myself it will come out exactly the way I want it.

Red Jacket has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau.



You've been warned.

I used them BEFORE the show started, had them do an AK74 from Bulgarian kit...

1. Lead time was first quoted as 6 months but turned into 15 months lol
2. Had to call like 3 times and emailed like twice to get them to finally move on my build
3. Quality of build is amazing...I'm very happy with it, but the LONG wait sucked.

Not sure how they are NOW that they are popular...

Glen Fleming of Acadia Gunworks is reasonably priced and does great work.

Before the show they were the go to guys for AK builds, especially traditional builds. They were to AK's what Tromix is to the Saiga 12. Wait times reflected that. All the AK forums LOVED Will and he had an incredible reputation for building, helping guys out, and being down to earth.

Since the show, all I've heard is negativity and tend to link that more to internet commandoes recycling their holier than thou opinions of how they would do it.

The show, IMO, ruined them on the serious AK front and I think that has to do with making a show more than making guns.

I do know that they were extremely busy before the show and EXPLODED after the show and that tends to lead to QC issues. Just look at how many mainstream makers have had recalls or QC issues themselves. Sig is a good example.

So, you are legitimately concerned about their build quality/customer service and then subsequently considering them for a build?  Why?  Because they are "famous"?  My first choice for any future builds/work will definitely be Gewehr Werks.  I've only dealt with one other builder (who I will not name) and he will not be getting my business ever again.

I'm not considering them anymore. I origionally did pick them because I thought it would be cool to say I owned a Red Jacket build. The possibly long wait times alone turned me off all together. To be honest after watching some more you tube videos and with my 91F (armament repair) back ground I'm sure I can do the work myself.

All you need to know

We'll.  That's nevuh Ben dun befoe

No

I talked to them last year about a build. They acted like I was speaking in a foreign language. This was after I was told by the owner himself that they still do builds.  

I will never hesitate to use Tim at Gewehr Werks. He is very nice to talk with, very reasonably priced and has a good turn around time. What more could you ask for? I found Gewehr after the several phone calls to other reputable builders. It would have been nice to have found him a few years ago.