I'm considering purchasing a Lancaster Arms AK and have done some research on the company and found a lot of people who have said a lot of negative things about the company.  The problem is most people were complaining about the length of time it took to receive their rifle or not recieving it at all.  The few posts that I found where people complained about quality issues with their rifle all had later posts stating that the issues were resolved and warrantied through Lancaster.  I actually went to the facility and met the owner, he was a pleasure to speak with and seemed very knowledgeable, you could tell he cared about making the customer happy and takes pride in his work.  All Lancaster rifles come with a lifetime warranty if you are the original owner of the rifle.  I even found a review that stated Lancaster rifles shoot as good as an Arsenal at a fraction of the price.  So I want to hear from people who have had issues with their rifles and/or have had a problem getting their rifles warrantied, as well as people who have had a good experience with Lancaster, and whether or not you would recomend a Lancaster AK?

One of the best ways to research a company is to google their company name, followed by the word sucks.

I suggest you google lancaster arms sucks.  You'll get the info you are looking for.  And you'll realize the owner you talked to is a complete liar who was just telling you what you wanted to hear to get your business.  Once he has your money, all that will change.

I am not one to bash people on the internet, but Lancaster is an exception.

I bought one of their '74's from Atlantic Firearms and I'm VERY glad about that part.  Mine was one of the recalled ones (search here in the archives for more into on that one).  This was a major cluster for them along with lots of other reported problems.  MANY people on this board and others had very bad experiences with them.  Soft rivets, bad barrel ports, lack of function, etc.

Atlantic was VERY helpful in my situation and my gun was actually rebarrelled and returned to me within only a few weeks.  Others had much worse experience when buying direct.

One other point is that if the gun you are looking at comes with a side scope rail its not going to be a standard one.  They were using a UTG rail that had sloped (beveled) ends where the surplus ones have square ends to provide a stop in some cases.  (there are some posts on that also)

Personally, I will be avoiding any further dealings with them.  Lancaster that is.  Not Atlantic, can't say enough good things about them.

How long have you worked there?  Your post reads like ad copy.

Chet is a liar and a thief.

All swindlers appear pleasant and personable.
As do many psychopaths.

There was a post on another bullpup forum that smelled very similar to this regarding Microtech Small Arms (MSAR) during their rumored collapse. Same deal, no customers could get in touch with the company or the owner, and all of the sudden someone posts about stopping by the factory and being welcomed in open arms by the owner.  The owner gave a grand tour and showed tons of parts for new rifles that apparently never made it to market.  Despite ripping off several customers, he was also a very caring person.
Edit: I do not have first hand experience with Lancaster.

hah! thats funny, you guys watch too many conspiracy theory movies.  i assure you i dont work for the company and dont know what i can say to prove it.  i guess i see why you would think that, but i just wanted to get honest input and worded the email to where i didnt sound like an ignorant jacka**.  i recently overpaid for a century arms ak and sold it (and lost $) and now i'm doing some research before i make my next investment.  you guys are gonna think what ever you want regarless of what i say, but just ask yourself this, if i did work for lancaster how would i benefit from this?  

that being said, i see your point as to the fact that chet is just trying to get my $$$.  but out of everyone that has replied only one person has responded and listed specific issues regarding the quality of his rifle, and those are the kind of responses interested in reading.

Seems like the the quality of their older rifles were pretty good, but the ones made in the last few years were pretty iffy. Definitely don't buy them brand new from Lancaster, you'll probably never get your rifle. If you're looking to buy for investment's sake, there are better options.

I don't have any exp with Lancaster, But you cant go wrong with a Arsenal through Atlantic fire arms.

I could not tell you about the quality of my Rifles - the three I ordered I never received and only because the AG stepped in I got my money back.

If you feel comfortable giving him your money do it. It is your money and you can do with it what ever you do.

You also have to ask your self why he no longer takes credit cards and just cash or money orders. Any company that does that will not see my business especially if it is such a large amount of money. If we are talking about $100 in parts or so I would consider a money order perhaps because they are a small business but again for that amount of money that is a big risk. What will you do if you have problems or not getting your rifle. No way of getting your credit card company involved.

Also he just moved to a new location to restart his business. He used to be in a different city and location.

so again your money not mine

good luck

just ask yourself this, if i did work for lancaster how would i benefit from this?

Its called phishing. Lancaster is facing a consumer fraud case and you want to know how many people may be out there and how much you may have to poney up. Chet being what he is may even be trying to gauge the possibility of another start up. I know a panic post when I see one. There are people who will read this and may not know about Lancaster, all I can say is stay away.

i did not know he didnt take c/c, he never mentioned that when we met.  i only use plastic on all my purchases and would never pay that kind of money up-front.

R u for real OP?

Or a Waffen Werks for that matter.

Lol I think OP is full of crap honestly..if your not I'm sorry for calling it that way but that's just my take on it

This is all playing out like the case I mentioned above. As in the prior case, you will probably never hear from this poster after this exchange. If he "has done research", he would know what to buy.

That's what I thought when I first read it.  Low post count, just joined the forum.. and shows up saying good things about one of the most notoriously bad and untrustworthy AK builders in recent years after claiming he has done research...

3 posts

i have no hidden agenda and this is part of "doing my research", but its not turning out to be as helpful as i planned.  an arsenal is out of my budget and i wasnt happy with my century arms and i cant find a waffen works in stock so i dont know what else is out there.  the century that i just sold was my first ak, so i guess you can say im still kind of new to the ak scene.  i was looking for some help, if think im scamming you then leave, i have already heard what you have to say on the issue.

Your OP was just a blatant fluff piece for Lancaster.



You're either a shill or you won't listen to people when they actually tell you Lancaster sucks.



Just go ahead and get an AK from them (if you're even going to buy one).


 

And make sure you get the employee discount..you are going to want to be into one of your rifles as cheap as possible..it's going to need work

I just bought a Lancaster basket-case off of gunbroker. All of the front trunnion rivets weren't done correctly and they're starting to deform after a couple hundred rounds. I will have to tear the gun down to bare receiver to fix what they screwed up.

In for the coming gushing review of the rifle everyone is telling you not to buy, including me.

There is no reason to buy from Lancaster when there are so many other, better options.

This company should have been out of business, surprising they are still holding inspite of bad reviews.

Im in for the schilling.

Type in Lancaster arms on YouTube and look for screen name dylwes you'll have your answer. I've done 2 reviews be sure to watch both.

He's had 3 different locations, all in Goodyear, that i know of.

Did he move again very recently?

I have had two of their 5.45 guns and they ran great.  I sold one, kept the other.

My only reason for selling the other was somebody gave me a BUNCH of money for it......you can't rape the willing.

AND......I had 6 other 5.45 guns at the time.

The Arsenals are indeed very nice weapons, but I have issues with buying a firearm for over $1100.00 that costs about $100.00 US to make in its actual Russian format.  There is one hell of a markup on the Arsenals.

And the RED, BOLD highlighted section of your own post above is not a "problem" with Lancaster Arms???

Do you have a problem buying anything made outside the US? Do you buy apple products?



 

At one time they had a list of serial numbers on their website of recalled firearms.  I believe the list was hundreds of rifles.  At one time they had rifles being built with defective barrels that shot out in a couple hundred rounds.  Guess what they list on their site as not being warranted?  Excessive barrel wear. Lancaster Arms  just read their warranty page and read between the lines.  Warranty work expected to take 90+ days because of rifle recalls?  States that right there on their website.  No refunds for any reason.  No credit cards.

I believe the owner has a couple of lawsuits against him going on right now.

But, but, he's a really nice guy!

I bought one back in 2007, before I had ever heard of Lancaster Arms or the bad things about them.

I bought a "New" Romanian kit 7.62 AK, it cycled a little slow and would not make it through a 30rd mag without choking at lest once. I called them up with the SN# and they had the rifle delivered to them, and back to me in 2 weeks fixed and in a free padded/zippered case for my troubles. The fit and finish are excellent, it is a nice looking AK, and yes it shoots as well as my Arsenal. So now I have a good one, but today would not buy one without a test fire.

Alright, y'all knew StephenNW was going to chime in here...

OP, I have to concur with a few others.  Given the content of your post, and your join date and post count, your post is a little...odd.  Sorry, but if you were as familiar with Lancaster Arms as many here are, and you were fully-versed in Lancaster's business practices over the last few years, you'd understand completely why reasonable people might read your post, and have their doubts about its authenticity.      

But forgetting that for a moment, let me address your question.  You asked whether people on this forum would recommend Lancaster for an AK.  The short answer is, for any Lancaster AK made in the last three years or so, "Absolutely not." (They used to make a decent AK for the price back when they had a competent builder.  He left three or four years ago.)

First, there's the matter of Lancaster's history over the past few years.  Time and time again, Chet Durda has proven himself to be as untrustworthy as a businessman can be.  I won't go into all the details here, but if you're really curious as to why I would say such a thing, just spend a few more hours on Google.  There is more than a small amount of evidence that would back up this claim.

On a more immediate basis, and as you must surely know from your research, Lancaster Arms and Chet Durda are currently being sued by the State of Arizona for consumer fraud.  Durda, being Durda, decided he didn’t need no stinkin’ lawyer to represent him and his company, so he’s representing himself.  And doing a horrible job of it, I would add.  His filings to-date have been nothing short of comical, containing numerous misstatements of fact and spelling that would make a retarded 7 year-old proud.  He doesn’t seem to even comprehend the severity of the charges facing him, and as a result, I think he’s going to get reamed.  The AG is threatening to fine him $10,000 for each misdeed, which number in the dozens.  That alone should be enough to finally put him out of business.  Although, I have no doubt he’ll do all he can to evade any fines and penalties assessed against him.  Unfortunately for him, he isn’t being sued by a mere civilian.  He’s being sued by the .gov, and they have the resources and will to collect.  He won’t be able to escape the outcome like he has during his numerous other lawsuits. (Yes, Maricopa County records show that he’s been sued more than a few times.  This guy has wronged plenty of people.)

So, that’s the short version of why it might not be a good idea to buy a rifle from Lancaster Arms.  

Lancaster Arms currently holds an "F" rating with the BBB. As seen here

Some of the reasons include but not limited to:
"Length of time business has been operating
66 complaints filed against business
Failure to respond to 59 complaints filed against business
1 complaint filed against business that was not resolved
3 serious complaints filed against business
Overall complaint history with BBB
Government action(s) against business"

Yup, that's one outstanding company to do business with.

as i have already stated i can understand why some of you would think i work them based on the way the oriniginal post was written.  when i made the original post i gave my unbiased opinion based on my first impression.  based on 10gage's youtube review, *the BBB grading, and *the pending lawsuits (*which i also recently discovered) i will not be purchasing from them.  thank you to everyone who gave helpful information.