Would you trust your LIFE to this? (Bar-Sto barrel complaint)

[Coal Dragger]

I met Irv Stone at a gun show a few years ago in Rapid City. Seemed nice and personable to me, had a bunch of guns on the table and all of them seemed to be put together nicely and fitted well.

So based on my personal face to face interaction I find the OP to be dubious. Not saying things haven’t changed since I last saw Irv but he was polite and nice to me, and answered all of my dumb questions.

[officerX]

The guns I have to protect my life all have factory barrels.

Amen.

[Firefly]

The same thread was locked on the Glock Talk forum for the same reason.

That changes a lot.

Pobody's Nerfect. Some people just have bad days and all. Most will make it right (as they should).

Bar Sto makes good stuff and while I wouldnt want something rough looking if I am paying to hand fit, maybe there is, as Paul Harvey says, more to the story.

I wouldnt want to be cussed at over the phone but cant prove that happened. If Bar Sto is willing to make it look right and nice then why gripe?

I'm getting skeptical too....

[Coal Dragger]

The guns I have to protect my life all have factory barrels.

Yep, either the gun you’re trusting has a good enough barrel to make bullets go where needed, or it’s not a trusted gun.

It boggles my mind why someone would carry a pistol, or rifle with mediocre mechanical accuracy when they have an alternative that would be just as reliable but shoot better.

[PLCedeno]

Accepting the possibility that this whole thing seems off-i wonder if BarSto got to see the pictures?

[Coal Dragger]

I wonder if Bar-Sto actually made the “correction” in this case?

Could this be a case of the part showing up, and the new owner trying to fix this themselves, doing an ugly job and then calling the manufacturer? I can see why Bar-Sto would decline to give a full refund if the customer or the customer’s “gunsmith” took it upon themselves to try to fix the issue.

[almor54]

I am the OP. I read and get good advice from the forum, but don't post unless I have something to offer that is helpful to others.

Bar Sto replied the following on another forum.
I inquired about the incident- this is an unabridged response:

"I am sure you understand there is always another side to the story. The first time the barrel went out it had a off center spring guide assembly notch on the barrel. It was missed and should not have been sent out like that. We received the barrel back and re machined it square and sent it back. The pictures are Very zoomed in and the cut is not bad.With the naked eye you would have a hard time picking the cut apart. Unless you are just looking for a reason to complain about something.
It is just for reference only a assembly notch. It has no functional use after the firearm is reassembled. It only holds the spring guide in place to reassemble the slide on the frame.Then the guide rod stops on the frame not the barrel. We have been doing the same cut same way for years and he is the first person to EVER complain about it the way it is now. Our quality is top notch and I would use that barrel in my gun and carry it without any issue what so ever. He was and is a very rude and disrespectful person and that is also part of the problem. Hope this helps a bit.

Thank you,
Irv Stone III"

Close up or far away the photos tell the story and you can ignore the he said she said part of the story.

Would you accept this for $270. If it's so good, why not accept the return and sell it to another customer. I almost cut my finger on the metal shavings.

I was polite up until he said "Absolutely not" and he really went ballistic and started name-calling when I promised to share this with the forums. Called it "blackmail". My money back for his "top notch" quality does not constitute blackmail.

All I want is a full refund and someone else can enjoy this "top notch" product.

[southswede]

During ANY dispute, there are three sides: "his" side, "her" side, with the third side being the truth. The truth is always some where in the middle. The middle ground usually slides to one side or the other. In this case, based on what the OP has posted, I would say the truth in this matter leans substantially towards Irv Stone.

[joeg26er]

During ANY dispute, there are three sides: "his" side, "her" side, with the third side being the truth. The truth is always some where in the middle. The middle ground usually slides to one side or the other. In this case, based on what the OP has posted, I would say the truth in this matter leans substantially towards Irv Stone.

Not sure I agree. The pics tell the real 3rd side of the story. If BarSto thinks it's acceptable, then take it back for a refund. The customer is not satisfied and neither would I be with that rough level of machine work. Especially for $270

[Joe Mamma]

During ANY dispute, there are three sides: "his" side, "her" side, with the third side being the truth. The truth is always some where in the middle. The middle ground usually slides to one side or the other. In this case, based on what the OP has posted, I would say the truth in this matter leans substantially towards Irv Stone.

I have no dog in this fight. I'm sure there is more to this story, but it may not make any difference. That barrel looks very bad. Bar-Sto had the chance to make this right, and they did not.

I take what the OP says with a grain of salt. However, I appreciate him posting this information and the pictures. There are too many other high quality barrel manufacturers out there for anyone to have to go through this with one of the lesser ones.

Joe Mamma