Why use re-done Crosman barrels?

[AirGunEric]

Not being facetious here- but it came to my attention that people have sat around waiting to complete projects while they wait for parts such as a "MellonAir" barrel? (which is a Crosman barrel that has been inspected and (possibly) re-crowned).

Strikes me as a re-crown is fairly simple for most people to do on their own, but if that's not their cup-of-tea, ok- but ordering a more expensive barrel up from the US (shipping, taxes, duty) and waiting while these sorts of guys "find the time" to do the work so the barrel can be shipped- quite possibly delaying projects for weeks or months- what gives?

This is not me being a smarta$$- but I'm not coming up with a good explanation on my own for it- anyone have any ideas?

[sholo]

Could be the mindset of such people is that seeing as MellonAir sells "Custom Airgun Parts and Designs" (according to their homepage), that their barrels must be better than a "stock" Crosman one (?)

Obviously - as you pointed out - there is nothing "special' about the barrels, but (usually) when people see the word "Custom", they go all ga-ga, and automatically assume that these parts (barrels) are better...

Maybe you need to put "Custom" in large print somewhere on your homepage!

Todd

[AirGunEric]

Ha! Funny guy.

I just find things like this odd, and try to determine how for example, a stock barrel that has been "inspected" (I do the same by looking down the bore- (extremely rare is there a problem with the Crosman rifliing)- and may or may not have been recrowned (depending on need) is worth more money than a 'stock' unit which is very likely what is being shipped anyways in most cases (?)

But I guess the idea that it has someone been "improved" over stock- accurate or not- is a selling point.

[SeanMP]

I think Todd has hit the nail on the head. There is a lot of mileage in the the word "custom". Even if it frequently doesn't mean diddly...It's CUSTOM.

[Doc Sharptail]

You think that's bad. You should get a load of the crap they're pulling with the buzz-word "TACTICAL"

Savage is especially bad on this with the new version model 10 in .308. Piece of plastic junk...

Regards,

Doc Sharptail

[AirGunEric]

Speaking of plastic junk- I was at a gun show today- just looking to see what was available in, funny enough, a .308

All overpriced plastic crap as far as I was concerned. Mind you, I found the whole show to be a waste of time in respect to what was offered and prices ($690-850 for Remington 700s, when the same model(s) could be had new for $900) and the variety of items is getting lower and lower. I went with three potential purchases in mind- a decent .308- none to be found, bluing chemicals from a specific guy- found him (not cheap chemicals mind you), and a shooting bag- did not find.

Anyways, "tactical" became a bit of a buzzword a couple years ago and now it's in full-swing with every plastic POS getting the label stuck on it.

One thing I think I did come away with from this show, however, money is obviously too "cheap" (in respect to borrowing costs)- if people are asking 15% less for used than new (and would have to assume they are getting it, or why bother asking for it?) and apparently selling alot of low-end crap at prices asked for much better quality only a couple years ago- and some newer products I have seen/bought in the past that were up 25% in a year (compare increase in gas prices, food prices, whatever) and I suspect the government will be raising interest rates sooner and faster than predicted to try and stop what looks to be becoming a ridiculous inflation rate across-the-board.

[SureShot]

So if I understand everybody's comments then I should expect more from everything "custom",
like a "custom" hooker?

[SeanMP]

Funny thing is on CCG ships we use a device called a "hooker"

We get them custom made to our specs by the manufacturer that makes a similar plastic device for the retail marine market. We pay just over $500 for our custom made stainless hooker and the retail one sells for $75

So the moral of the story is a true custom hooker will get the job done in extreme positions but your gonna pay.

On a similar thought topic

I looked up the industry standard price for a gunsmith to cut and crown a barrel in Canada and thats $75. For that $75 you get a crown that has been custom cut true to the axis of the bore using a bore pilot and an indicator. Setup time is everything in this job and there is no way to avoid it. So another example of something that is truly "custom" with an appropriate price tag.