Pac-Nor Barrels had a serious fire

Started by Jamie.270, October 24, 2019, 11:21:50 AM

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Jamie.270

The owner isn't sure he can start over.
So if your next project was going to wear a Pac-Nor barrel, you will probably have to find someone else.


https://www.currypilot.com/news_paid/photos-structure-fire-flames-destroy-local-rifle-barrel-plant/article_8ebf3036-f5e7-11e9-bcf4-db31cb53aede.html


Quote"I'd never seen anything go like that,"  Dichter said. "It blew up with smoke and fire. It sounded like a tree  fell on the plant."

Employees  witnessing the incident immediately grabbed fire extinguishers and  attempted to put the flames out. Seeing that they could not stop the  fire, they all quickly exited the building.

"There  were eight or nine of us that got out," Dichter said. "Just like we had  trained. Everybody had an assembly point and got out safe. No body got  hurt and I congratulated them on that."

Dichter estimated that the building and machinery is valued at between $4 to $6 million.

Whether he will rebuild is still unclear.

"I  am 66 years-old and I don't know if I have the time left," he said. "It  took my lifetime to find all the machinery in this plant."

QuoteRestrictive gun laws that leave good people helpless, don\'t have the power to render bad people harmless.

To believe otherwise is folly. --  Me

sakorick

I've had good luck with Shaw barrels, smithing and blueing.
Talk to yourself. There are times you need expert advice.

gitano

Be nicer than necessary.

Paul Hoskins

A real bummer. I've never used Pac-Nor barrels but understand they are high quality. Most of my barrels have been Ackley, Donally and Douglas with a few Shaw barrels.  ......Paul H

gitano

The .416x.348 Win Ruger No. 2 would never have come into existence without the very reasonable services of Pac-Nor. If I was a younger man contemplating ANY new build, I would be extremely disappointed. It wasn't so much the quality of their work - while was fine - as it was that they represented the ONLY barrel-making company willing to actually do what a CUSTOMER WANTED instead of what THEY DECIDED the customer wanted, AND did it for a FAIR price. No good deed goes unpunished.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

Jamie.270

Quote from: gitano;154166The .416x.348 Win Ruger No. 2 would never have come into existence without the very reasonable services of Pac-Nor. If I was a younger man contemplating ANY new build, I would be extremely disappointed. It wasn't so much the quality of their work - while was fine - as it was that they represented the ONLY barrel-making company willing to actually do what a CUSTOMER WANTED instead of what THEY DECIDED the customer wanted, AND did it for a FAIR price. No good deed goes unpunished.

 Paul
As much as I hate to say it, I have never used one of their products.
But the story you tell is one I've heard time and again about Pac-Nor, in that they were very accommodating about customer wants, without charging an arm and a leg for "non standard" procedures, processes and finished products.
QuoteRestrictive gun laws that leave good people helpless, don\'t have the power to render bad people harmless.

To believe otherwise is folly. --  Me

Paul Hoskins

Every barrel I've ordered from Douglas was made to my specifications at no extra charge. When I call them I usually talk to Stan Taylor & tell him what I want in barrel contour, caliber. twist and length I want. That's what I get. Not what they think I should get. I have no quarrel with that kind of service & quality. ......Paul H

gitano

As barrel-makers go, I don't have any complaint about any of them EXCEPT... They charge an arm and a leg. Getting BARRELS isn't too difficult to do. Sometimes they have really long lead times, but, other than the supposed .375 barrel that was actually .358, I haven't had a problem with a barrel-maker. HOWEVER...

When it comes to barrel-makers that do gunsmithing work, it's an entirely different story. First one I got cross=-ways with was Virgin Valley Custom Guns. Unfortunately, the long thread I did on that gunmaker/barrel-maker/gunsmith was lost in the 2004 crash of THL. Then there was The guy that re-bored the .22/.30-30 Martini-Enfield to the .50 Alaskan. Did a fine job, took 18 months. When inquiring about the barrel to other barrel-makers, Douglas, Shilen, Krieger, and Lilja, the prices were - to me - 'astronomical'. And, with two exceptions, they supplied the barrel, period. No other work. Pac-Nor's barrels were reasonably priced, AND they would dismount existing barrel, chamber new barrel, profile new barrel to the identical profile of the original barrel using the original barrel, mount new barrel, AND BLUE THE WHOLE SHEBANG for $300 LESS than the least expensive of the other barrel-makers JUST TO MOUNT THEIR BARREL. I would have had to profile it myself, cut the chamber myself, AND get it blued. Pac-Nor was a God-send.

Like I said, if I was planning on building another rifle any time soon, I'd be crying crocodile tears over the loss of the Pac-Nor business.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

gitano

Here's an update from October 26, past:

UPDATE 10/26/19: Our Forum members contacted Pac-Nor and learned that the Dichters plan to rebuild the facility: “I got an e-mail from Kathy Dichter and she said six months to a year to rebuild, hopefully. She also said you could follow their progress on Facebook. That’s great news for the shooting community.”

I hope this turns out to be true.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

Paul Hoskins

Paul. that is good news. Hopefully they won't jack prices up to cover the cost of re building the company & plant. A modderate increase in pricing could be expected.  .......Paul H ....

gitano

As long as they keep their "customer first" attitude, I can handle some price increases.

Paul
Be nicer than necessary.

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