Posted: 11/29/2011 12:46:03 PM EDT
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I purchased a Nighthawk Custom Enforcer on 27MAY11. The gun will have a recon frame, complete diamond black finish (barrel, trigger, bushing). I was originally quoted 20 weeks for the build. At that time I even asked if that was accurate because of the gun getting the diamond black finish and was told yes. Fast forward to 07OCT11. I called up Nighthawk a few times that week before finally talking to someone who would answer my question. I was told that it would be about another 8 weeks before I would receive it because they were having problems with the frame and that they finally found one that would work. I was a little upset, but figured that as long as it was done right I wouldn't have a problem with it. Now fast forward to today. I have been emailing, calling, and leaving voice mails with my sales person trying to get a status update for the past week and a half. I was finally able to reach him by phone yesterday and he said he would call me back, he never did. Then today I call and ask for somebody else. I spoke with that gentleman and explained the situation. He then puts me on the phone with my sales person. I asked him again what the status was. After about a 2 minutes of being on hold he came back on the line and told me that I was looking at about another 8 weeks. ANOTHER 8 WEEKS! Are you kidding me? I asked why it was pushed back again. He stated that the company that does the diamond black finish for them is really back logged. He also stated that my gun was "still in production". How long does it take for a gun to be built seriously? The gun should have been done being built weeks ago when I was told 8 weeks then. So now instead of me getting a 1911 in 2011 like I had planned and saved up for, I will now receive my gun sometime after the new year. I don't know what is going on down there, but they need to un-fuck themselves real quick. 35+ weeks for a gun is ridiculous. I know I know week rant. |
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Quoted: I purchased a Nighthawk Custom Enforcer on 27MAY11. The gun will have a recon frame, complete diamond black finish (barrel, trigger, bushing). I was originally quoted 20 weeks for the build. At that time I even asked if that was accurate because of the gun getting the diamond black finish and was told yes. Fast forward to 07OCT11. I called up Nighthawk a few times that week before finally talking to someone who would answer my question. I was told that it would be about another 8 weeks before I would receive it because they were having problems with the frame and that they finally found one that would work. I was a little upset, but figured that as long as it was done right I wouldn't have a problem with it. Now fast forward to today. I have been emailing, calling, and leaving voice mails with my sales person trying to get a status update for the past week and a half. I was finally able to reach him by phone yesterday and he said he would call me back, he never did. Then today I call and ask for somebody else. I spoke with that gentleman and explained the situation. He then puts me on the phone with my sales person. I asked him again what the status was. After about a 2 minutes of being on hold he came back on the line and told me that I was looking at about another 8 weeks. ANOTHER 8 WEEKS! Are you kidding me? I asked why it was pushed back again. He stated that the company that does the diamond black finish for them is really back logged. He also stated that my gun was "still in production". How long does it take for a gun to be built seriously? The gun should have been done being built weeks ago when I was told 8 weeks then. So now instead of me getting a 1911 in 2011 like I had planned and saved up for, I will now receive my gun sometime after the new year. I don't know what is going on down there, but they need to un-fuck themselves real quick. 35+ weeks for a gun is ridiculous. I know I know week rant. Can you cancel? I believe at this point they would rightfully owe you a refund, 35+ weeks is insanity. |
| wow. imho you have every right to be a little heated over this. i KNOW i would be too. to be quoted a time then taking 80% longer than quoted....id better be getting some free swag out of the deal or SOMETHING to make up for my frustration. a company like Nighthawk would probably understand that too. granted, they cant control EVERYTHING that goes on with their weapons, but somebody should have called/emailed you and let you know what was going on before you had to inquire to them. it should be the other way around i think. that sucks though! hopefully something will happen and theyll get you your gun before THIS quoted time frame |
| A buddy of mine (also a member here) just had a hellacious nightmare of an experience with NHC also: Linky |
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Man, you guys are harsh. Also probably not aware of what has happened in the semicustom market in the last 10 months–– orders nearly doubling in some houses.
If they are a bit overwhelmed, I can understand it. OTOH if they rush out flawed product, that's a different story. The diamondblack finish is a fantastic finish. It's worth waiting for. Whether it's worth $600 is another question. |
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Quoted:
Man, you guys are harsh. Also probably not aware of what has happened in the semicustom market in the last 10 months–– orders nearly doubling in some houses. If they are a bit overwhelmed, I can understand it. OTOH if they rush out flawed product, that's a different story. The diamondblack finish is a fantastic finish. It's worth waiting for. Whether it's worth $600 is another question. I got the finish when it was still $300. I don't have a problem with the quality. The problem is with how long it is taking to produce the gun. 35 plus weeks is a bit much, especially when I was originally quoted 20 weeks. Does anyone have any experience with Black Nitride (Melonite) finish? If so how does it compare to the Diamond Black (Ion Bond)? I may call tomorrow and see if I can switch to the Black Nitride if the wait is going to be so long for the Black Diamond. |
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Quoted:
Man, you guys are harsh. Also probably not aware of what has happened in the semicustom market in the last 10 months–– orders nearly doubling in some houses. If they are a bit overwhelmed, I can understand it. OTOH if they rush out flawed product, that's a different story. The diamondblack finish is a fantastic finish. It's worth waiting for. Whether it's worth $600 is another question. I got the finish when it was still $300. I don't have a problem with the quality. The problem is with how long it is taking to produce the gun. 35 plus weeks is a bit much, especially when I was originally quoted 20 weeks. Does anyone have any experience with Black Nitride (Melonite) finish? If so how does it compare to the Diamond Black (Ion Bond)? I may call tomorrow and see if I can switch to the Black Nitride if the wait is going to be so long for the Black Diamond. Severns Hard Hat is the best finish I've had on a gun, and it still only runs 300-350. |
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Black nitride aka hard hat aka melonite aka isonite are all the same, different names but the process and attributes are the same, prices range from $200 up. It hardens the metal rather than simply just coating it and on an all steel firearm I'd pick it over diamond black/DLC/ion bond every time.
I have a couple of each BTW including a Diamond Black GRP |
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My local shop has had several problems with Nighthawk orders. If buy some crazy chance they are on time, the order will be wrong.
The most recent was one guy had a nice custom .38 super 1911 built. Thing was sexy smooth and felt great....too bad it was in .45acp 
Great 1911's but somewhere along the line it sounds like they messed up on the quality control/cutsomer service aspect. Hope they get it worked out. |
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Quoted:
Man, you guys are harsh. Also probably not aware of what has happened in the semicustom market in the last 10 months–– orders nearly doubling in some houses. If they are a bit overwhelmed, I can understand it. OTOH if they rush out flawed product, that's a different story. The diamondblack finish is a fantastic finish. It's worth waiting for. Whether it's worth $600 is another question. I got the finish when it was still $300. I don't have a problem with the quality. The problem is with how long it is taking to produce the gun. 35 plus weeks is a bit much, especially when I was originally quoted 20 weeks. Does anyone have any experience with Black Nitride (Melonite) finish? If so how does it compare to the Diamond Black (Ion Bond)? I may call tomorrow and see if I can switch to the Black Nitride if the wait is going to be so long for the Black Diamond. cant comment on the black diamond but the black nitride wears just like an m&p does, which is to say fast. My permakote held up better over 1.5 years than the black nitride in 1.5 months. Of course thats just cosmetics, and I personally dont care about some finish wear. |
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Supposedly that is why they raised the price on the diamond black to $600, so people would stop ordering it. If this is true, I've finally lost ALL respect for NHC. I had very little respect for their business practices as it was, but still maintained a modicum of respect for their products, assuming they were at least of the quality they suggest by their price. I don't own a Nighthawk, nor do I plan on owning one in the future. I own and Ed Brown and I'll buy one again. I'd buy a Wilson if I found one that I liked. I'd definitely buy a Les Baer as well. But NHC is totally off my list now. |
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Quoted:
Man, you guys are harsh. Also probably not aware of what has happened in the semicustom market in the last 10 months–– orders nearly doubling in some houses. If they are a bit overwhelmed, I can understand it. OTOH if they rush out flawed product, that's a different story. The diamondblack finish is a fantastic finish. It's worth waiting for. Whether it's worth $600 is another question. A company should be able to accurately estimate how long it will take them to make a gun given their current back log. Ed Brown is telling folks 140-160 days. That's 20-23 weeks. Allowing for a little over run, that's 25-30 weeks. If you check the wait time thread over on 1911forum.com, that's exactly what folks are clocking. Yes it's a long time, but they were told what to expect. It's only professional. |
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Personally I would be demanding a refund at this point. I don't understand how anyone would put up with that sort of bullshit, especially when spending that sort of money; and this comment isn't directed solely at Nighthawk Custom. Agreed. Cancel and buy a Wilson/ Ed Brown. |
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I purchased a Nighthawk Custom Enforcer on 27MAY11. The gun will have a recon frame, complete diamond black finish (barrel, trigger, bushing). I was originally quoted 20 weeks for the build. At that time I even asked if that was accurate because of the gun getting the diamond black finish and was told yes. Fast forward to 07OCT11. I called up Nighthawk a few times that week before finally talking to someone who would answer my question. I was told that it would be about another 8 weeks before I would receive it because they were having problems with the frame and that they finally found one that would work. I was a little upset, but figured that as long as it was done right I wouldn't have a problem with it. Now fast forward to today. I have been emailing, calling, and leaving voice mails with my sales person trying to get a status update for the past week and a half. I was finally able to reach him by phone yesterday and he said he would call me back, he never did. Then today I call and ask for somebody else. I spoke with that gentleman and explained the situation. He then puts me on the phone with my sales person. I asked him again what the status was. After about a 2 minutes of being on hold he came back on the line and told me that I was looking at about another 8 weeks. ANOTHER 8 WEEKS! Are you kidding me? I asked why it was pushed back again. He stated that the company that does the diamond black finish for them is really back logged. He also stated that my gun was "still in production". How long does it take for a gun to be built seriously? The gun should have been done being built weeks ago when I was told 8 weeks then. So now instead of me getting a 1911 in 2011 like I had planned and saved up for, I will now receive my gun sometime after the new year. I don't know what is going on down there, but they need to un-fuck themselves real quick. 35+ weeks for a gun is ridiculous. I know I know week rant. I've seen a good gunsmith build a 2011 .40 hi-cap gun, from a box of parts to a functioning, complete pistol, including all fitting / milling / detail work (sans finish) in two business days. He said he can do it in 1 working day, as long as the customer doesn't want anything special, or any of the parts are obscenely out of spec. From what I gather, gun builders intentionally build in a backlog to keep a steady paycheck coming. It's kind of a balancing act––build up enough of a backlog so that if something happens, he has a couple of months of income to pay the bills. But the backlock can't be so long that it scares customers away. It should not, and does not, take 30 weeks to build a gun. It takes 29 weeks to build a bunch of other peoples' guns, and then yours is next. |
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It should not, and does not, take 30 weeks to build a gun. It takes 29 weeks to build a bunch of other peoples' guns, and then yours is next. I think that perfectly captures the nature of the backlog for almost all small custom shops. I guess my issue is that they should be stating with some reasonable degree of accuracy, what that time is.
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Personally I would be demanding a refund at this point. I don't understand how anyone would put up with that sort of bullshit, especially when spending that sort of money; and this comment isn't directed solely at Nighthawk Custom. Agreed. Cancel and buy a Wilson/ Ed Brown. I would do this if it wasn't for a few reasons. 1. I'd still have to wait approx 20 weeks if not more if I cancel now and go with someone else. 2. Their site states that "On non-standard models, no refunds due to cancellation." Mine is Non standard due to going with a recon frame and getting rid of the slide top serrations. 3. I could not really find another pistol matching everything I wanted that the Enforcer already has ( Flush cut crowned barrel, plunger tube is integrated into the frame, mag well is integrated into the frame, slide stop hole was chamfered, rear of slide is serrated). |
I ordered my Nighthawk Enforcer Recon in November 2010 and received it in July 2011. I was quoted 12 weeks because I had PK instead of Diamond Black. I think the main issue with mine is that they were having trouble doing the engraving I requested. They eventually got something acceptable, but it wasn't as good as I would have liked. Anyways, the wait didn't bug me too much because I was in Iraq for 90% of it and couldn't have received the gun anyways.  The gun is flawless, I love it.
Now I've been waiting for my holster from Skaggs since August. 
(Edited for spelling) |
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I got a Talon II from them back in 2007 with two-toned Black Diamond/Hard Chrome finish. It was/is flawless, and took about 12 weeks. Sad to hear all these issues with them these days, seems they've slipped quite a bit in customer service. The Black Diamond finish looks the same as the day I got it, despite a fair amount of travel in a leather IWB holster.
Mine: 
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