Vendor review: Western Metal (Calgary)

[Declared Bishop]

I know we all like to ##### and complain, and this post isn't going to be any different. Here is my experience with a company called Western Metal in Calgary, and purchasing a firearm from them.

A little while ago, I had found this company, Western Metal. They had a set of reloading dies I wanted for a respectable price. Not the cheapest, but they were local to me, and since I like instant gratification, I ordered them.

A little backstory, Western Metal does not have a store front. No one knows where they actually are located as far as I can tell. I guess they take security very seriously, can't blame them I guess. I don't know if Western Metal owns, is a partner in, or whatever, but they seem to have a relationship with an indoor range in Calgary called "Straight Shooters". If you order off of Western Metals website, you can choose to have your order delivered to Straight Shooters, and pick up your order in person instead of paying shipping. All well and good.

Unless you have a question.

So, my buddy placed an order for his first new rifle, a Howa M1500 APC in black. A great platform to start with. I was planning on placing the exact same order for myself tonight. In talking with my buddy, as long as he was talking about purchasing more, Western Metal was quick to respond, typically within the hour. But when he started asking about delivery times..... RADIO SILENCE. When he finally DID get a response after waiting a week, his CC being charged, no RCMP verification check notification, no communication whatsoever... he gets a snarky and condescending response from Western Metal.

The rifle isn't anything special, and is listed IN STOCK on their website, and I convinced him to support local instead of ordering from Tenda. I like Tenda, I should have stayed quiet. An in-stock rifle should not take a week for local pickup. We could have ordered it from Tenda, got free shipping, and had it in our hands in 5 business days, from literally the other side of the country. Western Metal can't get it across Calgary in that time, never mind Canada.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. Communication is KEY from businesses. If you can't communicate, you'd best be able to get me my order yesterday and have the best prices around.

I would strongly advise not dealing with Western Metal, or Straight Shooters until they figure their #### out.

In the mean time, I found this awesome dude above an asian grocery store in the tinyest office you ever did see. He is bringing in both of our guns, for less than the list price from Western Metal and on top of that is including GST in that price and we will have them in hand in 2 weeks.

 

[The_Gun_Boy]

I'm pretty sure he frequents local gun shows. Never bought anything off of him though.

 

[Robbs]

I've ordered from Western Metal a few times and never had any issues. They always responded promptly to my emails regarding questions about my orders. Shipping has always been surprisingly quick as well.

 

[halfer]

Mark my recent interaction down as another suggestion to avoid dealing with Western Metal. I had dealt previously with them and had positive experiences, so did not hesitate to place an order for ammunition listed as “ in stock”. After placing the order and paying via emt to complete the purchase, as I’ve done in the past. I received an email confirming the order and providing a reference number.
24 hrs later I received a second email stating the ammunition was, in fact not available. After choosing to go ahead with the bulk of the order and simply accepting an emt refund for the out of stock items, I felt the issue was squared away. Long story short, after many emails, attempts at contacting them through various methods, and assurances that “accounting will be sending the refund on XX date” I’m chalking it up to a lesson on how a business loses customers.
I did receive the bulk of my order in a reasonable timeframe, but Western Metal failed to refund the balance, stopped responding to inquiries, and made several false promises as to a date for payment.
Your mileage may vary, but I will not spend money there again, nor recommend others do so.

 

[CaribooBC]

I recently had issues with them too. There are other threads about them. https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/threads/western-metal-inc.2518762/

 

[4n2t0]

Thankfully, their astronomical prices were a natural deterrent for me, even when they were a CGN sponsor.

 

[45CAT]

I also had an issue and would never order there again

 

[Buck1950]

Sounds like "Sponsorship" doesn't Equate to "Reliability" OR "Preferred Retailer" ? Maybe "Sponsorship" should be looked at by ADMIN ? Or is it Just for the $$ ?