Kudos to PTR91 inc. and MassMark

[Fooped]

Hey everyone,


I wanted to relay some excellent experiences that I have had with a particular rifle company, and a couple of exceptional people on the board .

It all started when I went to Collector's Guns in Stoneham (an excellent shop BTW) and purchased a PTR-91 .308 carbine that was so clean you could eat off of it for a solid deal. I had been wanting a HK91 type rifle for quite some time, and for those of you who know me, once I decide I want something....

So, the first range trip out, I drop a mag in it and start hammering away. I make it through about 10 rounds or so, and I start getting nasty FTE/FTF errors. I tried different types of ammo, different mags and everything I else I could think of. Given my very limited experience with the rifle, I gave up and figured I'd strip it down when I got home.

I stripped it, gave it a good cleaning and chalked it up to the chamber being dirty.

Then I brought it to the NES car shoot, hoping that my cleaning job would straighten out the issues. I brought it up to the line, loaded up a mag, and hoped for the best:

I didn't get it. About three to five rounds in, the whole bolt mechanism locks in place, and I'm dead in the water.

Enter exceptional guy #1:

MassMark, whom also was at the shoot takes notice of my frustration (some of my guns draw a bit of attention at the shoots, and when everyone's looking and "gun not go bang", I get pretty irritated) and comes over to my table offering assistance. I readily admit that gun is new to me, and that I know very little about it. Mark jumps right in, gets his hands dirty and starts working on the gun! He strips it down, inspects the bolt carrier assembly, and after 10 minutes or so gets the bolt back in working order! I know that most all of us at the shoots are all willing to share and help in any way we can, but this was above and beyond in my opinion.

So, back to the line I go fresh mag in hand. Gun goes bang, bolt issue solved. But... The FTE and consequent FTF errors are still present and I notice that Mark is watching the gun's progress after we put it back together. Long story short, Mark and I chatted for another 15 minutes or so trying to troubleshoot the problem, and at no time did he seemed rushed, short or anything other than gracious and helpful.

We determined that the flutes in the chamber might be clogged, and after a call to PTR91 (more on them later), they did confirm that the rifle won't function if the chamber flutes are all gummed up. This made sense to me given that the flutes are part of the gas system that aids in ejecting the spent cartridge.

So... After a VERY detailed cleaning of the entire rifle (I spent well over an hour on the chamber alone) I figured "This thing is as clean as it's ever going to get, if it doesn't work now there's something else wrong."

There was.

I planned on bringing the rifle to the NES pumpkin shoot, and prior to going I PM'ed Mark a couple of times to get his opinion on what I had done (and should do). Once again, he responded quickly and went above and beyond in his willingness to help. I told him what I had done, and he showed interest in checking out the rifle at the shoot.

Fast forward to the shoot: Mark and I are on the rifle line along with another very helpful gentleman whose name I do not remember (Mark maybe you can remind me so I can thank him by name as he is "Exceptional guy #2" ), and the moment of truth has arrived: The first 13 or so shots worked like a champ, but the ejection pattern was weak and in the wrong trajectory. The gun should violently eject the spent brass at around 2 o'clock and 10+ feet away from the gun. These casings were making it about a foot or two away to my direct right and bouncing off Fred's snazzy hat he was wearing that day (Sorry Fred! ). Then the FTE/FTF problems happened yet again.

Mark and the other gentleman watched the rifle's ejection pattern and surmised that the gas system was not functioning properly, given the pattern and the lack of fluting marks on the spent cases (which Mark was attempting to catch in mid air ). Both Mark and the other fellow have HK91 rifles and between the three of us we determined that the rifle was bound for factory repair. The other gentleman even gave me 4 or 5 rounds of high-quality commerical grade .308 to try in the rifle as well. Very kind of him, and will not be forgotten.

So, I called PTR91 Inc. yet again (had to be the fourth or fifth call by now) and every phone conversation I have had with the two people I have spoke to there has been professional, informative, helpful and friendly. The person who runs their customer service dept (PM me and I'll give you his name) is a wealth of knowledge and avid shooter himself. He remembered who I was when I called (always a huge plus in my book), returned my calls when I left him a message, made every effort to help me self-repair the rifle, and gave me great pricing on some accessories for the rifle as well. Between the two of us, we determined that the only course of action was to send the rifle to them and they'd straighten it out.

So off it went and I've already got it back and repaired. Less than two weeks door to door! And PTR91 Inc. picked up the repair charge and the return shipping (They do not have a lifetime warranty). I recieved a phone call stating that they had received the rifle, and I also received another call stating that it was done and that it was on it's way back (which I received next day through UPS). Exceptional customer service and attitude was the norm here, and I glowingly endorse PTR91 and their products without reservation.

In the end, I just got the rifle back yesterday, and with the lousy weather I have not had a chance to test fire it (anyone have a indoor range that allows .308 rifles? ), but PTR91 certainly did and they reported that it works perfectly. I've also spoke to a few people that own HK91/PTR91 rifles and they've all said that the guns are super reliable and should go for thousands of rounds without an issue.

Here's to hoping that the gun shoots well, and to MassMark, the unknown Exceptional guy #2 (please PM me if you see this ) and PTR91 Inc. !


Thanks very much for all of your help, and the .308 is on me next shoot Mark!

 

[Supermoto]

Early PTR are know to have chambers that were to tight causing FTE.

The PTR is a roller locking design, it does not a gas system, the flutes are there to keep the case from sticking to the chamber wall.

Once you get the chamber issue squared away, the rifle will run great, don't spend to much time cleaning it, it doesn't need to be clean

 

[MFP4073]

Thats a great story - especially since you got the rifle running correctly.

Its awesome when people are willing to reach out and help without being asked.

 

[MassMark]

AWESOME! And thanks for the kind words! It was my pleasure to help and it's great to hear JLD treated you well. The other gentleman at The Pumpkin Shoot, was Allen from Qmmo - he's a book of knowledge and a great guy in his own right. When I see someone having problems with an HK or Uzi clone, I try to jump right in, as both my HK's and my Uzi run flawlessly - yours should too, (clone or not). An HK is so robust and reliable, that cleaning is more a matter of want than need and yours was squeaky-clean! Did they replace your extractor as well?, (it looked like it was getting chewed up). If all is set right, you now should have a rifle that just eats .308 for breakfast and spits out the casings in a most violent way....Thanks again for the kindness Greg - you're a class act!