Good SIG customer service experience

I posted this previously on Sigforum at
http://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/430601935/m/330102671?r=330102671#330102671

Posted October 17, 2009 08:58 PM I'm just letting you all know about my experience with SIG CS, which was very good. Since I bought my new P220 Equinox, it had been having malfunctions(mostly failure to feed, a few double feeds), at a rate of about 1 or 2 every 100 rounds. After about 600 rounds of this, I decided to contact SIG customer service. When I described the issue on the phone, the customer service rep immediately offered to have me send it back to be fixed. They emailed me a prepaid UPS shipping label. I was told that I would get it back about 10-12 business days from when they received it. I sent it in on a Friday. I received it back the following Thursday, so there was very quick turnaround that beat the estimate by quite a bit. Since it was going in for service anyways I decided to get the SRT and trigger job (Action Enhancement Package), which I paid for. To fix the malfunction issue, the gunsmith polished the feed ramp and replaced the extractor, and test fired 50 rounds with no failures. I just put 150 rounds through it with 0 malfunctions, so it seems to have worked. I'm really happy with the Action Enhancement Package. The pull on double action feels significantly lighter and smoother. I wasn't unhappy with the factory double action trigger, it was comparable to DA on other guns that I've tried. But after the AEP, it's much better. Single action feels a little better but it was always quite good on single action. The short reset trigger does make the trigger reset noticeably shorter. It doesn't seem to make much difference for me since I don't usually do a lot of rapid fire, but it does what it's supposed to do, and I'll probably appreciate it more if I take some classes with more rapid fire. The only thing I didn't like about the whole process was that they shipped it back without letting me know or sending a tracking number, so I wasn't able to be home to receive it and had to go pick it up at the shipping hub. My customer service rep was Jason and the gunsmith was James. It's pretty lame that my $1k gun even needed to be sent in, and I only got one mag with it when I bought it. So I still have some healthy SIG resentment. But in terms of customer service I'm happy. And as of now I'm very happy with the gun assuming it stays reliable through a few hundred more rounds. Update - see http://jumpthestack.blogspot.com/2010/11/poor-sig-sauer-customer-service.html for an update on my SIG CS woes.

About me

Just a note about me:
In the articles I write, I take an authoritative tone for simplicity, but I don't want to give the impression that  I think I'm an authority.
I do not claim to be an expert in anything or to have any qualifications whatsoever.  Everything on this blog is a matter of my opinion which may or may not be worth anything.

The name jumpthestack comes from a technique(now long obsolete) in computer security for exploiting a stack buffer overflow vulnerability.

AAR: LMS Defense one day carbine clinic

See
http://www.lmsdefense.com/lms/home/coursesbycategory/8
for more.

This review is for LMS Defense's one day carbine clinic which was taught by Todd Nielsen and took place at the Metcalf range in San Jose.

This course is intended as a basic introduction to carbine shooting.
We spent a lot of time zeroing the carbines, with both iron sights and optics.  He also covered:
- field stripping and cleaning an AR-15 (good tip: turn your charging handle upside down and use it as a tray to hold all the other little pieces that come out of the bolt carrier group)
- speed and tactical reloads,
- shooting and basic marksmanship while prone, kneeling, and standing,
- shooting up close and compensating for sight over bore offset.
- shooting while moving forward
- failure to stop drill; transitioning from shooting at the body to the head or pelvis

It was a good introductory class and I intend to try the Carbine 1 2-day course if I get a chance.

AAR: 2 day defensive pistol by Brian Normandy at Jackson Arms

See
http://jacksonarms.com/Classes.htm
for more.

This is a review of the 2 day pistol class at Jackson Arms in South San Francisco, CA.
The details aren't on the website but you can call the range for details, they have a variety of defensive shooting classes from time to time.

This course assumes you already know how to operate your weapon and that you know the basics of marksmanship.  Marksmanship wasn't really covered at all.   The course covered a wide variety of topics, including:
- drawing from the holster(you'd better yell Stop!) and reholstering(always reload very slowly in case you need to use the gun again for some reason, and also to prevent possible unintentional discharges).
- after action drill in which you sidestep, scan the area and check your six, and reholster slowly.
- legal issues related to shooting someone in self defense, taught by Brian's brother Alan, who is a LEO.
- shooting from very close contact range
- shooting around a barricade,  slicing the pie and rolling out
- night shooting with a flash light
- clearing malfunctions (and also notably what all the possible causes for each malfunction are, in order to better understand the weapon and how each cause is fixed).
- shooting while moving in a V-pattern
- shooting multiple targets quickly
- moving through hallways/doorways
- communication while shooting (for example asking for cover while reloading, acknowledging the request, and then signaling that you're ready)
- shooting while kneeling and prone
- Zombie Apocalypse drill (you'll have to take the class to find out about that one)

I found it to be a very interesting and worthwhile course.

AAR: Louis Awerbuck Yavapai Firearms Academy stage 1 and 2

See

http://www.reedsindoorrange.com/training.html
for more.

Louis Awerbuck is a nationally known firearms instructor who has been teaching for many years, including at Gunsite.
I took both the stage 1 and 2 classes at Reed's indoor range in Santa Clara CA.  Note: the curriculum for YFA handgun stage 1 and 2 are slightly different at Reed's than at other facilities.

Both classes require that you already own a firearm and a holster and mag pouch, and that you're familiar with its basic operation.  Note: for both classes you should either bring a lunch or have a plan to go somewhere in Santa Clara for lunch.  There is a one hour lunch break in the middle of the day.

The stage 1 one-day class focused mostly on marksmanship, with Awerbuck going into deep detail in the classroom, then diagnosing everybody's problems on the range.  His ability to see and correct people's mistakes is uncanny.   Near the end of the class, he had everybody shoot at a small ammo box from about 15 yards away, and everybody hit it or almost hit it within 2 shots.  One fundamental of shooting that he focuses on a lot that many people had a problem with is follow through and trigger reset.  When you shoot, you should pull the trigger fully to the rear and hold it there for a moment, and then slowly let it out until it retreats and no further, while keeping the sights aligned on target.    When people shoot and then take their finger off the trigger quickly, it can misalign the sights even though the bullet has no fully left the barrel.   This doesn't get emphasized enough by most instructors.   He went over safety, drawing from a holster and tactical reloads, but otherwise it was not really a 'tactical' or defensive course.  The description on Reed's site mentions coverage of handgun and use of force laws, but there wasn't really any of that.

The stage 2 class started with a review of safety and asking if anyone was having any shooting problems.  On the range, we warmed up with a review of the things that were covered in the first class until everyone was shooting satisfactorily.   Once that was done, they set up 3 dimensional curved paper targets, which changes the game somewhat.  For example, if the target is standing somewhat sideways to you, you don't want to shoot in the middle of the chest (between his nipples) because that will not damage as much tissue as hitting somewhere on the side of his body that's closest to you.  So in other words as the target turns, you need to hit at the center of the target relative to you, and not keep aiming at the same spot on the target.  The targets were also tilted from 45 to 90 degrees sideways, which again presented challenges in terms of deciding where to shoot on the target.

Later, shooting on the move was added, including moving sideways and forward and back.   Movement is important both to help make yourself harder to hit, and also to gain the best angle to hit the target with a stopping hit.
Finally, no-shoot targets were added.  Now movement was even more important in order to find the right angle to hit the target without hitting the no-shoot target, which could be in front of or behind the target.  
At the end there was a very cool drill while Awerbuck set up a set of mannequins that were moving on pulleys and you were supposed to head shot one of them without hitting the others.  Everybody was able to do it within 2 or 3 shots, and many within 1 shot.

During the class he also covered tactical reloads, speed reloads, shooting from kneeling and clearing malfunctions. 

Note: for both classes, students were allowed to pick up the brass off the range at the end of the class, which may be useful to know if you reload.   It would definitely also be useful to bring brass sorting trays since a lot of different calibers were being shot.

After completing the stage 2 course, you get a card which entitles you to shoot on the right hand side range at Reed's, which includes the privilege to shoot from the holster and to rapid fire.  I think you have to stay 'current' which means shooting there at least once a month.

Both classes were well worth while, and I would say especially the stage 1 is very worthwhile if you have any problems with your shooting.  The stage 2 was very good, but just make sure you understand what you're getting, which is an intermediate level shooting class.  Again I felt like there wasn't so much of defensive, gunfighting material.   I would say actually from the perspective of all-around defensive firearms training, the 2-day pistol class taught by Brian Normandy at Jackson Arms was a lot more well rounded.

AAR: Coyote Valley Clays "Experience Package"

See 
http://www.coyoteclays.com/Instruction.htm for more details.

Coyote Valley sporting clays in Morgan Hill CA has a very nice sporting clays facility, and I believe it's the only sporting clays facility in the Bay Area. (Sporting Clays refers to a specific sport, as opposed to trap or skeet).

The experience package is a relatively inexpensive package where if you get a group of 3 or more people, you can get one instructor per 5 people, 50 targets, 50 rounds of ammo, rental of a shotgun, and eye and ear protection.   It's a good way to get introduced to sporting clays.   You have to book it at least a week in advance, and I found that Saturdays are often unavailable, with Sundays and weekdays being available pretty reliably.

I did the experience package twice, with two different instructors.  Both times, the instructor got there late.  The instructors went briefly over safety and the operation of the shotgun.   They explained basically how to shoot the clays and what to look for, but I felt that they were not really 'instructors' so much as shooters who did not necessarily have a lot of experience teaching how to do it in a detailed way or diagnosing problems.  The first time I went, we used a 20 gauge over/under, and the second time we used a 12 gauge over/under.   They were selected by the instructor, so I guess it's up to the instructor's preference.  

At each station, they explained the trajectory of the clays and the basic strategy for hitting them, and we shot 10 rounds at each station, for 5 stations total.   Since the facility has 16 stations, you only get to hit 5 out of the 16, which is just enough to get a taste of it.

I feel like the instructors were not that good, but they were certainly adequate for just giving a basic idea of how it works and having a fun afternoon shooting.  I intend to try their full day seminar some time in the future.

AAR: Bill Tidwell NRA pistol and shotgun first steps classes

The first 2 firearms classes I ever took were NRA first steps pistol and NRA first steps shotgun taught by Bill Tidwell at Reed's Indoor Range in Santa Clara, CA.
See
http://train2besafe.com/courseschedule.html
and
http://www.reedsindoorrange.com/training.html
for more.

Both were pretty good.  Both assume no prior knowledge, and all gear such as eye/ear protection, guns and ammo are provided.  In both classes, they went over safety, basics of marksmanship (stance, grip, sight alignment and sight picture, trigger control, etc.)
In the pistol class they covered the operation of semi-auto pistols and revolvers.  On the second night of class there was live fire with Ruger MKIIIs and Smith and Wesson .22LR revolvers.  On the second night there was also the opportunity to take the California Handgun Safety Certificate test for an additional $25.

I highly recommend taking the optional third night class for the pistol class.  In that class you get a chance to shoot a wide variety of handguns in different calibers.  I vaguely recall at least:
Revolver in .38 special
.40 S&W Beretta 92
9mm Glock (I think model 19)
Walther PPK in .380 ACP
.45 ACP 1911
revolver in .44 Magnum

All the fundamentals of shooting were taught correctly, however I was having some problems with my trigger control which they were unable to fix(and which were later fixed in a Louis Awerbuck stage 1 handgun class which I'll review later).  So I would say that Bill and his helpers may not necessarily have the best ability to diagnose and correct shooting errors.

In the shotgun class we used pump action, semi-auto, over-under, side-by-side, and single shot break open shotguns, with buckshot, slugs, and mostly birdshot.   There were 12 and 20 gauge shotguns.  Due to the fact that I took the class at Reed's indoor range, it was all shooting at stationary paper targets, which doesn't help you much if you want to shoot flying clays, but is certainly useful for a basic understanding of operating a shotgun for home defense.   They do teach the same course in Livermore at a range with clays.  By the way, also check out Coyote Valley Sporting Clays if you want to try clay shooting.


Overall both classes were well worth the time and money, and a great way to try out shooting without needing to own any guns or shooting gear.  They satisfactorily answered any questions about choosing and buying guns, and legal issues, and covered safely storing and maintaining guns.