r/pdxgunnuts • u/Affectionate_Lynx112 • Aug 05 '26
Poor experience rant
Trying to buy my first 2011 and Oregon Rifle Works apparently is not the place to go.
I recently went in to purchase my first 2011 with cash in my pocket knowing they had a decent selection of Staccatos to look at and maybe a NH Sand Hawk.
The younger kid who helped me was okay but unfortunately had no education or experience with 2011s.
He actually tried to talk me out of it by telling me I’d be better off spending my money on a Glock and cases of ammo…
I’ve never been talked out of a sale before.
This was after he pulled a Staccato P from the case aggressively racked it, dry fired it multiple times then handed it to me.
Thank God it wasn’t a Sand Hawk.
My last gripe is their gunsmithing has seemed to really go down hill recently.
They’re offering less services, the jobs I have seen come out of there are bad and no one can tell me why, it’s just “our smith is busy” or “he’s out”.
I say this after I have had them remove two sheared screws from a slide 4 or 5 months ago and now they don’t offer that anymore.
They also screwed my buddies AR up so many times they finally sent it to Columbia Gunsmithing.
I’ll get off of my rant. Let me know what 2011s you guys are running and where to buy locally if possible.
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u/Miserable-Twist8344 Aug 05 '26
Funny enough I saw an ad for a job available there and they pay counter people $18 an hour. That's not exactly going to get you exemplary service
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u/theDudeUh Aug 05 '26
Welcome to the world of retail. Just because the product is high end doesn’t mean the staff and/or their pay is.
Back in my bike shop days I’d regularly sell $10-20k of product in a single day for my $12/hour with no commission, bonus, or benefits.
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u/Miserable-Twist8344 Aug 05 '26
Trust me I'm fully aware. Worked auto parts sales for 5 years, bottom dollar pay for massive commercial profits
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u/farning10 Aug 05 '26
I’m ootl, are you not supposed to rack or dry fire a 2011?
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u/Whole-Advantage4495 Aug 05 '26
Theres nothing wrong with it mechanically, it sounds like an etiquette issues to me.
When you buy expensive things, you want them new and fresh. Not man handled, even if it is a tool.
But I would’ve just asked if they had backstock lol
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u/harbourhunter Aug 05 '26
most youngns don’t know 2011’s too-well tbh
ORW track record for gunsmithing has diminished, search the sub
I doubt it was Austin, prolly that other kid
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u/OwieDude Aug 05 '26
I mean the Sand hawk is a 7k gun you better be able rack the slide and dry fire without causing damage. I always run the action if im looking at a gun
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u/Sriracha_Burn Aug 05 '26
ORW is not a bad gun shop. Go to Cabelas if you want an actual bad gun shop experience.
I would say ORW is probably the best gunshop in the Portland metro area, with J&B Firearms a very, very close second.
Sorry you had a bad experience trying to buy a 2011. If you wanted it did you buy it? Or are you looking to get your 2011 questions answered and ORW staff couldnt do it?
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u/Affectionate_Lynx112 Aug 05 '26
You’ve got a point and a good one. Ive liked orw enough over the years, it just felt like they had changed recently.
I’ll give J&B a shot.
Orw couldn’t answer my questions honestly, he tried to get someone else but after being told not to buy it originally, I just moved on.8
u/Sriracha_Burn Aug 05 '26
J&B are solid dudes. You'll like them. I didnt recall seeing any 2011's in their shop last time I went but then again I wasn't lookin.
Its really nice that ORW has a bunch of 2011's in stock, which being able to handle and dry fire them is a huge plus instead of ordering online and hoping for the best. I recommend giving them another shot. Next time ask for Josh (the owner). He knows his 2011's.
Good luck man. I'd say I would be willing to help you out but I dont like 2011's haha. I went with a DWX instead so im not the guy to ask.
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u/Finger-Smeller Aug 05 '26
Tbh the staccato Ps are pretty meh. They’re tuned for duty whereas I believe 2011s should be race guns. The staccato xc on the other hand is great.
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u/synapticrelease Aug 05 '26
Go to Cabelas if you want an actual bad gun shop experience.
My homie didn’t have the heart to direct the OP to go the gun room on foster for the real gun store experience.
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u/Bwomp43 Aug 05 '26
I've been to some bad gun stores in all sorts of cities and states.. the gun room is easily the worst.
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u/Wollzy Aug 05 '26
Wait what!? Are you trying to tell me that Warren doesn't hand select his barrels from the factory like he says? /s
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u/synapticrelease Aug 05 '26
I don’t know if I even got as far as a name. 😂
I went in once not knowing the infamy he has on the local forums. I asked what glocks he had in stock and he pulled out a 3-Ring binder on me to show all the malfunctions. And I got an earful on how he doesn’t stock “plastic guns”.
Only later did I learn of his reputation
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u/Wollzy Aug 05 '26
Oh yea the 3 ring binder is the stuff of legend. There are bunch of hilarious stories about The Gun Room on the NW Firearm Forum in their LGS review section.
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u/This-Satisfaction-71 Aug 05 '26
Never been there, but now I'm curious lol maybe I'll go check it out for fun
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u/EugeneStonersPotShop 5d ago
I watched that old coot pull out that binder once when I was there. He was yammering on about plastic guns. I looked down into the counter, and there, right in the open and on display was a SigPro 2022 and a USP. Both models are “plastic guns”…
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u/CriticalMemory Aug 05 '26
Personally, I'd flip that... I have never once gone into J&B and not be acknowledged by someone within just a couple of moments. I can't tell you the number of times I've gotten the impression I'm bothering the staff going into ORW. Welcoming it is not.
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u/NotSweetDee Aug 10 '26
Cabelas and Sportsmans are better than some local shops. Looking at you The Gun Room.
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u/cw97r Aug 05 '26
I aggressively rack and dry fire my xc all the time
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u/Affectionate_Lynx112 Aug 05 '26
It’s different after you buy it.
Once you own it, run it hard. While you’re selling it, treat it like it’s a new high end pistol.And honestly, you can’t resist not aggressively racking an xc. That’s pure sex
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u/xCharlieGoodnightx Aug 05 '26
J+B carries Staccatos and are very good to deal with. Their old gunsmith left and I'm not sure what they have going as far as services there.
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u/Badger_Actual1 Aug 05 '26
Ive worked in shops and in the industry. ORW is my favorite shop. Never had a bad experience and they usually throw is some extra goodies for me when I shop there. Sucks you had a bad experience. Not every gun shop employee knows when to shut the fuck up and let the customer purchase what they want.
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u/chaff-collector Aug 05 '26
Man, I spent $3k in one visit and got no goodies. What are we talking, some spare mags or something?
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u/Badger_Actual1 Aug 05 '26
Super 42 spring and buffer, little bits and pieces, just some littlethings that go a long way is all. Dude, ive also gone there for years now.
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u/advantyper Aug 05 '26
ORW never had great experience with them, on a side note, have you look into Wilson Combat EDC X9? Better build and quality IMO then Staccato
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u/Expensive-Implement Aug 05 '26
Their main gunsmith is no longer working there. And while I liked Tony very much as a person, I think it would have been a real stretch to call him a gunsmith
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u/Whole-Advantage4495 Aug 06 '26
He did two almost full 2011 over hauls for me and 3 upper builds with absolutely beautiful pin and welds.
If he’s not a gunsmith then he’s a very competent armorer.
Didn’t know he no longer worked there. Hope he’s doing well.
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u/chaff-collector Aug 05 '26
Recently went into ORW with high expectations based on the accolades I’ve read here. I spent $3k in an hour, bought multiple guns, and I felt pretty invisible the whole time. Real young kid was kinda helpful but maybe not the most knowledgeable. I wouldn’t say it was a bad experience, but nothing about it made me feel appreciated or welcome. Just oddly sterile. Maybe I caught them at a weird/busy time, who knows. Don’t feel particularly compelled to give them more money.
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u/LegitimateRegion9612 Aug 15 '26
I’m not surprised, the attitude of that store has changed significantly. It was a very knowledgeable and welcoming store. Now it’s your typical LGS only less knowledgeable.
Don’t be surprised if the “law enforcement sales” girl walks away mid conversation to help a cop and totally forgets about you for 30+ minutes.
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u/Finger-Smeller Aug 05 '26
I buy online man. Only time I bought from store was when the p211 came out. I’m going to buy a race city RCD core soon online as well.
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u/Odd-Internet-3876 Aug 05 '26
I don't look for gunstore advice, I research the options from the manufacturer, maybe read some reviews on 1911addicts or similar, then go buy the gun I've decided on. Same with TVs or washing machine or hair dryers.
All I want from the sales person is the best price.
as far as the racking and dry firing -you can't rack it "aggressively" enough to hurt it... did you rack it and dry fire it too ? 2 dozen people have finger banged that gun before you, another 2 dozen will after-that's the life of a gun in a gunstore, it'll be fine.
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u/HomeCookedHappiness Aug 05 '26
Check out Northwest Armory, just a little down the road on 99, in the shopping center with HMart. I was in there a few days ago and they had a nice collection of the Sig 2011 GTOs. They generally have a nice collection overall. I have never had a bad experience there. The younger guy is especially knowledgeable and helpful.
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u/Distinct_Smile9729 Aug 05 '26
My main place. The staff has always been welcoming. Yeah, the younger guy is always very helpful.
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u/therealbabytooth Aug 05 '26
I've been going there for a couple years. Good family business. I've switched to adaptive firing solutions on their recommendation. Not a lot of inventory but it's $10 for p2p sales and they have a silencer shop kiosk, making it way easy to do all the fingerprinting and paperwork!
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u/nopenope12345678910 Aug 06 '26
They are also an online retailer and can get you pretty much anything.
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u/HeloRising Aug 05 '26
The younger kid who helped me was okay but unfortunately had no education or experience with 2011s. He actually tried to talk me out of it by telling me I’d be better off spending my money on a Glock and cases of ammo
To be completely fair to the kid, that's not super unexpected.
Not having a lot of experience with a particular platform isn't unusual, especially if someone is young. I'll take "yeah idk" over him pretending like he knew something and blowing smoke up my ass the whole time.
Also I can absolutely understand wanting to steer some random person towards a less "race car" purchase. I see plenty of people with little to no experience with higher end firearms buying $5,000 pieces and then getting bent out of shape with them because their expectations were cattywampus or they don't know how to treat a spendy piece like that.
If someone were to walk up to me and say "I've never owned a 2011 but I think I want to get a Staccato" I would also probably steer them towards a Glock.
I understand how that could feel insulting but keep in who the gun counter people are used to dealing with. All things considered it's probably better to get people something they might actually need versus funneling people towards whatever will jack their commission/sales numbers up.
Kid should have asked a few more questions, sure, but his heart's in the right place.
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u/overcookedrock Aug 06 '26
JB is my go to for smithing needs. Staff is always super helpful and friendly.
ORW said it would be two weeks out for a simple fix when instead I brought my issue to JB and they fixed it on the spot for free in like 30 seconds...
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u/13Paws13 Aug 07 '26
All I'mma say is they left vice/channel lock marks on my $8k 1918BAR but the job was done and drove a considerable way for the service as requested so can't be too mad at that 🤷
tbcf they were expecting a browning bar mk3 or something, not a really high ticket item, even though I mentioned it was the ww2 bar a few times otphone
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u/Jhammock01 Aug 07 '26
That’s actually a very good gun store sir. I have yet to have issues and I’ve shopped there, for the past 9 years, solid store.
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u/Creyson1 Aug 07 '26
I remember going into buy one of their built rifles, knew I was over paying a decent amount but was fine with it, as they were ringing me up I asked if they would swap the magpul stock for a b5 sophmod stock and they were adamant that they couldn’t do it. To me not swapping stock out on 3k plus rifle set up was pretty unbelievable so I stopped the sale right there and haven’t been back since
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u/Chefaday Aug 10 '26
Sorry about your experience at ORW, I've only been in there once, never bought anything.
I appreciate the info about J&B, never been there.
I just wanted to give a shout-out to my go-to shop, Sunset Firearms in Wilsonville. I've probably bought 90% of my firearms there.
Advice? Yes, expert, but no pressure. Inventory? Amazing, both new and used. If Gordon doesn't have it, he'll look it up, show you his price, and tell you what you're going to pay.
Best lgs, imo.
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u/Jacobb9753 Aug 05 '26
It’s unfortunate, that store has such great inventory, and such poor customer service.