Cobra 76 two
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Posts posted by Cobra 76 two
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Well said
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Yep I'm still here. Sorry for the long silence I haven't even logged in here since last year sometime. Got behind on work due to some major catastrophes on the home front, so I decided to stop posting anything, anywhere online, until I could get things worked out here and get all my work caught up.
Glad to say now that all is good, my backlogged work is completely CLEARED and SHIPPED (as of last week) , and I'm BACK! I'm doing some of the best work I've ever done! ...and with MUCH faster turn around times, so get in touch if you need your Saiga or Vepr running much better!
I'll be posting a new thread soon with lots of pics of completed work, some recently shipped.
Have a great weekend!
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Happy birthday Mr. Rumore! Hope it's a great one.
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Well I checked my email records and sent one email to a guy named Parker I did some work for 4 yrs ago. He already answered back and looks like it's not him. Only other Parker was an SBS's bolt job another year. Tried to help anyway... At first glance it sounds to me like he needs to test the gun with all original gas system parts, and if it's been converted make sure the hammer was done correctly. Also with only 3 ports large enough to "stick a paper clip in..."...that's normally not enough to cycle low brass well, but it should still cycle buck and slugs.
Oh well good luck.
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I'm so very sorry for your loss JDeko. Hits close to home as I just found out my own Dad has seriously advanced lung cancer now and was just given about a 10% survival rating even with Chemo and Radiation. Cancer is such a horrible thing...
Anyway I'm sorry he sounds like a great man and a great father.-
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Wow Patrick thanks brother I appreciate the kind words and trust. I can guarantee you the work done will be second to none and your shotgun will run smoother and better. Looking forward to your email and happy to help with any questions you have about your Saiga.
Shannon
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Yes I'm definitely still at it and currently turning out some of the best work I've done. Sorry for my absence from the boards and my facebook biz page... there's been good reasons. There was a huge backlog, some of which were jobs pauly didn't finish that are still filtering through here.
There were also a few very serious issues at home last year, on top of an already full workload, which cost me dearly in available shop time and ability to focus. Of course the worst thing was the fact my former girlfriend of 9 years, business partner here at Cobra's Custom, best friend, and forum member Racegal20...(Sandi), was diagnosed in Feb with a very aggressive form of esophageal cancer. This hit especially close to home for me since she was my angel who kicked me in the ass every day and made me fight hard enough to survive this exact same cancer over the course of two years in 2009-2010. I was a high stage 3 when we found out I had it.... that's bad. Fighting Squamous Cell head & neck / throat cancer is an extremely painful thing for anyone, and agonizing to see a loved one go through. It takes everything from you and your loved ones. Sandi gave it her best through Dec and that's a lot. She was always the toughest woman I've ever met. Still...her cancer was pure evil and on the 10th of Dec we lost her.
It was a couple of months before I could even function again. I am still trying my best to be there for her parents and three boys who are going through hell.Guys I would not even dare take an irreplaceable gun part to a bench grinder without being completely focused....ever...
We also got hit last year with Hurricane Matthew right in my back yard. Huge oaks down all over the property, massive 100 year flooding (I live on a flood plain), multiple vehicles under water, no power for weeks...shop totally out of commission for a spell with months of cleanup...
I did still do my best and get as many jobs as I could done when able, but the backlog was large and has been hard to get back down. I want to assure everyone who needs work done though, (and of course those still waiting...) it's back now to a reasonable level now and completed jobs are going out the door regularly again. I shipped out 4 over the past two days in fact, some of which are being delivered as I'm typing this. Also my policy is to get a good bit of the work done on every job very soon after it comes in the door, so finishing up jobs already half done and doing it assembly line style does take less time.
It is my goal to completely clear out all jobs currently in house (12) by the end of this month. After that the wait times will be much less... like back to 2-4 weeks again like it used to be.
To everyone who has been waiting a long time to get your parts back I humbly apologize, I certainly did not expect things to go the way they have over the past year and I'm sorry you were forced to wait so long. I'm back in full force now and It won't ever get that way again. You guys be on the lookout for tracking numbers.
Looking forward to rocking 2017 with some new offerings as well so stay tuned. Will try to get back to having time to post pics when I can. I haven't had spare time to do any posting and have been wanting to post an update on what's going on for awhile. I'll more than likely copy this post to an update on my vendor pages to make good use of time. My welder is on the way here soon for us to knock out 4 custom charging handle jobs so that will have to be later.
Ya'll have a great weekend and anyone wanting to inquire about work please email me at cobrascustom@yahoo.
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I really appreciate it guys.
I'm sorry I've not been back here yet to respond, I haven't done much of anything at home even til yesterday...these past days have been extremely hard. We all really thought she would be able to kick that shit in the teeth the same way she helped me do, and same way she did every other thing that came up against her, her whole life. She was actually making progress and we thought after she had to have the trach tube surgery (something she has been firmly against ever having to live with and this going back many years as a smoker...) that things would turn around. It was just an extremely aggressive and progressive cancer though and no matter how hard she fought, or how much support we all tried to give her,,, her poor little body just could not go any more. I'll spare y'all the details of the past few weeks and just how bad things got but it was excruciating for Sandi and for all of us too having to see her hurting so bad. Hell she was my whole world and since this began in Feb I've been a total wreck.
Been trying like hell the whole time to keep positive, help her and the family, and keep up with my work and responsibilities in my own life too. That's been nearly impossible, not just because of how close we are and how much I care for her and her family, but because we both went through all this shit together already with my suffering, the cancer treatments, and especially the long fight and recovery period that followed. It saved my own life but ended up costing us both dearly...and quite alot.
Never has losing someone close been quite like this one though. Thank each and every one of you for the support and kind words. She loved you guys and when we met she openly embraced and thoroughly enjoyed all the time I used to put into this site. It was her that pushed me and gave me the confidence originally to actually try and make a business out of my enjoyment modifying and improving the platform. The work she did organizing how everything would then be handled and all the office and shipping... well I can never thank her for that enough. Part of her will still always be here though in that way as well.
Still gonna put some good pics of her up here I just haven't finished searching hard drives and putting them in new files yet. Her immediate and extended family can't wait to get all I want to share. Not only was she a great mother of three boys, but was also "Mom" to most all their childhood friends. Their house was always grand central for everything from birthday and family gatherings to Nascar and football.
Her wishes were to be cremated and instead of a regular formal service we are planning a celebration of her life next month out at her Mom & Dad's place. Things have been especially hard for them as well of course. No parent can bare to see their children suffer and having to bury them is unthinkable. She only had one brother, he and I shared the same birthday. They all had to suffer through losing him already. It's so sad.
Thank you all again and I will return to post some happy stuff next time, I taught her everything she knew about firearms and that girl was totally amazing with them straight out of the gate. Many many great memories seeing her progress. She was a natural especially with a pistol. For now here is one pic of her firing my S-12 on her very first day shooting, 2007 and I remember it like it was yesterday... She shot my S-410 first and wanted to just skip right past the S-20 to get to the 12's! That's my girl!!
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Thanks for the kind words Squeaky Sandi will be sorely missed by so many people. Family's really struggling still to come to grips and every holiday from now own is going to be rough for sure. I surely understand what you're saying about seeing it all from the other side man. I can't even imagine what that has to be like all the time but especially over the holidays.
Thank you for all the work you do and the good you guys all do. -
Hey guys.
It is with very heavy heart I come to share the news that one of our older members, my best friend, business partner here, and my former everything, has lost her intense battle with the evil cancer she's been fighting tooth and nail since she was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Feb of 2015. In 2009 I was diagnosed with the exact same thing at a high stage 3 level. In my throat the same as her... Through her strength, courage and help along with some of the best doctors and modern medicine, I was luckily able to win my long battle. There's a long thread about it somewhere on here. The outpouring of support we got from our gun buddies here was awesome and so appreciated. She really loved participating as a member here and made lots of friends she continued to follow and keep up with later in life and on facebook.
Sandi hasn't been active here for a couple years but used to be quite active with thousands of posts all over the forum.
http://forum.saiga-12.com/index.php?/user/5613-racegal20/
Just thought I'd come in and make a post about it for all you who knew her and used to talk with her on the forum. She went peacefully in her sleep at 12:15 AM yesterday, 12/1016. She will be greatly missed.
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.I may come back to post some pics but til then, everyone stay safe out there and try to have a Merry Christmas.
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Looks awesome man! Still enjoying turkey breast sammiches here from the one I smoked for Thanksgiving. The Carolina Reapers from the garden really added a nice spice to the flavor the smoke, the apple, and my custom rub imparted. For a smoked bird it was especially aesthetically pleasing I thought lol!
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Interested.
PM sent...
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PM sent brother nice hearing back from ya.
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Nice work as always Chile! Gotta try this one myself using all fresh venison with my home made venison sausage. Yum.
You workin' on that cookbook yet bro? E-books have actually gotten very easy to do I've a buddy with one out.
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Thanks again y'all it's great to know I still have some friends here.
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Thank you for the B Day wishes fellas! After 50 (or 30-40...) a lot of people don't much care about birthdays.
I tend to think they are pretty damn awesome!
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Taking a few minutes off from working yet another Saturday, to post a few pics of more jobs shipping out. These are some that got finished yesterday and last night.
Next....
This one I found the hammer was defective on so I reworked another one for him and supplied that free of charge.
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More recent jobs shipped....will keep posting what pics I have taken and more as I get them.
A couple of those LHCH jobs....
Others...
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It's been awhile since I've had any time to read or post on the forums. As most of you know we got behind last year and have been struggling with a backlog ever since. It's finally clearing out now though so I thought I'd let everyone know.
I'm going to post a bunch of recent pics I uploaded from my phone and try to assure everyone who's already got parts in here getting worked on, (and especially those on the fence wanting this reliability service done but who may be afraid of long wait times...) there is absolutely NO need to worry about sending your parts in to us for service. Of course due to what happened to a lot of people because of what another different vendor here did wrong, many people have been extremely hesitant to trust anyone else with their Saiga parts and I don't blame them. That is not a problem with us though so please don't put Cobra's Custom in the same boat just because we do the same service. We have a very long history of excellent service here with everyone going away happy.
I personally pioneered this whole Saiga 12 / Vepr 12 "reliability service" myself, long before anyone else was even trying it. I started then perfected the serivce others copied and some have failed miserably trying to copy and offer. Only mentioning that because many newer Saiga and Vepr owners may not know.
About the backlog...we are a very small family business here and like any other are subject to life's occasional downfalls with health issues, equipment failures...etc. Normally the service we offer can be completed with a relatively short waiting period compared to most custom work on firearms or parts. The actual work only takes a day or so per job but due to the long backlog we experienced from being out of service for months, during which time we were getting piles of work coming in, including those that were left unfinished by a previous "competitor"... it has taken a lot of work and time to get caught back up.
Now that things are rolling again here we are finishing and shipping orders all the time. The wait list is clearing more and more each week now. I'm doing these jobs in sets of 10 and stopping only to ship out 3-5 at a time. Last week in an effort to try and get everybody we could shipped before the 4th, we got 5 more out the door and off the list. Had one more actually come by to pick his up and do a little shooting on the 3rd here. It's all getting done quick now with me putting everything else in my life off so I can work 7 days a week.
At this time (July 7th) there are exactly 20 bolt and trigger sets left on the wait list, 10 of which are on the bench now with half of those almost done and on schedule to ship any day now. EVERYONE on the list should be shipping out by the end of this month and that is my goal get that done and begin some new jobs.
Starting August 1st I am hoping to be able to offer a guaranteed two to four week turn around time again, as it was before all the troubles we experienced last year put me so far behind in the shop. Please let us know then if you'd like your Saiga, Vepr, or AK upgraded to run better than you knew was possible. I can make that happen.
In closing, I have been far too busy here working on and shipping parts to stop and take pictures to post here and on the forums, so I took time to take a few new ones of a couple of 'different' type jobs we shipped last week. First ones are of the very impressive and innovative new R&R Targets USA made Saiga 12 bolt carrier (which BTW they now sell a matching US made bolt for... check em out they do great work!). It comes with a reversible / ambi charging handle that can be mounted in three different optional positions from what it looks like. It's also milled out to make it lighter and made of some great quality steel that takes a very nice polish. Nice! The one pictured with it is a bead blasted Russian carrier and polished bolt set. This is one that was unfortunately started on and gouged pretty badly, but never finished by someone who is no longer a vendor here. Also pictured is our custom grooved and polished G2 trigger and a few pics of our Tig welded LHCH (left hand charging handles) while getting done. I'll try to find and add a few more from recent jobs I did get pics of before they went out. Will also put an example of some of the damaged type work I also have to fix before I can even do my job... lots of these things come in with serious wear and tear on them and some that others have butchered trying to work on them. All the work I do goes out of here looking about the same though, with the same love and attention to detail in each job. No matter how much a few of the most impatient guys have tried to rush me, I of course took the same care to give them the perfection they paid for. Some thank me, others don't...oh well such is life...
Thanks for your time and patience. Now back to work! Will try to take time to post more pics of completed jobs as they are going out, along with serial numbers so the guys waiting can see they are done and going out. Even have my gal in here with me helping out with small stuff like sanding the paint off the bolt carrier rail channels prior to polishing. Anything to help save time and get these jobs all done so she can ship them out to you guys!
Have a great one!
These are some jobs being worked on right now. 10-12 at a time assembly line style to save time. All bolts and trigger packs are kept separate and secure with parts list and customer notes / contact info in separate, labeled, serial numbered boxes and drawers. Only one is opened at a time. No mixups...
This is the first R&R US made bolt carrier we've had come in. The S-12 bolt that it came in with looked pretty bad but I got it all smoothed out and matched to this carrier and FCG with our service.
Finished, tested, and shipped it out last week. BTW his previous bolt carrier broke into three pieces is why the bolt looked so rough.
Before...
After re-profiling...
Finished and Polished
Another carrier previously started and unfinished by a former vendor...
Before...
After...
Comparison of the S-12 set and R&R set.. Also pictured here is our custom grooved G-2 trigger.
Some of our Left Hand Charging Handles (LHCH) being tig welded and refinished / baked to cure enamel...
Another job shipped last week... more to follow as this thread goes.
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Was great seeing you again Robert and I enjoyed helping you finally get your Saiga 12 running like champ the way it's supposed to work. Thank you for the kind words sir I'm always here anytime ya need me. Again thank you for your service and have a great 4th!
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Posted this same reply on the Vepr forum so I'll just paste it here too...While it is true we had some serious setbacks last year that forced us to close up shop for months, and we got very far behind, we have been working long hours here to get through the backlog and are currently in the middle of finishing and shipping everyone's parts received up through Sept of 2015. The rest will quickly follow now that we are up and running full speed again.As far as this apparently missing bolt and FCG go...I have spent countless hours with this customer and the US Post Office officials over this matter for a couple of months now, including multiple trips in person to and from postal facilities to make sure things got done. I have provided proof to him and through multiple reports I've filed by mail, in person, and on the telephone with the USPS, provided proof to them that all of the contents were securely placed his package, sealed up, and weighed on USPS scales before it left here with the shipping label we processed and printed. It was definitely complete without question, and the weight was correct for these particular contents down to the last hundredth of an ounce. I even sent him photos of an exact duplicate set of contents belonging to another customer, sitting on the scales showing the correct weight printed on the label on his package.Due to the quick timeout cycle of the USPS Click & Ship feature on their website (the process used to print shipping labels), every package gets packed, padded, closed up, and sealed BEFORE the sealed box is weighed and shipping label is printed. Because of the extreme care given to each part during shipping of our packages, (each part is carefully padded, wrapped, and placed in the USPS Priority Mail box separately, and then all voids are filled to keep everything secure inside...) there simply is not time to enter the exact weight of each package in the system (which must be done to complete the label application part) any other way unless it's all done after packing and sealing the box. That is the only way we carry out the process at least, and this never changes even if shipping multiple orders in one day like we're doing today, and did the day his shipped.He claims his package was incomplete when delivered and that we either forgot to put the bolt & FCG in or accidentally mixed them in with another package. Well that too is impossible because we never, and I repeat NEVER open more than one customer's sealed plastic container of parts at a time while packing and shipping orders. This is the exact reason we have always packed, sealed, and labeled each separate box individually, as they are going out of the shipping room...one sealed box at a time. This process never varies. Even then, just to try and appease him by eliminating every single possibility, I did double check the shipping labels / weights vs contents of both other packages that shipped that day. They were also spot on for what they contained, the S-20 set weighing slightly less, with both correct weights printed on the labels. By the way these shipping weights and labels on the boxes are verified by the post office while being processed in their system, and if the amount paid for the shipping label does not equal correct cost for that weight, the shipper (me) is flagged and notified of this. Still further, I spoke on the phone with both the other gentlemen shipped that day, about their shipments, and everything was in order... no extra parts, nothing missing, and they were very happy with the work even after the delay. Then... we emptied the entire shipping room and searched everywhere possible for these parts I know very well (and all evidence shows) were shipped to this customer. I actually met the mail carrier out front and handed him the boxes myself so there is absolutely no question they were un-tampered with by anyone up to the point they left here in the mail truck.As per my reports filed with USPS and also their facility that handles any lost contents while in the system, the entire route of the package was traced through the system and photos were even taken through the process. It's part of what they do. These photos reportedly did not show any signs of tampering on the package while in their system. If ever there is a problem like a box gets crushed or torn open, it is re-packed in a new box and labeled as such, or at the very least any substantial rips or holes get taped up with USPS marked tape and then a special "damaged" sticker applied. I have received packages like this before from people not following my directions to pad everything carefully and having sharp edges poke through.What happened to his bolt and FCG?? I honestly don't know but I can (and have) assure(d) him and everyone else they did in fact leave here carefully packed and sealed in a brand new secure box. They were shipped to the customer's supplied address, and tracking info was immediately emailed to him the same way every other package leaves here. This is the first and only time we've ever had anything like this happen.Our standard policy has (up until now...) always been to try and keep shipping costs as low as we could for the customer, and only shipped overnight or with extra insurance to those customers who requested it. Never ever lost a package this way. Before just recently there was nowhere to even buy replacement bolts / carriers so every package would have to be insured for the value of an entire new shotgun...if you could even find one. After this though, and now that new parts are available domestically, our new policy will be all new orders shipped USPS Priority Mail with $500 - 600 added insurance, over and above the $50 already covered by every Priority Mail package. That's also going to include all the remaining jobs we have in for service who only paid enough for standard priority shipping. Future orders will have to include enough payment to cover insured shipping though because I'm not going through this mess again with anyone.I have told this customer we were very sorry that somehow his bolt and trigger parts apparently vanished into thin air? after we did a spectacular job taking this duracoated set and giving them the full treatment, plus his requested all over full polish. Like every other package we ever shipped they were then all carefully padded and packaged then shipped to his address. Your guess is as good as mine what happened to them after they left here but we did nothing wrong or out of the ordinary.Zzippydog we do regret this happening, and as I have told you I always do everything in my power to make the customer happy. My work alone speaks for itself so most everyone we've ever done business with has indeed gone away happy. Even though we are not at fault for where ever your parts supposedly disappeared to, if you want to purchase a new bolt and FCG somewhere, I am still willing to offer you the full service already performed on the original bolt and FCG, at no cost and in guaranteed less than one week turnaround, with free shipping included. That is assuming you don't still get these other parts sent to you by the USPS when they have completed their internal search of their system I ordered done for you. That is all I have been waiting on since you told me 30 days ago you would be back in touch with me to check the status. That is all I know to do to go out of my way further to try and help you out with this problem.
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Awesome brother I will be sending some people your way for sure. Great job on these and the carriers they look excellent.
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Dude, you turned me from a Mexi can't to a Mexi can
. Chile Rellenos and Beef Enchalada are the two things I judge all Mexican restaurants by, but I can't cook in the kitchen for shit. Followed your thread tonight and crossed over to the other side. Thanks for sharing bud...good stuff!Hell yeah doit bro! I showed the recipe to my new babe and we're gonna try it too. She grew up in So. Cal. with a mom and grandmother who were both SW cuisine masters. May just have to take some over to her mother's and treat her to dinner.
Chile I gotta get some of my hot sauces out there to you man I bet you'd love em.
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Any and all Saiga 12 shotguns work much better after the bolt, carrier, and FCG are re-profiled and polished to work with low powered ammo.
So who here, from the old days...
in General Discussion - Any topic is welcome here!!!
Posted
Wow the ancient ones being summoned huh? Howdy old brothers! I'm still around and still doing top quality work on S-12, Vepr, and AK action components. I check PMs and lurk occasionally, sometimes make a comment or reply.... Hell I figured I'd lay off posting for awhile since even though I haven't much in years, my post count is still thousands above the next runner up I think...lol. Was last time I checked anyway.
Yup still alive and well...somehow...