Coal Creek Armory review

[cactusjack]

I have lived in Knoxville for 13 years and have had inconsistent customer service at CCA, as many others have had as well.  Over the past year I have used their gun smithing shop for the following:

 

Scope mounting (2)

 

Stock refinishing on Marlin 336c (Remlin Mar-shield was removed and a satin stain/finish applied).  The new stock finish is a work of art.

 

Trigger work and fitting of big loop lever on 336c (now 3# trigger pull-no flop or creep) 

 

I can not say enough with the high level of service and the the quality of work they have provided.  I have been invited into the gun smith shop and shown was was be done to my rifle.  Quick turn around time and If you have not tried them recently, I recommend you do.

 

As some my wonder, I have no affiliation with CCA other than being a satisfied customer.

[Howler]

They have done a couple trigger jobs for me as well. Triggers were well done and I have no complaints.

[frmus66]

I took a pistol barrel in to be threaded for suppressor they said i had to leave suppressor  for fitting. They told me it would take a week to do the threading. 37 days later i go pick it up they had not touched my barrel and also had shot my suppressor. Then gave me grief for wanting my barrel and suppressor back. Have never been back and would not recommend to any one.

[DangerDanJD]

Thanks for the review CactusJack.

 

I have had mixed dealings with CCA, some positive, some negative. In my dealings, the work they do is very good, but customer service can be lacking at times. I believe they are about to change their name, maybe in relations to all the very poor reviews they have online, or perhaps because having "Armory" in the name is too scary. 

Edited September 4, 2013 by dangerdanjd

[Xtarheel]

Went to Coal Creek Armory today and found out they have new ownership. Name is changing to Tactical Advantage on October 22. Owner is very knowledgeable and seems to be okay.

[2Alpha]

The new ownership is trying hard at customer service.  The people they now have working understand and care about the customer.   I think Eric is always there to address any issues. 

[Guest Phantom6]

I had heard that this facility had changed hands. Jonathan and crew had just about run it into the ground. Good luck to the new operators there.

[Oh Shoot]

I had heard that this facility had changed hands. Jonathan and crew had just about run it into the ground. Good luck to the new operators there.

 

Far as I know, had already changed hands some time ago, and this is second sale?

 

- OS

[Stegall Law Firm]

They recently told me that with the change they're getting out of the Class 3 business.  Too bad, because they referred a lot of clients to me for trusts.  But things change and I wish them well.  I remember back in the day, when CC was a vendor here under its old management, there were some interesting threads by disgruntled customers.

[Xtarheel]

Far as I know, had already changed hands some time ago, and this is second sale?
 
- OS

I got the impression that the transfer of ownership has been in progress for a while, but will be final on 10/22.

[Oh Shoot]

I got the impression that the transfer of ownership has been in progress for a while, but will be final on 10/22.

 

Okay, I just remember some noise on here about a year ago or more about a whole new crew in charge there, had gotten much more favorable chatter than before, and thought it was said it had actually changed hands then.

 

I do think it's a good idea to change the name of the place, might convince some that were permanently alienated to give it another try.

 

- OS

Edited October 10, 2013 by Oh Shoot

[chances R]

I have had several things done by their shop and all results have been excellent.  Same experience with several of my friends.  I know for a fact that the gunsmithing service is simply overwhelmed at times by the work they have.  Several times they stopped taking in new work to try and catch up.  I have seen several changes over the past year and expect it only to keep getting better.

[austin7.62]

I might go check it out after 10/22.

 

My review of my experiences there over the last 5-6 years...meh.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Their gunsmith is a very talented guy. He is also a great guy from talking to other smiths in the area. With that being said it will take a lot for CCA to overcome at least a decade of upsetting people. I hope so because we can always use another gun store.

[3gundave]

Shannon, Coal Creek's master gunsmith has left and moved to Atlanta. This happened last month.

[East_TN_Patriot]

I went to CCA for the first time in 2008 when we moved to Knoxville because the State of Tennessee wouldn't recognize my Florida Police Firearms Instructor Certification and I had to take the class for my CCW permit. I was so put off with the place and the attitude of the employees, I didn't return for over a year. I decided to give them another shot, but left with the same impression and didn't go back again until a little more than a year ago after hearing some comments that things had improved. I found that the old group of gun store commandos were gone and they had some nice folks working in there. Since then, they have made some changes to the place and I am happy to swing in there on occasion when I have time to kill or I'm on the lookout for something. I have not used their smithing service, but do plan to have a gun slide or two duracoated by them in the near future. Edited October 12, 2013 by East_TN_Patriot

[Vistar]

Having seen 67 contradicting reviews of CCA on Google (averaging 2.7 in satisfaction) I've been hesitant to try their smithing services. Now's their chance. I have a new rear sight to be mounted on a Sig P226 slide and TAC (Tactical Advantage Corp. - new name for CCA) is apparently the only game in town (best I can tell) with a Sig sight tool that's required for proper alignment. I understand the minimum bench fee is $35 and I guess that's okay as the sight tool from Sig is around $200 and certainly not worth the investment. I'll report back with results. Also, if anyone knows of a proven gunsmith in the Knoxville / Oak Ridge / Athens triangle with the Sig sight mounting and adjustment tool, please let me know. I have two other Sig sights on order.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Vistar

[Vistar]

TAC has now taken over and is working on bringing in their inventory, store graphics and what not. Store and range are closed Sunday - Monday Oct 21. Tried to have rear sight mounted on a

Sig P226 on Saturday, but apparently Sig sent the wrong part. I paid the basic bench fee ($35 + tax) and brought home the slide minus a mounted sight. Gunsmith wouldn't shim it (can't blame him) so I will with narrow strip of thin aluminum cut from bottom of disposable baking pan. This was not a good test of TAC due to unusual circumstances.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Vistar

[peejman]

Call Predator Custom shop.

[Vistar]

Thanks for the Preditor Custom recommendation. I'll try them when the adjustable rear comes in. For this project, vised the slide between wood blocks and tapped in the new #10 rear sight with short piece of wooden dowel and plastic mallet. A little gun grease with the aluminum shim worked well and resulted in a very firm fit that can still be adjusted with the dowel and hammer tap. I should have done this in the beginning. I had considered using a mylar strip. Glad I didn't go that route due to potential heat on the slide. The TAC folks mentioned the slide looked like it had seen some use. Yep, about 2,000 rnds over the last 6 months. The slide does get hot.

[Spiffy]

The new ownership is trying hard at customer service.  The people they now have working understand and care about the customer.   I think Eric is always there to address any issues. 

 

He's never there when I go. I always ask to see him since I wanna meet him because he is a cousin to my brother in law. 

 

I will say I haven't been the victim of poor customer service since the change to CCA. I had seen the stand around and talk group a few times before but since I was just killing time/browsing it didn't bother me. There has been quite a few attempts to get good customer service. The older gentleman who used to be manager there really tried but always seemed to lose the battle. I still have it listed as Guncraft in my cell phone!

[Spiffy]

Far as I know, had already changed hands some time ago, and this is second sale?

 

- OS

 

From what I saw on their facebook post Eric and the other guy bought it and this time around they took on more investors and changed the name and the store layout.

[Guest tdoccrossvilletn]

So the good gunsmith they had is now gone? Skeert to have anything done now.

Sent from my mind using ninja telepathy.

[DangerDanJD]

I was over there yesterday filling out paperwork for my suppressor. Thy are not doing any future NFA transfers but I ordered back in August. They have rebranded the store, new logo's on the walls, rearranged, etc. All of the staff I saw looked familiar. I did witness an employee offer a guy substantially less then a fair trade in price on a revolver after the customer said he had no idea what it was worth. After the customer left, the employee and another customer laughed about how much they could resell it for and the seller's ignorance. It did not leave a good taste in my mouth so to speak.

 

That said, the employees that assisted me were extremely nice both today and throughout the entire process. I think Coal Creek had the reputation of being very helpful to customers they know or those they know are particularly gun savvy, but they never seem to go out of their way to service individuals they do not know or that appear to be less knowledgeable. 

 

Hopefully, with the *new ownership, they will really step up and cater to both the experienced gun owners and the new guys looking to get into the sport. While I didn't like everything I witnessed, I am optimistic. They have a nice facility. 

[chances R]

Selling your gun, or even trading at a gun store is usually a losing proposition.  No different than trading cars at a dealer.  Private sell is the way to go.