Has anyone purchased a NFA type item from Knesek Guns? If so, what was your experience?
They have a shitty reputation. A few seconds on Google will tell you why.
. Yes unfortunately I’ve discovered that the hard way.
Same here, non-nfa parts and stuff seem to get processed and shipped timely, but it took a lot of calls to the man himself to keep the ball rolling on my NFA item from them. I say ball, perhaps they were rolling a block…
I would not purchase anything from them again, this is based on two transactions.
I would not purchase NFA items from them. Go local first, if not…then internet it is.
Look somewhere else…
Oh hells yes, I’ve been waiting for a thread like this. I’m to Knesek Guns what MarkM is to LWRC.
**** THEM.
I bought a Surefire FA556-212 from them in August 2012. It was supposed to come with a FH556-215 as per the auction on GunBroker. I was deployed at the time and called them to make the payment and arrange shipment to an FFL near Bragg. The original place I wanted to do the transfer refused to do business with Knesek due to a previous deal where they failed to deliver on their end. That should’ve been my first clue.
About a week after the payment is made, I get an e-mail telling me that they don’t have any of the 215 flash hiders, and that I’d have to have a 212A. Not really a big deal to me, but it’s the fact they can’t handle their inventory and selling products they don’t have on hand that matters.
I re-deployed in October, and my can still hadn’t transferred. I called Knesek and was told that the paperwork was submitted in August and was still pending. November rolls around, nothing. I call them back, and after some prodding around, I was able to get the serial number for my can. I called NFA Branch and was told an error letter was sent to Knesek in August and they never re-submitted the paperwork. I called them to confront them about this, and was told they had let the person who handles NFA transfers go and the new guy wasn’t tracking their pending transfers or new sales. It turns out, they submitted the Form 3 under Thor Defense instead of KGI (may have been the other way around, I honestly don’t remember. But it was one of the two) So, they promised they would get the Form 3 in the mail and let me know when it was done.
It was also during this timeframe I called them weekly to check on the status of the Form 3. At one point, I had an employee (I don’t remember his name anymore, but he was a submariner in the Navy. Or so he told me) who hung up on me numerous times and made sure to remind me that I didn’t need to tell him how to do his job. It was only after threatening to go to my unit’s JAG and get in touch with our PAO that he changed his tone, and apologized and tried the whole “I’m a vet, too” angle.
February comes and I PCS’d to Fort Bragg. Can is still nowhere to be seen. As it turns out, it has still YET to have the paperwork submitted. I called them, demanding a refund, to which I was told I would have to pay a processing fee and a restocking fee that worked out to be close to $400. So understandably, I’m pissed beyond belief. When March came, the Form 3 finally came in.
They mailed a FA-556MG can to my FFL. Yes: they mailed THE WRONG SUPPRESSOR. After seven months, I have the wrong flash hider and the wrong suppressor at my dealer. The FFL called them back, they paid overnight postage to have it returned, and my actual can arrived two days later. I immediately put up a WTS thread on this site and sold it to a local Air Force member. I just couldn’t even look at that can without getting a migraine.
So, **** them. I will absolutely never, EVER do business with them again.
Do NOT waste your time with Knesek.
I used to live very close to them and I am friends with a guy who used to work there (USED to). That being said, I wouldn’t do business with them. If you can walk in, see the item, pay and walk out with it in hand then youre good to go. They have a decent inventory in house and know what they’re talking about. I wouldn’t bother with NFA items, though.
I also had a VERY BAD experience with them and I would NEVER recommend them. I posted my experience in a thread on M4Carbine. This was concerning a Surefire SOCOM 7.62 mini.
For suppressors=SILENCERSHOP/thread
SilencerShop cannot be beat!
Sure they can. I’ve paid less out the door locally for the last 8 cans I’ve bought.
Plus, if you’re not in TX, you have the extra wait of the F3.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve bought 4 cans from them…but what I mainly use them for now is a price quote to shop around with locally. And also to order accessories with free shipping.
Depends on the can. For cheaper 22 cans where the mark up isn’t big, they are similar and I try to buy local. But for large purchases I have found them a LOT cheaper, especially if you have to pay sales tax… my lgs, also only charges $40 for transfer.
Edit to add: Suppressors are not that popular in my area, so I would have to wait for a form 3 for most items anyways.
I live in South Florida, land of inflated gun prices, whatever MSRP is on a can, best price I’ve round locally on a Surefire SOCOM was $1,300 and not much less for a Saker. I do have a dealer who does $50 transfers, so I have cheap transfer fees and no sales tax. Silencer Shop is BY FAR the cheapest source for me. Consider yourself lucky to have reasonably priced local shops. I don’t buy anything firearm related locally (except for an occasional box or two of ammo from Wal-Mart) due to inflated prices.
Any board members live near Knesek guns?
I used to and still know a few people that do. What do you need?
. To get someone to walk in and make them ship out my order that is a month over due. 
Yep. I had a great experience with them.