It is really a shame that so many shooters have received such poor service from PTG. I started dealing with Dave Kiff in 2005 when I bought my 1st lathe and started learning to do barrel work. It was always Dave that I spoke with when specifying a reamer, and although there were a few mistakes (like getting a 250 AI reamer with a tight neck that required neck turning), they always replaced their mistakes in a timely fashion.
Like several other posters have mentioned, PTG has been the only source for quite a few products that simply weren't available anywhere else. I've bought a dozen or more custom 1pc M700 bolts for both short & long actions, spec'd to have a .061" dia firing pin hole, mini-16 extractor, either 11* swept or straight bolt handles, and a specific bolt body diameter, and always got what I ordered, along with a complete firing pin assembly to fit the .061" fp hole in the boltface. Sometimes I'd receive the order in a couple of weeks, and other times it took a few months, but it was never unreasonable IMHO. One of the last times I bought several bare M700 short action receivers from Zanders (not long before Remington went tits-up), I also placed orders for bolts for each of those actions, on the same day as I ordered the bare receivers. The wait time for the bolts in that instance was around 2 months, but when they arrived, each one was as-spec'd. I also ordered several of PTG's Stealth DBM units, and knowing they weren't in stock when I placed the order, I knew better than to get in a hurry on any of the projects these actions were intended for.
It would be interesting to visit PTG in person - if it could even be arranged. The only times I've met with Dave was at SHOT, and that was back in 2005 & 2007 IIRC. I don't have a clue what's going on there now - it's been a couple of years since I last ordered a custom bolt for a SA 700 that was used in a 20 Tactical project, and I got it within a couple of months or less. I'd bought that bare 700 receiver several months before Remington ceased operations, but just sat on it while making up my mind one the specifics of the rifle build. By the time I got around to looking for stuff like factory bolt stops & springs, they were not available anywhere that I checked. When I saw a custom side-mounted bolt stop that Chad at LRI had designed, I sat down at the computer and started looking over LRI's website. After going to you tube and watching Chad's video on the action truing program he wrote for his new 5-axis machining center, I decided to call them and inquire about ffl dealer pricing on their other work. Then I sent the receiver & PTG bolt up to them. IIRC, it took just under 2 weeks to get it back, with the action completely trued, tenon threads thread milled, receiver face double pinned to fit their custom recoil lug, the bolt raceway diamond honed to give proper clearance to fit the .700" dia custom bolt, taking into consideration that I would CeraKote bolt & action. I had them fit the bolt to the action, and spiral flute the bolt body, and machine the slot for the custom bolt stop, which was the reason I went to them in the first place. To me, it seemed like I'd gone in whole-hog on this action, but when I got it back from LRI, it was just as ordered, and their work was perfect - I couldn't be happier with it, especially since their turn-around time was so short. I'm pretty sure Chad has a pretty good idea of what goes on at PTG, and why they've gotten such a rotten reputation over the past several years. It's a shame, because when you get what you ordered from them, and have a company like LRI to provide the services they do, you can wind up with a really fine basis for a custom rifle build.
