This review is a factual, chronological summary of my business relationship with Ray's Sporting…read moreGoods involving four distinct firearms. Over a 98-day period, the shop demonstrated a systemic absence of project management, communication, and regulatory compliance.
Accountability, customer service, effort and basic respect was completely absent during all engagements with the business.
The Work Summary:
* Firearm 1 (Ruger 10/22 Engraving): Finished below standard quality parameters.
* Firearm 2 (.458 Caliber Lower Receiver Form 1 Engraving): Permanently ruined through incorrect engraving. Staff attempted to release the non-compliant unit using an invalid compliance claim. A bare lower was provided to settle physical property liability, which I refused to let them engrave.
* Firearm 3 (Browning Gold Shotgun Cerakote): Executed below acceptable standards (previous hydrodipping visible underneath) and returned assembled except for the missing trigger housing component after 60 days.
* Firearm 4 (Sig Sauer P2022 Cerakote): Returned unfinished with zero meaningful prep work completed after 38 days.
Chronological Timeline:
* June 5 - August 13, 2026: Initiated a transfer to establish history. Handed over a Ruger 10/22 for Form 1 engraving and a Browning Gold shotgun for Cerakote. The Ruger was returned with substandard physical execution.
* August 17, 2026: Handed over a serialized lower receiver for Form 1 engraving. Explicitly confirmed the text layout via text message: "Individual, James Grant Sutton, Dallas, TX."
* August 22, 2026: Arrived on the guaranteed pickup date. The receiver was missing from the premises. Staff had misplaced the trigger housing of my Browning Gold shotgun and asked if I had it in my possession. I left a Sig P2022 for Cerakote.
* August 26, 2026: Returned to the storefront. The ATF-approved Form 1 lower receiver was permanently ruined. Staff engraved an incorrect name and city, disregarding the text confirmation. Management's initial remedy was to mill a recessed box into the aluminum to erase the typo, which would permanently thin the receiver wall on a heavy-recoil .458 caliber build. When confronted, Manager Cody Harris stated the shop was heavily occupied with "$200k machine guns." Management provided a bare replacement lower to settle physical property liability.
* August 29, 2026: Arrived to retrieve the replacement lower receiver. The shop presented the initial, double-milled ruined receiver. The second engraving attempt on that unit was legally incomplete; my middle name was omitted. When I flagged this federal non-compliance, the gunsmith explicitly stated that he "personally knows the local ATF field officer" and guaranteed "they wouldn't ding me." Management used this subjective claim to dismiss the error and attempt to release a non-compliant weapon from their care, violating approved Form 1 tax stamp parameters. I declined further engraving services on the bare replacement lower.
* September 11 - September 15, 2026: Text messages went unanswered and sequential calls went straight to voicemail until I bypassed screening by calling back-to-back. Staff stated the replacement shotgun part had still not been delivered by their vendor. They stated the Sig P2022 was delayed because initial sandblasting failed to remove the heavy paint. A completion date of September 29th was established.
* September 29, 2026: Arrived to retrieve both projects after 98 combined days. Neither gun was finished. The Browning Gold Cerakote left the previous hydrodipping visible in multiple spots. It lacked the trigger slave pin, leaving the shotgun assembled except for the missing trigger housing. The Sig P2022 had not completed basic prep work. I retrieved my property and declined further service.
Conclusion:
Ray's Sporting Goods struggles with basic organization, fails to adhere to written text confirmations, and demonstrates a casual attitude toward NFA compliance. If you value your property, your time, or your standing with federal regulatory agencies, take your business elsewhere.
The missing part for the Browning Gold was ordered independently from Midwest Gun Works and arrived in five days. The gunsmith has a track record of using fake vendor delays to cover up the fact that your property is just sitting on a rack gathering dust while they charge predatory holding fees.
