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D.F. Maisey Muzzle Brakes

Gunsmith Services

Welcome to our new look website – we hope you like the long overdue upgrade and updates. We are also celebrating a milestone achievement of 25 years in business serving the hunters and shooters of New Zealand, and also now our many international export customers for our muzzlebrakes and other parts and accessories that we manufacture right here in Tauranga, NZ !

Services Dean Working

(Please do let us know if you find any errors or glitches on the site or links, or if you just can’t find the information that you are looking for. Many people use our website/s as an information source and reference, so we do like to keep the information listed as up-to-date and as current as possible.)

D.F. Maisey Gunsmithing Services was established in 1997 by Dean Maisey, after returning from training as a gunsmith with CST, in Lakewood, Colorado, USA.  Previous to this he had a background and qualifications in electrical, refrigeration, and mechanical engineering/design.  The purpose of his travel to the USA was to gain firearm-specific training, with an associated, recognised qualification.  The intention of establishing this business in Tauranga was to fill a void in the market, and to provide a prompt, professional service with a high standard of workmanship and ethics. Over 25 years later, with a successful business and general acceptance as being among the leaders of the gunsmithing industry in New Zealand, it can be sincerely stated that this goal has been achieved.

Over time this business has evolved from being just a small ‘Gunsmithing’ business, to a Gunsmithing/Manufacturing/Design and Firearms Consultancy business.  From 2012 onwards we have started investing in new CNC machinery to be able to produce our own line of muzzle brakes, and other firearm-related products have been added to our portfolio since. We now hold a NZ Patent and numerous Registered Designs (NZ and Australia) to protect our products and intellectual property. Some of our products are exported world-wide, while others are just made for the NZ market only. Our motto for all of our products is the same – Made better. Made here™

With the passage of time and changes in the focus and scope of work undertaken, there has been a need to reduce or remove some services from the list of work that we undertake for our customers. This has been equally due to time constraints, and economics. Restoration work is one example – which ended up becoming a loss-maker, with a huge labour content required to perform the work to a high standard. When you can be earning 3 times as much (or more) running a machine instead, and massive demands on your available time, the need to cull out some services from the list becomes unavoidable. We have also had to implement a minimum charge for small repair jobs in order to cover the administration time as well as the ‘work’ time that every job absorbs, and our charge out rate has also been increased recently in order to keep up at least with minimum wage requirements, although it should be noted that the ‘gunsmithing’ rate is essentially a very subsidised minimum charge-out rate, especially when compared with the charge-out rates for relatively common trade service businesses. ( i.e. Plumber, mechanic, electrician, etc.  – and not too many of these guys had to go to the USA to do their training/qualifications, or set up a business with in excess of $500,000 of capital investment ! )

As we are constantly busy there is usually a standard minimum turnaround time of 2 weeks on smaller jobs. Re-barrelling or custom rifles is often in the 2-6 months time range. All workshop visits now require a prior appointment to be made, AT LEAST 1-2 DAYS PRIOR – this is for security and logistical reasons, as we also have limited parking available on site. Phone calls are available for quick enquiries only, and/or to arrange a time for any workshop visits for pickups or drop-offs. For any quotes or advice on custom rifles or other large projects – please email me:    . Emails are usually responded to within one business day.  A few minutes on the phone for quick enquiries is ok, BUT FROM 2018 ALL PHONE CALLS NOW GO DIRECTLY TO VOICE MAIL. Like most gunsmiths it’s just me here, and when I stop working everything stops, which means no work progress and no money for every minute I’m stuck on the phone – hence the reason for the answerphone policy. IF YOU DON’T HAVE EMAIL OR JUST WANT A QUICK CALL BACK THEN PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible (during business hours, usually within a day.)  Thanks, and enjoy the new-look (and now mobile-friendly) website!

 

Dean Maisey.

 

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