Merlyn Rifleworks Review (PART 2)

[ar15barrels]

I offered to procure all the details, but he told me that he coud get the stock and the barrel cheaper and that he would give them to me at cost. I had initally offered to get all the parts due to the lack of commitment, follow through, and attention to detail on Dan and Merlyn Rifleworks part. It was aways "i ordered them, they are on their way, i'll check on them, they might be here i have a bunch of boxes to go through, they are backordered, etc etc"

His only reason to order the parts instead of you ordering them is so he can mark them up.
Nobody wants to sell parts "at cost".
Why would he even bother ordering parts if he is not making a profit on the parts?

Ask your gunsmith for the specific labor rates for the work, not a price for a finished gun.
If all they will tell you is the finished price of the gun, subtract the costs of all the parts at what YOU can purchase them for and then you have their charge for putting it together.
You might be surprised how much mark-up they are putting on everything compared to what market-rates are for the Gunsmithing work.

[shooterbill]

I have 2 builds in the works. I called Merlyn on a recommendation. They couldn't even answer my questions. I called and left a message the next day. I never got a call back. I am still looking for someone that makes me feel comfortable enough to hand over my money.

[tanakasan]

I have 2 builds in the works. I called Merlyn on a recommendation. They couldn't even answer my questions. I called and left a message the next day. I never got a call back. I am still looking for someone that makes me feel comfortable enough to hand over my money.

^^Look up a couple posts at ar15barrels! Beaumont to Van Nuys...its a drive, but looks like you only need to do it once.

Robert

[gunsmithcats]

Don't mean to hijack but when the heck did Randall move from Culver city?
BTW he(ar15barrels) does great builds!!

[Chevy2Nova]

I also remember a time being in his shop when he told me that he and a couple employees took some customers guns as projects to lassen college for a color case hardening class. He didnt specify whether the customer knew or not, but I would lean to say that he promised them he could do it and took the guns to the class to kill two birds with one stone. Learn how to do it and use the customers gun as a test subject.

[Merlyn Rifleworks]

Response by Merlyn Rifleworks

This is Dan Hepler, owner of Merlyn Rifleworks. I feel obliged to respond to the review posted by one of my customers.

I am puzzled, and more than a little hurt, by these comments. I am puzzled because I last dealt with this customer back in September 2012; why is he posting this very long rant now, 9 months later? I am hurt by his claims that I have been dishonest with him. I have not. Here's the story.

First of all, I must say that this project was indeed a disaster. It was one of those projects in which it seemed that everything that could go wrong, did, though very little of it was directly our shop's fault, and we made every effort to make the job come out right in the end for this extremely hard-to-please customer. Cal Guns readers will note that there was no complaint about the final product.

We used to use a gentleman who did Cerakote for us and had quality control issues. We have not used him since August 2012. As a matter of fact, this project was the last one that this unnamed gentleman did for us. Since then, we have done Cerakote in-house, with much better results. But yes, it is completely correct that the Cerakote on this rifle was substandard. We admitted that, and offered to make it right.

The customer expresses much concern about delays regarding ordering parts, and claims that our shop dishonestly took his money and then did not order parts. This is completely untrue. The biggest delay was his Krieger barrel. Many Cal Guns members are probably aware that Krieger is backlogged 4, 5 months, sometimes more. By the way, we don't have to pay Krieger until the barrel is ready for shipment. So even if we were short on cash (which we weren't), why would we delay placing the order? The accusation doesn't make any sense.

We did, however, drop the ball regarding his folding Accuracy International stock. When it arrived from the AI distributor, it did indeed fold and unfold (we played with it, as everyone would expect). After our former Cerakote guy messed up, we offered to re-do the Cerakote ourselves, in-house, at no charge to the customer. However, he INSISTED that we ship the rifle to an out-of-state vendor to be re-done. When it got back from this second vendor, it did not unfold, and we failed to notice this. Our mistake. I hasten to say that this vendor is a good guy and has done fine work for us. In this particular case, though, the joint of the folding AI stock did come back to us with a fair amount of blasting media packed in. When we noted this (after the customer's complaint) we naturally figured that it was the cause of the problem. Apparently there was also something else amiss, a manufacturing defect in the AI mechanism, as the customer explains. This was, indeed, the project from hell. But at no point did I knowingly say anything untrue to our customer. We had an unfortunate and highly unusual series of problems with his project, yes. But the whole thing about me being dishonest is completely out of nowhere.

The customer initially picked up the gun and paid us with a $2463 personal check. He came back--several days later--and explained the problems he had discovered. Here's where the stories go in two different directions. The customer says he told my counter guy, Brian, that he was stopping payment on the check. Brian, my personal friend of 20+ years, swore that the customer said no such thing. In retrospect, it might be that no one was lying here; Brian is hard of hearing, and maybe didn't hear the customer say that. I do not want to call anybody a liar here, as I take that kind of thing very seriously. In any event, by the time the customer came back, his check would likely have bounced anyway.

So I was shocked when the check bounced, and yes, we are a small enough shop that missing $2463 caused us, in turn, to bounce some checks ourselves. I admit that at the time I was very ticked off about this. How many Cal Guns members would have felt the same? However, I never yelled at or hung up on anybody when discussing this or any other issue. My general manager at the time, Scott, does indeed have a bit of a temper. I hereby apologize to Tony if Scott got a little feisty.

In point of fact, Fedex and UPS do NOT pay claims on guns lost or damaged. Read the fine print if you want, or have your attorney do it. Yes, we ship guns all the time, but we self-insure. Honestly, in this case, when everything that could possibly go wrong was seeming to go wrong, I did not want to ship the gun. Plus, we had the ability to solve the problem right here. But I shipped it anyway, at his insistence. It was frustrating when this course of action, insisted upon by the customer, led to even more problems.

Cal Guns members probably care little about these details. The main thing that I want to insist upon is that, regardless of mistakes that were made, I never lied to anyone. It has never been the policy of me or my shop to be dishonest with anyone.

Again, I am baffled as to why this customer, with whom I have been shooting and have had what I thought was a good relationship, posts this unfair slam against me, in such a personal way, 9 months after he got his gun back in near-perfect shape. Cal Guns members who have not already made up their minds about me and Merlyn Rifleworks are invited to stop in, meet us, and see for themselves. Here at Merlyn Rifleworks, we stand by our work, and if a problem comes up, we will make it right.

Dan Hepler
Merlyn Rifleworks
6421 Central Ave., 108H
Riverside, CA 92504
951-352-4570

[Merlyn Rifleworks]

Re. color case hardening

Regarding color case hardening: yes, we took a customer's parts to Lassen College one year to be color-cased at the school there. This was done with full knowledge and consent of the customer. For heaven's sake! And they came out fabulous by the way.

Dan Hepler
Merlyn Rifleworks

[mqidwai]

A friend of mine had some rifles built from Merlyn Rifle Works. So I went in to Merlyn rifle works 3 different times trying to get some questions answered about a custom build i wanted to do. I was planning on using them.
First time I spoke with Dan Hepler. I asked about the AI Ax chasse system about if he had an opinion on it. He answered, "I do not know. I will have to ask Jim Gruning (of Gruning Precision)". He explained that they do not do the actual machine work there that Jim does the work. Unfortunately Jim does not deal with the public. (Note: I have heard nothing but good about Gruning Precisions work) I also asked him about two different actions Stiller and BAT. I asked if he had worked on them, which one he would recommend over the other and were they compliable with the AI chasse systems. He was unable to answer. He said he would have to ask JIM. He took my number and stated he would call me with an answer. All this being said he knew I was just not a lookie loo. He knew who had recommended me to him and I had met him before through this friend.
After waiting a couple of weeks for Dan to call and give me an answer. I decided to take the 45-min drive again and go speak to him in person. I was never able to reach anyone by phone there. He remembered me and greeted me politely. After some very small talk I asked if he had an answer for me. He stated no, and wrote down my question again and said he would get back to me after he spoke with Jim. He stated again that Jim would know.
Again after waiting a couple of weeks I went back to Merlyn Rifle works, for the third time. Dan was not there. I spoke to one of his employees. He was very help full he basically said we do not do any real gunsmithing in house, that all the precision work is done by Jim at Gruning Precision. All they do is armory work. So All Merlyn really does is assemble, paint, clean, make minor adjustments, and some fitting. They are an armor not a gunsmith. There is a difference!!!!! Especially when it comes to a precision rifle build. So I figured it is still ok Since Gruning Precision does all the real work and Jim Gruning has an excellent reputation.
Later I found out that my friend, which had recommended Merlyn to me was having a nightmare of a time with his last build. He explained his whole story of delays and poor attitude of Merlyn rifle works. Then, he explained how in his past builds they were never done on time. How on previous rifle Builds he was told a pick up date only to have it delayed several times. How in the past he was told to pick up on a certain date only to show up and be told sorry it is not ready. Never did he have anything done until he got on the ball himself. Having to push and call a couple times a week. In fact he said he would never use Merlyn again.
I looked on their website, Funny on their website it states,” Due to the amount of work we receive, we ask that you do not call to ask the status of your gun. Instead, please email your inquiries to Merlyn@Rifleworks.com, or wait for us to call you at the completion of your project.” I mean what kind of business motto is that. I have Read other bad reviews Merlyn on this site and other gun chat rooms. I decided not to go to Dan Helper at Merlyn Rifle works. I found an actual Gunsmith. I am happy with my choice made. On top of the bad service they were overpriced. I think Merlyn has Gruning Precision do the machine work then tacks on their profit and sells to the public. Take a look at the dozen or so reviews on Yelp alone. That should say something about how people feel about Merlyn Rifle Works and the experiences they have had. I just wanted people to know my experience with Merlyn Rifle works and Dan Helper.

[Press Check]

This is Dan Hepler, owner of Merlyn Rifleworks. I feel obliged to respond to the review posted by one of my customers, Tony Cerda.

Regardless of the circumstances, I think it is in EXTREMELY poor taste to post the customers name on a public forum, especially on a firearm forum.

[saite]

Here is my experience with Merlyn Rifleworks. I paid the full amount in cash for 4 80% lowers. At the time of purchase I was told the lowers would be in by Friday, if not at the latest they would be in the following Friday. So basically 1 to 2 weeks. I was being fairly patient after 4 weeks I called and they started the promises. The promises were typically from Scott. The one time I talked to Dan he told me that this was Scott's deal and Scott would have to find out for me. So finally after 9 weeks of next Friday they will be in, Friday they will be in, for sure next Thursday and so on and so forth I asked Dan for a refund. I told him I gave him CASH for parts that I had no faith I was ever going to get. He said he would not give my money back. When I threatened to take him to small claims court, he said go ahead by the time you get a court date I will give you the lowers. I filed a small claims case against Dan and Merlyn Rifleworks. I had to pay the fees for small claims and service. Dan called me 1 week before the court date and had my lowers. Nobody at Merlyn Rifleworks was ever rude but this is just simply not the way to do business, if you can't deliver in a timely manner simply return the money.

[Chevy2Nova]

FILTERED reviews on YELP, people are complaining about horrible customer services, endless excuses, and endless promises. Bottom line is you don’t conduct business in this manner and you definitely don’t treat customers like this. The firearms industry is tight knit community and a person’s word and respect go a long way!

[EL_NinO619]

His only reason to order the parts instead of you ordering them is so he can mark them up.
Nobody wants to sell parts "at cost".
Why would he even bother ordering parts if he is not making a profit on the parts?

Ask your gunsmith for the specific labor rates for the work, not a price for a finished gun.
If all they will tell you is the finished price of the gun, subtract the costs of all the parts at what YOU can purchase them for and then you have their charge for putting it together.
You might be surprised how much mark-up they are putting on everything compared to what market-rates are for the Gunsmithing work.

10-20% Mark up on materials is normal business practice. But as you said, come in with your own parts it makes life for everyone a lot easier & cheaper. That's a gorgeous rifle AR15barrels.

[Merlyn Rifleworks]

I do not want to get into a detailed dispute about this job from so long ago, but just a couple more points and then I will let people judge for themselves.

First: I have deleted the customer's name from my initial response, as a show of my good faith. I challenge the customer to do the same. There was no need for him to allow his review of Merlyn Rifleworks to morph into a personal slam against me, making a point of using MY name over and over again. By the way, what does being out of the country have to do with waiting 9 months to post this rant?

Secondly: I have admitted that mistakes were made on this project, but have also tried to explain how the worst aspects of the situation were caused by circumstances beyond our control. Cal Guns readers can view that as "excuses" if they wish. But it is frustrating to get blamed--by name--for things I did not do.

Thirdly: someone relates that I was unfamiliar with A.I. stocks. As a matter of fact, my personal rifle, a 7-08 Ackley Improved, is built on an A.I. stock and I am well familiar with the system.

Fourth: regarding a completely unrelated issue of 80% lowers. We began getting heavy interest in 80% lowers in January 2013. We made an order from a manufacturer who shall remain nameless. The order arrived in a timely manner and the units were delivered. We took in more customer orders and deposits and made a second order from this same manufacturer, and this time we were completely hung out to dry. We had a deal with this outfit and they strung us (and our customers) along and in the end completely screwed us. We finally located a different manufacturer and filled every order--at significant cost to ourselves, since the price had gone up and we did NOT pass it on to our customers. Someone on Cal Guns--I know his name but will not use it-- sued us because he couldn't get his money back on a special order for which no delivery date had been promised. As soon as we could find a source for this product, we delivered the goods to this gentleman, taking the loss ourselves. If the timing seems suspect to him, that's regrettable, but that's how it happened.

Lastly: we are not just "armorers." We employ 2 experienced gunsmiths, as well as two armorers, and 2 apprentices. (Not everyone is full time, but they are all available.) We have been doing our best to meet demand. It gets a little crazy in here sometimes and I apologize for any dropped balls, undue delays, etc. But this notion that I am somehow dishonest is simply not true. It is only the result of people being (understandably) frustrated that sometimes things take longer than they should. Again, come meet us before passing judgment.

Dan Hepler
Merlyn Rifleworks

[EL_NinO619]

For the love of God, take that butchered M1A down from your yelp account.

And you 2 need to sit down over a beer and either figure it out or fight it out.

[johninRC]

I know this was an old thread but.....
This place has gone out of business. Good riddance! The OP's story is completely believable in my opinion, I had a similar experience. They completely failed on a simple project for me and made nothing but excuses. I was insulted and threatened by the "cantankerous" Scott (as Dan called him). I would call him a number of things but I'll stick with extremely unprofessional. From what I understand, there is a new shop, with a new owner at that location. I still have a very bad taste in my mouth from Merlyn, but if anyone has dealt with the new place reviews would be useful.