I logged onto this site today after receiving a phone call from someone who has seen this thread and wanted to know the rest of the story. I appreciate the heads up as I have not been here for quite some time.
After reading through the posts, I am encouraged to see that at least some recognize there are two sides to every story. Others still, smell a rat and recognize something just doesn’t sound right about Mr. DeOrian’s tale of woe. He says it’s a very long and drawn-out story so he spares you with the details. It’s not that drawn-out and I’ll be happy to share with you the facts of this incident.
Mr. DeOrian contacted me in 2007 about having a pair of rifles built. After much back and forth that spanned many months, we agreed upon the details and price. I sent him an agreement, spelling out the details, which he signed and returned with his depsoit. At no point in this agreement does it state the rifles are to be as “identical as humanly possible.” They were to be alike.
During the construction phase of this project, I suffered a great personal tragedy in the unexpected death of my young daughter. As you might imagine, this event knocked the wind out of my sails. I don’t mention this to garner any sympathy. Instead, I tell it because when I contacted Mr. De Orien to tell him I wasn’t going to be able to finish the build, he encouraged me to, “stick with it”, “don’t walk away”, “I have the patience of an iceberg”, “take all the time you need.” I took him at his word and plugged along with the build, giving him updates as I went along. I took photos and mailed them to him. In the last stages of the build, Mr. DeOrian had issues with the sideplates not matching. It was then that we had a more detailed discussion about his wishes. He was not happy with them not being identical. I made another sideplate which did match. Unfortunately, it didn’t match the one he wanted. I chalk this up to poor communication. I shipped the rifles and they arrived at his door in mid-February.
Several days after I received notification he had received the rifles, he contacted me by email to tell me how enormously disappointed he was. He told me the rifles weren’t identical, like he thought they were to be. He went on to say that there was debris in the bore of one and it was scored to the point of making it useless. He had other issues as well about one not being identical to the other. In closing, he wanted to know how I was going to rectify the issue.
My response was this: Clearly he was disappointed in what he received. I told him to ship the rifles back to me in the same condition in which he received them. I would give him a complete refund of his money after they were sold. I also told him I wanted to inspect the barrel he was complaining about. If I found it to be unserviceable, I would rebarrel it and sell it. OR”¦ he could keep both rifles and I would refund the labor cost only. I then told him if this resolution wasn’t acceptable, I’d be glad to listen to his resolution proposal.
This was Mr. DeOrian’s response, and I am quoting him here, “A.) Refund the entire amount invested, for parts and labor, minus the cost for shipping, in a timely manner, and I keep both rifles. B.) Refund the entire amount invested, for parts and labor, less one half the cost of the parts for the undamaged rifle, and half the cost of the shipping, in a timely manner, and I keep both rifles.”
For guns that are nothing more than chunks of wood with sewer pipes attached, I think that’s a rather curious proposal. He followed this up by telling me essentially if I didn’t accept his proposal, he would slander me on the many forums of which he is a member.
I did not find his proposal acceptable and told him as much. I told Mr. DeOrian I was not aware of any retailer who would give you a full refund AND allow you to keep the merchandise. I restated my original proposal and closed by telling him that I did not respond well to threats. I gave him until the end of February to make his decision or the transaction would be final. He contacted me at the deadline to tell me he wanted to keep the rifles and a refund of the cost of labor. I sent him a cashier’s check, not wanting to take the chance of him saying I never sent it or some such nonsense. Now to the issue of the vent liner allegedly coming out and nearly killing him. I installed the vent liners on every rifle I have ever built the same way each and every time. I bore the hole with a drill press and the correct-sized bit. The holes are not oval or oblong. I tapped the holes, installed the liners and filed them flush. To this date, I have NEVER had a failure. On to the bore. Mr. DeOrian stated the bore was in terrible condition when he received the rifle. He even took photos to show me just how terrible. It’s the same photo he posted here. I challenge anyone reading this to identify just what his photo shows. It is of such poor quality that whatever it is, it’s anybody’s guess. I told him to ship the rifle back to me for examination. If it was defective, I would rebarrel it. He declined to do so. To this date, I have no idea what the bore looks like. I don’t know what the debris is that allegedly came from the barrel or if it came from the barrel at all. It’s just what he says. This is how I brown all my barrels. I suspend them with a coat hanger by the tang bolt hole and dab on the browning solution. At no time does any solution enter the bore. I ALWAYS neutralize after achieving the desired patina. Mr. DeOrian can make all the claims he wants in order to achieve his threat to slander me on this forum. It’s obvious some jumped on his band wagon without hearing both sides. I can’t help that. I can’t speak intelligently about what he has or hasn’t done with these rifles. I can only tell you the facts as I know them to be. I wasn’t with him at the range and have no idea how many grains he poured down the barrel neither do any of you reading this with the exception, perhaps, of his brother. His review on this website states there were no threads present in the vent liner hole. If there were no threads, why didn’t the liner come out with the first shot? Mr. DeOrian has clearly carried out his threat to slander me on this forum. Now, it’s up to you to separate the wheat from the chaff.
