# Gunsmith to avoid



## olhippie (Nov 28, 2009)

...Curtis Wilbanks, also called the "shotgun doctor". This guy kept a barrel I sent him for months after telling me he could cut it to length and thread it for a turkey choke. After sending the requested 130 dollars and waiting 5 months, the barrel came back to me with a note that all he could do was cut the forcing cone from the barrel, it was to thin to thread for a choke. No refund of my money! He said he was tight on funds but would refund 80 dollars of what I'd sent later when he had it. That was more than a year gone by now, he doesn't answer emails or phone for me. Two other customers of his have contacted me with complaints as well. The local chamber of commerce in his town said they had several unresolved complaints...Be forewarned! He's done apparently good work for some folks and ripped off others. Not a good gamble I'd say..

....Any other gunsmith warnings from folks who've been cheated?


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## Eddy M. (Nov 28, 2009)




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## trkyhntr70 (Dec 4, 2009)

Sorry but your dead wrong about Curtis. Ive known and dealt with Curtis for almost 2yrs. hes worked on about 6-7 guns for me and simply worked miracles on several of them. I know Curtis wouldnt take your money and tell you hes short on cash, If he was he wouldnt take someones money!  $ 130.00 dollars 

Curtis makes a good living building shooting match guns. He doesnt need 130. dollars.
He's also well known in his community.
Im confident Curtis told you what the conditions are when cutting barrels on shotguns, Would you rather him to haphazardly chop it off and damage your barrel?? Dont think so.
Ive been in this situation and the inside of the bbl. wasnt concentric.
Not even enough to thread the choke system.
In this case attempting to do so will split the bbl.
I know he explained this prior to you sending it, thats his process.
Im sure he also told you that you werent the first inline when you aquired his services.
Hes a one man show that wants it done to perfection, If he does the work it will be done that way.
Gunsmithing isnt a drive thru service it takes time, Its custom work.


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## Turkey Comander (Dec 5, 2009)

On most guns it's cheaper to just buy a new barrel the length you want.



olhippie said:


> This guy kept a barrel I sent him for months after telling me he could cut it to length and thread it for a turkey choke. After sending the requested 130 dollars and waiting 5 months, the barrel came back to me with a note that all he could do was cut the forcing cone from the barrel, it was to thin to thread for a choke. No refund of my money! He said he was tight on funds but would refund 80 dollars of what I'd sent later when he had it. That was more than a year gone by now, he doesn't answer emails or phone for me.
> 
> Two other customers of his have contacted me with complaints as well. The local chamber of commerce in his town said they had several unresolved complaints...Be forewarned! He's done apparently good work for some folks and ripped off others. Not a good gamble I'd say..
> 
> ....Any other gunsmith warnings from folks who've been cheated?



I would think if this guy told you he could cut your shotgun barrel and install a screw-n-choke he owes you refund.

I hope you get your money back...not sure why he would cut the forcing cone if you didn't request it. 

My advise is to deal with reputable companies like Briley....as far as I know they are the only ones capable of installing thin wall chokes right. 

With Gun work....Most of the time you get the quality of work and service that you pay for....cheap price usually means cheap quality.


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## Twenty five ought six (Dec 5, 2009)

I don't know about the issues in the original post, but Mike Orlen can install thin walls, or about any other choke, at a very reasonable price and first rate work.

http://users.dls.net/~rdouglas/MikeOrlen.pdf

If you register at the Shotgunworld site, Orlen will give you wholesale pricing.


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## short stop (Dec 5, 2009)

Curtis ....
     I've had the  man   do all kinds of choke work -tapping  and such , barrel  cuttin,  staighten , sight tapping ,   and  cone work..  much less hes  fixed  a few   various deer rifles  I had that needed  work as well .       All   were   done  on the spot  as I  simply waited  around .
  I usually  drive  up  1.5  hrs  to his  shop .  Ive  never   had any issues   usuing   his  services .


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## olhippie (Dec 5, 2009)

....I recieved an 80 dollar refund from Curtis two days ago, following my post above. It was a long time coming, I'd figured I'd never see it, or wouldn't have posted my warning above. Any way, Shakespear said it 800 years ago, "All's well that ends well". I do thank Curtis for making this right for me, and sent him a thank you card saying so.


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