# Rhino Chokes/Gunsmith - Warning



## Omega

After the experience I just had with this company I would like to share with everyone to NOT do business with this company!

The secretary is quite nice and has been helpful. The -butt- that I've talked to (haven't got his name as I've been furious   ) has been short, snappy, and has hung up on me on two occasions now.

I sent my barrel to have the forcing cone lengthened back at the beginning of February. I asked the turn around time and was told 3-7 days. The received it on 2/5 and I started calling last week for a status. They never could give me one and I was beginning to wonder if it was lost at their shop   

Talked to the secretary yesterday and she took my info and was going to call me back. Never heard from them. I've been quite busy today and haven't had much time to call until just before lunch when I got the guy. I told I called yesterday and the secretary took my information and was going to call me back. He responded "she just hasn't decided to call you back yet. It should be ready in 2-3 days" which is the same 2-3 days response I got last Tuesday with the same short, snappy, smart --- attitude  

I thought about it and fumed over lunch. Got caught up when I got back from lunch and just got off the phone and was hung up on AGAIN. They tried to force the porting and polishing of the barrel on me by telling me it was already done. When I asked if there was work already done I was told it was in the vice but it needs to be polished 'cause it was pretty rough (of course, I sent the barrel in dirty  ). I told them I only wanted the forcing cone and nothing else. He told me it would ship in the morning and then hung up.

I'm sure they do good work and I know they make a good choke (though pricey) but I will NEVER do business with this company again and highly recommend to NOT use them for your gunsmith work! Their choke will be the last that I try and will exhaust all other options.

It's ashame that people act like that.


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## rex upshaw

what a jerk.....next time send your stuff to gundocc.


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## Omega

Gun Docc is who will be getting my barrel for the polishing next year.


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## 01Foreman400

Omega said:


> Gun Docc is who will be getting my barrel for the polishing next year.



Good choice.

Darrell


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## Huntinfool

It's funny...apparently a bunch of folks had bad experiences with them at the convention too.  These guys must need an attitude adjustment.  I don't care how many awards you won...dude, you make shotgun choke tubes.  It's not like you just cured cancer.


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## DaddyPaul

I live right up the road from their shop and had them do some work on my Encore barrel and got a choke in the process.  We went out back and shot a few shells through it and I even left with a free box of ammo.

I was treated like a King for some reason by Rhino?

I think "the guy's" name is Joe Morales.


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## Huntinfool

I wonder if some of these small companies just get completely overwhelmed this time of year and can't handle it.  Seems like folks were having issues with Nitro too.  I'm guessing they just get covered up and stressed out and get fed up with folks real quick this time of year.  It doesn't excuse it....but maybe that's it.


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## Omega

I'm glad you had a good experience. Maybe it's the face-to-face contact that improved things because their over-the-phone attitude stinks and has ruined me permanently from ever wanting to use them or recommend them to anyone. I don't think I've ever spoken with such rude customer service in my life and I'm in the customer service field.

As for being stressed, I can understand that. That's why I gave them 2 full weeks instead of holding their feet to the 3-7 day turnaround time I was quoted. I think part of their problem was that they also stopped shop for their tournament that was held 2/14-2/17 but still quoted 2-3 days for completion.


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## NottelyBILL

small, big doesn't cut it - you are in business because of the customer- let this be a lesson to all to not do business with them. To many good ones out there.


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## gobblinglawyer

They did a really good job on my Benelli M1 Super 90.  They lengthened and polished the forcing cones and ported it.

Maybe Rhino was a little liberal with the turn around time estimate but three weeks isn't all that bad given this is their busiest time of year and they were out Thursday through Sunday of last week for the NWTF Show.


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## DaddyPaul

I will agree that Joe can be a little "short" at times but overall I think he is an alright dude.  

I hope the first pattern out of your gun makes you forget about your poor experience with their customer service!


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## Omega

gobblinglawyer said:


> They did a really good job on my Benelli M1 Super 90.  They lengthened and polished the forcing cones and ported it.
> 
> Maybe Rhino was a little liberal with the turn around time estimate but three weeks isn't all that bad given this is their busiest time of year and they were out Thursday through Sunday of last week for the NWTF Show.



You know, if I would have been told 3 weeks from the git-go, I would have had absolutely NO problem and would have yet to call and ask them what's happening to the barrel. And I do understand that this is their busiest time of the year and totally expected delays from normal turn-around time.

But my biggest thing was the attitude as delivered across the phone to a customer. I was 100% ready to have it shipped back without any work is how bad he talked me. If I was to talk to any of my customers they would have went straight to the boss and I'd be sitting in the office getting my butt chewed for talking to customers like that. Unless they can do something to impress me (and I'm not talking free stuff or money!) I doubt I will be using them for anything in the future.


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## marsh rat

I have seen post like this and all I can say is I would like to hear both sides of the story not just one. Also this is when every one that  should have been getting there stuff ready from last season is rushing to get there stuff done in a month or less. Also if you don't try a rhino choke you are only hurting your self they are by far better then any choke that is on the market

JUSTIN I WILL GET BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY


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## G Duck

marsh rat said:


> I have seen post like this and all I can say is I would like to hear both sides of the story not just one. Also this is when every one that  should have been getting there stuff ready from last season is rushing to get there stuff done in a month or less. Also if you don't try a rhino choke you are only hurting your self they are by far better then any choke that is on the market



agree. I am sorry for your problems with Rhino. I sent my 870 down there this time last year also. I talked to the sec. on the phone, She was polite, yet firm. I told her that I would really like it back asap if possible. She said to ship it and mark the box "Rush". The only way that I could get it back when I wanted, was to pick it up in person. I sent it overnight, and the day after they got it, she called and said that it was done. I drove down there and picked it up. I will say that I got the impression that they were covered up with work, and that Joe stuck his head in the showroom and seemed mad about something, and went back in the shop. I could maybe see them getting frustrated this time of year. All in All, I am very pleased with the work, and the choke. My apologies to Gun Doc, I learned after the fact that he does turkey gun work also. I would rather do business with a forum member. I hope you get your gun back soon, and I hope when the dust settles, you end up with good results.


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## trkyhntr70

Sorry for what happened to you guys, I went to Gun Docc for his outstanding reputation in the turkey hunting community and he was local. I myself dont like waitng for someone to ship something back or give me the run around.
Since Gun Docc worked on my gun Ive never been happier and cant wait to have him do another for me. Im getting better patterns out of a 3" gun than most get with a 3.5" gun.
Gun Docc is the man hands down, were lucky hes local here in Ga.
I wouldnt have anyone else do it!


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## DaddyPaul

trkyhntr70 said:


> Sorry for what happened to you guys, I went to Gun Docc for his outstanding reputation in the turkey hunting community and he was local. I myself dont like waitng for someone to ship something back or give me the run around.
> Since Gun Docc worked on my gun Ive never been hapier and cant wait to have him do another for me. Im getting better patterns out of a 3" gun than most get with a 3.5" gun.
> Gun Docc is the man hands down, were lucky hes local here in Ga.
> I wouldnt have anyone else do it!




I agree that Curtis is a great smitty.  I went to Rhino since they were only about 30 minutes from my house.  Gun Docc has helped me out many, many times through PM's or phone calls.  

I heard he has killed a turkey or three too, but I ain't buying that.


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## Omega

Here's an update as of this afternoon...

Due to my line of work my cell phone is seldom far from me at any given time. For some reason today my phone did not ring all day nor did I get any voice mails until after 4PM when I tried to call the wife. I had two voice mails for me from Joe Morales with Rhino requesting that I called him back. I did call back hoping that we could have a civil conversation and maybe find out what went wrong in the communications line. Here's how the conversation went (I'm trying to quote the best I can, now that I've calmed down a little)

Me: Mr. Morales, this is Justin ----. I'm returning your phone calls from today.
JM: Who?
Me: Justin ----. You called twice today and asked me to call you.
JM: Just one second 
-put on hold-
JM: Are you the gentleman that posted on the Internet about me
Me: Yes sir, I am.
JM: Let me tell you something. Well I'm the -butt- hole that DID NOT hang up on you. Apparently your opinions of me go along with some others may feel about me but I've been in business 32 years and I have never told anyone that they needed something that they didn't. We'll ship your barrel back but you will be put on a list of people that we will not do business with in the future. Please do not call back here again. You have a great day...
Me: Mr. Morales, just -click- one second

I attempted to call back to hopefully have civil conversation and was told "I told you not to call here again" -click-

Personally, this is not the way that I could ever imagine ANYONE doing business. I understand the extra time required to do the barrel and have no problem with that. When they received the barrel it was 1.5 months until Turkey season in FL. I DO NOT understand and WILL NOT stand to be talked to as I have by Mr. Morales.

Unfortunately I post this warning those who do decide to do business with Rhino to be warned of their poor customer service by their OWNER! Rhino is the worst company I think I've heard had any dealings with an owner who doesn't seem to have any care about their customers!

Marsh Rat - You have an PM. I'd love to know the other side of the story since you seem to have access to it.


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## Huntinfool

Well, it sounds like some folks have had good and some have had bad experiences with Rhino.

You may have done something to irritate the guy...I don't know.  But, honestly, it doesn't matter.  Long term successful companies are customer oriented.  IF that's how the conversation went, then shame on him.  You should have been able to do MUCH worse than that and his demeanor should have been pleasant. 

Since I wasn't privy to the conversation, I'm not gonna pass judgement on this.  I sincerely hope they don't actually talk to customers...even ones they think are idiots...like that.


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## Omega

Huntinfool said:


> You may have done something to irritate the guy...I don't know.



If so, I would have loved to have had a civilized conversation to see where I went wrong (other than posting on here) as well.



> Since I wasn't privy to the conversation, I'm not gonna pass judgement on this.  I sincerely hope they don't actually talk to customers...even ones they think are idiots...like that.



I don't expect anyone to pass judgement based on a one sided post. This is informational so that if anyone does business with Rhino they know up front what they're getting into and what kind of person is running the shop. If they choose to do business with them at least they won't be surprised when he speaks to them.

That being said, I welcome Mr. Morales to come rebuke the information above as false. Unfortunately the conversation has been replaying in my head since I spoke with him and my paraphrasing above is accurate.


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## jeep983

You might also try Carlson's next time.  I sent a o/u barrel to them to get choke tubes installed, forcing cones lengthend, and mid and front sight replaced with hi-vis.  They are in KS.  Took UPS 3 days for it to get there. They did the work in one day and 3 days later I had my barrel.  They did an awsome job.


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## DaddyPaul

Hmmmmmmmm, somebody dropped a dime on you Omega, tweren't me.  

Based on your experiences I would definitely be looking for a new gunsmith/choke dealer.  Like you said all you can do is put your side of it out there and let others decide for themselves if they will utilize Rhino's services in the future.

Hate you had this type of experience.


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## trkyhntr70

*Gun Docc>>*



DaddyPaul said:


> Hmmmmmmmm, somebody dropped a dime on you Omega, tweren't me.
> 
> Based on your experiences I would definitely be looking for a new gunsmith/choke dealer.  Like you said all you can do is put your side of it out there and let others decide for themselves if they will utilize Rhino's services in the future.
> 
> Hate you had this type of experience.



Like I said, Gun Docc is local, Take the time and take your barrel to him, He will work on it while you wait. Hes a great guy and Once hes worked on your gun you wont even think of someone else touching it.
 Heres his number 706-244-0110. You can thank me later.


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## jcarter

boy i wouldnt want to be the first one to pull the trigger on that barrel.


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## palmettoswamp

They are not the only gunsmith in the South East.   Thanks for the heads up about their lack of customer service.  Would not care if they could make my shotgun flop off heads at 100 yards, I'll never do business with them


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## JTharpe

marsh rat said:


> JUSTIN I WILL GET BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY



well what is the other side of the story? 

And as a Rhino dealer Im sure it is you opion that rhino is the best choke out there.


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## rex upshaw

i certainly will not do any business with that company.  it doesn't matter if it is their bussiest time of the year, all people want is honesty and the work to be done right....if told it will take 3 days, it should take 3 days.  no need to make promises that you can't keep.  and the phone conversation you had with him, what a joke.  that guy needs to work on his customer service skills.  that is the fastest way to lose business, especially after he knew that you had posted something on the internet, for many to read.....and who here is the rat?


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## 01Foreman400

*Rats!*

I Hate Rats!


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## jcarter

DaddyPaul said:


> Hmmmmmmmm, somebody dropped a dime on you Omega, tweren't me.
> 
> Based on your experiences I would definitely be looking for a new gunsmith/choke dealer.  Like you said all you can do is put your side of it out there and let others decide for themselves if they will utilize Rhino's services in the future.
> 
> Hate you had this type of experience.



whats the old saying about barking dogs???


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## Huntinfool

jcarter said:


> whats the old saying about barking dogs???



I can promise you that dog didn't bark if he says he didn't


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## DaddyPaul

jcarter said:


> whats the old saying about barking dogs???



Not sure about that saying?  I try to never say something to someone over the internet that I wouldn't say to their face.  

Would you still insinuate I was a liar if we were standing face to face right now?  

If I called Joe about this post I would be man enough to say so on here, rather than sitting behind a screen making not so subtle inuendos like some people.


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## G Duck




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## DaddyPaul

G Duck said:


>



Nothing to see here, show's over, move along.................


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## marsh rat

Right or wrong YES I DO SELL RHINO CHOKES that is why I want to here both sides of a story I talk to the lady that answers the phone and another lady that works there and both told me that there were 3 to 4 phone calls a day(from 2-5 on) from omega (true I dont know) but if that is the truth then I could see were the anger would come from eather way  joe will not let any one at his shop do the barrell work cause he takes a lot pride in his work,this does hurt his turn around time but you will not find better work (my opinion) 

The good news is your barrel was shipped and it was done by a person that still takes pride in his work 

I am not pointing fingers at any one just want the whole story to make my own judgment


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## Omega

marsh rat said:


> Right or wrong YES I DO SELL RHINO CHOKES that is why I want to here both sides of a story I talk to the lady that answers the phone and another lady that works there and both told me that there were 3 to 4 phone calls a day(from 2-5 on) from omega (true I dont know) but if that is the truth then I could see were the anger would come from eather way  joe will not let any one at his shop do the barrell work cause he takes a lot pride in his work,this does hurt his turn around time but you will not find better work (my opinion)
> 
> The good news is your barrel was shipped and it was done by a person that still takes pride in his work
> 
> I am not pointing fingers at any one just want the whole story to make my own judgment



Unfortunately, you got a wrong story and apparently they've taken their frustration out on the wrong person. I can tell you every day that I've called and they've never been from 2-5 on, as they claim.

I called last Tuesday, 2/19 (not sure of the time), one (1) time asking the status. I was told 2-3 days. I hadn't heard from Rhino on Monday, 2/25 (called in the AM), so I called again. This time one of the ladies answered the phone and took my name and number and said she would call me back. I never heard from her so I called back on Tuesday, 2/26, around 11AM and talked with Joe who gave me that wonderful attitude of his with the short snappy, "It'll be 2-3 more days". I steamed over it at lunch and called back after lunch to have the barrel shipped with or without work because I'm not going to pay for someone to do work AND for them to give me an attitude. This is the only day that I called 2 times in a day. At that point I was told it would ship out on Wednesday, which apparently didn't happen because shipping within Florida takes only 1 day - I should have had it today, and I don't. But I leave this to speculation until I get the package here and see exactly which day it was shipped via the web tracking information...I'll be sure to put that on as well. Then, I was called yesterday, 2/27, to return Joe's call when we had the one sided conversation above. I tried to call back but he was too chicken .... to listen to the other side of the story; just wanted to show off his wonderful customer service attitude. 

I'd like to know what Joe said personally. Does he deny the conversations he's had with me on the rare occasion I got him?

By the way, I'm sure I'm not the only one that called during the time he's had the barrel. Wonder if they though MAYBE it's someone else that was bugging so many times during that hour or do they just assume it was me because of the posting?

Heres someone else you can run to Joe and tell him they aren't happy with him either... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Hopefully Joe won't give him the personal customer service phone call I got yesterday.

http://oldgobbler.com/TheForum/index.php?topic=948.0


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## gobblinglawyer

Talk about high maintenance?!?!


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## Dudley Do-Wrong

Generally speaking, service is not what it used to be.  In years past, businesses treated customers as they should treat them.  I have seen and experienced many businesses that act like they are doing me some kind of favor and that I should be beholden to them.  This not to make an insinuation in any way, just that this thread reminds me of some of my experiences.  I have a rhino choke on my beretta and am completely satisfied with it.


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## G Duck

DaddyPaul said:


> Nothing to see here, show's over, move along.................



I beg to differ...


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## rex upshaw

G Duck said:


> I beg to differ...


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## brucemacgee19

the rest of the story....... I'm dying to hear it

this thread has a plot.  my vote for an emmy!


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## Handgunner

Man, Gun Docc was easy to work with.

Told Curtis what I wanted, he told me what he recommened, we agreed, I sent it to him, shortly thereafter he sent it back, and I love it.

Easy as pie. 

Hate you had the experience you did.  Best thing to do is just move on and learn from it.


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## coryo

I have talked to Rhino Chokes on the phone once and met them at the NWTF convention this year, and I don't care how good his choke tubes are they want be in my gun!


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## rex upshaw

coryo said:


> I have talked to Rhino Chokes on the phone once and met them at the NWTF convention this year, and I don't care how good his choke tubes are they want be in my gun!




seems like more and more people are saying this, both here and on some of the other forums.


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## 01Foreman400

Omega give us an update when you can.

Darrell


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## DaddyPaul

G Duck said:


> I beg to differ...



Yep, you got me there!


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## trkyhntr70

*>>>*



Handgunner said:


> Man, Gun Docc was easy to work with.
> 
> Told Curtis what I wanted, he told me what he recommened, we agreed, I sent it to him, shortly thereafter he sent it back, and I love it.
> 
> Easy as pie.
> 
> Hate you had the experience you did.  Best thing to do is just move on and learn from it.



Thank God, I chose Gun Docc to work on my gun


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## Ricochet

Huntinfool said:


> It's funny...apparently a bunch of folks had bad experiences with them at the convention too.  These guys must need an attitude adjustment.  I don't care how many awards you won...dude, you make shotgun choke tubes.  It's not like you just cured cancer.



I remember a thread with comments about someone at the Rhino chokes booth (probably Joe) being rude at the NWTF show in Nashville last year.  It sounds like the same person.  I remember his booth but never talked to him...probably a good thing.  The Pure Gold choke guys (Bill Davis especially) were great last year and very nice to me & my son!  That's 1 reason my 870 is sporting a Pure Gold choke and I doubt any of my guns will ever have a Rhino choke (they are not the only game in town)...customer service & attitude can make or break you.


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## sdguide

I have hunted with Joe on several occasions and he was always really nice to me. I hate to hear about the bad experience you had with him and the folks at Rhino. I do have one of his chokes and I like it but I wouldn't blame you one bit for not supporting a company that doesn't believe in good public relations. It really is a shame.


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## Big Country Boy

After reading all of this I assume that the man & woman I met at the convention were the ones mentioned in this forum.As a fairly new turkey hunter I've heard alot about their choke so when I seen them at the show I approached the booth I said how are you doing the guy just walked off did not even speak I was looking at one of the chokes & made the comment to my friend that it looked kinda like a KICKS CHOKE but with inverted ports .The lady over heard me and with a very nasty attitude started telling me about how they are the only one with that patent then threw some pattern sheet down and said how they've won all these records & will my choke do that (I guess my choke is junk!! ) but I'd give $60 for another KICKS before I give a penny for one of theirs. I hope those of you that have done buisness with them dont get treated like that.They sure made a bad impression on me (I hope things change for the better for them )It sounds like they have a very good product things are alredy hard enough on the small buisness owners without bad publicity....WHAT GOOD ARE WORLD RECORDS THEN


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## brucemacgee19

coryo said:


> I have talked to Rhino Chokes on the phone once and met them at the NWTF convention this year, and I don't care how good his choke tubes are they want be in my gun!



I was there....


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## Omega

01Foreman400 said:


> Omega give us an update when you can.
> 
> Darrell



The barrel has arrived but, unfortunately, I was summoned for Jury Duty today and wasn't home when UPS attempted to deliver.  I was really looking forward to getting my hands on it, checking out the forcing cone job, and getting a pattern on paper Saturday/Sunday. It'll be sometime next week before I get a chance to pattern the gun.

I can tell you that they did not ship it when they said they would. If they did it would have been here yesterday and I would have had my wife pick it up for me today. Oh well, at least it's back. 

I'm looking forward to pattern report and glad that I'm through with the "other" headache.


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## captainhook

That's a shame you had a bad experience. I have always been treated very kindly and bought three chokes from them personally  and one of my buddies bought one and was treated the same. The first one I got from them was a Remington choke when I had ordered a Benelli. I called them and they said send it back. I had a Benelli choke sitting on my step the next day and I live in Ga. That was pretty good service in my book. They shipped the new choke right after I called and didn't wait til they got theirs back. I don't know anybody else that would trust someone that much.


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## turkeyinstrut

*Rhino Choke*



marsh rat said:


> I have seen post like this and all I can say is I would like to hear both sides of the story not just one. Also this is when every one that  should have been getting there stuff ready from last season is rushing to get there stuff done in a month or less. Also if you don't try a rhino choke you are only hurting your self they are by far better then any choke that is on the market
> 
> JUSTIN I WILL GET BOTH SIDES OF THE STORY



I have a Rhino Choke and a Jelly Head and the Jelly Head shoots just as good if not better than the Rhino, Jelly Head cost me 45.00 and the Rhino was 105.00


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## GLS

Substitute "dead rhino" for "dead horse".


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## Steve Roberts

GLS said:


> Substitute "dead rhino" for "dead horse".



yep


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