Anyone heard from john @h-g firearms?

[pricedo]

It's a rough economy out there and everybody is looking for a way to make a buck and make ends meet.
Sounds like a guy who took a $49.95 mail in a coupon from the back of a gun rag course to be a gunsmith and found it was a little more complicated than he first thought.
Entrepreneurship gone wrong.
Unless you're a mechanical prodigy which apparently John isn't gunsmithing is a skillset that takes years to build.
I'd write it off to experience.
Hiring a lawyer for a civil suit would be throwing good money after bad and unless it's rape, armed robbery or murder it's hard to get the cops to spend any kinda time on penny ante rip off artists.
The cops are just too strapped for investigators, resources and time.
He probably hasn't got a pot to pizz in.
Can't squeeze blood out of a stone.

[mold maker]

It's a rough economy out there and everybody is looking for a way to make a buck and make ends meet.
Sounds like a guy who took a $49.95 mail in a coupon from the back of a gun rag course to be a gunsmith and found it was a little more complicated than he first thought.
Entrepreneurship gone wrong.
Unless you're a mechanical prodigy which apparently John isn't gunsmithing is a skillset that takes years to build.
I'd write it off to experience.
Hiring a lawyer for a civil suit would be throwing good money after bad and unless it's rape, armed robbery or murder it's hard to get the cops to spend any kinda time on penny ante rip off artists.
The cops are just too strapped for investigators, resources and time.
He probably hasn't got a pot to pizz in.
Can't squeeze blood out of a stone.

I agree with the bloodless stone, but you can cement it in place so it gathers no more moss.

[jimbull34]

I received a call from the DA in MI the other day about the trial, charges against HG firearms and arranged to have my testimony done telephonically and I'm guessing the other five people who pressed charges are going to be able to do the same. My wife has come down with cancer so I am not going to be able to go to MI for the trial, which I was planning on doing if this matter got that far. Apparently, Johns lawyer is trying to get the court to let him make restitution in all five cases instead of facing fraud charges, we'll see what happens and I will post the results here....

[Theditchman]

That don't sound like justice to me....screwing dozens of people and only having to pay restitution to the 5 who complained...Come on everybody..Everyone who got screwed by this guy step up and complain to the DA..let the DA see there where lots more folks he scammed

[rolltide]

If it's him, he is using "Small Game Company" as the name. Says he acquired the die works of a local manufacturer and will only sell "in stock items". He is now offering two sizes of swaging presses and has them pictured. We'll see.

Bob

If he goes by seanharvey123 on ebay, I just ordered a 6mm die set from this "Gentleman" through ebay. He tried to sell it to me cheaper if I would send him payment direct, circumventing ebay. I refused (no buyer protection if I did that, plus I get kicked off ebay, he should get kicked off). Paid for item the next day after he accepted my offer through ebay. I waited a week. No tracking number and no item. I opened a case against him with Ebay. He was very belligerent and verbally abusive with his reply. Dropping f-bombs and so forth. He sent a bogus tracking number (hoping I would just close the case I guess ?) I did not close the case. I contacted Ebay by phone to let them know I would elevate the case, and I got a refund. This guy is just bad business. I will never deal with him again, not if he was giving stuff away.

Roll Tide

[R.Ph. 380]

Pictured die set has terrible looking threading.How could he represent those as new?

[Theditchman]

How can this guy still be on Ebay?? I thought he was in the slammer? .. I think this is just another scammer jumping on the wagon

[midnight]

I hate to admit it but I bought a draw die to draw down 9 mm cases from him. He actually sent it to me. The first time I used it the punch bent into an S shape. The 5/8- 24 threads were some of the worst I have ever seen. I just chalked it up to experience and moved on. Guess I should have warned the rest of you guys. Now I make my own draw dies and punches. Mine are 10X better than his and I never saw a lathe in my life until I got my Logan last May.

Bob

[rolltide]

Sounds like I am LUCKY he didn't send the product. The only reason I took the chance was EBay's money back refund policy. Sorry that happened to you midnight. At least you are well out of it anyway, and doing well yourself. I am thinking of taking some machining classes down at the local community college, and getting a lathe myself.

Roll Tide

[Bent Ramrod]

The Moderators and Owner would, I think, be performing a public service by putting this thread with all the other threads that promised cheap swaging dies before imploding into black holes and taking a lot of customers with them, and all the threads asking "Why do these things cost so much? What vast conspiracy keeps swage die prices so high?" and put them into a Sticky titled "You Get What You Pay For," or something similar. The conspiracy theorists are the natural prey of the swage die scam artists, neither of whom know anything about the difficulties involved in making these critical items. Some people seem to cling to the idea that this stuff gets ground out like sausages by some fantasy CNC Machine armed with some miraculous Carbide Tooling while the diemaker is watching television. The scam artists at least learn how difficult the job really is, and how incapable they are of doing it, but too late to help their customers much.

Anybody can drill a hole in a piece of metal. It is not a swaging die, no matter how cheap it is. Optics are the same way. I can't tell the difference between the lenses on my Chinese spotting scope and a real spotting scope, and both can be dialed in from 20-60 power. So why does the good scope cost ten times what my El Cheapo costs? I could formulate all the foul conspiracies I want to, especially since I know nothing about grinding lenses beyond seeing pictures of grandfatherly types in work overalls polishing pieces of glass. None of this fantasizing, though, explains how I can't see bullet holes at 300 yards with my scope, no matter what the magnification, while I can almost read the NRA official certification on the target with the good one. The phrase "You get what you pay for" explains it perfectly. Bullet swaging dies are at the same level of criticality.

Sorry for all of you who got burned.

[sprinkintime]

Sounds like I am LUCKY he didn't send the product. The only

reason I took the chance was EBay's money back refund policy. Sorry that happened to you midnight. At least you are well out of it anyway, and doing well yourself. I am thinking of taking some machining classes down at the local community college, and getting a lathe myself.

Roll Tide

Roll Tide; the things you can do with a small lathe & mill are unbelievable, if you are young enough I would say go for it. Young is 55 and under.
Sprink

[midnight]

Heck, I was 71 when I got my mill & 72 when I got my lathe. You are never too old. I can make everything I need or want except point form dies and if I wanted to pay for the reamers I could make them too. Never had so much fun.

Bob

[nhrifle]

I've had good luck using my home made D reamers. Three point form dies so far have been cut with them. They are simple to make, and only cost me a few bucks worth of tool steel.

[just bill]

I 've been reading both threads about the " have you heard from" . When I head about the Sheriff I picture Broderick Crawford getting out of his Black and White Packard with mirrored Ray Bans.
Seriously these rip off artist got the game down. I 've dealt with a few vendors and they most all are true suppliers of the stuff that feeds our habit. The trouble is when I can save a couple bucks the little voice starts questions quality vs quantity and doesn't stop until the product is in hand. I've talked to some guys that have dealt with the major players with big banners, fancy flashing ads who screwed them. I have 1 big boy and his supplier on the sh¿¿¿¿ List over a scope. How far do you take a few hundred bucks, when the distributor and supplier both don't answer emails?
Bill

[Theditchman]

I think you just laugh it off and put it down to the cost of living otherwise it will drive you nuts

[jimbull34]

I believe Sean Harvey is John's son...runs in the blood!

[jimbull34]

Update on the court involving John "Gilbert" Harvey. Got a call and letter from the DA on thursday that said that Gilbert/Harvey was trying to make restitution on all the back orders etc. The letter I got, he said that it was "just something he forgot to do"! Right!!!! Anyway, the DA is going to allow me to testify via telephonic at my DA's office here in South Alabama and I would suggest that all who have joined this action call the DA in MI and request that they be allowed to do the same, if it goes to court. I did let him know that he is doing business under other names, either him or his son and the DA said that that just strengthened our case against him. So if you are involved in this action, please call Donnelly in MI and get him to let you testify telephonically if it goes to court so we can get this scam artist out of business once and for all!!!!

I read the above guys who did their own dies and I in fact started doing that about a year ago. Bought a cheap lathe and just started reading and doing. My dies have come out ok for my use and no animal I've shot complained about the points being a little off!!!! or out of just lead!

[jimbull34]

Update for you guys, I got my dies from HG three days ago and a letter from him crying about how tis is going to put him out of business, loose his FFL and his poor family are the ones going to suffer from it all, oh and a jail sentence is a "death" sentence for him...The only thing I can tell him is "don't screw people", you'll actually sleep at night!

[303british.com]

And how were the dies? Properly finished? I guess you haven't had a chance to try them yet.

[GMike]

I just called DA and left Voice mail trying to see if I get phone call back