# Bad service from gamekeeper catapults and blood shot catapults



## idiotnovice

Dont like to moan and have to be honest and say this guy although makes nice catapults his customer service is really bad, I am only just getting back into slingshots after many years, I bought a bandset and pouch set as have not the time to try and make my own, 20 days later and numerous emails and still no pouch or bandset, gave me some crud about having a postage receipt, even though I caught him out telling porkies of different times when it was supposed to be posted, I am not holding out hope of it turning up, like i said if you have not got the time to make just refund me, exactly the same story with bloodshot catapults I ordered a catapult and the bands snapped within 2 days of low to moderate use(hence the dodgy gamekeeper transaction) and the grip is also coming off I ordered ammo with the catapult and a third of the amount came out, that was 3 weeks ago , tried telling me it was sold by weight rather then the numbers I bought and paid for,

I will be ordering my gear stateside from now on does not fill you with confidence, when retailers treat you like this. My friend has catapults from bill hays and fliipin out and the service was first class, hopefully gamekeeper john looks after his other customers better then me..........


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## Lacumo

Sorry to hear about your experience with GK, but yours isn't the first story of this type. I don't know about BSC, but they sound like another pea from the same pod.

You'll undoubtedly do far better with Bill and Nathan.


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## idiotnovice

thats sad to here,


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## cairomn

I had great service from blood shot catapults... Don't know about gamekeeper though. 
Maybe the bloodshot thing is a misunderstanding.


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## cairomn

cairomn said:


> I had great service from blood shot catapults... Don't know about gamekeeper though.
> Maybe the bloodshot thing is a misunderstanding.


Well good service. Maby not the same calibre as simple shot


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## roirizla

I ordered some bands from Gamekeeper and although it took unreasonably long, it did turn up eventually.

Before you give up on this side of the pond, check out Tim at Suffolk Slingshots. He's great to deal with and in comparison, it took him only a day to deliver!

Another thing.

The pouches he uses are super soft and strong. You can tell the guy cares about what he's doing.


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## Charles

I am very sorry to hear this. I dealt with GKJ many years ago, and the service was good then. Perhaps he has just been too successful and cannot keep up. I hope you have better experience with other dealers.

Cheers .... Charles


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## idiotnovice

Waiting time is not an issue, but dishonesty is, if people cant control there business demand then either employ more people or stop taking orders, I will just get my gear elsewhere from now on, I used to own a fly fishing shop , I soon got to realise not to dismiss the guy who came in once a month and spent pennies as every once in while you might be just surprised when they walk away having bought half your stock,... peoples attitudes have changed now the mentality is to get as much dollar out of the customer at whatever it takes in the fear that they will not return,

Lets hope the items do turn up albeit weeks after they were paid for..........


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## idiotnovice

roirizla said:


> I ordered some bands from Gamekeeper and although it took unreasonably long, it did turn up eventually.
> 
> Before you give up on this side of the pond, check out Tim at Suffolk Slingshots. He's great to deal with and in comparison, it took him only a day to deliver!
> 
> Another thing.
> 
> The pouches he uses are super soft and strong. You can tell the guy cares about what he's doing.


 Thanks will look him up m8


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## TLG_Catapults

I think he's just busy . He's very busy , so busy he's stopped making his Ttf pocket poachers in multiplex until 2015 . He gets hundreds of orders a week , give him a break .


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## Mister Magpie

Connect with Eggy22 in the vendor section. He is in the UK and you will not regret it.

Darren


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## qute10

Just got to say i have bought over ten different slingshots dankungs and others from Bloodshot (some VERY recently) and have NEVER had a problem fast and always exactly what i ordered i suggest you contact him as this sounds like a one off. Have no experience with gamekeeper so could not comment but Bloodshots are the biz.


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## idiotnovice

dankungmaster said:


> I think he's just busy . He's very busy , so busy he's stopped making his Ttf pocket poachers in multiplex until 2015 . He gets hundreds of orders a week , give him a break .


Give him a break I suppose you would if it was you item that had not been delivered? no problem so why not just say, the communication and the honesty is the issue not how many orders the guy has to deal with, I am very glad he is busy but dont take peoples money if you dont have time to supply something not right there.


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## CanH8r

He has done right by me every time I've felt with him. Nice guy and a great shooter imo. Sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction. Hope it gets sorted soon.


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## idiotnovice

qute10 said:


> Just got to say i have bought over ten different slingshots dankungs and others from Bloodshot (some VERY recently) and have NEVER had a problem fast and always exactly what i ordered i suggest you contact him as this sounds like a one off. Have no experience with gamekeeper so could not comment but Bloodshots are the biz.


his service was fast, the only issue is I received half of what I paid for, his catapults are good though I have no issue with that, these posts are not personal they are based on fact to inform other people if you need your items dont expect them to turn up quickly or at all, I would hope someone would give me a heads up about slow or bad service just as they would for for good service


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## idiotnovice

CanH8r said:


> He has done right by me every time I've felt with him. Nice guy and a great shooter imo. Sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction. Hope it gets sorted soon.


I no doubt he is a nice guy and a great shooter, this is not a personal attack on him. this is purely business and its bad business to take some ones money and not send either proof of postage, or a tracking number its bound to cause problems, imho if you are that far behind at work you either need assistance or you need to stop taking orders until you get close to catching up, I posted this to let people know my experience, I am fully aware this maybe different to others...

How come when you an order is placed with single shot or Bill Hays it arrives on time and theres that little thing called the Atlantic to get across lol oh yeah it because they understand how to look after there customers....


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## DogBox

roirizla said:


> I ordered some bands from Gamekeeper and although it took unreasonably long, it did turn up eventually.
> 
> Before you give up on this side of the pond, check out Tim at Suffolk Slingshots. He's great to deal with and in comparison, it took him only a day to deliver!
> 
> Another thing.
> 
> The pouches he uses are super soft and strong. You can tell the guy cares about what he's doing.


Absolutely! Tim at Suffolk "is" a terrific guy! Communication is tops and his product is first rate!

Having been the recipient of the competition he held recently, he couldn't do enough for me! He's one of the Vendors listed at top of the

Forum Home page. Yes! he definitely cares a great deal about what he does and does it really well.

Tell his son Jake 'Steve' said "hi"

DB


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## oldstevie

sorry to hear about bad experiences in orders.

i haven,t ordered from gkj so cannot comment but i have ordered from bloodshot on 3 occasions and the service was good.

i have ordered from dankung direct and considering the distance the order time was also good

hope you get it sorted soon.

just out of interest what is the delivery time to uk from usa from say bill hayes or nathan?


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## eggy22

If i can help with any catapults , i most certainly will .


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## Tentacle Toast

eggy22 said:


> If i can help with any catapults , i most certainly will .


You had some nice ones posted in another thread, seem they'd he worth a look


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## eggy22

Tentacle Toast said:


> eggy22 said:
> 
> 
> 
> If i can help with any catapults , i most certainly will .
> 
> 
> 
> You had some nice ones posted in another thread, seem they'd he worth a look
Click to expand...

Which thread please .... i've not been really active on here for a while .


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## bmlodge

DogBox said:


> roirizla said:
> 
> 
> 
> I ordered some bands from Gamekeeper and although it took unreasonably long, it did turn up eventually.
> 
> Before you give up on this side of the pond, check out Tim at Suffolk Slingshots. He's great to deal with and in comparison, it took him only a day to deliver!
> 
> Another thing.
> 
> The pouches he uses are super soft and strong. You can tell the guy cares about what he's doing.
> 
> 
> 
> Absolutely! Tim at Suffolk "is" a terrific guy! Communication is tops and his product is first rate!
> 
> Having been the recipient of the competition he held recently, he couldn't do enough for me! He's one of the Vendors listed at top of the
> 
> Forum Home page. Yes! he definitely cares a great deal about what he does and does it really well.
> 
> Tell his son Jake 'Steve' said "hi"
> 
> DB
Click to expand...

Recommend Tim 100%. Great guy and very fast delivery. You can tell he cares. I ordered all my bandsets/Slingshots from Bill hays and Nathan as I couldn't find anyone in the UK reliable until I came across Tim. Although haven't ordered much recently as I'm not shooting much due to it being winter and dark when I get home from work.

I had dealing with BSC years ago when he mainly sold Dankungs. He posted 2nd class signed for, which I found annoying as it was slow and I had to be in to sign for the d**n thing. I later found out that ordering from Dankung directly was cheaper and took just a tad longer. He also sent incorrect looped tubes, butterfly, when I ordered the shorter 17" ones.

Never used GKJ. I read the wait times on his products and it seemed crazy. It was weeks for bandsets as well as slingshots so he must be busy.


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## idiotnovice

The bandset turned up,very late but better then never, there was no need for all the childish bs in the transaction though,last time I order from gamekeeper John sadly...


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## Tacnak

I ordered a slingshot from GK John and it took about 7 1/2 weeks for it to get here. At first he replied to my emails quickly, but as time went on, it took him longer and longer to reply. I was told that he had sent the package, but that it had been returned to him. There is no way to know if this was true since I never had any kind of tracking. At one point, I asked him to cancel my purchase and refund my money but he said that the item was on its way and it got here a week or so. The slingshot I received is very well made, very accurate and i am extreme happy with the item I received. After shipping, I think I spent close to $80 for a palmswell pocket poacher and an extra set of bands. He makes great slinghshots and is an awesome shooter, but his customer service could use some improvement. I have wanted to purchase some items from Bloodshot and have made contact with him. He has replied to all my emails. Still, I'm not sure if I want to deal with oversea shipping when I can get excellent, well made slinghshots here in the states.

Milo


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## eggy22

I ship to the states fairly often Milo .


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## DarrinGlennCook

I've bought around 50 sling frames from GKJ and what nots and even some custom stuff.....never had a problem...a hard Working man with top slings....sorry to hear about your experience


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## Neo Catapults

I had a problem with "Gamekeeper" before I become member of this forum.

I never received my prepaid catapult.

I send several e-mails to him and whenever there was an answer it was another lie!

I asked PayPal to solve the issue and after some months I got my money back.

I don't know the guy but I wouldn't dare to buy something from him again. I DON'T recommend him to anyone! BEWARE!

I always wanted to post this and when I saw this thread I thought that I have the obligation to all of you to mention my bad experience.

Neo


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## idiotnovice

Tacnak said:


> I ordered a slingshot from GK John and it took about 7 1/2 weeks for it to get here. At first he replied to my emails quickly, but as time went on, it took him longer and longer to reply. I was told that he had sent the package, but that it had been returned to him. There is no way to know if this was true since I never had any kind of tracking. At one point, I asked him to cancel my purchase and refund my money but he said that the item was on its way and it got here a week or so. The slingshot I received is very well made, very accurate and i am extreme happy with the item I received. After shipping, I think I spent close to $80 for a palmswell pocket poacher and an extra set of bands. He makes great slinghshots and is an awesome shooter, but his customer service could use some improvement. I have wanted to purchase some items from Bloodshot and have made contact with him. He has replied to all my emails. Still, I'm not sure if I want to deal with oversea shipping when I can get excellent, well made slinghshots here in the states.
> 
> Milo


Heard that story somewhere before lol


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## dave4100

I wish I would of come across this thread earlier. I just may have lost my money on a TTF-PPSG. I have mailed him several times and no response. Can I get my money back from PayPal or is it just gone.


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## Henry the Hermit

Why not ask PayPal?


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## dave4100

I did check with PayPal. To late. What is interesting is that before I placed my order, he answered my emails very quickly. As soon as he got my money, not a peep from him. I have sent several emails to no avail.


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## idiotnovice

Hes is dodgy nuff said... sorry to hear of your similar experience


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## dave4100

Finally got a reply. He said he was at a tournament and didn't get a chance to send email. Hopefully my sling arrives in a reasonable time.


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## bmlodge

To be fair there is a tournament in Sheffield every year in April. Only been going a few years though. UK Catapult Championship and Game Keeper John does go every year.


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## roirizla

He won a number of titles too. I watched the below feature last night and thought that he doesn't seem like such a bad guy. I think it's just a case of he's seen as an ambassador for the sport / hobby & therefor I assumed he would naturally make good on his customers perception that his service would live up to the standard of his skill and products too. If he susses this one tiny but crucial detail, he'd be cooking with gas!






Nice to see Tim featuring too.


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## dave4100

I ordered a catty on April 4th and It hasn't shipped. I did get an email stating it was supposed to ship on the 15th of this month. Of course he won't answer emails. I guess I just lost my money. I will never purchase anything from anybody unless they are in the U.S. No more uk purchases. Learned the hard way.


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## bmlodge

I'm from the UK and pretty much all my slingshot orders are from the US Dave.

Only person who has given consistent top notch service in the UK is Tim from Suffolk Slingshots and he is the only UK seller I use now. Get my bandsets from him. Saying that I haven't been doing an awful lot of shooting recently.


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## idiotnovice

dave4100 said:


> I ordered a catty on April 4th and It hasn't shipped. I did get an email stating it was supposed to ship on the 15th of this month. Of course he won't answer emails. I guess I just lost my money. I will never purchase anything from anybody unless they are in the U.S. No more uk purchases. Learned the hard way.


That why i made this post lucky my item was not high value I always test a business , he let me down for a small amount of money so it says a lot about his morals, everybody praises tim at suffolk slingshots, how did you pay yhere is no reason that you should lose your money, this is a business transaction for the legal route if you have to.


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## treefork

You won't be sorry if you deal if you deal with the vendors on this forum . Your able to contact them and they will return your message . They all seem to realize the value of reputation and aim to please .


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## Hrawk

Read the title of this thread, was not surprised.


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## idiotnovice

Hrawk said:


> Read the title of this thread, was not surprised.


Why may I ask?


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## oldbill

Never purchased from GK Catapults as I wont wait six weeks for a plywood catapult. Purchased six from bloodshot or catapults.co on ebay and the web site never a problem - in fact the opposite always arrive on time (about a couple to three of days) or before and as per order. Yes he posts recorded but when you consider the risk of customers pretending they have not received the order what is the alternative? do you have screen shots of the emails you have received from these vendors?


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## idiotnovice

oldbill said:


> Never purchased from GK Catapults as I wont wait six weeks for a plywood catapult. Purchased six from bloodshot or catapults.co on ebay and the web site never a problem - in fact the opposite always arrive on time (about a couple to three of days) or before and as per order. Yes he posts recorded but when you consider the risk of customers pretending they have not received the order what is the alternative? do you have screen shots of the emails you have received from these vendors?


screen shots nah im not intending on doing a robin cook report on them just passing on a genuine experience, I would have been just as willing to offer a positive review if that was the case looks like a lot of people have had a similar experience with the said retailers, screen shots , emails now that could be opening up a can of worms probably best for a good natured forum like this one not to get too deep , good advice on my part can quickly turn into a character assanation....


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## gypo

was just about to order but done some research and found this thread. Oh well don't think ill bother. if he has robbed you just turn up at the next shoot and give him a slap in front of his fan club


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## idiotnovice

gypo said:


> was just about to order but done some research and found this thread. Oh well don't think ill bother. if he has robbed you just turn up at the next shoot and give him a slap in front of his fan club


martin whippet slings facebook is the man u want to speak to or if u like plywood stuff nick hegarty on facebook


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## monkeyboab

I'll second Martin and Nick Ive had great service n comms from both.


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## Chuck Daehler

A+ slingshots gets my vote on commercial plywood slingshots...forks are brass pinned just in case of a mishap. Or just start making them.

aplusslingshots.com

They are a paid vendor of this web site.


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## Ashley Brayson

I ordered a GK catapult a few weeks ago and received an email stating that it would arrive on or before the 15th December. I'm fine waiting if I get an email notifying me of the fact. I think it also staed on the website that things were busy.


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## Slingshot Silas

WTF?

I know this is an older thread, (started Dec. 3, 2014) but people have been commenting on it all the way up till yesterday, so it must still be an issue with the mentioned vendor(s). I fail to see how "being away at a tournament, on vacation, drunk, high, at a Frat house, or even at a cat house", are in any way an excuse or reason, or has anything, *at all, in the whole wide World of business*, to *do* with business. As a vendor, if you can't keep-up, don't step-up. Hire some more F'n help, or quit taking orders. Or just quit--period! Simple economics, not to mention honesty and courtesy, are the way to *stay* in business. Good service is not dead quite yet. As a matter of fact, I personally demand it, if you are getting *my* money. I do not think that is being unreasonable. I expect reasonable delivery time, or a simple explanation if there is a delay. Just a few words go a LOOONNNG way with me. I have received slingshot package gifts from some members of this forum, and I would not hesitate to *buy* from them. I think you can figure out why. It took those guys time and materials to do that. Especially the time. I am positive they could have used that precious comodity somewhere else, far more important than making me some slingshots with the trimmings. Yeah, slingshot *s* with an *s* on the end. Not just one. I could hardly think they would ever, as well as never *had* been crooks.

I don't blame Idiotnovice one bit. Personally, I would be super pi$$ed off! What little money I have, is bloody hard to come by. I have been cheated a time or three in these past 57 years, and it makes me mad as he!!. What goes around, comes around. Carma can be a very bad thing. Anybody out to cheat anybody, should take notice. Soldier on, and don't "F" anybody!

:twocents:

Steve aka SSS


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## dbs9164

I ordered a caddy from him this past summer and it took two months to arrive. I only received it because I lodged a paypal complaint and rather give my money back, I guess he begrudgingly sent it. I will never order from him again. On a side note, I don't even know where it is anymore. The absolute worst sling I ever ordered. Live and learn I guess.


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## dbs9164

Although I won't ever order anything from GKJ again, I have to say that I really enjoy his videos. Especially the ones on slingshot aiming. I have the utmost respect in his abilities to shoot a sling. He is an extremely accurate shot.


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## Duir Forester

I know this is an old thread, but I just have to add my experience....

Ordered from GKJ in June, got an email stating it would be delivered on or before the 5th of August, still waiting! - As of today I am opening a paypal dispute, this guy is a joke and shouldn't be allowed to sell, if he can't deliver the service and goods get out of the business, cos honestly you have no right being in it if you can't deliver.

Would never recommend this guy ever!


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## dbs9164

After my bad experience with him, I only purchase from a few sling makers.


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## DarrinGlennCook

I've ordered 100's of slings from him...Never had one bad experience.....He has also made me some killer customs....always emails me updates etc.....Been doing business with him for 4 years....No Hassle or worries...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## smokie

DarrinGlennCook said:


> I've ordered 100's of slings from him...Never had one bad experience.....He has also made me some killer customs....always emails me updates etc.....Been doing business with him for 4 years....No Hassle or worries...
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


maybe because you but so much you get a better service,just a thought


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## SlingshotBill

Duir Forester said:


> I know this is an old thread, but I just have to add my experience....
> 
> Ordered from GKJ in June, got an email stating it would be delivered on or before the 5th of August, still waiting! - As of today I am opening a paypal dispute, this guy is a joke and shouldn't be allowed to sell, if he can't deliver the service and goods get out of the business, cos honestly you have no right being in it if you can't deliver.
> 
> Would never recommend this guy ever!


Just got that same email it says he will have it shipped out on or before that date ordered mine last week got the email yesterday saying it will be shipped on or before November 4. Dang I hope it's before

Sent from my LG-K373 using Tapatalk


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## twang

the only experience i've had with him (gkj) is through ebay.i made an enquiry but got no reply.


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## Trap1

I've ordered from both GKJ & Tim @ suffolk. Tim is exactly as described above.

I ordered from GKJ just after lock down (around May time.) Snail mail communication, order confirmation etc. I think the guy had some issues with his mental health & business on the whole leadind up to this. There was a long period when he was not taking any orders at all. I eventually got my 2 orders fulfilled weeks later. He seemed to be streamlining as he totally stopped making band sets. Sad to hear that his customer service has dwindled further.


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## otter

Just joined this forum and found this thread.

I have never ordered from GKJ due to the lead times on his website, if i want a new catty then i want it now!

I noticed Suffolk slingshots has got a few good reviews on here, another UK seller i have found to be good is Wasp slingshots.


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## StringSlap

otter said:


> Just joined this forum and found this thread.
> 
> I have never ordered from GKJ due to the lead times on his website, if i want a new catty then i want it now!
> 
> I noticed Suffolk slingshots has got a few good reviews on here, another UK seller i have found to be good is Wasp slingshots.


I normally don't reply to 5+ year old threads, but also look into ProShot Catapults and Catty Shack. You can order a GKJ sling from PS and actually get it!


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