I agree to a degree with both sides. Anyone putting their name on a product (company) and has it in one way or another linked to their business without having control is foolish. If that is the case then it is the only part of this I would place blame on Mel for.
Lets face it mel can't be in two places at the same time. Nor can he handle day to day operations of both businesses. As others have said I doubt but don't "KNOW" that Mel is the controlling owner. The next question I would want to know before passing judgement would be just how many "problem rifles" have been released? If it were only a few then yes Mel's best interest would be to address them personally. By that I don't mean on a forum, rather calling the owners of the said few rifles. On the other hand if the "problem rifles" are numerous then I think it is fair to say that would be above required for Mel. His time at that point would be better spent ironing out the issues at the company level.
Most all start-ups have growing pains and learning hurdles. One reason I don't like to buy products from such companies. I would guess that this will hurt them a little. I hope they will fix it and get things moving in the right direction. I don't see it killing the company unless they really can't get things under control.
