Gunsmithing for fun and profit: these services will fine-tune your bottom line

Shooting Industry, Dec, 1998 by Roy Huntington

"The dealer can sell parts from stock, or even use Wilson's as a parts warehouse, helping to keep inventory costs low at his end," said Steer. "If a customer wants to take the next step, the dealer can work with one of our customer service representatives and put together a package tailored to their customer's specific needs. Then, by simply shipping the gun to Wilson's, the dealer can eventually hand over a completed gun to their customer and offer Wilson's lifetime warranty at the same time. No muss, no fuss."

When a dealer stocks name-brand parts from one of the established makers like Wilson Combat, Ed Brown, Les Baer and others, they take advantage of instant name recognition. These companies do a lot of heavy advertising.

"It gives a level of comfort to your customer when they recognize a name they've seen probably hundreds of times in the popular press," said Steer. "Let the custom shops absorb the cost of this kind of national press while you reap the benefits at your counter."

Even if you don't go the custom shop route, you can sub-contract with a local gunsmith to handle your gunsmithing chores. If another shop in your area is handling bluing, Parketizing or other work, see if they will work with you. Don't forget shops like Robar, Checkmate and Armoloy offer refinishing services to dealers. Few things are easier than acting as middlemen. You reap the profits without the drudgery of doing the work.

Getting The Help

Brownells offers a tech line service to gunsmiths who do business with them. If you have questions about the installation, use, performance, modification or just about anything else having to do with firearms, the experts on the tech line are waiting to help out.

"With six techs going full time we answer questions that run the gamut from simple scope-mounting problems to more complicated questions about tooling and custom work," said John Treakle, the friendly voice at the end of the tech line. "1911s, AR-15s and clones, 10-22s, and now even cowboy action guns are all hot and we field questions daily on all of these. It's also interesting to note the trend toward heavier AR-15s, heavy barrels, weights, sights and stocks. We've turned these guns from ultra-light sporters to heavy target rifles and there is no sign of slowing."

Treakle offers some candid advice to dealers.

"Research the drop-in market and tailor it to the interests in your area. The almost immediate gratification your customer can experience by simply buying the parts and having you 'drop' them in while they wait can make for easy sales," he said.

"The other important thing is to know your limitations. We field calls every day from dealers and gunsmiths who have gotten in over their heads on some project," Treakle added. "We often take orders for parts they have messed-up because they bit off more than they could handle."

Learn to say no when it comes to some projects, or make arrangements to ship them off to a shop which can handle them.

Sell The Service

There are a few simple ways to sell your gunsmithing services. Send reminders to customers prior to hunting season that it's time to "tune-up" their hunting rifles. Offer cleaning "specials" and "while-you-wait" drop-in upgrades on 10-22s, 1911s and other popular guns. Let your customers know about scopemounting services, and seminars on cleaning tips or on particularly popular guns like Remington 870s, Mini-14s or Winchester Model 70s.