Episode Details

Brownells turns 85 this year, and CEO Pete Brownell joined State of the Second hosts Kaylee and John to walk through how a 1939 gunsmithing supply company became one of the longest-running family businesses in the firearms industry. Pete is third generation. His grandfather started the company as Brownell's Gun Mart, writing how-to articles for NRA publications and stocking the Smith & Wesson and Colt parts that local gunsmiths could not get from factories that only wanted to make guns. The mission was to professionalize the gunsmithing trade with the right tools, the right education, and good product at the right price. Pete also tells the story of moving the company online in 1996, when it was larger than Amazon at the time and his father wrote off the internet as a passing fad.

Much of the conversation is about gunsmithing and the home build. Pete explains why traditional brick-and-mortar gunsmiths faded as CNC machining and tighter tolerances let the AR-15, Glock, and Sig come together without hand fitting, which opened the door for hundreds of thousands of people to personalize firearms at home. He argues America needs more gunsmiths. The number has stayed flat for about a decade while gun ownership climbed toward 100 million people, and there are now 22 gunsmithing schools offering both two-year hands-on programs and distance learning. He points to bolt guns and long-range shooting as the next home build trend, built off a good barreled action.

The back half turns to advocacy. Pete frames Two A Day, the national range day that started on February 22, 2022, around the idea that a civil liberty not exercised ceases to be a civil liberty. He and the hosts press the case for showing up at state lobby days, taking a legislator or a friend to the range without an I-got-you attitude, and welcoming minority and first-time owners into a constitutional tent that is for everybody. Pete praises GOA's stand and the company's choice to support organizations on mission, noting Brownells stepped back from the NRA convention to do so. He closes on what's new at Brownells: a frictionless online experience, an FFL Finder to drive traffic to local shops, the BRN-180 and a Baron 4 launch, and a deeper focus on owning the gunsmith's bench with lifetime-guaranteed tools. Brownells is the title sponsor of GOA's first convention, GOALS, in Knoxville.

Links

• www.brownells.com
• goals.gunowners.org

Questions this episode answers

How did Brownells start, and what is the family story behind it?

Pete Brownell's grandfather founded the company in 1939 as Brownell's Gun Mart, stocking the Smith & Wesson and Colt parts local gunsmiths could not get from factories. Pete is the third generation to run what is now one of the firearms industry's longest-running family businesses.

Why did Brownells stay a parts supply house instead of opening retail stores like Cabela's?

The founding mission was to professionalize the gunsmithing trade by giving gunsmiths the right tools, the right education, and good product at the right price. Brownells stayed focused on supplying parts and tools rather than expanding into brick-and-mortar retail stores.

Why have traditional gunsmiths faded while home gun building has grown?

CNC machining and tighter tolerances let platforms like the AR-15, Glock, and Sig come together without hand fitting, so the brick-and-mortar gunsmith who once did that fitting faded. That same shift opened the door for hundreds of thousands of people to personalize firearms at home.

Does America still need gunsmiths, and how can someone become one today?

Pete argues America needs more gunsmiths: the number has stayed flat for about a decade while gun ownership cli