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New Shooter's Supply owner revamps Hixson Pike shop, remains confident in gun sales market
Larry Hopper wants his gun shop to be more than just a firearms trading post. He wants to be different from the big box retailers that sell guns and ammo.
Hopper wants Shooter's Supply - formerly Sportman's Supply and Services - to be an all-in-one gun shop, range and classroom. A place where parents and kids share a shooting gallery, and where the interested, but uneducated, gun shopper can get some guidance on what he or she actually wants to own.
Hopper is now running the gun shop in the wooden A-frame building on Hixson Pike near the Highway 153 interchange after purchasing it from its previous owner, Carl Poston, who retired from the business.
Hopper spent time in the military when he was younger, and had a career in commercial construction prior to buying the Hixson gun shop.
And like many Americans, he had the rug yanked out from under him when the Great Recession hit.
"I'm coming from the construction industry, where the banking meltdown forced me to have to close two extremely successful businesses," he said.
Also like many Americans, Hopper believes now - of all times - is the time to consider investing in a firearm for personal or family protection.
"There's a lot of interest right now. People are concerned," he said. "It's a scary place out there right now."
Hundreds of thousands apparently agree.
According to Lars Dalseide, spokesman for the NRA, there was a 19 percent increase in gun-related background checks between 2014 and 2015. The organization doesn't track actual gun sales, he said, and while a background check for gun purchase doesn't necessarily equate a gun purchase, the rise in checks does suggest that some of the increase resulted in sales.
Gun-related (purchase, permit) background checks are recorded separate from other background checks and are triggered only by those buying firearms or acquiring permits, or municipalities checking the status of permit holders.
Dalseide said there were 1.7 million gun-related background checks in January 2015, but that rose to 2.5 million checks last month.
Some of it is likely attributed to what happened last year in Paris. And San Bernardino.
And Chattanooga.
Not to mention the current presidential politics and election cycle.
Hopper says the rumors of federal gun control didn't, and won't, dissuade him from running a gun shop.
"It's a right I feel strongly about protecting, and I feel like the majority want to have the ability to protect themselves and their family," he said.
"It's a concern. It always is," he added, but "I have confidence that our Constitution is going to prevail."
The bigger threat to shops like Shooter's Supply are the big box outdoor retailers like Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's and Academy Sports and Outdoors, all of which have a presence now in the city.
And the Internet.
But Hopper doesn't worry too much about that either.
He believes the customer service, expertise and full-service aspects of the mom-and-pop gun shop lift it above the big-name stores.
Hopper has helped match customers to guns based on their needs and wants. Someone simply wanting home protection probably ought to opt for a shotgun instead of a .45-caliber pistol, for instance.
And some folks just don't need to buy a gun, period.
"I've talked a few people out of buying anything at all," Hopper said.
For instance, Hopper recently recommended a mother buy her college-aged daughter a can of pepper spray - instead of a handgun.
Shooter's Supply has upgraded its shooting galleries and showroom, and has a laser range and on-site carrying classes. The store is open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Shooter's Supply is not associated with Shooter's Depot.
Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.