September 3, 2025 • 24 mins
A massive fire has devastated the Powder Valley warehouse, destroying thousands of pounds of powder, ammunition, and critical reloading components. In this powerful episode of Gun Talk Nation, host Ryan Gresham speaks with Brian and Noel Richardson from Powder Valley to share their firsthand account of the fire, the extent of the damage, and the inspiring outpouring of support from the firearms community.
Powder Valley is more than just a reloading superstore — it's a cornerstone of the Second Amendment and outdoor community. This is a story of resilience, unity, and the strength of a family-owned American business.
This Gun Talk Nation is brought to you by Savage Arms, Guns & Gear, Safariland, and Range Ready Studios.
About Gun Talk Nation
Gun Talk Media's Gun Talk Nation with Ryan Gresham is a weekly multi-platform podcast that offers a fresh look at all things firearms-related. Featuring notable guests and a lot of laughs. Gun Talk Nation is available as an audio podcast or in video format.
For more content from Gun Talk Media, visit guntalk.com or subscribe on YouTube, Rumble, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Catch First Person Defender on the new Official FPD YouTube channel. Catch Gun Talk Hunt on the new dedicated YouTube Channel. Listen to all Gun Talk Podcasts with Spreaker, iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts.
Copyright ©2025 Freefire Media, LLC
Gun Talk Nation 09.03.25
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.
Powder Valley is more than just a reloading superstore — it's a cornerstone of the Second Amendment and outdoor community. This is a story of resilience, unity, and the strength of a family-owned American business.
This Gun Talk Nation is brought to you by Savage Arms, Guns & Gear, Safariland, and Range Ready Studios.
About Gun Talk Nation
Gun Talk Media's Gun Talk Nation with Ryan Gresham is a weekly multi-platform podcast that offers a fresh look at all things firearms-related. Featuring notable guests and a lot of laughs. Gun Talk Nation is available as an audio podcast or in video format.
For more content from Gun Talk Media, visit guntalk.com or subscribe on YouTube, Rumble, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Catch First Person Defender on the new Official FPD YouTube channel. Catch Gun Talk Hunt on the new dedicated YouTube Channel. Listen to all Gun Talk Podcasts with Spreaker, iHeart, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find podcasts.
Copyright ©2025 Freefire Media, LLC
Gun Talk Nation 09.03.25
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/gun-talk--6185159/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
With the industry that we're in that we all support
each other no matter what. And we we have had
suppliers reach out to us and say, hey, how can
we help you. We've had a competitor reach out to
us and say how can we help you? You know,
which is amazing in itself.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm Ryan Gresham and this this is Guntognation. Gun Talk
Nation is brought to you by Savage Guns and Gear,
Safari Land and Range Ready. All Right, today on the show,
(00:46):
we've got Brian and Noel richardson from Powder Valley. And
if you're a reloader, if you're a gun nerd, well
you probably are a gun nerd because you're listening to
this show. You probably know Powder Valley and some crazy
stuff has happened this week and so we wanted to
talk to them. Brian Newell, welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
In, Thank you, thanks, thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I mean, you guys are known for reloading supplies and
ammunition and you you sell a lot of stuff online,
which means you have a big warehouse that holds all
this stuff. And we won't bury the lead it caught
on fire this week. Tell us, tell us where we're at,
tell us about powder Valley. Maybe we'll start there for
(01:33):
people who don't know a little background about Powder Valley.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, so Powder Valley is best known for shooting supplies.
We are something that people don't know about us is
Powder Valley was the very first distributor in the United
States for accurate powder. We are known as the largest
(01:59):
distribute of smoke with powder in the United States. And
it's you know, it's really a family oriented business.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, it's a it's a good story actually because when
we when we first our conception of Powder Valley, it was.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
The good old boy.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
It was a local reloader said man, I can't get powder.
My friends can't get powder. How we're going to shoot?
And he said, all right, I'm going to figure out
how to get powder, and it just it grew. It's
a it's basically shooters supporting shooters is what it started
(02:40):
and still kind of where we're grounded today.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
You guys were kind of early on in being that
online resource for buying these components and and all these
supplies for shooters.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Yeah. We we really started around the idea of U
and people think this is not we We wanted to
offer every hazardous material possible for shooters. So that they
would have one place to be able to go for
their powder and their primers, and and then over the
years we just started expanding beyond that into a wide
(03:18):
offering of bullets and brass and then ammunition, and then
now we're more of a outdoor enthusiasts store because we
offer a wide array of products from camping supplies to
more shooting supplies, pretty much any if you're an outdoor enthusiast,
(03:41):
we we pretty much have about anything you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, I mean I always think of you guys as
the reloading side and the ammunition side, but archery, camping clothing,
gun parts, hunting stuff, muzzle loading, optics, you do, you
do quite a lot. So when you when I heard
this news that there had been this big warehouse fire,
(04:05):
I thought, oh my gosh. And especially just the nature
of the products you guys carry, that kind of brings
an extra question or concern in my head. Tell us about,
walk us through what happened.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And so we we were actually at our sons down
in Norman, Oklahoma, and so we had a house sitter
here at our house and and around in the morning.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
We have two little corgies, and any little noise in
the evening or in the night they want to let
us know, and they alerted her that there was something
going on.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Fortunately, really was this? I mean is the house kind
of near the warehouse or physically?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Well that yeah, that's a that's a funny part. Our
commute is a walk. Oh so our company is walking
distance from our home and we positioned it so we
could see the business and so could our animals. So
best security around.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, we our commuter is about three hundred yards every
day to work.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So that's perfect. Just a short three Toho eight chip shot.
So what are the corgis? What are the dogs alert on.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
The noise or honestly in the night light. So we're
assuming they saw the first signs of that fire and
thought it was someone approaching basically like a headlight or
something like that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, so our our our sitter woke up and as
you can imagine that thoughts probably going through her mind
and was able to call the fire department and get things,
get things started.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
So so fire department gets there and are they able
to contain it or was it? What was the situation?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Well, we met with our local fire department numerous times
just to let them understand the layout of our warehouse,
and so they were completely aware of that when they arrived.
They also were aware that smokeless powder that we house
there burns quickly, hot and quickly, but there's no danger
(06:26):
of explosion. So they understood that there was AMMO and
powder and all the components. So fortunately they they reached
right in and tried to put that out in a
safe manner for themselves as well.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, and obviously I've had a house fire in my family,
and even when they get the fire put out, they're
spraying water everywhere. I mean, it's they're causing damage to
stop the damage. I mean to some degree, right.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Right, right, Yeah, So that you know, they they did
a great job trying to protect property and and and
the so I don't know how many people are here
in Cali County, but every fire department in Cali County
was here fighting fighting that fire. And and we know
(07:20):
a lot of those people, and so you know, they
were here fighting for us, and they did everything it
could to to save what they could. And and uh,
you know, from the point of of going into our
offices and trying to retrieve the servers and protect our data,
and and you know, Lord knows. We have all these
mouths on the wall, and so you know, they they
(07:44):
were doing, they were doing everything that they could to
save save what they could at the business.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
So what happened that night, I mean, what ended up happening?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
And we we don't have a definitive cause of the
fire yet we've had, as you can imagine, we've had
all kinds of investigators out here, from the local fire
marshal to the state fire marshal, to the ATF, to
the insurance adjuster to a cause and loss specialist, and
(08:18):
you know, the only thing they've been able to specifically
determine is a roundabout area where they think the fire started,
and and it is. It has been deemed an accidental,
an accidental fire.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So yeah, so people are going, Okay, a fire at
an ammunition reloading warehouse, but I mean, I know it,
but I'm kind of also curious like it. So there
weren't explosions happening. It just burned, is that right?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah? I think a common misconception is, you know, we
especially our age, you know, we all grew up watching
the Old westtern movies. And you get somebody out there
and they're running powder along the ground, into a building
and a keg and then boom, it blows the building up.
But smokeless powder is is not an explosive hazard in
(09:15):
the ways that we store it. So black black powder
is a different store story. But we did not have
black powder stored inside the warehouse. It's but smokeless powder
just burns. It burns hot and then as we all know,
and you know, there's there's different speeds of burn depending
on the type of powder that we have. So it
(09:37):
was it was a big fire. It was a big
fire for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And that warehouse is connected to the offices and all
that part as well.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Right, Yes, basically one one solid building.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Okay, And at this point, what was the extent of
the damage?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Are the warehouse itself and all our inventory is a
complete loss, a portion of our office is they're calling
it a complete loss just due to the smoke damage
and water from preventing the fire from being there. So yeah,
there is no inventory left. Wow, Then whatsoever?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Do you have an idea of the amount of inventory
burned up? Like, you know, is it I mean, just
for the audience, is it like a certain number of
rounds or poundage of of kegs or something like I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
You know, that's funny that you mentioned that, because we've
actually been trying to go through and get that in
our mind. And you know, we we probably had well
over a million rounds of ammunition and the amount of
powder that we had, you know, we're guessing somewhere around
thirty pounds somewhere around there, but we've not actually put
(10:57):
a pencil to that to figure out those exact numbers yet.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And and primers. We probably had five six million primer
somewhere around there.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Wow. Wow, Okay, I want to find out. Let's do this.
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(13:43):
hear about our new classes and they sell out quick, Okay,
Brian Nowell, So total loss. I guess where you guys
at As a business, what have you heard from customers?
Speaker 3 (13:58):
It is crazy the outpouring of love from the community.
As a whole just you know, we're here for you.
What can we do for you? How can we help it?
It's amazing, it really is.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
It makes you see the value of this larger family.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's something in our industry,
in the shooting community, of the brands that people use,
they're very, very loyal to the places they shop, they're
very very loyal to I mean, if somebody grew up,
you know, it's like, we're a Remington family. You know,
(14:42):
we shoot Remington, right, So it's it's not just some
some you know, product that they don't think about. So
at this point, how can people help and support you guys?
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, you know, it's it's interesting you talk about community
because the you look at some of the ammunition that's
pay ab out there, and you've got federal ammunition that's
uh sporting Sierra bullets or or Barn bullets. This industry
as a whole, we know and we understand with the
industry that we're in that we all support each other
(15:20):
no matter what. And we we have had suppliers reach
out to us and say, hey, how can we help you.
We've had a competitor reach out to us and say
how can we help you, you know, which is which
is amazing in itself, but but as a shooting sports
community Second Amendment foundation, you know, we're we're all here
(15:42):
and we're all supporting each other. And that's that's the
love and and motivation that we've felt from everybody in
our industry is that you know this, this is you know,
we may be one small piece of the pie, but
we're an interpril cog in the community and that you know,
(16:02):
we're gonna We're going to find a way and and
they're you know, we've been offered so much help to
find that way back to getting operational and uh, and
we're we're not quitters.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Well, you guys have been at it for so long too.
I mean there's a long history here and many relationships
with within the community. I'm sure that uh, suppliers are
are getting creative on how to help you guys kind
of get back up and running and and all and
supply your customers too.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely, they've all been reaching out and and
you know, offering to help drop ship for us, you know,
in a time period, connect us with other industry partners
that may be able to help us. You know, we've
had we've had customers that are reaching out, and you know,
you have these moments of feeling a little bit sorry
(16:57):
for yourself and and then you know, then you get
these kind and motivational words from from a customer that
may have been a customer for twenty years. For us,
that's like, you know, hey, you're my go to I
believe in you, and and it just those kind of
things are the things that motivate us to keep moving forward.
(17:18):
And and and you know, we want to say one
step forward, two steps back, but really since the fire,
it's been two step forward, one step back. And you know,
we're not knocking down the barriers as they come our way.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, well, that's good to hear having been through. I
live down here in Hurricane Territory and been through some
of that, and I mean, frankly, I mean I lived
in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina came through, So you know,
you have that level of devastation and the house is gone,
(17:53):
and there are those moments, Brian, where you're gone, how
in the world are we gonna like come out on
the other side of this. But you got to work
through all the bull crap. You got to work through
the insurance stuff and the construction stuff and the demolition
stuff and in your case, restocking and whatever it may be, right,
But I mean, those memories will they'll always be there,
(18:17):
but it just fades out and you just move on.
And then it's all of a sudden, you know, it's
like it's four years later, there's a new warehouse. There's
you're up and running, You're you're cranking, you're you're selling stuff,
and you go, man, that was crazy, but you come
out on the other side of it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, And that's kind of the deal. It's
all about things, and you when you're at this point,
you realize it's not the things. It's the heart of
the Powder Valley team and that pulls you through, and
it's and it's our community support and that those aren't things.
And that's that's what we need to keep remembering.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Yeah, we have a fantastic VP of Marketing that has
really been motivational and guiding and keeping us organized and
keeping in communication with with our community. And you know,
we have a wonderful operations manager that you know, he's
he's busting his high ne to to uh get things
(19:20):
back up and go in and and and are setting
all of our communications with their customers too.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
In the city of Winfield, I mean, they reached out
to us within hours of the fire and said, we're here,
what do you need? And yesterday they came through big
they have an open space and said it's yours. If
you need to set up your office in a temporary location,
here's where you can be. I mean, it's just those
(19:48):
kind of things that just continue to bless us. Wow.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, And I'm and I guess I'm kind of assuming
that your house was okay, you didn't have any any people,
No one was injured in this in this incident, right
Christ Okay, yeah, you're right, Like the stuff is stuff,
and it's a big, huge pain in the butt, but
luckily that the important stuff wasn't affected, right, Right, Powder
(20:18):
Valley is not that building.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
That's down there. Yeah, yeah, it's much bigger.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
How big was the warehouse?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Twenty thousand square feet?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Wow, now you get to do a bigger one. That's fine,
that's bigger and better, that's right.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
We've got this saying around here that we use all
the time, and it's it's doing right things right one
hundred percent of the time. And so everything that we're
doing moving forward, you know, our foundation and faith and
and and the Lord our savior and and him guiding
us and then making sure we keep that at the forefront.
And how we're handling things is it's just doing right
(20:57):
things right, So, yeah, that's great to hear.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, how can people if they're listening to this, is
there something that they can do to help? I mean
they want to purchase or maybe like gift cards or
I don't know how you guys are working that right now?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, you know, the the biggest thing is, you know,
offering prayers for our family, prayers for our staff, uplifting
motivational things that you know they can send down the
line to offer words of encouragement, you know, and also
keeping in mind, you know we are we are more
than just a reloading superstore, you know, where we offer
(21:41):
all all items for outdoor enthusiasts. We still so we
our primary location is here in Kansas and that was
what was destroyed, but we do ship things out of
another location and we do still have quite an offering
to be able to to satisfy the needs there. So
that kind of support would those kind of things would
(22:03):
be wonderful. We also have gift cards, you know, but
but anything, you know, we know that the community is
thinking about us. We're thinking about the community, and uh
you know, we're we're pushing to move forward.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Well, the good thing is reloaders and shooters. They're always
needing more stuff. They're gonna shoot it up, They're gonna
keep loading and and I mean, really you think about reloading.
I feel like it's having a moment in the last
couple of years. It's it's just hot these days, even
even guys without gray hair or reloading, which is a
good thing.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yes, it is a good thing. They used to joke
that that portion of our industry was aging, and I
think that down time with COVID, let some of those
younger people see that, hey, this is this is a
good thing.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Oh yeah, and you've got the movement of of of
the long range shooting, NRL hunting all that, and these
are these these young guys who are either perhaps vet's
uh perhaps just gotten into it and this is like
their new cool sport. And to do that and keep up.
You know, when you're loading the six gt or something
(23:12):
kind of a little bit goofy, you're gonna have to
get into reloading. So, uh, if if you guys listening,
if you maybe weren't aware of powder Value, now you are,
and it's a it's a resource for for supplies and
you know, a lot of other stuff. And these are
some of the good guys, family owned company, lots of
family owned companies in our world. And another one. So
(23:34):
Brian Nowell, thanks for being on with us, Thanks for
sharing your story.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah, you bet, it's it's been great to be on
and and you know, for if you want updates on
where we're at, you can sign up onto our for
email on our website. You know, if you're looking for
products and and you're you're willing to wait until we
have them back in stock, you can you can go
out there and sign up for a notification of in stock.
(24:00):
Sign up on social media in Facebook or Instagram, and
and uh, you know, we're we're putting updates out there
all the time on on where we're at and what
we got going on and and hopefully some fabulous news
coming down the pipe here shortly.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Okay, well good, Yeah, you guys follow them and uh
kind of follow their journey to support them if you can,
and uh, thanks for being on with us. Guys. I
mean it'll be bigger and better. You'll come out on
the other side of the thing, and you know, good
luck with all of it.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate your time for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
All Right, well, thank you for listening, thanks for watching,
and we'll see you next time on Gun Talk Nation.
With the industry that we're in that we all support
each other no matter what. And we we have had
suppliers reach out to us and say, hey, how can
we help you. We've had a competitor reach out to
us and say how can we help you? You know,
which is amazing in itself.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
I'm Ryan Gresham and this this is Guntognation. Gun Talk
Nation is brought to you by Savage Guns and Gear,
Safari Land and Range Ready. All Right, today on the show,
(00:46):
we've got Brian and Noel richardson from Powder Valley. And
if you're a reloader, if you're a gun nerd, well
you probably are a gun nerd because you're listening to
this show. You probably know Powder Valley and some crazy
stuff has happened this week and so we wanted to
talk to them. Brian Newell, welcome.
Speaker 3 (01:07):
In, Thank you, thanks, thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
So.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
I mean, you guys are known for reloading supplies and
ammunition and you you sell a lot of stuff online,
which means you have a big warehouse that holds all
this stuff. And we won't bury the lead it caught
on fire this week. Tell us, tell us where we're at,
tell us about powder Valley. Maybe we'll start there for
(01:33):
people who don't know a little background about Powder Valley.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah, so Powder Valley is best known for shooting supplies.
We are something that people don't know about us is
Powder Valley was the very first distributor in the United
States for accurate powder. We are known as the largest
(01:59):
distribute of smoke with powder in the United States. And
it's you know, it's really a family oriented business.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Yeah, it's a it's a good story actually because when
we when we first our conception of Powder Valley, it was.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
The good old boy.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
It was a local reloader said man, I can't get powder.
My friends can't get powder. How we're going to shoot?
And he said, all right, I'm going to figure out
how to get powder, and it just it grew. It's
a it's basically shooters supporting shooters is what it started
(02:40):
and still kind of where we're grounded today.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
You guys were kind of early on in being that
online resource for buying these components and and all these
supplies for shooters.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Yeah. We we really started around the idea of U
and people think this is not we We wanted to
offer every hazardous material possible for shooters. So that they
would have one place to be able to go for
their powder and their primers, and and then over the
years we just started expanding beyond that into a wide
(03:18):
offering of bullets and brass and then ammunition, and then
now we're more of a outdoor enthusiasts store because we
offer a wide array of products from camping supplies to
more shooting supplies, pretty much any if you're an outdoor enthusiast,
(03:41):
we we pretty much have about anything you're looking for.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
Yeah, I mean I always think of you guys as
the reloading side and the ammunition side, but archery, camping clothing,
gun parts, hunting stuff, muzzle loading, optics, you do, you
do quite a lot. So when you when I heard
this news that there had been this big warehouse fire,
(04:05):
I thought, oh my gosh. And especially just the nature
of the products you guys carry, that kind of brings
an extra question or concern in my head. Tell us about,
walk us through what happened.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
And so we we were actually at our sons down
in Norman, Oklahoma, and so we had a house sitter
here at our house and and around in the morning.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
We have two little corgies, and any little noise in
the evening or in the night they want to let
us know, and they alerted her that there was something
going on.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Fortunately, really was this? I mean is the house kind
of near the warehouse or physically?
Speaker 3 (04:50):
Well that yeah, that's a that's a funny part. Our
commute is a walk. Oh so our company is walking
distance from our home and we positioned it so we
could see the business and so could our animals. So
best security around.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Yeah, we our commuter is about three hundred yards every
day to work.
Speaker 2 (05:13):
So that's perfect. Just a short three Toho eight chip shot.
So what are the corgis? What are the dogs alert on.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
The noise or honestly in the night light. So we're
assuming they saw the first signs of that fire and
thought it was someone approaching basically like a headlight or
something like that.
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, so our our our sitter woke up and as
you can imagine that thoughts probably going through her mind
and was able to call the fire department and get things,
get things started.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
So so fire department gets there and are they able
to contain it or was it? What was the situation?
Speaker 3 (06:03):
Well, we met with our local fire department numerous times
just to let them understand the layout of our warehouse,
and so they were completely aware of that when they arrived.
They also were aware that smokeless powder that we house
there burns quickly, hot and quickly, but there's no danger
(06:26):
of explosion. So they understood that there was AMMO and
powder and all the components. So fortunately they they reached
right in and tried to put that out in a
safe manner for themselves as well.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, and obviously I've had a house fire in my family,
and even when they get the fire put out, they're
spraying water everywhere. I mean, it's they're causing damage to
stop the damage. I mean to some degree, right.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Right, right, Yeah, So that you know, they they did
a great job trying to protect property and and and
the so I don't know how many people are here
in Cali County, but every fire department in Cali County
was here fighting fighting that fire. And and we know
(07:20):
a lot of those people, and so you know, they
were here fighting for us, and they did everything it
could to to save what they could. And and uh,
you know, from the point of of going into our
offices and trying to retrieve the servers and protect our data,
and and you know, Lord knows. We have all these
mouths on the wall, and so you know, they they
(07:44):
were doing, they were doing everything that they could to
save save what they could at the business.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
So what happened that night, I mean, what ended up happening?
Speaker 1 (07:58):
And we we don't have a definitive cause of the
fire yet we've had, as you can imagine, we've had
all kinds of investigators out here, from the local fire
marshal to the state fire marshal, to the ATF, to
the insurance adjuster to a cause and loss specialist, and
(08:18):
you know, the only thing they've been able to specifically
determine is a roundabout area where they think the fire started,
and and it is. It has been deemed an accidental,
an accidental fire.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
So yeah, so people are going, Okay, a fire at
an ammunition reloading warehouse, but I mean, I know it,
but I'm kind of also curious like it. So there
weren't explosions happening. It just burned, is that right?
Speaker 1 (08:52):
Yeah? I think a common misconception is, you know, we
especially our age, you know, we all grew up watching
the Old westtern movies. And you get somebody out there
and they're running powder along the ground, into a building
and a keg and then boom, it blows the building up.
But smokeless powder is is not an explosive hazard in
(09:15):
the ways that we store it. So black black powder
is a different store story. But we did not have
black powder stored inside the warehouse. It's but smokeless powder
just burns. It burns hot and then as we all know,
and you know, there's there's different speeds of burn depending
on the type of powder that we have. So it
(09:37):
was it was a big fire. It was a big
fire for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
And that warehouse is connected to the offices and all
that part as well.
Speaker 3 (09:45):
Right, Yes, basically one one solid building.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Okay, And at this point, what was the extent of
the damage?
Speaker 3 (09:57):
Are the warehouse itself and all our inventory is a
complete loss, a portion of our office is they're calling
it a complete loss just due to the smoke damage
and water from preventing the fire from being there. So yeah,
there is no inventory left. Wow, Then whatsoever?
Speaker 2 (10:20):
Do you have an idea of the amount of inventory
burned up? Like, you know, is it I mean, just
for the audience, is it like a certain number of
rounds or poundage of of kegs or something like I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
You know, that's funny that you mentioned that, because we've
actually been trying to go through and get that in
our mind. And you know, we we probably had well
over a million rounds of ammunition and the amount of
powder that we had, you know, we're guessing somewhere around
thirty pounds somewhere around there, but we've not actually put
(10:57):
a pencil to that to figure out those exact numbers yet.
Speaker 2 (11:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
And and primers. We probably had five six million primer
somewhere around there.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Wow. Wow, Okay, I want to find out. Let's do this.
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in the world of guns, Well seventeen seasons of guns
and and we are back with another one. You can
watch it live on Wednesday nights on the Outdoor channel
or tune in on all the gun Talk online channels
to see what we're up to guns, optics, AMMO. We
(12:12):
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hear about our new classes and they sell out quick, Okay,
Brian Nowell, So total loss. I guess where you guys
at As a business, what have you heard from customers?
Speaker 3 (13:58):
It is crazy the outpouring of love from the community.
As a whole just you know, we're here for you.
What can we do for you? How can we help it?
It's amazing, it really is.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
It makes you see the value of this larger family.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's something in our industry,
in the shooting community, of the brands that people use,
they're very, very loyal to the places they shop, they're
very very loyal to I mean, if somebody grew up,
you know, it's like, we're a Remington family. You know,
(14:42):
we shoot Remington, right, So it's it's not just some
some you know, product that they don't think about. So
at this point, how can people help and support you guys?
Speaker 1 (14:57):
Yeah, you know, it's it's interesting you talk about community
because the you look at some of the ammunition that's
pay ab out there, and you've got federal ammunition that's
uh sporting Sierra bullets or or Barn bullets. This industry
as a whole, we know and we understand with the
industry that we're in that we all support each other
(15:20):
no matter what. And we we have had suppliers reach
out to us and say, hey, how can we help you.
We've had a competitor reach out to us and say
how can we help you, you know, which is which
is amazing in itself, but but as a shooting sports
community Second Amendment foundation, you know, we're we're all here
(15:42):
and we're all supporting each other. And that's that's the
love and and motivation that we've felt from everybody in
our industry is that you know this, this is you know,
we may be one small piece of the pie, but
we're an interpril cog in the community and that you know,
(16:02):
we're gonna We're going to find a way and and
they're you know, we've been offered so much help to
find that way back to getting operational and uh, and
we're we're not quitters.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Well, you guys have been at it for so long too.
I mean there's a long history here and many relationships
with within the community. I'm sure that uh, suppliers are
are getting creative on how to help you guys kind
of get back up and running and and all and
supply your customers too.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
Yeah. Absolutely, absolutely, they've all been reaching out and and
you know, offering to help drop ship for us, you know,
in a time period, connect us with other industry partners
that may be able to help us. You know, we've
had we've had customers that are reaching out, and you know,
you have these moments of feeling a little bit sorry
(16:57):
for yourself and and then you know, then you get
these kind and motivational words from from a customer that
may have been a customer for twenty years. For us,
that's like, you know, hey, you're my go to I
believe in you, and and it just those kind of
things are the things that motivate us to keep moving forward.
(17:18):
And and and you know, we want to say one
step forward, two steps back, but really since the fire,
it's been two step forward, one step back. And you know,
we're not knocking down the barriers as they come our way.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Yeah, well, that's good to hear having been through. I
live down here in Hurricane Territory and been through some
of that, and I mean, frankly, I mean I lived
in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina came through, So you know,
you have that level of devastation and the house is gone,
(17:53):
and there are those moments, Brian, where you're gone, how
in the world are we gonna like come out on
the other side of this. But you got to work
through all the bull crap. You got to work through
the insurance stuff and the construction stuff and the demolition
stuff and in your case, restocking and whatever it may be, right,
But I mean, those memories will they'll always be there,
(18:17):
but it just fades out and you just move on.
And then it's all of a sudden, you know, it's
like it's four years later, there's a new warehouse. There's
you're up and running, You're you're cranking, you're you're selling stuff,
and you go, man, that was crazy, but you come
out on the other side of it.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Right, Yeah, Yeah, And that's kind of the deal. It's
all about things, and you when you're at this point,
you realize it's not the things. It's the heart of
the Powder Valley team and that pulls you through, and
it's and it's our community support and that those aren't things.
And that's that's what we need to keep remembering.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
Yeah, we have a fantastic VP of Marketing that has
really been motivational and guiding and keeping us organized and
keeping in communication with with our community. And you know,
we have a wonderful operations manager that you know, he's
he's busting his high ne to to uh get things
(19:20):
back up and go in and and and are setting
all of our communications with their customers too.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
In the city of Winfield, I mean, they reached out
to us within hours of the fire and said, we're here,
what do you need? And yesterday they came through big
they have an open space and said it's yours. If
you need to set up your office in a temporary location,
here's where you can be. I mean, it's just those
(19:48):
kind of things that just continue to bless us. Wow.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
Yeah, And I'm and I guess I'm kind of assuming
that your house was okay, you didn't have any any people,
No one was injured in this in this incident, right
Christ Okay, yeah, you're right, Like the stuff is stuff,
and it's a big, huge pain in the butt, but
luckily that the important stuff wasn't affected, right, Right, Powder
(20:18):
Valley is not that building.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
That's down there. Yeah, yeah, it's much bigger.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
How big was the warehouse?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
Twenty thousand square feet?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Wow, now you get to do a bigger one. That's fine,
that's bigger and better, that's right.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (20:34):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
We've got this saying around here that we use all
the time, and it's it's doing right things right one
hundred percent of the time. And so everything that we're
doing moving forward, you know, our foundation and faith and
and and the Lord our savior and and him guiding
us and then making sure we keep that at the forefront.
And how we're handling things is it's just doing right
(20:57):
things right, So, yeah, that's great to hear.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
Well, how can people if they're listening to this, is
there something that they can do to help? I mean
they want to purchase or maybe like gift cards or
I don't know how you guys are working that right now?
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Yeah, you know, the the biggest thing is, you know,
offering prayers for our family, prayers for our staff, uplifting
motivational things that you know they can send down the
line to offer words of encouragement, you know, and also
keeping in mind, you know we are we are more
than just a reloading superstore, you know, where we offer
(21:41):
all all items for outdoor enthusiasts. We still so we
our primary location is here in Kansas and that was
what was destroyed, but we do ship things out of
another location and we do still have quite an offering
to be able to to satisfy the needs there. So
that kind of support would those kind of things would
(22:03):
be wonderful. We also have gift cards, you know, but
but anything, you know, we know that the community is
thinking about us. We're thinking about the community, and uh
you know, we're we're pushing to move forward.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
Well, the good thing is reloaders and shooters. They're always
needing more stuff. They're gonna shoot it up, They're gonna
keep loading and and I mean, really you think about reloading.
I feel like it's having a moment in the last
couple of years. It's it's just hot these days, even
even guys without gray hair or reloading, which is a
good thing.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Yes, it is a good thing. They used to joke
that that portion of our industry was aging, and I
think that down time with COVID, let some of those
younger people see that, hey, this is this is a
good thing.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Oh yeah, and you've got the movement of of of
the long range shooting, NRL hunting all that, and these
are these these young guys who are either perhaps vet's
uh perhaps just gotten into it and this is like
their new cool sport. And to do that and keep up.
You know, when you're loading the six gt or something
(23:12):
kind of a little bit goofy, you're gonna have to
get into reloading. So, uh, if if you guys listening,
if you maybe weren't aware of powder Value, now you are,
and it's a it's a resource for for supplies and
you know, a lot of other stuff. And these are
some of the good guys, family owned company, lots of
family owned companies in our world. And another one. So
(23:34):
Brian Nowell, thanks for being on with us, Thanks for
sharing your story.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah, you bet, it's it's been great to be on
and and you know, for if you want updates on
where we're at, you can sign up onto our for
email on our website. You know, if you're looking for
products and and you're you're willing to wait until we
have them back in stock, you can you can go
out there and sign up for a notification of in stock.
(24:00):
Sign up on social media in Facebook or Instagram, and
and uh, you know, we're we're putting updates out there
all the time on on where we're at and what
we got going on and and hopefully some fabulous news
coming down the pipe here shortly.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Okay, well good, Yeah, you guys follow them and uh
kind of follow their journey to support them if you can,
and uh, thanks for being on with us. Guys. I
mean it'll be bigger and better. You'll come out on
the other side of the thing, and you know, good
luck with all of it.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Yeah, thank you. I appreciate your time for sure.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
All Right, well, thank you for listening, thanks for watching,
and we'll see you next time on Gun Talk Nation.
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