August 30, 2026 • 24 mins
Are you curious about how an 87-year-old family business continues to lead the firearm industry in the digital age? On this episode of the Amateurs and Experts Podcast, hosts Erica Chin and Maggie Reese sit down with Pete Brownell live at the 2026 NRA Show. Pete shares fascinating stories about how his grandfather started Brownells back in 1939, including the clever design behind their famous physical catalog. He discusses how the company has grown from supporting traditional gunsmiths to helping everyday gun owners personalize their own firearms through thousands of instructional videos.
Pete also breaks down how Brownells supports law enforcement and military personnel through its Valor Program and why listening directly to customer feedback keeps the brand grounded. To explore their vast library of instructional content and specialized parts, listeners can visit brownells.com.
Links
- Timestamp 22:30: Access product catalogs, educational videos, and customer support at brownells.com.
Key Takeaways
- Direct Customer Engagement: Long-term business success requires leaders to communicate directly with customers rather than relying strictly on corporate reports.
- Democratizing Expertise: Comprehensive video tutorials and educational content allow hobbyists to safely perform home gunsmithing and custom modifications.
- Support for First Responders: Specialized discount and procurement initiatives, like the Valor Program, help stretch taxpayer dollars for law enforcement and military equipment maintenance.
- Adapting to Market Shifts: Agility and multi-generational perspectives are critical when navigating unpredictable supply chain disruptions and economic cycles.
- Embracing Failure for Growth: Professional and personal development stems from taking risks, learning from mistakes, and maintaining humility.
Key Words Used
- NRA Show 2026
- Amateurs and Experts Podcast
- Pete Brownell
- Brownells
- Gunsmithing
- Firearm Customization
- Valor Program
- Customer Advisory Board
- AR-15
- Second Amendment
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_03 (00:14):
Welcome to Amateurs and Experts Podcast.
We are at the 2026 NRA, and I'mhere with uh I'm Erica Chin and
I'm here with my co-host, MaggieReese, and we are so excited.
We have Pete Bronell from umBraunells.
Right cheering in the backgroundis for you.
So excited.
(00:34):
Uh welcome.
SPEAKER_00 (00:35):
Good to be here.
Good to be here, Erica.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
I couldn't be more pleased because I feel like, you
know, Brownells has beenassociated with my entire like,
you know, shooting life.
If you ever wanted anything ofquality, if you ever wanted
anything to like assist you withfirearms, you know, and just
getting out to the range, theplace to go has always been
browns.
SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
Well, yeah.
That's right, that's right.
That's awesome, right?
Great statement, yeah.
The whole crowd love that one.
Yeah.
Yeah, we've been doing this 87years now, and it's been uh a
focus of people like to modifyand improve their firearm, their
skills or the catalog is iconic,right?
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
I mean, that's what everybody thinks about is that
catalog.
SPEAKER_00 (01:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:18):
And um, we always used to get one in the mail.
So I I mean, I guess maybe it'sdigitized now.
I mean, you know, people canstill get the the hard copy
catalog if they want it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
Well, we've got, we haven't printed one in about a
well, this is our second yearnow, so we're so we're not
having one in 26.
We're gonna need to get back toit.
It was a kind of a funny storyhow my grandpa started that
whole, why it's designed the wayit is, which is it's not
vertical like you get a piece ofpaper in a typewriter, it's a
horizontal catalog, a little bitbigger.
And he designed that back in 39,actually in 36.
(01:50):
Uh, we started a company in 39,but his first catalog came out
as as Bob Brownell's gunmart.
SPEAKER_01 (01:56):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_00 (01:57):
And yeah, a long, not a long time ago.
And he said he hadn't designedit that way.
So back in the 30s, you didn'thave legal-sized cabinets or or
deep shelves, so you had to keepit on your tabletop.
So he designed it so it wouldfall, it would fall off the
shelf and you had to keep it onthe uh-oh, it's so smart.
It is.
You're like, wow, okay.
(02:18):
A little psychology back then.
Yeah, yeah.
He played all kinds of psychtrips on our grandkids.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
But but that's the way to success, right?
Is to wear everything throughand make something that, you
know, kind of has to be used oris accessible to be used or a
little bit of both.
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (02:32):
I mean, yeah, I mean, you do it in your
competition.
How are you going to find thatedge that fits you so perfectly
that puts you in a spot to behave a chance of winning?
I mean, same type of thing.
SPEAKER_02 (02:41):
Now, do you have copies of that?
I mean, do you have the wholecatalog?
SPEAKER_00 (02:46):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (02:46):
I mean the catalog of the catalogs in the history.
SPEAKER_00 (02:49):
Yeah, yeah, we've got, he's back, think about so
in the 30s are also, it's reallyweird to picture what was going
on back in the 30s.
You had World War II going on,you had rationing going on, you
had a whole generation ofindividuals that were coming
back from the war.
Uh there was no AR-15.
SPEAKER_01 (03:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:08):
Right?
My gosh, it's like talking to akid now.
What do you mean there was nocell phones when you were
growing up?
SPEAKER_02 (03:13):
What do you mean boring optics on all the guns?
SPEAKER_00 (03:14):
That's right, exactly.
Iron sights.
What's an iron?
What's on gun?
So there was a much differentworld, and there was uh kind of
a need for someone to gather uphearts and build the tools, and
we're all, as a as America, wewere big companies back.
I mean, we there were guncompanies and they were like
they had to send everything backto the gun company to get it
(03:35):
fixed or worked on or blued orany of that stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (03:37):
So that's so fascinating.
Yes, that is cool for me becauseum, and I want to talk to you
about this in a little bit, yourcustomer advisory board.
Yeah.
And so, but when I um waschatting with Nicole about it,
um I I started to look onlineand I was like, okay, I'm gonna
I mean I know brown L's, like myopinion of brown L's, but let me
see, you know what's being saidonline.
(03:59):
And so I get on Facebook andyou're right there commenting
and interacting with people andcustomers and getting feedback,
and I'm like, that must just beso great to have the name, but
then the person behind it asactually engaged in the industry
and actively communicating withthe customer and seeing what
their needs are.
And I just thought that was socool when I was like reading
(04:20):
comments from you know, fromPete.
You know?
SPEAKER_00 (04:23):
It's a lot of work.
Yeah, but you know, if you'regonna if you're gonna serve a
customer, you better betterunderstand what's on their mind,
where their constraints are,what's causing them uh, you
know.
SPEAKER_02 (04:32):
And is is that the basis behind the customer
advisory board?
Is just to really be engagedwith everybody.
It is to understand what theirneeds are.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
You lose touch, you start putting in layers.
You know, I you know CEOs say,yeah, I'm in touch with the
customer.
Bologna, you're not.
You're in touch with the peoplewho are in touch with the
customer.
SPEAKER_01 (04:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:50):
So you have this somewhat um, you get a bias
toward where things are goingbased on what made you
successful, and that's notnecessarily where the customer
wants you to be successful.
SPEAKER_02 (04:59):
So I think sometimes that happens within our industry
too, is maybe people are comingfrom outside and they don't
necessarily have a historywithin the firearms, you know,
and it's not their their truepassion.
You know, maybe they just took amarketing role, or maybe they
just took a, you know.
But to know that you have thefamily history and you have
people that are constantlyengaged and and still
(05:20):
interacting, you know, at thebase level, I think is just a
testament to your success.
SPEAKER_00 (05:24):
Well, well, thanks.
You get you get a lot ofmulti-generational companies in
this industry still, and it'sfunny when we get uh, and we
protect that as a as a as anindustry or as a community of
people in the industry.
When we get a really goodcompany and you'll get someone
from a shoe company or somethinglike that, come in and he's
like, hey buddy, shoes are notlike ammunition.
(05:45):
Let's let's let's, yeah, soammo's a little tougher than
shoes, you don't have themargin, you have it's so so
let's don't don't screw up agood thing, let's we'll walk you
slowly through how to do thisand help each other be
successful.
Which is a good thing about thisindustry.
SPEAKER_02 (06:00):
So I'm gonna ask the question, everybody hates it,
but I get asked it all the time,so I ask it to other people
like, what are your favoriteguns?
Like, are you a long gun guy, apistol guy, AR, hunting rifles?
Tell me, like, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (06:14):
So during hunting season, I like mountain hunt, so
it'll be elk and mule or uh uhif I can get back at it, a
sheep.
So I'm gonna be a I'm gonna it'sa custom uh seven millimeter.
Yeah.
Uh you know that there's somegreat calibers out now.
I need to build up some in theyou know, 6'5 arc or something
along those lines.
SPEAKER_02 (06:31):
I just got a seven millimeter, I think, last year.
Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:33):
Oh man, flat shooting.
That's so it's a super lightrifle, super low recoil.
It goes for elk to sheep to someof the uh the the the animals
you'd find up up in themountains.
So that's my go-to during thatseason.
I love pistol in the summertime.
So right about now we'rebreaking out and cleaning up all
my um gosh, what do I got?
(06:54):
And I got the custom Ed Brown.
We help so I build these typesof things too.
I got a play yard or playgroundin the backyard, or so I go in
the in the warehouse and I'lldoing zombie guns, so to speak,
and just uh pick through.
I love it's the it's the can Imake this shoot better type of
type of stuff.
Well, you probably did it inyour in your competitions.
SPEAKER_02 (07:13):
Absolutely.
I I think the the thing that'scool about guns is that the
customizing of it and reallymaking it work for you, and and
we talked about this before.
It's it's what my needs are andhow I want it to shoot, how I
want it to operate is probablygonna be vastly different from
both of you.
Yeah.
Um and it just you make it yourown, you know, and you really
can't do that with anythingelse, you know, that you
(07:35):
purchase.
You can't really make it yourown so that it becomes an
identity of yours like you dowith firearms.
But all of my guns, they tell astory, they have a history, they
served a purpose, and theyworked for me.
Because if they didn't work forme, I got rid of them.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (07:50):
You know, it just you know, I kicked it out, you
know.
But it's it's the process ofsaying, okay, this is my hand
size, this is my grip strength,this is you know my level of
adaptability, this is how I wantit to recoil.
It all works for me.
So, and I love that process.
SPEAKER_00 (08:09):
Target target speed and that you need to go.
SPEAKER_02 (08:11):
Yeah, yeah.
And that's that's what how BrownElls comes into it, is because
you find the parts and theaccessories that make it work
for you.
SPEAKER_00 (08:18):
Yeah, that's kind of our job to you know, search the
world over, curate the thingsthat will be um maybe where your
price point is for your forwhere you are on your arc all
the way to the, hey, this isgonna be the super zoomy thing.
SPEAKER_02 (08:30):
Yeah.
So, but you're kind oficonically known as serving
gunsmiths.
Yeah, but I imagine at thispoint in the game you have a
broader customer base than that.
We do, we do.
So who are you trying to reachnow?
SPEAKER_00 (08:44):
So there's still the core of the thing is this of our
business is about that gunsmith,the person who's well informed,
and gunsmith has has morphed.
So when my grandpa started,gunsmithing was anybody who tore
down a firearm.
There was no school that youwent to back then to become a
gunsmith.
It's what you learned out of themilitary.
And there was a lot of peoplethat came out with uh uh an MOS
(09:05):
or that kind of responsibilityin the military.
Third of the men that came outwere that.
Today there's there's a box thatgunsmiths are now put in, and
they've got to get a degree, andI'm not fully in support of
this, but it it's narrowed downwhat what the the traditional
gunsmith would be.
We still have that opinion thatanybody who's fixing or
repairing a firearm is agunsmith, they just don't make a
(09:27):
profession of it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:29):
So, you know, everybody's an athlete that puts
on a pair of running shoes, typeof thing, right?
So it's just where are you onthat arc of learning?
So we believe so home gunsmithsis one term we've we've used to
still say you're still in thatspace.
People don't think of themselvesas gunsmith, but if you've torn
down your farm to clean it,you're on that journey already.
SPEAKER_02 (09:46):
Well, when you talk about that arc of learning, you
have a lot of how-to videos.
SPEAKER_00 (09:50):
We do.
SPEAKER_02 (09:50):
Right.
So you're able to, and like thatis me, like 100%.
I have to watch a video, likewhen I'm tearing down a gun and
putting it back together.
Like I have to watch the video.
I don't care how many times I'vedone it because I don't want to
wind up with an extra partthat's like.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
I know, it does not make you a better mechanic if
you got leftover parts, right?
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (10:09):
Uh but I love that to make it accessible and and to
bring people along on thejourney and and and be an
educational source as well.
So, um, how many videos do youthink?
SPEAKER_00 (10:19):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (10:20):
Like a bunch.
SPEAKER_00 (10:21):
Yeah, I mean terabytes.
I mean that's how we getmeasure.
I don't know if we how manyhours?
We never measure it an hour,that's an interesting question.
But it's it's terabytes of uhvideo, and it goes all the way,
man.
We were some of the very, veryfirst how-to, we were the very
first e-commerce site in ourindustry, and we had the very
first studio, in-house studio.
We thought education was a bigthing uh very early on.
(10:42):
We were writing books on how-to.
SPEAKER_02 (10:44):
Uh my grandpa back in the books, I was like, oh
yeah, I guess I guess beforeYouTube somebody would.
That's it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:49):
Somebody had that.
So yeah, we had our first socialnetwork was Gunsmith Kinks,
which was uh a newsletter.
We would ask our customers, hey,we've got a problem, you got any
problems?
Kinks were how do you how do youstraighten out a problem
quickly, make money at it inthis case?
Um so it was uh we had fourbooks where it was feedback from
(11:10):
customers.
And we would then turn aroundand give it back to customers.
SPEAKER_02 (11:14):
I love that because I'm like, if you want to build
an AR, there's a process andthere's a series of videos on
how to do it.
Yeah, you know, and it'll it'lltake you along the way.
And it's actually, I think, alot more doable, maybe thanks It
is.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
I oh my gosh, AR.
I remember back when we've comefull circle, uh, when I got in
the industry about 35 years agowith my dad, ARs were the old
M2s with the carry handle.
Yeah, and we spent a lot of timeeducating people how to take the
carry handle off your your AR.
And then you get it, so you geta flat top, and that was you
were cool if you had a flat topAR.
(11:47):
Because you knew you were a gunguy if you had a flat top.
Now people yeah, right, a littledifferent.
Yeah, way different.
So now we have to haveaccessories to put that that
carry handle back on or doingretro fit stuff.
So well, and people becausepeople want like the retro
version now, you know, now likeyou said, yeah, the old M161A,
the uh the the Vietnam era, thatcrappy plastic that was just
(12:08):
sweaty on you.
Uh they uh people want that now,and just to have that nostalgic
look and feel and again,personalization.
They want they want somethingthat's that's their totem, so to
speak, that defines them.
SPEAKER_02 (12:19):
When was the last time you built built an AR?
SPEAKER_00 (12:22):
About about three weeks ago.
Oh, so you're still like a WellI shouldn't say built, I said I
modified it, hey, I wonder if Ican.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (12:31):
That's so cool.
SPEAKER_00 (12:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (12:32):
It's uh it's amazing to hear your story, not only um,
you know, like about yourgrandfather, but also how you're
keeping current today.
And I think uh, you know, beingable to evolve and just adapt
and and still be have your thumbon the pulse and you know, in
(12:54):
contact with customers and stufflike that, that's a huge part of
it.
And um to juggle all that stuffis amazing to me.
And to and to sit here at theNRA show on our podcast because
a lot of CEOs don't have thattime, and so um we definitely
you know appreciate somebodysuch as yourself coming on our
(13:18):
podcast and and being able tosit down and talk to us about
it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:21):
Well, well, thank you.
It's it's it's when you're in adistribution business or you
have a consumer business, that'syour job really, is to make sure
you're you're still relevant.
SPEAKER_02 (13:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
The next generation.
Like, what do you think aboutlike wanting to impart to them
and make them understand?
SPEAKER_00 (13:37):
Uh so I would I would kind of frame that as what
is the uh this my gosh, I wasjust having this discussion.
You know, I got my shot on howto work how to reorganize brown
elves when I was about 32.
So right now I've got a lot ofemployees that are coming up in
that 30.
A lot of people in this industryare in their young, young 30s,
(13:57):
and it's their turn.
Let's not hang on to thesethings because what am I going
to do if somebody kicks me outof my chair type of role?
What are we doing to have themum make their mark in their life
and in this industry and thenthe Second Amendment and is a
larger path, I would hope a lotof people take.
So my what I hope is that isthat uh the tool, the firearm,
(14:20):
is I mean, we're still shooting,1911s were built 1911 for 1901.
So these firearms last a longtime, so still quality.
I want these kids, or kids, Iwant these younger generation to
still worry about quality,quality product.
Uh I want them to uh learn aboutjust not necessarily I'm out
(14:40):
there having fun on the range.
How do you have fun and make ita sustainable business and
lifestyle for you?
And that's always the arc thatI'd like our this next
generation to learn.
And and frankly, as if us oldguys aren't keeping the door
opening and forcing them to stepthrough, uh there's there's
gonna be a dip or a a leadershipdip.
And this is somethinginteresting.
(15:00):
Um none of us, I just wrote anarticle for Jim Shepherd on when
was the last time any of us thatare eating today led in a normal
market?
What I mean by normal ispre-pandemic.
We we learned how to makedecisions when everybody could
you just had to have it instock.
SPEAKER_01 (15:18):
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00 (15:19):
Now we also made decisions on we had too much in
stocks.
We had this big up, this bigdown in over a six to eight year
period.
unknown (15:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
We haven't been, we haven't led in a normal market
yet.
SPEAKER_02 (15:29):
So No, I mean everybody I'm talking to, it's
still supply chain, and it, youknow, it that hasn't really
normalized, you know, in in theway that we would like it to.
Certainly, and and we might haveto accept that it's never going
to normalize in that way.
SPEAKER_00 (15:43):
It may not, it may not.
And so agility, so this game andthese kids, what's this next
generation?
What I hope this next generationlearns is that it's not it's not
the pandemic and it's not it'snot the Trump slump.
SPEAKER_01 (15:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:54):
That is how you lead.
How do you lead and what wouldbe normal?
And these are anomalies.
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:58):
We've been around 87 years, we've seen these
anomalies, and when I I was allgung-ho, young troubadour, I'm
going to change in, and wechanged the industry a little
bit with uh with the internet.
But I ran after spikes and madesome errors and was allowed to
do it.
SPEAKER_01 (16:14):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
And uh my dad was there to pick me up, and so was
the network of friends you makeuh in this industry, they will
remind you of those errors asyou're making them.
SPEAKER_02 (16:24):
We talked about this a lot um throughout our podcast,
is not not feeling ashamed ornot being defined by your
failures, but understanding thatthey are a process which you
then chase success.
Oh yeah.
You know, and you look back onit and you learn something from
it, and you just can't let thataffect you in such a way that it
prevents you from movingforward.
SPEAKER_00 (16:44):
Well, yeah, there's a kind of a saying out there,
maybe we've modified it a bit,that you don't become wise by
being successful all the time.
SPEAKER_02 (16:51):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:52):
You just become arrogant.
SPEAKER_02 (16:53):
Yeah.
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:56):
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:56):
I've had to push myself out there, like in
competition, and and understandthat you're gonna lose.
You are gonna lose.
And if you don't think thatyou're not gonna lose, then you
don't respect your competitors.
That's right.
And you don't understand whattheir abilities are.
You have to be able to take onthe challenge and then
understand that you know, truefailure comes to the city.
SPEAKER_00 (17:14):
The man in the arena, the old uh phrase and and
and thought about to respect theman in the arena.
It was a you're not competing,you're not you're not learning.
And you can compete not just inthe arena, but in life itself.
So that's again that nextgeneration, it's not curated for
them.
It's the cell phone and all theass attributes that keep people
hooked to their phone all thetime, sometimes keeps them away
(17:36):
from this, from learning throughexperience.
You know, doing it yourself andfalling off your bike and down
the cliff or in the water, thosetypes of things.
Get get back up and get back atit.
SPEAKER_03 (17:49):
What can we see from Braunells in like the next five
years?
Where do you see Braunellsheading?
SPEAKER_00 (17:55):
Uh a lot more education.
So there's uh our our ourbusiness is kind of emerging
into um, again, that who's agunsmith?
Who is that amateur who's comingup who doesn't want to have as a
profession but wants tocustomize and personify their
own firearms for the whatthey're after?
So we got that gunsmith who'svery knowledgeable, and this is
(18:16):
why we have a um customeradvisory board, is where are
these, where are these marketsmaturing to?
So a lot more and we believeeducation tied with uh I would
say uh well-curated products tomake sure that that anybody can
watch our videos or goes throughour educational um content, it's
(18:37):
not gonna blow up in your hand,get rid of that fear first,
you're not gonna screw it up,get rid of that fear second.
Uh, and then so then people canreally understand how to
personalize that firearm, eitherpaint, finish, uh recoil, grip
size, optic profile, those typesof things.
How do you build this thingyourself?
So a lot more of that.
So it's a lot more of what we'vealready done, right?
(19:00):
But just in a new medium and anew process to make it super
easy.
unknown (19:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:05):
So that's one, a lot more militaries going on right
now.
We're around the world doing uha lot of work right now around
the world in in a lot ofcountries.
And uh law enforcement.
So there's anybody that's usinga firearm for work, for sport,
is who we're targeting, and thattakes a little bit different
approach.
(19:25):
So we we've often said don'thave a don't have a ship without
a captain.
My dad was a Navy guy.
So don't have a program thatdoesn't have a boss or somebody
in charge of it.
Otherwise, it's just a it's araft out there floating around.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:37):
So we're putting a lot of people in charge of
here's what we're doinginternationally, you're the
you're the chief.
Um, this is law enforcement,this is the chief.
So we're getting back into ourValor program, which is um Valor
is uh open to military and lawenforcement.
It's a bit of a discountprogram, but it's more of an
access to maintain your firearm.
One of the things we with ourmilitary law enforcement group
(19:59):
was um on the procurement sideand the maintenance side, it was
very hard to get gun parts for870s, as an example, or a
Mossberg.
So that all the what they haveis this is a tax supported
firearm sitting there on theshelf because it's broke.
And it's it's an asset that thechief has to deal with, so and
it can't be used in the in theirwork.
So now it's all that sustainmentaspect of firearms that's also
(20:22):
in the military, and the ValorProgram just provides uh uh
basically a uh a discount almostequivalent to a gunsmith's
discount, so they can stretchour tax dollars to put them to
better use, frankly.
I don't know, that's maybe maybethings like that.
I don't know what else might beinteresting.
SPEAKER_02 (20:42):
I love that though.
I I mean we have a a charity armof our organization that
supports um uh families of firstresponders and female veterans,
and so that's close to our hearttoo, is making sure that we
support the people who supportus who are out there doing the
work and protecting ourfreedoms, and so you know, I I
mean you just can't exist inthis industry if you don't have
(21:04):
a great appreciation for thesacrifices that other people are
making, and then the desire tothen want to get back.
So I think that's so important.
SPEAKER_00 (21:11):
Yeah, you're right.
So you know, it's so uh BrownL's, you have a gunsmith, and
what they what a gunsmith wants,the reason why they come to you
is uh they need a they need abreadth of product so they can
get it quickly, because they'vemade a promise to their
customer.
So it's one-stop shop, so theycan make money on it.
So they're we've got to figureout how to serve that market.
(21:31):
The competitor, you know, it'sit's I've got a budget and I got
a score I want to achieve.
And of course, it's not me, it'sthe gun.
So I'm gonna improve the gun.
We love that mindset.
So accessorizing it and fittingit to the firearm so you can
act, you can be quicker andfaster and more accurate.
And then you have your lawenforcement.
Law enforcement is they want tocome home safe at night, so it
has to work 100% of the time.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (21:52):
And we're encouraging maintenance, uh,
we're encouraging training.
We do on our we have a range, wedo some training at our range,
or open it up for training atour range as well.
So that's that's that kind ofhow where are you in your use of
a firearm and understanding of afirearm, and how can we help you
uh stay in the two-way lifestyleand also uh mature your own use
(22:12):
of firearms and personalization?
SPEAKER_03 (22:14):
So it's maybe I don't think you could have said
it any better than that.
Not at all, not at all.
Um so if somebody needssomething from Braunells, how
how do they get a hold of you?
How do they get a hold of theirhands-on products?
SPEAKER_00 (22:30):
So brownells.com, it's uh the original.
Yeah, it's a huge, huge uhwebsite that has all kinds of
act stuff stuff in it, uh, ofcourse, product, uh, but there's
a lot of education as well undertrigger times.
We're trying we've got some workto do that.
We can always improve thesethings to make it easier.
So brownells.com is a big one.
(22:50):
If you have a problem, we'vegot, oh my god, how many
gunsmiths do we have on staff?
You can call 800-741.
I don't know what it is anymore.
Tell me it's programmed into myphone.
SPEAKER_02 (23:00):
It's on the website.
Check it out.
SPEAKER_00 (23:02):
It's on the website.
Yeah, if you have a problem.
SPEAKER_02 (23:05):
Yes, you can.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
And uh we make uh, yeah, call us, call us up and
ask questions.
Um we try we do some businessstuff, we do uh the call has to
be picked up within th fourrings.
SPEAKER_02 (23:20):
Wow, that I will pick up in four rings for this.
SPEAKER_00 (23:23):
I know, right?
Right, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, reaching it reaching akid, my son.
Oh yeah.
That's amazing.
SPEAKER_03 (23:30):
That's amazing that you have a live person, but also
that they pick up.
SPEAKER_00 (23:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (23:33):
You know, and and that speaks volumes to the um,
you know, a huge you know, likethe big box door with the mom
and pop mentality.
Right.
And I love that, you know,because uh I feel like we're
losing that.
And um so that's a that's Imean, I l I love that you keep
(23:53):
that type of um feel to toBrunell's.
I mean, everybody uh I'm sureeverybody has something.
Like I remember my dad workingin the garage, you know, and
having um Braunell stuff allaround.
Uh, you know, I mean it's justone of those things that I feel
like we kind of grew up with.
(24:15):
And um to be able to call andand reach somebody still, I
mean, that's great.
Because a lot of websites I goto don't even have a phone
number.
You know, it's a contact me.
Yeah, they don't want to hearme.
SPEAKER_00 (24:26):
And there's there's a layer of it, there's a layer
of expansion now when you dothat, and absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
So um, thank you so much for being on our podcast
and coming on today.
It's been a pleasure having you.
SPEAKER_00 (24:36):
Nice to be here.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_03 (24:38):
Thank you.
Welcome to Amateurs and Experts Podcast.
We are at the 2026 NRA, and I'mhere with uh I'm Erica Chin and
I'm here with my co-host, MaggieReese, and we are so excited.
We have Pete Bronell from umBraunells.
Right cheering in the backgroundis for you.
So excited.
(00:34):
Uh welcome.
SPEAKER_00 (00:35):
Good to be here.
Good to be here, Erica.
Yeah.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
I couldn't be more pleased because I feel like, you
know, Brownells has beenassociated with my entire like,
you know, shooting life.
If you ever wanted anything ofquality, if you ever wanted
anything to like assist you withfirearms, you know, and just
getting out to the range, theplace to go has always been
browns.
SPEAKER_00 (00:56):
Well, yeah.
That's right, that's right.
That's awesome, right?
Great statement, yeah.
The whole crowd love that one.
Yeah.
Yeah, we've been doing this 87years now, and it's been uh a
focus of people like to modifyand improve their firearm, their
skills or the catalog is iconic,right?
SPEAKER_02 (01:14):
I mean, that's what everybody thinks about is that
catalog.
SPEAKER_00 (01:17):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (01:18):
And um, we always used to get one in the mail.
So I I mean, I guess maybe it'sdigitized now.
I mean, you know, people canstill get the the hard copy
catalog if they want it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:28):
Well, we've got, we haven't printed one in about a
well, this is our second yearnow, so we're so we're not
having one in 26.
We're gonna need to get back toit.
It was a kind of a funny storyhow my grandpa started that
whole, why it's designed the wayit is, which is it's not
vertical like you get a piece ofpaper in a typewriter, it's a
horizontal catalog, a little bitbigger.
And he designed that back in 39,actually in 36.
(01:50):
Uh, we started a company in 39,but his first catalog came out
as as Bob Brownell's gunmart.
SPEAKER_01 (01:56):
Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_00 (01:57):
And yeah, a long, not a long time ago.
And he said he hadn't designedit that way.
So back in the 30s, you didn'thave legal-sized cabinets or or
deep shelves, so you had to keepit on your tabletop.
So he designed it so it wouldfall, it would fall off the
shelf and you had to keep it onthe uh-oh, it's so smart.
It is.
You're like, wow, okay.
(02:18):
A little psychology back then.
Yeah, yeah.
He played all kinds of psychtrips on our grandkids.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
But but that's the way to success, right?
Is to wear everything throughand make something that, you
know, kind of has to be used oris accessible to be used or a
little bit of both.
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00 (02:32):
I mean, yeah, I mean, you do it in your
competition.
How are you going to find thatedge that fits you so perfectly
that puts you in a spot to behave a chance of winning?
I mean, same type of thing.
SPEAKER_02 (02:41):
Now, do you have copies of that?
I mean, do you have the wholecatalog?
SPEAKER_00 (02:46):
Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (02:46):
I mean the catalog of the catalogs in the history.
SPEAKER_00 (02:49):
Yeah, yeah, we've got, he's back, think about so
in the 30s are also, it's reallyweird to picture what was going
on back in the 30s.
You had World War II going on,you had rationing going on, you
had a whole generation ofindividuals that were coming
back from the war.
Uh there was no AR-15.
SPEAKER_01 (03:08):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (03:08):
Right?
My gosh, it's like talking to akid now.
What do you mean there was nocell phones when you were
growing up?
SPEAKER_02 (03:13):
What do you mean boring optics on all the guns?
SPEAKER_00 (03:14):
That's right, exactly.
Iron sights.
What's an iron?
What's on gun?
So there was a much differentworld, and there was uh kind of
a need for someone to gather uphearts and build the tools, and
we're all, as a as America, wewere big companies back.
I mean, we there were guncompanies and they were like
they had to send everything backto the gun company to get it
(03:35):
fixed or worked on or blued orany of that stuff.
SPEAKER_02 (03:37):
So that's so fascinating.
Yes, that is cool for me becauseum, and I want to talk to you
about this in a little bit, yourcustomer advisory board.
Yeah.
And so, but when I um waschatting with Nicole about it,
um I I started to look onlineand I was like, okay, I'm gonna
I mean I know brown L's, like myopinion of brown L's, but let me
see, you know what's being saidonline.
(03:59):
And so I get on Facebook andyou're right there commenting
and interacting with people andcustomers and getting feedback,
and I'm like, that must just beso great to have the name, but
then the person behind it asactually engaged in the industry
and actively communicating withthe customer and seeing what
their needs are.
And I just thought that was socool when I was like reading
(04:20):
comments from you know, fromPete.
You know?
SPEAKER_00 (04:23):
It's a lot of work.
Yeah, but you know, if you'regonna if you're gonna serve a
customer, you better betterunderstand what's on their mind,
where their constraints are,what's causing them uh, you
know.
SPEAKER_02 (04:32):
And is is that the basis behind the customer
advisory board?
Is just to really be engagedwith everybody.
It is to understand what theirneeds are.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
You lose touch, you start putting in layers.
You know, I you know CEOs say,yeah, I'm in touch with the
customer.
Bologna, you're not.
You're in touch with the peoplewho are in touch with the
customer.
SPEAKER_01 (04:50):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (04:50):
So you have this somewhat um, you get a bias
toward where things are goingbased on what made you
successful, and that's notnecessarily where the customer
wants you to be successful.
SPEAKER_02 (04:59):
So I think sometimes that happens within our industry
too, is maybe people are comingfrom outside and they don't
necessarily have a historywithin the firearms, you know,
and it's not their their truepassion.
You know, maybe they just took amarketing role, or maybe they
just took a, you know.
But to know that you have thefamily history and you have
people that are constantlyengaged and and still
(05:20):
interacting, you know, at thebase level, I think is just a
testament to your success.
SPEAKER_00 (05:24):
Well, well, thanks.
You get you get a lot ofmulti-generational companies in
this industry still, and it'sfunny when we get uh, and we
protect that as a as a as anindustry or as a community of
people in the industry.
When we get a really goodcompany and you'll get someone
from a shoe company or somethinglike that, come in and he's
like, hey buddy, shoes are notlike ammunition.
(05:45):
Let's let's let's, yeah, soammo's a little tougher than
shoes, you don't have themargin, you have it's so so
let's don't don't screw up agood thing, let's we'll walk you
slowly through how to do thisand help each other be
successful.
Which is a good thing about thisindustry.
SPEAKER_02 (06:00):
So I'm gonna ask the question, everybody hates it,
but I get asked it all the time,so I ask it to other people
like, what are your favoriteguns?
Like, are you a long gun guy, apistol guy, AR, hunting rifles?
Tell me, like, you know.
SPEAKER_00 (06:14):
So during hunting season, I like mountain hunt, so
it'll be elk and mule or uh uhif I can get back at it, a
sheep.
So I'm gonna be a I'm gonna it'sa custom uh seven millimeter.
Yeah.
Uh you know that there's somegreat calibers out now.
I need to build up some in theyou know, 6'5 arc or something
along those lines.
SPEAKER_02 (06:31):
I just got a seven millimeter, I think, last year.
Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (06:33):
Oh man, flat shooting.
That's so it's a super lightrifle, super low recoil.
It goes for elk to sheep to someof the uh the the the animals
you'd find up up in themountains.
So that's my go-to during thatseason.
I love pistol in the summertime.
So right about now we'rebreaking out and cleaning up all
my um gosh, what do I got?
(06:54):
And I got the custom Ed Brown.
We help so I build these typesof things too.
I got a play yard or playgroundin the backyard, or so I go in
the in the warehouse and I'lldoing zombie guns, so to speak,
and just uh pick through.
I love it's the it's the can Imake this shoot better type of
type of stuff.
Well, you probably did it inyour in your competitions.
SPEAKER_02 (07:13):
Absolutely.
I I think the the thing that'scool about guns is that the
customizing of it and reallymaking it work for you, and and
we talked about this before.
It's it's what my needs are andhow I want it to shoot, how I
want it to operate is probablygonna be vastly different from
both of you.
Yeah.
Um and it just you make it yourown, you know, and you really
can't do that with anythingelse, you know, that you
(07:35):
purchase.
You can't really make it yourown so that it becomes an
identity of yours like you dowith firearms.
But all of my guns, they tell astory, they have a history, they
served a purpose, and theyworked for me.
Because if they didn't work forme, I got rid of them.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (07:50):
You know, it just you know, I kicked it out, you
know.
But it's it's the process ofsaying, okay, this is my hand
size, this is my grip strength,this is you know my level of
adaptability, this is how I wantit to recoil.
It all works for me.
So, and I love that process.
SPEAKER_00 (08:09):
Target target speed and that you need to go.
SPEAKER_02 (08:11):
Yeah, yeah.
And that's that's what how BrownElls comes into it, is because
you find the parts and theaccessories that make it work
for you.
SPEAKER_00 (08:18):
Yeah, that's kind of our job to you know, search the
world over, curate the thingsthat will be um maybe where your
price point is for your forwhere you are on your arc all
the way to the, hey, this isgonna be the super zoomy thing.
SPEAKER_02 (08:30):
Yeah.
So, but you're kind oficonically known as serving
gunsmiths.
Yeah, but I imagine at thispoint in the game you have a
broader customer base than that.
We do, we do.
So who are you trying to reachnow?
SPEAKER_00 (08:44):
So there's still the core of the thing is this of our
business is about that gunsmith,the person who's well informed,
and gunsmith has has morphed.
So when my grandpa started,gunsmithing was anybody who tore
down a firearm.
There was no school that youwent to back then to become a
gunsmith.
It's what you learned out of themilitary.
And there was a lot of peoplethat came out with uh uh an MOS
(09:05):
or that kind of responsibilityin the military.
Third of the men that came outwere that.
Today there's there's a box thatgunsmiths are now put in, and
they've got to get a degree, andI'm not fully in support of
this, but it it's narrowed downwhat what the the traditional
gunsmith would be.
We still have that opinion thatanybody who's fixing or
repairing a firearm is agunsmith, they just don't make a
(09:27):
profession of it.
SPEAKER_01 (09:28):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (09:29):
So, you know, everybody's an athlete that puts
on a pair of running shoes, typeof thing, right?
So it's just where are you onthat arc of learning?
So we believe so home gunsmithsis one term we've we've used to
still say you're still in thatspace.
People don't think of themselvesas gunsmith, but if you've torn
down your farm to clean it,you're on that journey already.
SPEAKER_02 (09:46):
Well, when you talk about that arc of learning, you
have a lot of how-to videos.
SPEAKER_00 (09:50):
We do.
SPEAKER_02 (09:50):
Right.
So you're able to, and like thatis me, like 100%.
I have to watch a video, likewhen I'm tearing down a gun and
putting it back together.
Like I have to watch the video.
I don't care how many times I'vedone it because I don't want to
wind up with an extra partthat's like.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
I know, it does not make you a better mechanic if
you got leftover parts, right?
Right.
SPEAKER_02 (10:09):
Uh but I love that to make it accessible and and to
bring people along on thejourney and and and be an
educational source as well.
So, um, how many videos do youthink?
SPEAKER_00 (10:19):
Oh my god.
SPEAKER_02 (10:20):
Like a bunch.
SPEAKER_00 (10:21):
Yeah, I mean terabytes.
I mean that's how we getmeasure.
I don't know if we how manyhours?
We never measure it an hour,that's an interesting question.
But it's it's terabytes of uhvideo, and it goes all the way,
man.
We were some of the very, veryfirst how-to, we were the very
first e-commerce site in ourindustry, and we had the very
first studio, in-house studio.
We thought education was a bigthing uh very early on.
(10:42):
We were writing books on how-to.
SPEAKER_02 (10:44):
Uh my grandpa back in the books, I was like, oh
yeah, I guess I guess beforeYouTube somebody would.
That's it.
SPEAKER_00 (10:49):
Somebody had that.
So yeah, we had our first socialnetwork was Gunsmith Kinks,
which was uh a newsletter.
We would ask our customers, hey,we've got a problem, you got any
problems?
Kinks were how do you how do youstraighten out a problem
quickly, make money at it inthis case?
Um so it was uh we had fourbooks where it was feedback from
(11:10):
customers.
And we would then turn aroundand give it back to customers.
SPEAKER_02 (11:14):
I love that because I'm like, if you want to build
an AR, there's a process andthere's a series of videos on
how to do it.
Yeah, you know, and it'll it'lltake you along the way.
And it's actually, I think, alot more doable, maybe thanks It
is.
SPEAKER_00 (11:25):
I oh my gosh, AR.
I remember back when we've comefull circle, uh, when I got in
the industry about 35 years agowith my dad, ARs were the old
M2s with the carry handle.
Yeah, and we spent a lot of timeeducating people how to take the
carry handle off your your AR.
And then you get it, so you geta flat top, and that was you
were cool if you had a flat topAR.
(11:47):
Because you knew you were a gunguy if you had a flat top.
Now people yeah, right, a littledifferent.
Yeah, way different.
So now we have to haveaccessories to put that that
carry handle back on or doingretro fit stuff.
So well, and people becausepeople want like the retro
version now, you know, now likeyou said, yeah, the old M161A,
the uh the the Vietnam era, thatcrappy plastic that was just
(12:08):
sweaty on you.
Uh they uh people want that now,and just to have that nostalgic
look and feel and again,personalization.
They want they want somethingthat's that's their totem, so to
speak, that defines them.
SPEAKER_02 (12:19):
When was the last time you built built an AR?
SPEAKER_00 (12:22):
About about three weeks ago.
Oh, so you're still like a WellI shouldn't say built, I said I
modified it, hey, I wonder if Ican.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (12:31):
That's so cool.
SPEAKER_00 (12:32):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (12:32):
It's uh it's amazing to hear your story, not only um,
you know, like about yourgrandfather, but also how you're
keeping current today.
And I think uh, you know, beingable to evolve and just adapt
and and still be have your thumbon the pulse and you know, in
(12:54):
contact with customers and stufflike that, that's a huge part of
it.
And um to juggle all that stuffis amazing to me.
And to and to sit here at theNRA show on our podcast because
a lot of CEOs don't have thattime, and so um we definitely
you know appreciate somebodysuch as yourself coming on our
(13:18):
podcast and and being able tosit down and talk to us about
it.
SPEAKER_00 (13:21):
Well, well, thank you.
It's it's it's when you're in adistribution business or you
have a consumer business, that'syour job really, is to make sure
you're you're still relevant.
SPEAKER_02 (13:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
The next generation.
Like, what do you think aboutlike wanting to impart to them
and make them understand?
SPEAKER_00 (13:37):
Uh so I would I would kind of frame that as what
is the uh this my gosh, I wasjust having this discussion.
You know, I got my shot on howto work how to reorganize brown
elves when I was about 32.
So right now I've got a lot ofemployees that are coming up in
that 30.
A lot of people in this industryare in their young, young 30s,
(13:57):
and it's their turn.
Let's not hang on to thesethings because what am I going
to do if somebody kicks me outof my chair type of role?
What are we doing to have themum make their mark in their life
and in this industry and thenthe Second Amendment and is a
larger path, I would hope a lotof people take.
So my what I hope is that isthat uh the tool, the firearm,
(14:20):
is I mean, we're still shooting,1911s were built 1911 for 1901.
So these firearms last a longtime, so still quality.
I want these kids, or kids, Iwant these younger generation to
still worry about quality,quality product.
Uh I want them to uh learn aboutjust not necessarily I'm out
(14:40):
there having fun on the range.
How do you have fun and make ita sustainable business and
lifestyle for you?
And that's always the arc thatI'd like our this next
generation to learn.
And and frankly, as if us oldguys aren't keeping the door
opening and forcing them to stepthrough, uh there's there's
gonna be a dip or a a leadershipdip.
And this is somethinginteresting.
(15:00):
Um none of us, I just wrote anarticle for Jim Shepherd on when
was the last time any of us thatare eating today led in a normal
market?
What I mean by normal ispre-pandemic.
We we learned how to makedecisions when everybody could
you just had to have it instock.
SPEAKER_01 (15:18):
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_00 (15:19):
Now we also made decisions on we had too much in
stocks.
We had this big up, this bigdown in over a six to eight year
period.
unknown (15:26):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:26):
We haven't been, we haven't led in a normal market
yet.
SPEAKER_02 (15:29):
So No, I mean everybody I'm talking to, it's
still supply chain, and it, youknow, it that hasn't really
normalized, you know, in in theway that we would like it to.
Certainly, and and we might haveto accept that it's never going
to normalize in that way.
SPEAKER_00 (15:43):
It may not, it may not.
And so agility, so this game andthese kids, what's this next
generation?
What I hope this next generationlearns is that it's not it's not
the pandemic and it's not it'snot the Trump slump.
SPEAKER_01 (15:54):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:54):
That is how you lead.
How do you lead and what wouldbe normal?
And these are anomalies.
SPEAKER_01 (15:58):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (15:58):
We've been around 87 years, we've seen these
anomalies, and when I I was allgung-ho, young troubadour, I'm
going to change in, and wechanged the industry a little
bit with uh with the internet.
But I ran after spikes and madesome errors and was allowed to
do it.
SPEAKER_01 (16:14):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:14):
And uh my dad was there to pick me up, and so was
the network of friends you makeuh in this industry, they will
remind you of those errors asyou're making them.
SPEAKER_02 (16:24):
We talked about this a lot um throughout our podcast,
is not not feeling ashamed ornot being defined by your
failures, but understanding thatthey are a process which you
then chase success.
Oh yeah.
You know, and you look back onit and you learn something from
it, and you just can't let thataffect you in such a way that it
prevents you from movingforward.
SPEAKER_00 (16:44):
Well, yeah, there's a kind of a saying out there,
maybe we've modified it a bit,that you don't become wise by
being successful all the time.
SPEAKER_02 (16:51):
Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:52):
You just become arrogant.
SPEAKER_02 (16:53):
Yeah.
I love that.
SPEAKER_00 (16:56):
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (16:56):
I've had to push myself out there, like in
competition, and and understandthat you're gonna lose.
You are gonna lose.
And if you don't think thatyou're not gonna lose, then you
don't respect your competitors.
That's right.
And you don't understand whattheir abilities are.
You have to be able to take onthe challenge and then
understand that you know, truefailure comes to the city.
SPEAKER_00 (17:14):
The man in the arena, the old uh phrase and and
and thought about to respect theman in the arena.
It was a you're not competing,you're not you're not learning.
And you can compete not just inthe arena, but in life itself.
So that's again that nextgeneration, it's not curated for
them.
It's the cell phone and all theass attributes that keep people
hooked to their phone all thetime, sometimes keeps them away
(17:36):
from this, from learning throughexperience.
You know, doing it yourself andfalling off your bike and down
the cliff or in the water, thosetypes of things.
Get get back up and get back atit.
SPEAKER_03 (17:49):
What can we see from Braunells in like the next five
years?
Where do you see Braunellsheading?
SPEAKER_00 (17:55):
Uh a lot more education.
So there's uh our our ourbusiness is kind of emerging
into um, again, that who's agunsmith?
Who is that amateur who's comingup who doesn't want to have as a
profession but wants tocustomize and personify their
own firearms for the whatthey're after?
So we got that gunsmith who'svery knowledgeable, and this is
(18:16):
why we have a um customeradvisory board, is where are
these, where are these marketsmaturing to?
So a lot more and we believeeducation tied with uh I would
say uh well-curated products tomake sure that that anybody can
watch our videos or goes throughour educational um content, it's
(18:37):
not gonna blow up in your hand,get rid of that fear first,
you're not gonna screw it up,get rid of that fear second.
Uh, and then so then people canreally understand how to
personalize that firearm, eitherpaint, finish, uh recoil, grip
size, optic profile, those typesof things.
How do you build this thingyourself?
So a lot more of that.
So it's a lot more of what we'vealready done, right?
(19:00):
But just in a new medium and anew process to make it super
easy.
unknown (19:05):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (19:05):
So that's one, a lot more militaries going on right
now.
We're around the world doing uha lot of work right now around
the world in in a lot ofcountries.
And uh law enforcement.
So there's anybody that's usinga firearm for work, for sport,
is who we're targeting, and thattakes a little bit different
approach.
(19:25):
So we we've often said don'thave a don't have a ship without
a captain.
My dad was a Navy guy.
So don't have a program thatdoesn't have a boss or somebody
in charge of it.
Otherwise, it's just a it's araft out there floating around.
SPEAKER_01 (19:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (19:37):
So we're putting a lot of people in charge of
here's what we're doinginternationally, you're the
you're the chief.
Um, this is law enforcement,this is the chief.
So we're getting back into ourValor program, which is um Valor
is uh open to military and lawenforcement.
It's a bit of a discountprogram, but it's more of an
access to maintain your firearm.
One of the things we with ourmilitary law enforcement group
(19:59):
was um on the procurement sideand the maintenance side, it was
very hard to get gun parts for870s, as an example, or a
Mossberg.
So that all the what they haveis this is a tax supported
firearm sitting there on theshelf because it's broke.
And it's it's an asset that thechief has to deal with, so and
it can't be used in the in theirwork.
So now it's all that sustainmentaspect of firearms that's also
(20:22):
in the military, and the ValorProgram just provides uh uh
basically a uh a discount almostequivalent to a gunsmith's
discount, so they can stretchour tax dollars to put them to
better use, frankly.
I don't know, that's maybe maybethings like that.
I don't know what else might beinteresting.
SPEAKER_02 (20:42):
I love that though.
I I mean we have a a charity armof our organization that
supports um uh families of firstresponders and female veterans,
and so that's close to our hearttoo, is making sure that we
support the people who supportus who are out there doing the
work and protecting ourfreedoms, and so you know, I I
mean you just can't exist inthis industry if you don't have
(21:04):
a great appreciation for thesacrifices that other people are
making, and then the desire tothen want to get back.
So I think that's so important.
SPEAKER_00 (21:11):
Yeah, you're right.
So you know, it's so uh BrownL's, you have a gunsmith, and
what they what a gunsmith wants,the reason why they come to you
is uh they need a they need abreadth of product so they can
get it quickly, because they'vemade a promise to their
customer.
So it's one-stop shop, so theycan make money on it.
So they're we've got to figureout how to serve that market.
(21:31):
The competitor, you know, it'sit's I've got a budget and I got
a score I want to achieve.
And of course, it's not me, it'sthe gun.
So I'm gonna improve the gun.
We love that mindset.
So accessorizing it and fittingit to the firearm so you can
act, you can be quicker andfaster and more accurate.
And then you have your lawenforcement.
Law enforcement is they want tocome home safe at night, so it
has to work 100% of the time.
SPEAKER_01 (21:52):
Yes.
SPEAKER_00 (21:52):
And we're encouraging maintenance, uh,
we're encouraging training.
We do on our we have a range, wedo some training at our range,
or open it up for training atour range as well.
So that's that's that kind ofhow where are you in your use of
a firearm and understanding of afirearm, and how can we help you
uh stay in the two-way lifestyleand also uh mature your own use
(22:12):
of firearms and personalization?
SPEAKER_03 (22:14):
So it's maybe I don't think you could have said
it any better than that.
Not at all, not at all.
Um so if somebody needssomething from Braunells, how
how do they get a hold of you?
How do they get a hold of theirhands-on products?
SPEAKER_00 (22:30):
So brownells.com, it's uh the original.
Yeah, it's a huge, huge uhwebsite that has all kinds of
act stuff stuff in it, uh, ofcourse, product, uh, but there's
a lot of education as well undertrigger times.
We're trying we've got some workto do that.
We can always improve thesethings to make it easier.
So brownells.com is a big one.
(22:50):
If you have a problem, we'vegot, oh my god, how many
gunsmiths do we have on staff?
You can call 800-741.
I don't know what it is anymore.
Tell me it's programmed into myphone.
SPEAKER_02 (23:00):
It's on the website.
Check it out.
SPEAKER_00 (23:02):
It's on the website.
Yeah, if you have a problem.
SPEAKER_02 (23:05):
Yes, you can.
SPEAKER_00 (23:06):
And uh we make uh, yeah, call us, call us up and
ask questions.
Um we try we do some businessstuff, we do uh the call has to
be picked up within th fourrings.
SPEAKER_02 (23:20):
Wow, that I will pick up in four rings for this.
SPEAKER_00 (23:23):
I know, right?
Right, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, reaching it reaching akid, my son.
Oh yeah.
That's amazing.
SPEAKER_03 (23:30):
That's amazing that you have a live person, but also
that they pick up.
SPEAKER_00 (23:33):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_03 (23:33):
You know, and and that speaks volumes to the um,
you know, a huge you know, likethe big box door with the mom
and pop mentality.
Right.
And I love that, you know,because uh I feel like we're
losing that.
And um so that's a that's Imean, I l I love that you keep
(23:53):
that type of um feel to toBrunell's.
I mean, everybody uh I'm sureeverybody has something.
Like I remember my dad workingin the garage, you know, and
having um Braunell stuff allaround.
Uh, you know, I mean it's justone of those things that I feel
like we kind of grew up with.
(24:15):
And um to be able to call andand reach somebody still, I
mean, that's great.
Because a lot of websites I goto don't even have a phone
number.
You know, it's a contact me.
Yeah, they don't want to hearme.
SPEAKER_00 (24:26):
And there's there's a layer of it, there's a layer
of expansion now when you dothat, and absolutely.
SPEAKER_03 (24:30):
So um, thank you so much for being on our podcast
and coming on today.
It's been a pleasure having you.
SPEAKER_00 (24:36):
Nice to be here.
Thank you very much.
Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_03 (24:38):
Thank you.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.