Gunny's Guns now open in Broadus

Robert and Tracy Smith are the proprietors of Gunny's Guns, Broadus' new (and only) gun shop.

Located at 207 North Trautman in the former Fruit truck barn (just north of the intersection of Trautman and Wilson, east of the post office), Gunny's features a variety of firearms, ammunition, reloading supplies, and other gear for the shooter or hunter.

Robert and Tracy were raised in the Flathead Valley of Northwest Montana, as members of Montana families that stretched back generations. During an interview last week at the shop, Tracy mentioned their recent family reunion featured five generations of Montanans.

Robert is a retired United State Marine, having proudly served for 21 years in the Corps, retiring in 2004. Tracy served in her own way during Robert's time in the service, telling us that she worked in "support", as in, she was a happily supportive wife. Robert retired in 2004, having done a number of different jobs over the years, working as motor transport, a recruiter, serving time in Panama, and managing the offloading of US military vehicles in Kuwait that would go on to fight in the 2003 Iraq Invasion.

The Smiths are the parents of two grown daughters, one a school teacher in Ashland and the other working in marketing in Cincinnati, Ohio. The daughter in Ashland is part of what brought the couple to Southeastern Montana – that is, a want to be closer to family, as well as a desire to be out of the busy Flathead Valley as more and more people move to Northwest Montana.

Following retirement from the Marine Corps the couple moved back home, and Robert got into building contracting.

Robert told us that he had always been into gun stuff, and around a decade ago he first applied for and started selling guns under his Federal Firearms License, or FFL.

With the FFL, Robert began buying guns from estate sales, which is a practice he continues to this day.

"We like to buy an entire estate, with guns, ammo, reloading supplies and all. That takes the pressure off of the family so they don't have to sell things piece by piece, and provides us with a good selection of items for customers," Robert commented.

Over the years Robert and Tracy traveled around to a number of gun shows, as well as selling items on Gun Broker, an online firearms sales marketplace similar to e-Bay. The Smiths still continue their Gun Broker sales, and are always interested in purchasing estate sales.

The couple moved to Broadus earlier this year, and have since been engaged in setting up their retail store, which opened last week.

As Robert showed us around the shop, we noted a nice assortment of firearms, everything from surplus military rifles to modern semi-auto rifles, shotguns, rimfires, handguns, old Winchester lever actions, and more, with everything from affordable starter prices to higher end models on the shelf.

"We don't really specialize," Robert noted, "but we will see what sells locally and try to carry more of those items."

With current shortages on reloading supplies, a nice surprise was seeing the wide assortment of bullets and brass in stock at Gunny's; they even had some primers in stock.

A great selection of factory ammo was also on hand, including some more obscure selections, along with standard favorites, 22 LR ammo, and a variety of shotgun ammo.

Scopes, holsters, cleaning supplies, binoculars, and a variety of other sporting goods are also available.

"If you have something in mind, stop in and ask," Robert commented, noting that he had a lot of stuff that didn't fit in the shop, such as cast lead bullets and shotgun reloading presses. "If I don't have what you're looking for, I may know where to find it," he added.

Gunny's Guns handles FFL transfers for those finding guns they can't live without elsewhere, charging $25 for the transfer.

Gunny's also buys and trades guns, along with their sales. Gunny's does not do any gunsmithing work.

Another neat feature at Gunny's is the variety of memorabilia on the walls, much of which is from Robert's career in the Marine Corps, but there are some other neat memories, as well. The rifles on the wall belonged to old friends of Robert and Tracy, many of whom have passed on.

Those rifles bring back memories of hunts shared and experiences with old friends, and serve as a way to remember and honor their friends' memories.

That's the neat thing about guns – they are a tool, yes, but they can also serve as a cherished heirloom lasting through the generations that is every bit as useful today as it was in generations past; a memory that one can pack along on a hunt and make new memories.

If you're looking to make your own memories with a new or new to you gun, Gunny's Guns is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 AM to 4 PM.