Arms dealers driven out by California gun laws

Mound House is home to a curious cluster of businesses that serve a niche market: guns.

Mostly mom-and-pop shops, each found a specialty niche, and they co-exist in a climate of cooperation rather than competition.

The warehouse cluster between Carson City and Dayton is home to Carson Armory, Old West Scrounger,West Coast Bullet,West Coast Shot, KKM Precision, Kohart Manufacturing, Old West Guns,Western Nevada Bullet, gunsmiths Gene Shuey and Terry Tussey, and others who protect their anonymity.

Those firms deal in guns both antique and state-of-the-art.

Some make bullets, others barrels.

Some sell, others repair.

Some design, others teach.

But why Mound House? "Lyon County is really pro-business," says Harry Ferguson, who with his wife Eileen owns the Carson Armory on Highway 50 East.

"Their whole attitude is not no, it's yes.

They work with you and help you get it done.When it comes to inspections, they go by the book, but they start with a positive attitude.

Other places make you jump through one hoop at a time.

Lyon County gives you the big picture at the start."

In contrast, they say, Carson City is difficult to deal with."Unless you have 1,000 employees, they tell you to move along." Lyon County Business License Deputy Pam Rhodeman says the local regulations are not lax because they are set by the state.

However, the county does not impose any additional rules.

Those additional rules drove Dave Cumberland, owner of Old West Scrounger, from Oregon.

There, he lived in the woods 11 miles from town, but the county still required he build a fortress-like workshop.

The rules drove gunsmith Gene Shuey from California,who uprooted six years ago, a step ahead of pending even-stricter gun laws.

Others bailed earlier.

"When Governor Gray Davis got elected, I made plans to leave California, says pistolsmith Terry Tussey of Tussey Custom."Their agenda was to harass gun owners."

Tops on his relocation agenda?

"I was looking for a place near an airfield so I could fly back to visit my grandkids." Carson City has the airfield, but, says Tussey,"Carson has a law constraining guns, so folks jump the county line."

Angela Emeterio, owner ofWest Coast Bullet, says,"California gun laws are getting out of control.

People say why fight when every time you turn around, the state is taxing your powder, your shot and everything else." The company makes reloading ammunition for pistols, used by sport shooters in competition.

Emeterio is among the competitive shooters, participating in the Western Nevada Pistol League at the Washoe County Pyramid Lake range.

First to set up shop in Mound House was West Coast Shot, owned by Metalico, Inc., which moved from Oregon to Mound House 28 years ago.

The move was prompted by Nevada's absence of taxes, according to Pete Boykin, general manager.

The round shot manufactured by the company is poured as molten lead, then dropped 150 feet from a tower scaffold.

The ammunition is used at trap and skeet shoots.

The Carson Armory has the highest public profile of the firearms cluster,with a storefront on Highway 50.

The firearms inventory of about 500 items runs the gamut: pistols, rifles, plus parts and ammunition.

The merchandise ranges from $200 to $10,000.

"Customers come from Vegas just to see us," says Ferguson."They like that we are a husband-wife store not macho.Many gun stores are owned by ex-Marine Corp guys who intimidate people."

That's especially important for the women who patronize the store.

There has been a rise in women wanting guns for self-defense especially since Nevada became a right-to-carry state about 10 years ago and they now make up about 10 percent of the business.

"Most come in with a friend who knows guns.We make sure they leave with basic safety knowledge," says Ferguson.

Many women sign up for a concealed weapons class taught one Saturday a month at the Armory by J.E.

Peebles Certified Concealed Weapons.

Mound House offers a second benefit: It's out of the way.

"It's good that tourists can't find us because they can't buy guns out of their home state," says Ferguson.

Because California prohibits the sale of many models classified as assault weapons, the tourists want to hold and handle everything.

The store does little advertising; word-of-mouth drives much of the firearms business.

The average gun owner collects a dozen guns.

Still, it's a challenging and highly competitive business.

Dealers must keep up with a lot of new calibers, accessories and high-tech gizmos like laser sights.

"It's hard to keep up with what the magazines are promoting," says Ferguson."A lot of times our steady, repeat clientele tell us what new products we need to carry."

One of those customers, KOLO-TV newsman John Tyson, says,"I buy exclusively at Carson Armory.

I've known them for 15 years and trust them.

I worked at the Storey County Sheriff 's office for 25 years.Most law enforcement personnel buy their own weapons.

In law enforcement, you must have equipment from a reliable source.We're not recreational; we are very picky."