If you need a Gunsmith in Clarksville

If you are in the Clarksville area and are need of a Gunsmith go to Big Iron Munitions on Tiny Town Rd. These guys really love what they do and understand what is good for the customer. I brought an AR to get a Daniel Defense rail and Battlecomp 2.0 installed. After the rifle was there for a week Justin called to let me know he was having trouble with the gas block removal and gave me some options on what could be done. After another week it was finally complete. When I picked up the rifle I was pleasantly surprised to find that they replaced the barrel at no cost to me. After having so much trouble with the gas block they scared up the barrel pretty bad and decided it would be bad business to give it back in that condition. They replaced it with a Daniel Defense CHF barrel. And I paid nothing for it! Good people at Big Iron. Highly recommended!

Forgive me for doing so, but I need to play Devil's Advocate here................

Did you buy the AR from Big Iron? And then they buggered up a brand spanking new AR trying to remove the gas block? Is this also accurate? If so, I admire them making you right with a new barrel, but I dare say whomever is doing their gun smithing work needs to go back to selling them, IMO.

Or am I missing something here?

Sounds like they have good customer service, but bad gunsmiths,

I think "gunsmith" is being applied rather freely here. I'd say that doing simple jobs like duracoating, removing and replacing parts, etc are well withing their capabilities. Would I drop off a Colt Python for a trigger job or have them dovetail a slide for a new sight? Nope. For real gunsmithing Steve Rose at Rose Action Sports is the man.

CW3 (Ret'd) Allen out at Allen's Guns has taken good care of me on some small jobs a couple times too. Now I don't think I'd buy a new full-price firearm from them without researching the prices first, but they get some interesting used stuff in there, and Chief will fix small stuff on a while-you-wait basis for ten or twenty bucks depending on the complexity.

nowhere did he mention buying the rifle from them.

Hank Gallahan in Fredonia off Hwy.12 about a mile or so from the Cheatham Co. line. Retired SgtMaj from 5th SFG. Gunsmithing (AR's, 1911's, M1A/M1 Garand, hunting rifles/shotguns, Glocks, you name it), building custom stuff, certified by Lauer in Duracoating. Has a lathe and mill. Doesn't advertise, word of mouth. Quite a few LEO's and guys from Campbell go there. Good friend of mine. IM me if you want a contact #.

Joshr502 knows him too.

So they were attempting to just remove the gas block & buggered it up? Is that what happened? They're replacing for free the piece they buggered?

I can vouch for the SGM. Awesome work and great attitude. He has a range next to the shop you can test fire on after the work is done. Great prices too!

Hank's a great guy. I'll be getting some Duracoating done from him when I get back.

Actually that range is from when he used to work at Binkley's old shop. That's been a few years ago. He's not far from there now but it is another location. No range but he can/does test-fire stuff outside (it's in the county, not city limits).

I did not buy the rifle from Big Iron. It was from Bravo Company. BCM apparently used black loctite on the gas black, which is a very strong loctite. And yes I am using "gunsmithing" losely, they are parts hangers. But they could have very easily put the "buggerd up" barrel back on the weapon and put the rail back on, which would have covered it completely, and I may have never been the wiser. But they took the high road and ate the cost of a high quality barrel. I found it wonderful that they did that, customer service is lacking everywhere and I wanted to applaud them for something that I felt was commendable.

I didn't know he moved. I haven't seen em' in a few years.

This.

Steve Rose of Rose Action Sports is an honest to goodness Gunsmith. His fees are also quite reasonable and his turnaround times tend to be a week to a month depending on the type of work. I would trust him to work on any of my guns and has done work on some of mine.

He is also an ARFcom member, active sport shooter, and just a really good guy all around. He is worth a real look if you need gunsmithing work. He accepts gunsmith work through Gun and Knife Country across from Gate 6 on FT Campbell, Blvd. They have 2 local gunsmiths that they farm work out to. Both are highly competent. The second guy is also a retired 5th group guy and accomplished long range competition shooter. A lot of knowlege and experience between the two of them.

If it's just parts replacement or accessories added, then they will usually take care of that in the backroom of the store while you wait.

Nothing agianst BIG IRON though. I have had great customer service from them and it sounds like the OP did as well.

Can't really say Allen's is the "Best" place to go. I, just had to many negative instances for me to even set foot in the place.

Was window shopping, Older guy comes into shop to sell BACK a gun he bought (Veteran, and had a medical bill he had to pay to get treated).
The gun was a very nice Colt 1911, in the box (Had not been fired).
They gave him 300 bucks. The guy had the reciept from where he bought the gun from them for a LOT more. Guy was hard up, and sold it to them and left. The people in the shop started saying "oh what a steal we did" Put it in the case, price.......$1000


Couple of years ago, I was having trouble with a pistol. I had tried several different "replacement" parts on my own, finally gave up and went to him. Took gun with me, explained the issue, and everything I had done, and where I had bought parts from.
Tells me OK, and says give him a week.
1 week goes by,and nothing.
2 weeks and same thing.
3 weeks, and I stop in, and find out, they had not even ordered any parts.
4 weeks and nothing
5 weeks, I stop in, and he hands me the gun, tells me $50. I function check it, and same issue as when I brought it to him.
His comment was, well what do you want me to do about it? Said I wanted it fixed. Told me he did the best he could, and if wasn't happy, don't come to the store again.

Prices are very HIGH. Not as high as GrandPa's, but close.
Better option to go down the street to TN Gun Country and get a Fair price, from another Retired Military Guy. Granted they are not gunsmiths. (They recommend Guns and Leathers), but capable of parts swaps, sight install, etc...

2nd hand smoke in Allen's will kill you in that shop.

gun country by gate 6 smells like dog piss in there. The people in there are slobes and the shop is always a mess, I won't drop off a gun to get worked on by people that can't maintain there own equipent or store. Allens is very old school, not very welcoming and dont work with you. TN gun country out on 41A are good people. bought alot of guns through the glock MIL program. and craig does awesome stipple work. Big Iron are also good people, I use them for transfers since I'm close by. they are young and new, they are motivated to be a successful shop, good for them to make right with the barrel, but yes they are not "gunsmiths".

I've said it myself that Gun and Knife Country isn't the prettiest gunshop around..BUT...in my personal opinion they are the best folks in the business. Want an example? Just this past weekend I was in the shop looking for a new CCW gun for my daughter. While there the owner got a call from someone down the road at the Clarksville gunshow. I only heard one side of the conversation but that one side stated that he would do FREE transfers for Kentucky residents and that he would be down that afternoon to pick them all up. Not only was he helping Tennessee dealers sell guns but he was doing it for no charge plus spending his time and gas to do it. I don't care what the place smells like, with service to other people's customers like that I'll keep going back.

Another example? Last fall Gun and Knife Country provided a rifle to our gun club for a fundraiser. the winner had the choice of a Ruger 10-22 Tactical, a 10-22 Delux, or a 10-22 Stainless. They ordered all three guns so the winner could pick up the rifle of choice on the spot, no waiting.

What? Only $50 for C3 transfers? Who else does that around here. Hell, if they buy a cat I'll sniff its piss too for a $50 transfer 5 miles from home.

For general info, after shopping everywhere from Whittaker's to the PX to all the local shops we ended up with the best deal on a Glock 26 plus extras at Gun and Knife Country.

Gun and Knife Country used to smell of dog but not really anymore. They do have 2 dogs in the shop, but the older Boxer that had issues sadly died a few months ago. The Chocolate Lab "Colt" and a young GSD mix "Dutch" (a rescue dog) are at the shop. They are very friendly too. The store isn't the prettiest in the area, but a lot of that is a the building itself. The landlord doesn't put much into it. The store can be cluttered too as there is a lot of stuff coming in and going out constantly. They don't have any paid employees really. It's just a mom and pop shop. They have regular customers that have become friends that will help out in the shop from time to time and I am lucky to count myself among them. They let my daughter hang out in the back with their older daughter, and the toddler can be seen all around the store. It is a family business. They also run a farm so they do get stretched thin sometimes.

What I can say is Steve and Sara will do right by you. I saw a one young soldier come in to sell his Mini 14. It was an older version and although in good shape there was nothing particularly great about it. Steve asked him what he was looking to get for it, and the soldier shyly said he would be very happy if he could get $300 for it. You could tell he needed the money for something. Steve paused for a second or two and told him that he couldn't give him a penny less than $350 for it. The soldier lit right up like someone flipped a switch on in him. I have witnessed similar deals in the shop on several occasions.

Just this past weekend while the Clarksville gun show was going on up the road at the national guard armory, the promoters, as usual, asked Steve and Sara if they could do transfers for the Kentucky residents that wanted to buy handguns from the Tennessee dealers at the show. They did as they have at the past shows. I went to the gun show and it sucked as usual. After I went to Gun and Knife Country. The store was very busy. Mostly from customers doing transfers from the gun show. It was just Steve and Sara there and Steve had to drive back to the show to pick up another batch of transfer guns. He asked me if I could help out behind the counter for a while. I said yes, as I was about to offer anyway. I later found out that he didn't charge those customers anything for those transfers. Not sure if he was getting anything from the show promoter or the dealers, but it didn't cost the buyers anything. At least one bought a Glock 23 from the shop while waiting on Steve to get back with his transfer gun.

They also both serve on the rifle and pistol committees at our gun club. The club they sponsored me and Jeep to become a member of too. On many Sundays, the only day the gun shop is closed, they can be found at the gun club helping run a match an typically participating in them as well.

I could go on and on bout them and their shop. I have only been here at FT Campbell for about 3 years now but I am glad to count Steve and Sara as friends.

Even though I can be found hanging out there at the shop often, I will still regularly go to the other shops in the area and have had mainly good experiences at most of them. The most notable exception being Grandpa's. I am well greeted at TN Gun Country, Allen's, QTS, ATS, and Big Iron. I have bought things in all of them and will continue to.

TN Gun country is easily the nicest shop around. Very neat and orderly with a good selection of guns, accessories, and especially ammo. I go there for the reloading supplies too. Prices are fair, and seemingly better than they used to be.

Allen's is a great place if you like looking through surplus rifles. Lots of other stuff with a good selection too. Prices aren't the best, but I have found a deal or two in there myself. I bought a pair of used rifle mags there once that were marked for a particular model of gun but didn't fit mine when I got them home. I took them back the following weekend and the lady there was quick to give me a refund with no hassle at all. I had to slow her down and tell her that I would rather get store credit as I had already picked something out similar in price. She was cool with that.

QTS has a stunning selection of accessories. If you need it right now, they are the place for you.

ATS is pretty similar to QTS but seem to specialize more in soft goods.

Big Iron is the new kid on the block. Gun selection is still kind of thin but what they lack in inventory they make for in enthusiasm. They also carry Ballistol in the store so that alone will keep me coming back.

We are lucky to live in an area that has such a great variety of gun shops.

P.S. one of the things that really irked me about Grandpa's was the no guns sign at the front entrance. I am happy to report that the sign was gone the last time I was there. Doesn't help the prices any, but at least the stupid sign is gone.

I seem to have struck a cord with you jeep, Not trying to offend you here. They are nice folks in there, I have bought a rifle and a shotgun from them years ago when I first got to campbell, but they are messy, and the place stinks. my wife is allergic to dogs and cats and could'nt breath when she walked in there. first impressions to most people I talk to are the same. they need to spend some time organizing and focusing on some shop upkeep.

Ats are good folks, I have worked with them for awhile and usually end up talking to roger for awhile, he likes to talk! Not the best for guns but great on nylon obviously.

Quantico is pricey on thier stuff and the gun counter guys are clueless. But When I need a bad lever or something they usually have it in stock and thats where I go cause I'm impatient.

I'm not going to start on grandpa's. That place is garbage.

Glad to hear that's gone. I went in there last time I was home and was like WTF?!

The "No Guns" sign at Grandpa's was because they sold beer. Because of that, until TN law got adjusted, you couldn't have a concealed weapon. Still wouldn't buy a gun from 'em though- their prices are worse than Allen's.

What ever happened to TN Custom Gunsmithing out past Sango?

Closed.

That's what the sign said, but that's BS. The Beer wasn't sold for consumption on the premises. Grandpas wasn't a bar. By their logic you couldn't carry in a gas station/convenience store either. The law that TN changed only had to do with bars not stores that sold alcohol.

I'm not sure about when this was as I'm not familiar with the Clarksville area, but years ago you couldn't carry where alcohol was sold IIRC.

Why? Anyone know?

Can't be 100% sure, but I had heard it was a combination of zoning issues making it hard to renew the ffl along with family stuff coming up. With everything that was going on, it just didn't make sense to stay in business.

Thanks

When I heard Hal was closing down I went out there to talk with him about buying the shop. From what I got out of the whole conversation was that he was just burned out and maybe even over his head. Hal seemed to be totally different from when I remember him when he bought the business from Mr. Binkley (Binkley still owns the land). I guess stress from owning a business, personal/medical issues just got to him. In the end I didn't buy the shop as Mr. Binkley probably wouldn't have sold me the land. All I ended up getting was all the AR18/180 parts.

Hated to hear it. Was close to his range here in Sango.

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