07-06-2012, 13:49
|
#1
|
|
Guerrilla Chief
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: VA
Posts: 859
|
Opinion request...
Good afternoon everyone,
I am humbly requesting opinions for a business idea I've been pondering. I want to start a "mobile" firearm cleaning/servicing business. Basically I go to people’s houses, ranges or shooting clubs for a fee to clean guns, bore sight (collimator), and mount scopes. Just like we have armorer’s range-side during weapons qualification and familiarization fire, why not for civilians? As it may not necessarily pertain to the QP's, maybe some people QP's here know?
I have a rudimentary business plan, but it is in .docx format and will not upload. I sent an email to BATFE to see the Federal view on the matter, and I have yet to contact the state. I just want to see if a resource like this would have its uses to anyone before going all out. Thanks for your time.
__________________
"1000 days of evasion are better than one day in captivity"
"Too many men work on parts of things. Doing a job to completion, satisfies me."- Richard Proenneke
|
|
BryanK is offline
|
|
|
07-06-2012, 14:27
|
#2
|
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 568
|
2 cents...
First thing that came to my mind is liability. You're going to have the finger pointed your way as soon as some jackass who f'd something up has a catastrophic failure sometime after you serviced it.
Second, I would think people who have enough of a healthy interest in guns to actually own them also enjoy cleaning and sighting their guns. I know I'm always going to clean my own weapons. As far as military experience of having an armorer on the range... only happened two times, basic and range week during SUT, and because there were so many well-used weapons to deal with. They weren't there to clean guns but just to figure out why your rifle was having a failure to extract every three rounds... maybe swap out your bolt, but usually to tell you to clean it better and lube it up.
__________________
Every man has three characters: that which he shows, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.
|
|
head is offline
|
|
|
07-06-2012, 14:53
|
#3
|
|
Consigliere
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland (at last)
Posts: 8,841
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by head
2 cents...
First thing that came to my mind is liability. You're going to have the finger pointed your way as soon as some jackass who f'd something up has a catastrophic failure sometime after you serviced it.
|
For those of you who don't think frivolous lawsuits impede commerce, I present Exhibit A.
|
|
Roguish Lawyer is offline
|
|
|
07-06-2012, 15:24
|
#4
|
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 568
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roguish Lawyer
For those of you who don't think frivolous lawsuits impede commerce, I present Exhibit A.
|
I'm not trying to discourage him - just "CYA" is my first instinct when working in the civ sector.
__________________
Every man has three characters: that which he shows, that which he has, and that which he thinks he has.
|
|
head is offline
|
|
|
07-06-2012, 17:08
|
#5
|
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Free Pineland
Posts: 24,827
|
You are also going to need an FFL to operate as a gunsmith.
TR
__________________
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
|
|
The Reaper is offline
|
|
|
07-06-2012, 18:32
|
#6
|
|
Quiet Professional
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Potomac River
Posts: 925
|
Bryan
Go see Eddie Harren in Ijamsville Md and talk to him. Dirty guns is a big problem and I am one of his best customers in that respect. I clean my guns religiously but am sloppy and get solvent into the actions which creates a whole different category of problem.
Cleaning a extremely dirty rifle takes days not hours. Your best friend will be a TV'ed borescope so your customer can see the inside of the barrel.
Eddie is a USMC from the RVN era and a great guy. He is about finished building me a pig hunting rifle.
__________________
The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
SFA M-9545
|
|
Buffalobob is offline
|
|
|
07-06-2012, 14:59
|
#7
|
|
Guerrilla
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Eau Claire, WI
Posts: 136
|
A friend of mine suggested I do the same thing at the local Trap club. But as 'head' said, you're going to need liability insurance to cover yourself. Next, can you afford to carry an inventory of spare parts to fix the most common guns and problems seen locally. A solid, secure vise to put the guns in will need to be attached to your vehicle. When I was working as a gunsmith the level of cleaning that was expected meant a COMPLETE disassembly. Not losing small parts could be difficult working off of the back of a vehicle. Just cleaning their barrel will not be requested much except for rifle barrels, and then they will expect all powder and copper fouling to be removed.
Re-save your business plan as 97-2003 format (Compatibility Mode) and it might upload.
|
|
Rob_Frey is offline
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:08.
|
|
|
Hybrid Mode
