In today’s episode, we take you inside Colorado’s premier outdoor radio show as we chat with the team from LT Arms about their latest innovations and offerings. From traveling to Texas for the famed Trophy Hunters Show to meeting custom firearm demands, LT Arms shares their journey in catering to hunters and enthusiasts with their bespoke rifle services. Discover the intricacies of building a custom precision rifle and what differentiates LT Arms’ approach in a competitive market. From reloading classes to handling estate collections, this episode unravels the expertise and dedication behind LT Arms’ commitment to providing exceptional services
SPEAKER 08 :
Welcome to Sportsman of Colorado, Colorado’s premier outdoor radio show heard every Saturday afternoon on KLZ 560 with insights on hunting, fishing, archery, guns, and ammo from Colorado’s top outfitters featuring the industry’s leading experts on how to enhance your experience in the great outdoors. Now, here’s your host, Scott Watley.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to Sportsman of Colorado. Thank you so much for joining us today. We are glad you’re with us. We’ve got a great show in store for you. We’re going to kick it off with our good friends from LT Arms. I ran by the store here and, hey, got the guys over here in their gun library and thought we would just talk guns and what all is going on at LT Arms. So we’ve got Brandon Anderson with us. Brandon, good to see you. Good to see you, too. Thanks. And Evan Lee. Evan, how are you? Howdy, Scott. Good to see you. Good to see you, too. Man, you guys believe it’s fall.
SPEAKER 07 :
it’s nice the the temps dropping has been great i know it is cool it really is and that means one thing that means hunting seasons here absolutely so that’s a good thing for all of us so i know you guys did some um shows in texas i believe right texas trophy hunters yeah we spent pretty much the entire month of august in texas except for the last week we were in houston fort worth and san antonio and met a lot of great people out there and Got a lot of people interested.
SPEAKER 03 :
There are great people in Texas.
SPEAKER 07 :
There are in Texas. Yeah, we went down there. We’re like, oh, America still exists in Texas. Oh, come on now.
SPEAKER 03 :
Thanks for being with us, LTRs. We’re out of time. But no, that’s a great show. I’ve been to that Texas Trophy Hunter show. That is a really good show. It’s nice. Yeah. Yeah. So what all kind of reactions you get with what you had showing there in your firearms?
SPEAKER 07 :
we had a lot of really really good reactions we uh a lot of people are interested in our wood ar build we’ve been doing the we call it the woody ar and it’s a ar-15 we’ve removed all of the plastic and replaced it with nice walnut like a wooks hand guard and uh pistol grip and stock and so we had a lot of people interested in those all the hog guys wanted where you know can you can you make them we told them we’re doing them in 45 70 coming up and that sealed the deal for most of them they’re not i’m telling you they were like give me two yeah it is awesome i tell you and i think both you guys could say this whole rifle building arena
SPEAKER 05 :
is growing every day it seems there’s a lot of competition in this isn’t there absolutely yeah yeah what are you seeing there certainly is a lot of competition but a lot of guys just don’t want a box stock rifle anymore they want to they want a bespoke item they want it chambered how they want it they want the right kind of barrel they want the stock and uh
SPEAKER 03 :
and uh it’s a great it’s a great area to be yeah we’re excited about and i tell you for years i didn’t know the difference because all i bought was something off the shelf i didn’t notice triggers or you know actions or anything until you shoot something that’s really custom you don’t really know what you’re missing but it’s a whole different shooting experience in it oh definitely it’s nice to be able to kind of go through and hand pick every part you know every screw pretty much it’s on the rifle you can pick whatever you want and
SPEAKER 07 :
Go nice triggers, go fluted barrels, go bull barrels. We’re doing everything from basic hunting rifles to ELR, long-range precision rifles for bench rest guys. So guys shooting competitions. All right. We’re going to start a little bit of a competition team here in shop. Oh, are you? Yeah, look for us out there at the range. Hopefully we’re doing good. Hopefully we shoot well. We don’t just have cool rifles. Yeah, performance anxiety.
SPEAKER 03 :
That’s half the part looking cool. Yeah. Yeah. So, Evan, who are you guys getting in the store on a day-to-day basis? What’s your array of customers looking for?
SPEAKER 05 :
We get it all from first-time gun owners to folks with old, obscure cartridges in their rifles. They need to get them shooting again. This time of year, we’re seeing a lot more hunters getting ready for season. But we got a really nice… demographic we get it we draw them from everywhere which is which is really nice it’s not just your one-stop shop for uh for an ar build or something like that but it’s it’s everything guys that are coming in here they’re trap shooters guys that are coming in here that are looking for an elr rifle like brandon was mentioning or you know the prs type builds
SPEAKER 03 :
I tell you, the selection you guys have here is quite different than most stores you walk into.
SPEAKER 05 :
Thanks for noticing that. We’ve been striving to do that. Like I said, we don’t want to be the one-stop shop for one kind of guy. We want to be able to kind of address everybody’s needs and just be a very welcoming environment if you’re interested in firearms.
SPEAKER 03 :
And a few weeks ago, I had Evan on and Brandon as well. But we talked about a Seekins precision rifle I had got from Seekins. They were sponsors at our Mile High Hunt and Fish Expo last year, will be this year. And just real quick programming note, so to speak. March 20th through the 22nd will be the 2026 Mile High Hunting Fish Expo, and that is going to be at the new Expo Center at the National Western Event Center. So the new Expo Hall there, not back at the Gaylord, and you’ll be hearing more about that. I’d never really had a really, quote, precision rifle, and to really get it dialed in, and with Leopold, they have their custom dial systems and all that, and so I brought it over to Evan and had him make some loads for it, and he did about 99% of the work here on this, but just got the CDS system in from Leopold, went back to range, and… It’s your report on a sequence. We had it on the bench yesterday.
SPEAKER 05 :
It’s a fantastic rifle. And like I said, we built a nice load with really good numbers and very, very close to factory velocities and just shooting tight groups. As you saw, you took up the range, and you had a bunch of holes touching. How nice is that? And then we did that data upload to loop hold, and they did that custom dial system for you, and it’s zeroed now, and you can just basically click in your yardage on that thing, and it is hitting right where it needs to hit, as far as you’re comfortable shooting.
SPEAKER 03 :
You took all my excuses away now. It’s an impressive rig. Once again, we are coming to you live from LT Arms. Now, when I say live, we are here at the store recording this. I don’t want you to come by Saturday thinking we’re doing a live show from here. So don’t want to give that representation. We are here pre-recording today’s show. And it is 8130 Schaefer Parkway, Suite C. Brandon, how do you tell folks to get here?
SPEAKER 07 :
The easiest way, if you’re coming off 470, is to get off on Kipling and go north and go west on Chatfield, and then we’re right off Schaefer, which is about a quarter mile up the road, and we’re right next to the post office right there.
SPEAKER 03 :
And look for the big elk on the window.
SPEAKER 07 :
Big elk on the window. We’re right there in the Ken Carroll business district.
SPEAKER 03 :
Good deal. You know, when you guys moved over here several months ago, You know, first of all, I was amazed at the speed you did it. You had a store across the street. But then when you walk in and just see how everything is laid out. So kind of give a virtual tour. So, Brandon, I’ll let you take that. What all people can expect when they come here?
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, when you walk in, we have a nice open showroom now. We have way more room. There’s a lot of taxidermy hanging around the room. We have a resident taxidermist now, Hunter T’s Taxidermy. Keith runs that. He does a great job. So you can check out the taxidermy. We have a reloading room. We have our large vault room that stores all the guns now. So, yeah, we have… Excuse me. And all of our ammo section. We’ve stocked up on a lot of hunting stuff. So when you walk in, there’s some racks in the center and we have game bags and… carbon frame lightweight backpacks for carrying everything in camp stoves small you know emergency shelter type of situation so pretty much everything you need to kind of outfit your hunting bag and make sure you’re you have all your bases covered i mean you got cowboy hats we do we got belts we have cowboy hats now we do yeah we started carrying cowboy hats and we’re actually gonna start uh shaping them in-house so if you want to get a custom oh wow yeah You’re one-stop shop for hunting in the West, right? Exactly. Yeah, we had a guy come in the other day, and he said, yeah, where are the boots and the chaps? So I don’t know if we’re going to go that far with it, but you never know.
SPEAKER 03 :
Exactly. And you guys, I don’t know who wants to take us first. Evan, I guess you can, about your custom rifle bills and where you guys are hoping to take this from your perspective.
SPEAKER 05 :
Well, you know, I’m going to let Brandon actually default to that because he’s been giving the speech down in Texas, and he’s got it well rehearsed.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, like I mentioned earlier, we’re kind of going – we’re providing four levels of – well, five with the ARs, but just as far as bolt-action rifles for hunting and precision shooting, we start off with the Pathfinder, and the Pathfinder is like – kind of our base level rifle you can choose caliber you want it comes in a composite stock it’s a nice lightweight option to to get you into one of our custom built rifles the next level is the uh the paragon and that kind of gets you a little bit bigger rifle for a larger caliber so we’re doing those in a uh a wux chassis that combines a wood stock and forend with aluminum body, basically aluminum receiver. And then our highest level build is the Pinnacle, and that is going to be your large caliber, like African big game rifle, like dangerous game rifles. It has a nice walnut stock. We’re doing, you know, Florida Lee checkering on those. We have them in… One on the wall is 416 Rigby, so I mean, you know, those nice big calibers. We can do any of the larger calibers. We’ve had some guys that, you know, ask if we can… Do them and we’ve been getting all kinds of crazy caliber requests like 375 Raptor for some of the the AR builds But yeah, we’re doing a lot of so far. We have a ones on the wall six eight Western 375 H&H and 416 Rigby and But, yeah, they’re completely bespoke, as Evan mentioned, and you can pretty much kind of pick what level you want to come in at, and we’ll give you a price range. And, I mean, you can go – you can stay at that price range, or a lot of guys are going far beyond the starting price on those rifles. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
And then are you finding guys want to get into their ammo being really dialed in as well?
SPEAKER 05 :
We’re offering it with the rifles for sure. And the range certification with loads and improved target that comes with the rifle. Yeah, that’s something we want to delve into for sure for existing rifle owners that want to just customize load. We want to certainly offer that service.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, do you have any classes?
SPEAKER 05 :
upcoming or how do people if they want to get into reloading classes on request essentially if someone wants to do a class they just call us up and they tell us when they want to do it and we will accommodate that time and get them in here and uh teach them how to hand load all right it’s about about an hour of a presentation we’re going to look at the screen we’re going to talk about theory we’re going to learn a lot about terminology and what’s going on internal ballistics external ballistics and then we’re going to sit at the bench and we’re actually going to we’re going to manufacture some ammo we’re going to hand load some ammo together and that hands-on experience is really priceless. It takes a lot of that scary factor away. You don’t want to make mistakes, but they realize it’s not as difficult as you think it is.
SPEAKER 03 :
Once you’ve done it, they’re a lot more comfortable. Would you rather have someone that has no idea about reloading as a student or the guy that feels like he’s done a bunch of it?
SPEAKER 05 :
I’ve had both. I’ve had both. And it’s funny because the guys who do have some experience, they actually ask a lot more questions and they – They tend to take it to heart a lot more.
SPEAKER 03 :
Okay. All right. I didn’t know if they’d be harder to teach. Not at all. 720-727-0400 is the number. You can check out their website at ltarms.com. As we mentioned, it is hunting season. Hey, dove season’s in full swing. We’ve got upland birds. We’ve got waterfowl coming, big game season, all of that. And just about everything you’ve got here can cover any of those seasons, right? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Yep. Now, your one room over there where you got the glass that looks into where your gunsmith is, and by the way, full gunsmithing services here as well. Talk about just some of the selection in that room. Man.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, we have everything in there. Like you were mentioning, dove season’s coming up, so we do shotguns in there. We have a nice selection of side-by-sides. Mostly overrunners, a couple side-by-sides. We have some pump actions, some semi-automatics, everything from new stuff from Browning. We have a nice used Parker Brothers in there that’s… A little bit on the higher end, but, you know, we try to cater to everything from guys just getting into it to guys that, you know, want that higher end kind of more traditional side-by-side shotgun. Full complement of rifles from Winchester and Browning. We’re dealers for those guys and Weatherby. And then we have a lot of consignment stuff as well. So if, you know, if you’re looking to get getting into something, just getting started, you can go, you know, we have consignment stuff. Or if you want to, you know, we can we order in whatever you’d like. We have a nice section of pistols. We know we specialize kind of recently. We’ve kind of gotten into the game of specializing in vintage pistols. Smith & Wessons and Colts. We have a lot of those on hand. So if you’re looking to do some target shooting, we have some really, really nice old Smith & Wessons on hand that you should, if you’re into that, you should come down and check them out.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now we’re recording here in this room. This is kind of your military kind of room. What do you got up there, man?
SPEAKER 07 :
There’s a lot of stuff. We have… So Kyle kind of designed this wall to have kind of a chronological order of American battle rifles. So we have everything from, you know, flintlock and muzzleloaders at the top, like they’d use in the Revolutionary War. Kind of works its way down to Springfield bolt actions, M1 Garands, M14s. We have an M16 that’s… It’s a modern one we made, but it’s kind of, you know, the… reproduction of a Vietnam era rifle, an M4. And then we also have some World War II vinched stuff. We have an MP40 that is World War II German gun. A Sten gun, which was the British submachine gun. It’s kind of like the equivalent of the grease gun, but for the British troops. Some examples of our color case hardened things on the wall. And then a lot of stuff we have for sale that There’s some Mosin-Nagants. We have SKSs, some more Springfields, M1 carbines. And then with our machine gun shoots, we go further into that World War II era stuff, and we have M1919 Browning machine gun that we have on hand, MG42. We kind of touch on everything with the vintage stuff. We have a pretty good selection of that stuff.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. So, Brandon, or Evan, I’m sorry, if you want to cover this as far as consignments and, you know, you guys buying collections or, you know, doing collections, kind of walk us through.
SPEAKER 05 :
So, we’ve done it both ways. We will buy an estate if need be. A lot of times we find that actually the payout’s going to be better if you do consign because I can go through the different channels that I go through and max out the value on those. Sure. A lot of times, you know, we can only afford to pay so much. We’ve got to pay to keep the lights on around here, right? So if they’re not in a hurry to get a check and they want to consign, I can usually get them better results. But, again, I’ve got to thank your listeners here because, boy, they’ve been pouring in here. We’ve been talking about this consignment for a couple of months, and we’ve been getting some very interesting material. And, yeah, I mean, it doesn’t last long because, I mean, it’s very, very desirable stuff. A lot of it’s really vintage. It’s been maintained by the caretaker for decades now in a really nice fashion. It’s wonderful. So if they’ve got it.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, three or four guns. I feel comfortable bringing those here. They can do that. If they have a number of guns, you guys, you can go.
SPEAKER 05 :
We absolutely will go to them. It makes it a lot easier for them and us, too. They don’t want to transport a bunch of stuff. I’m not sure how they even transport it. They’ll ask me a lot of times, how do I even get it in the car and get it over? I’ll say, you know what? We’ll just come to you. And we’ll bring laptops. We’ll bring cameras. We’ll come over there, and we’ll take care of the job and bring it here. We will move it for them, and they just come pick up their checks.
SPEAKER 03 :
It’s really that simple. You were telling me about one, especially. I want to bring the compliment back to you guys because they just believed in you guys from being on the show. And they just could tell you guys were good guys and sincere guys and would take care of them and treat them right.
SPEAKER 05 :
That’s what we try to do. We want to have a great reputation and we want to get the value for them that they need to get out of. A lot of times it’s a situation where… uh the gun owner has passed away and his his widow’s left with everything that he had and really doesn’t know what to do right we want to want to make it a very easy transparent uh highly communicated environment so she knows what’s going on we tell her what the stuff is worth high and low and where we’re going to come in and and uh help her get as much as she possibly can out of the existing collection and sometimes
SPEAKER 03 :
That would not be just guns, but if they’ve got reloading stuff, I mean, gun safes. Sure. It can all be in the conversation.
SPEAKER 05 :
The things that show up are amazing because a recent case, a woman came in with a big collection of things, and there was a lot of tools. There was a lot of reloading equipment. There was a huge library of books. And then she found another storage lock she knew she had, and it was full of a bunch of – it was basically an old knife collection – And I’m not a nice guy, but I researched them. We put them out there, and we got her a handsome shack. Wow. We pieced it out, but it took some time. But it came back really nice. She’s just happy as could be.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right. It’s LT Arms. Once again, they’re located at 8130 Schaefer Parkway, Suite C. Their number is 720-727-0400. Again, 720-727-0400. You can check out the website, LTArms.com. and once again they’ll get you fixed up when you come in be sure and let them know you heard them here on the show and we would appreciate that as well so all your hunting needs hey they’re ready to take care of you if you need to get your firearm into the gunsmith parker and his crew will take care of you once you kill it keith will take care of you with the taxidermist and as i said hey this is your one-stop shop over at lt arms they’ll take great care of you anything we forgot to mention No. You guys can think of?
SPEAKER 05 :
All right. Good. It’s a good time around the shop. Please come by and visit us. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Come get ready for hunting. We’ve got all the stuff you need to do it. Absolutely. Well, guys, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Scott. Get by and see them. LT Arms. And once again, let them know you heard them here on the show, and we would thank you for that. This is Sportsman of Colorado. We’ve got to hit a quick break, and we’ll be back with more right after this.
SPEAKER 04 :
Here’s why you need personal injury attorney Kevin Flesch on your side. He understands the way the jury thinks. In the context of a personal injury case, you’ve been hurt by someone else’s negligence. The idea is that you’re going to try to recover so that you can get back to where you were just prior to that incident occurring. What that really means from a jurist’s perspective is that you’re going to be asking them to award you money. So when we talk about fairness, we’re talking about six people that you don’t know. Those six people view the evidence and make a unanimous decision that will decide what the fair value is. When you’re the one who’s hurt, you have a good idea of what you think it’s worth. The question is, can you persuade those other individuals whom you don’t know and were witnesses to believe that’s what the case is worth? Kevin Flesch understands the way the jury thinks. Call now for a free consultation. 303-806-8886
SPEAKER 03 :
Have you noticed a tick or two on your dog after being out on a walk or hike? If so, you’re not alone. The medical team at Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center is seeing a lot more ticks on dogs this year, with some dogs having more than one. Hey, this is Scott Whatley, and tick bites can create a lot of problems for our pets. Not only do they cause skin inflammation and allergic reactions, They transmit harmful diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and ehrlichiosis. All of these can make your pet sick and require medical attention or hospitalization. Tick and flea-borne diseases can also be transmitted to humans. You can protect your pet from tick-related problems with a safe and effective flea and tick preventative and there are many types to choose from. The medical team at Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center will be happy to help you select the product that best suits your pet’s needs and lifestyle. Just give them a call at 303-708-8050. That’s 303-708-8050. Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center. It’s the place where my pets go.
SPEAKER 10 :
If you’re in the market for a new rifle for the big game season or a new shotgun for some doves or upland game birds, head on over to The Gun Room. Kevin Flesch here from Sportsman of Colorado, inviting you to visit Denver’s oldest gun dealer. And that’s The Gun Room at 1595 Carr Street in Lakewood. They offer buy, trade, consignment, transfers, and appraisals. And if you purchase a gun, we’ll cover your background check fee. It’s The Gun Room, 1595 Carr Street. Tell them Sportsman of Colorado sent you.
SPEAKER 03 :
Save now at the Outdoorsman’s Attic. It’s your go-to consignment store for outdoor gear. Hunting, fishing, camping, they’ve got it all at unbelievable prices. Right now, save up to 30% on sleeping bags and tents, up to 40% off on footwear, and up to 50% off on clothing. Located at 2650 West Hampton in Sheridan, they’ll even turn your old gear into cash. And don’t forget, for expert firearm cleaning and repair, see Scott the Gunsmith and mention Sportsman of Colorado. It’s the outdoorsman’s attic. Gear up and save.
SPEAKER 09 :
Are you in the market for a new firearm? Or maybe looking to purchase your very first firearm? Well, wouldn’t it be great to have an experience worth telling your friends and family about while making such an important purchase? At Bighorn Firearms, we know how important that is, and it’s our mission to provide this experience to every customer that walks through our front door. Hi, I’m Ryan, owner of Bighorn Firearms, located in Southeast Denver, and my team and I are customers too. We know what it’s like to experience the typical specialty store attitude, and we believe everyone deserves a first-class experience when purchasing a firearm. If you’re searching for friendly service, a knowledgeable and passionate staff, and a great selection of firearms, we’d like to invite you to Denver’s best independent gun store, Bighorn Firearms, one mile east of Evans and I-25. Whether it’s your first gun or you’ve been collecting for years, our friendly and knowledgeable staff are passionate about answering all of your questions. Service and selection is our commitment to you. That’s Bighorn Firearms, located at 2175 South Jasmine Street, Suite 105, Denver. Call us now, 303-758-9423, or shop online, bighornusa.com.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
Hey, Dan, you know, our jobs are pretty different. I’m a baseball announcer. You’re an attorney and a talk show host. Yeah, but we do have something in common.
SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 14 :
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SPEAKER 15 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
Here’s your Water Talk Minute with Paul the Waterman, brought to you by Water Pros.
SPEAKER 01 :
The EPA announces it will keep maximum contaminant levels for PFOs and PFAs in our drinking water. What that means is that municipalities are going to have to test and monitor for these contaminants and they will not move to the unregulated contaminant list. This is important for us so that way in our water quality report they’re going to tell us exactly what levels of PFAS are in our water supply. It’s important because you want to have a point of use drinking water system to remove these contaminants and understand the quality of water that’s being provided to you. I’m Paul the Waterman.
SPEAKER 11 :
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SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
This is 560-KLZ, your home station.
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome back to Sportsman Colorado. Thank you so much for being with us. Hey, you’re going to be hearing more about Seekin’s Precision over the months to come. We had our next guest on shortly after our Mile High Hunt and Fish Expo this year that we had at the Gaylord. We have some news on that as well. But I tell you, I got a rifle from Seekins Precision recently, and, man, finally picked out the optics I wanted. Got some loads even built for it, which you heard last week from our friends at LT Arms, and I’m telling you. And just the range experience has been a total different experience from any rifle I’ve ever owned. So, Kevin Jones, that’s my opening. How are you, bud?
SPEAKER 12 :
Hey, I’m doing great. Thanks for having me on, Scott. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 03 :
You bet. Man, I tell you, you know, it’s cool when you see something at an event like we have at the Mile High Hunting Fish Expo, and then you hold the rifle, you see it, you hear you explain it, and then when you get to squeeze that trigger and then you get to see bullets touch each other on a target because of the precision and accuracy that Seekins promises, that’s pretty cool, my friend.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, it’s pretty sweet. I’ve been in this industry just a shade under 10 years, and I can honestly say I really think Seekins builds probably one of the finest production rifles that money can buy. We want to make sure that our rifles can be put into the working man’s hands, right? Sometimes you enter into these custom rifles, and they can really break the bank, and you’ve got to shoot special custom loads or anything of that nature. For us, it’s really about… A guy should be able to have a high-quality rifle that just performs as well as he expects it. He should know and have the confidence. when he has a Seekins rifle in his hands that he knows it’s going to hit its mark.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, exactly. So for those that didn’t catch you the first time, and you’ll be back, and we’ll talk more about the Mile High Hunt and Fish Expo for next year, but kind of give us the rundown of the history of Seekins. And, you know, this is a competitive field. My word. I’ve never seen so many companies these last five to eight years that have come up, you know, about precision, long-range rifles. Oh, absolutely. Give us the precision story here, the Seekins precision.
SPEAKER 12 :
Absolutely. Yeah, Seekins basically got its start when Glenn Seekins, he had an opportunity on a trophy buck and missed his shot. And he went back to the drawing board and tried to figure out, you know, why did I miss my shot and what was going on? And he dove into it and he found out that his scope rings were failed him. They were not accurate enough. They were not built strong enough. Whatever the reasoning was, he found that that was the reason why he missed that shot. His scope did not hold zero. And so being kind of a machinist in that world, he was able to say basically to himself, well, I can do it better. And he developed a way to make scope rings that were very accurate and very lightweight. At the time, you either had lightweight, poorly made scope rings that would not hold zero or wouldn’t hold your scope tight enough to the rifle, especially when you’re shooting those higher magnums. Or you had really heavy, like all steel tactical rings that just weighed down your rifle when you’re trying to hunt. So he tried to find that happy medium of a very, very well-made aluminum scope rings that are just made to very tight tolerances. And so through those processes, that’s how he kind of got the start. He basically ended up machining these parts in his own shop, and then he started renting machines out. And then eventually, you know, grew enough of the business to – basically get into an incubator building in the port of Lewiston, and he started getting into the gas guns. That’s the AR platform stuff. Started making parts, then started making complete rifles, and then about, I’d say, 10 years ago, moved the company to the top of Lewiston, right up here by the airport, and has just been growing the company ever since, from the development of our gas guns to our SP-10 program, That’s our large frame gas guns. That’s like .308, .65 Creedmoor. And then about seven or eight years ago, the Havoc was born. That’s our bolt-action rifles. And that’s really what’s been blowing up for Seekins the last six or seven years is just our bolt guns have really taken both the hunting world and now we’re getting more into the tactical side with our heavier chassis rifles and things like that and just building a very, very… well-made product, whether it’s scope rings to a complete rifle.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. Again, Kevin Jones is with us. It’s Seekins Precision. That’s S-E-E-K-I-N-S. SeekinsPrecisions.com is the website. And I’ll just go and mention this now. They will be back soon. Next year for the Mile High Hunting Fish Expo, and just a quick programming note for that, we will not be back at the Gaylord. And we are actually moving the date up a little bit, which is going to help everybody out with turkey season, the Colorado draw, all of that, March 20th through the 22nd. And now we will be at the National Western Center Expo Hall, a brand-new center there for the National Western Center. And we are super excited about that and certainly glad to have Seekins Precisions back as a title sponsor for that as well.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah, we’re very stoked about it.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, I’m telling you, it’s going to be awesome. It really is. You know, one thing I was just amazed, first of all, and I’m just talking about my experience here, get the gun, really nice case from you guys, got sequence precision on it. So, hey, everybody sees it in a gunshot. What’s in that? What’s in that? And I’m telling you, and I promise you this is the truth, Kevin, the guys were wondering if there was a rifle in it. That’s how light it was, you know? Oh, yeah. I mean, honestly, they said that. Two of the guys, they said – man we were wondering if you just got a case from them i said why and they go it’s so light we couldn’t believe it and so i’ve got it suppressed now i’ve got the optics on everything and bud i’m telling you and i told you before i shoot a 300 weathering mag most of my life and son this feels like a third of that you know oh my gosh yeah your shoulder will be thanking you yeah and and it just feels so nice man i cannot wait for fall to get here but uh It is just such lightweight. And that’s one thing that you guys, you know, and let’s just be honest. As I mentioned before, a lot of competition here. What do most people claim? Hey, accuracy and quality, you know. And I haven’t handled every gun.
SPEAKER 12 :
If it’s not accurate, then what good is it, right?
SPEAKER 03 :
Right, right. And so what do you think is the Seekin’s secret sauce, so to speak, and what you want to say there as far as from action, you know, to quality of barrels and actions and different things like that?
SPEAKER 12 :
What sets us apart from anybody else that’s in the same realm or even in the same space as us, whether it’s a quality or it’s a price thing, whatever that case may be, is that we build everything on that rifle 100% in Lewiston, Idaho, under one roof. Period. End of story. There are not a lot of companies today that can say that that is occurring under one roof. Usually, the outsourcing has to happen. If you want to scale, you typically will have to contract out some of your parts and components. and then now you are dealing with that other machine shop’s tolerances, their ability to make quality components, and now you can’t control that on your end. You know, you can give them the spec sheet, you can give them the tolerance parameters or whatever that may be, but they’re going to have a tolerance, and then you’re just stuck with the parts that you get, right? So for us, we can control every stage of those parts from start to finish, raw material to a completed product under one roof, so… We also have a very, very high test rate. Essentially, you know, we build, I’m going to just say 20 actions, right? We’re going to test probably one out of the six of them and verify all specs and all the components and everything that fits into those is within Seekin specifications, our tolerance, our quality expectations. And then that way, when that gun goes together at the end of the rainbow, it is the best bolt action rifle that money can buy. And there are not a lot of companies that can say that they do that to the scale that we’re trying to get to. So to give you an idea, when I first started working for Seekins about three years ago, we were shipping about 150-ish rifles a week. Right now, we are going to be probably hitting around 400 rifles a week in the three years I’ve been here and have increased the quality of the product. most companies cannot say that they do that either. Most companies have to find a way to make something cheaper and faster. We found a way to make it faster, but increase the quality and make it a better product for the end user. So now all of our actions have switch barrel systems. So Scott, you got a, you got a seven PRC, right? You say, Kevin, I, you know, I think I want to shoot a 300 for some reason. I got this hunt going on and I need to just blow whatever it is a buffalo hunter a bison hunter whatever it is and you say i got to shoot a 300 i’m a great scott if you if you’ve got a seven allen riches at home you can swap that barrel yourself um in the comfort of your own home very easily you just have to have the barrel and you put it on and wham bam thank you ma’am you’re ready to hit the wind hit the wind so that’s really um super cool that we’ve done this year with the new actions new updates and is we found a way to make our rifles faster, but in a better way. We’re not cutting corners. We’re just trying to find a better way to make it. And it comes with our name, Unrivaled Innovation, right? That’s our tagline. You see it on our poster boards or whatever that may be. And that’s a legit thing. We really do strive to make a better product, even if it was already a great product.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, absolutely. All right. So let’s kind of run through your lineup here real quick. You mentioned the Havoc Bolt guns and you’ve gotten into some AR stuff here, but kind of just kind of walk us through from maybe maybe entry level type deal up to.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah. Absolutely. So all of Seekin’s bolt guns are called Havocs. It’s just a product family name. And then our flagship rifle, this is the one that comes in at $18.95. That is really what we call our working man’s gun. This is the guy that wants the nicest rifle he can afford and may not be able to afford the $10,000 rifle. And this one comes in, it’s the PH3. And we offer a a flurried number of calibers and barrel lengths and options and colors. So that’s to give that guy plenty of choices to pick from to meet his needs, whatever it may be. If he’s running a suppressor, if he’s not running one, he just cares about ballistical performance, we’ve got some options for him. So there’s a lot of choices in the PH3 lineup. And that way the guy can kind of pick and choose what he would like to roll with. He’s got those options. The next step up is our Element M3. That is the one that comes with a carbon fiber barrel and an aluminum action. That’s the one you got, Scott. That one is a lightweight, purpose-built gun. That gun is designed to maximize a lightweight rifle but still high-performing gun. A lot of other companies, when they build a lightweight gun, they are trying to build a lightweight gun and forget that they’re still needing to build an accurate rifle. So we try to balance that. We want to make sure that rifle is balanced appropriately for the performance that you expect out of a precision rifle, but still have the lightweight savings that you need. Then the next step up is our Element Hunter. It’s basically the Element M3 that I just described, but in a lightweight chassis. So it’s got a folding chassis, the stock folding, Folds over across the bolt knob, protects it when it’s in a case or a bag. Very easy to deploy. We hold that tolerance nice and tight, so there’s no buttons to release the stock when you’re unfolding it. You just pull it away from the gun, and it clicks into place, and away you go. You’re ready to hit the wind. And so that’s probably those top, that’s usually going to be hitting those top tier guys. Those ones come in at $3,200. The Element M3 in the normal stock, that one comes in at $2,895. And then that’s really rounds out our hunting rifle lineup. For our more precision rifle or our law enforcement really geared customers, we have our Havoc Hit Pro M3. So what that is is that’s a 12-pound gun. That is not one you want to be carrying very often through the woods or anything like that. You will be in pain on that one. But if you’re looking for ultimate precision long-range shooting or you’re with a law enforcement agency or you just want to have that range, that gun not move for any reason, that’s really what you’re going to be looking for. It features a heavy profile barrel, an all-aluminum chassis, has M-LOK slots on the front, a folding stock as well, just like the Element Hunter, but You get the cheek adjustments, length of pull adjustments. You get a lot more creature comforts for that rifle. And that’s really, that rounds out all of our Havoc bolt guns. We do have a SLAM rifle, which comes through our custom shop. It’s very similar to the Element Hunter, but it comes with all the Gucci things that guys would want. You know, full carbon fiber skins. They get accuracy tested. They can pick and choose colorways. if they want a particular barrel length um or an option that we have that they want to take advantage of they can pick and choose that one so that one comes in at 46.50 um and we launched that one about two years ago and then we had a lot of our retail partners want something a little more palpable on the shelf so we came out with the element hunter this year which is the production version of the slam so a lot of options to pick from a lot of fun stuff to check out we have it all on our website um In the gas gun lineup, we have our NX-15. That’s just our 16-inch rifle, .223, basically just a good duty-built gun. If you’re looking for a lightweight AR-15, that’s a really good one to look for.
SPEAKER 03 :
What’s that one come in weight-wise, just roughly?
SPEAKER 12 :
It’s probably just at around 6 pounds for a lightweight 16-inch rifle. It’s an all-around good rifle, right? It’s got a slim profile handguard. It’s got lightened receiver sets, billet both upper and lower, ambidextrous magazine release, and ambidextrous safety as well. So some really cool features at a really good price point. Then we have our DMR rifle, which is basically just an accurized version of the NX-15. It has a little bit heavier. This gun comes in a little bit heavier than the NX-15, but it’s designed to be a very precision-built 5.56. But we also do it in 6-arc and, I believe, 22-arc. So some small-frame gas gun options. And then the SP-10 rifle. is our large frame. That one comes in at 6 Creed, 6.5 Creed, or .308. And that one’s very popular for precision shooting with a gas gun or hunting. You know, if you want to hunt with a semi-auto, that’s a good one to go with. We also have an SP-10M, which is what I call our military or law enforcement contract gun. This rifle has actually won a SOCOM contract about four or five years ago. It was being deployed by Tier 1, Tier 2 SOCOM units And we’re just looking to continue to grow that product lineup as well. So, yeah, a lot of offerings from us. We make our own scope rings and scope mounts. um, make a lot of other accessories. You know, we do our own carbon fiber, a hundred percent in house. So, um, you know, we, we, we gotta get to, we gotta get you out here for some time, Scott, and do a tour and show you, show you how we make everything.
SPEAKER 03 :
No, you know, I was actually reading this morning about your experience that you offer there. And I was like, well, I’m not going to ask him on air, but I’m going to talk to him after. Cause I’m like, man, that sounds like a pretty neat deal.
SPEAKER 12 :
It’s just really, it’s just the tour, man. Um, it’s, it’s really one of those things where, um, Before COVID, it actually was an extensive experience, and then we just started getting busier. We didn’t slow down through COVID. Other companies closed into a shell. We expanded. We added new machines and robots and just turned the gas on. So since then, we’ve kind of had to slim down that experience. Really, what we tell folks is anybody is welcome to come get a tour from Seekin. So you can come down there. You know, whether you’re here in Lewiston or if you are driving through the area, whatever you want to do, you just swing by and we’ll give anybody off the street a tour and we’ll show you how we take a raw material and make a completed product. You’ll see every step of the process from square one all the way to it’s in a box and it’s going out the door.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I tell you, like I say, just from my experience of my first one with you here, not only from just, you know, getting it and shooting it and the precision of it. And again, the gun store that I was working with on this LT Arms guys over there were just they could not believe the finish. Just everything about it. They just couldn’t believe how nice it was, you know.
SPEAKER 12 :
We definitely take pride in our rifles, and it shows, man. We have a lifetime warranty. If you break it, if you snap it, if you fall off a cliff or a hill or something, Scott, and you land on your gun, you break that stock, you just mail it to me, and I’ll build you a new one. It’s just basically what the right thing to do is. If somebody’s got your product, you want them to be in love with it and always cherish it and These are heirloom pieces. I’ve got guys that call me all the time. I’ve got six of your guns, and two of them are going to my boys, so I’ve got to buy two more. And it’s one of those things that the Seekins customers are some of our best salespeople. And our running joke around here is my title is a sales account manager, but it’s more like an expectations manager, to be honest with you, because our guns sell themselves, and then our Seekins customers sell our rifles for us. know five to eight years on our havoc rifles is we’ve just built a very good quality rifle and we take care of the customer that has any issues or has any questions maybe they maybe they didn’t know they need a nicer scope maybe they have a cheaper scope and they were they couldn’t understand and but instead of saying well it’s your scope walk them through that hey this is why these scopes cost more and this is you know it has nothing to do with the rifle but we’re going to help that customer understand that it’s a rifle system right It’s a scope. It’s a scope rings. It’s the ammunition. It’s the gun. And the last thing is the shooter. Hey, how are you shooting this thing? Well, I’m shooting it off the hood of my truck. Okay, well, that’s probably why you’re not getting super accurate grouping. Let’s talk about that. And, you know, so we always have this customer experience and customer satisfaction guarantee as well. So we want to make sure our product is your favorite product, whether it’s scope rings or whether it’s a complete rifle. That is a goal of ours. And everyone here at Seacon’s number one job, whether it be a coding department, machine shop guy, is customer service, is to take care of that customer in any way we can. We will move heaven and earth. And you can see that in some of our YouTube videos and how we describe it is that we really, really do cherish and value our customer. And we know that that customer is our number one priority because they are our best salespeople, right? They are our best people to talk really good things about our rifles and And we want to make sure that they are happy as can be.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep. And here’s one thing I appreciate, just to be honest with you. And, I mean, I’m a sales guy, I guess. You know, I was in the retail furniture business forever. And, I mean, so I come from a sales background. But here’s what I appreciate. Everything you told me on the showroom floor at the Mile High Hunt and Fish Expo about the rifle is 1,000% true. And that’s what I appreciate. So thank you very much, man, for sure. Now, a couple of Shield stores in our area, so they’re going to have the largest selection, correct?
SPEAKER 12 :
Definitely, yeah. Those Shield locations are one of our biggest customers. They’re one of our biggest retail partners. So if you’re in, I believe there’s a Johnstown one and a Colorado Springs location.
SPEAKER 06 :
Correct.
SPEAKER 12 :
Those would be some of your best guys to go check out. They have, or actually, I think we’re their number one premium rifle brand in Shields. So when you walk in there, there should be, I hope there is, there should be a few display cases full of Seekins rifles. Um, so they, they, um, and, and I’ll be honest, like the Shields, um, staff is, is really good partnership. They, they kind of embody what we do is customer satisfaction and selling a quality product. Right. So that’s where, um, the Shields and Seekins, um, partnership is, is really a big deal for us. And we, we do value that a lot. We know that that, you know, we can’t be in every single store, whether it’s a Shields or whether it’s, a North 40 or whether it’s a sportsman’s warehouse or wherever, wherever people go and buy their guns, right? We can’t be in every store. So we got to make sure that we, we understand that the folks that are behind the counter on the sales floor are some of the most knowledgeable folks. And we have found that those, those shields guys are really, really well put together and they support their staff. So, so if you are near those, those locations or, you know, even if it’s a drive, it’s worth the drive is it’s a really good, it’s a really good store to go in and check out.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yep, absolutely. Hey, check them out. It is SeekinsPrecision.com. Once again, Shield stores have a great range of everything they carry there and good knowledge on them as well. I’ve dropped in the Colorado Springs store just the other day and was talking with them about them. So check them out. And once again, Kevin, we’re proud to have you guys back at the Mile High Hunt and Fish Expo for Seekins. And if you missed that programming note, we will not be back at the Gaylord with that this year. We will be at the brand new National Western Center Expo Hall March 20th through the 22nd. And, of course, a lot will be coming in the future about that as well. So, Kevin, man, I appreciate your time. And, hey, we’re going to do this every several weeks, man. So we want people to know about Seekins. And, hey, get them ready here for the hunting season in Colorado for sure and everywhere else they might be hunting. So, man, we appreciate your time.
SPEAKER 12 :
Of course, yeah. Thanks, Scott. Appreciate you having me on. And we look forward to being back at the Mile High Hunting Fish Expo in 2026.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, buddy. Take care. Thanks. That’s Kevin Jones, Seekins Precision, SeekinsPrecision.com. Thanks for being with us today. Hope you have a great rest of your weekend.
SPEAKER 13 :
The views and opinions expressed on KLZ 560 are those of the speaker, commentators, hosts, their guests, and callers. They are not necessarily the views and opinions of Crawford Broadcasting or KLZ management, employees, associates, or advertisers. KLZ 560 is a Crawford Broadcasting God and country station.
