Right to Bare Arms: Don Perkins talks guns, faith, family as a firearms shop owner

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By Sadie Hunter

A career change late in life has proved successful for Don Perkins, owner of Bare Arms Firearms.

For most of his adult life, Perkins, now 60, worked as a corporate executive for trucking companies, like Stoops, handling sales and operations.

It wasn’t until just more than four years ago he was inspired by his son to leave it behind.

“I grew up in Northern Indiana. My dad was in the military for quite a few years. I grew up out in the county, and we were hunting and fishing,” he said. “I got away from guns after I got out of high school, and then when my son became an explorer policeman, he got me interested again. So, it was really kind of my son that got me back involved with guns. I felt a calling to do something different. I left the corporate world and went out on my own to do my own thing.”

This business is housed just east of Ind. 37 at 2370 Conner St. in downtown Noblesville, where Perkins says safety and security is a high priority.

“This is an old bank, so in having an old bank, you have all the security that goes along with it,” he said. “All of our guns are kept in a vault after hours. We pay very close attention to the safety and security of what we do here.”

In keeping with his employees and customer base being safe, he encourages safety and competency above all else when it comes to firearms.

“We offer a wide variety of training. We are NRA-certified trainers here. A couple of us are certified range safety officers,” Perkins said. “We offer other classes called, ‘Refuse to be a Victim.’ We train hundreds of folks each year. We do NRA basic pistol training. We fill those classes almost every month. Then we offer advanced pistol training, advanced rifle training, where (the customer spends) a lot of time learning how to become a quality defensive shooter. We want guns in the hands of folks who know how use them. We want folks educated and safe.”

Perkins said when potential customers come into the store for a handgun, they are personally fitted for one after being asked a series of questions so the gun fits the person to the best of their ability.

“We want a handgun to fit you just like your favorite jeans, your favorite shoes or your favorite purse. We want you comfortable, committed to training and competent,” he said.

Of the store’s five employees, including Perkins, all of them are policemen or are closely related to a police department. Perkins said they’re NRA-certified trainers.

Politically, with firearms in the news nearly everyday, no matter which side of the table you sit on, Perkins said he sees a wide range of opinions and lifestyles in his customer base, but says he gladly serves them all.

“You find a wide variety of users. We have seen an increase with the Paris attacks. We have certainly seen an increase with the crime in Indianapolis moving towards Hamilton County, and then now with the latest attack in San Bernardino, we have seen a significant increase,” he said. “Unfortunately, it can be a political cycle, and unfortunately, it can be a horrific event cycle.”

Perkins said most of his business comes from those seeking personal protection firearms, 95 percent of which is handgun sales.

“We do a lot with hunting, we do a lot with sporting rifles, but predominantly we do a lot with personal protection, whether it’s on your person, in your vehicle or your home. Our primary demographic from a usage standpoint is that, and then about 35 percent of (personal protection) business is female.”

Perkins said he has operated the store with what he calls an unlikely Christian component.

“There is absolutely a Christian faith component to this store. We founded this store under the auspices to do our best in a sinful world,” Perkins said. “Somedays we’re good at that, and somedays we’re not. We try to represent Christ and be an outreach in our community in a place that is least likely to do so. I’m a dad, husband, son, father and grandfather. One of the things I wanted here was to have a place that my daughters, my mom, my granddaughters and my wife could come and be proud of what we do.”

Meet Don Perkins

Age: 60

Family: Married, two daughters, one son, two pet yorkies.

Business: former corporate executive; currently owns Bare Arms, 2370 Conner St., Noblesville.

Contact: Phone: 770-6626; Email: [email protected].

Website: barearmsllc.net.

Social media: Facebook: Bare Arms Firearms; Twitter: @BareArmsFirearm. “We do some email marketing and a little bit on Facebook and Twitter, but we don’t really sell there. Our focus is to work with the customers face-to-face. That’s one of the auspices I wanted to have when I founded this company … old fashioned service and old fashioned values, not online stuff.”


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