Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Bull's Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma

The Brady Campaign blog reports on the court ruling which stripped Brian Borgelt, the owner of Bull's Eye of his Federal Firearms License. It was from his store that the Beltway Snipers John Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo were able to get their weapon, a Bushmaster XM-15. Supposedly this weapon was among hundreds which were "lost" through poor record keeping. This is old news, we talked about it last March. The Brady report is because the ruling was recently upheld in the courts.

The new owner, Kris Kindschuh, is also speaking out. The Examiner has the report.

Before the local and national press gloat too loudly over their chance to report that a federal judge has upheld revocation of a federal firearms license (FFL) to Tacoma’s Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply, they need to get their story straight…or at least tell all of it.

True, in a ruling handed down last Friday by U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez, the government was found to have properly revoked the FFL of former Bull’s Eye owner Brian Borgelt. Unfortunately for Kris Kindschuh, the current owner and operator of the gun shop, now known officially as Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply LLC, the Associated Press, Tacoma News Tribune, and on-line Seattle Post-Intelligencer are not telling the rest of the story, as the late Paul Harvey put it.

And what is the rest of this story? Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply, located where it has always been, on Tacoma’s Puyallup Avenue, is still in business, and business is thriving. Kindschuh reported Monday afternoon that his FFL – the one he already had when he purchased the business in 2003 from embattled former proprietor Brian Borgelt – had just been renewed for three more years. This FFL is good through Aug. 1, 2012, and Kindschuh made it clear his doors will stay open.

Is this something to brag about or publicize? Has Kindschuh decided now's the time to come out more boldly? I had the sense before that he was keeping a low profile, perhaps attempting to downplay the fact that when Borgelt lost his license he simply "transferred ownership to his friend and continued to run the place."

I'm sure they cleaned up their act, as Mr. Kindschuh says, but this hardly seems the right way to treat firearms dealers who so blatantly contribute to the flow of guns into criminal hands.

What's your opinion? Is Kindschuh getting a raw deal reputation-wise? Or is he in cahoots with Borgelt and rightfully besmirched by past indiscretions?

What do you think? Why would lawful gun owners support and protect guys like these? I would think righteous people would be very wary of them.

Please leave a comment.

15 comments:

  1. Of what kind of wrongdoing are you accusing Kindschuh? He isn't Borgelt (Borgelt is the former owner--and someone, I believe, who has not been convicted of any crimes), he has a license, and even the JBTs of the BATFE don't seem to have a problem with him--so what's your problem with him?

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  2. Welcome back MikeB...

    I went to the gun show on Sunday and bought another 120 round drum magazine for the AR-15.

    Thought you might want to know.

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  3. kaveman, One time you said I wouldn't even want to know how much ammo you've got stockpiled.

    C'mon give us a hint. That additional 150 rounds represents what, 10%? Or is it just 1% of the total?

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  4. I confess I don't know much about this case. Just reading from the post though, it doesn't look like the new owner assumed the license of the former owner. I thought the article said that the former owner's license was revoked?

    So are you saying that the new owner is somehow responsible for the sins of the former owner in some way? Is there more to the story I don't know about?

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  5. Silly MikeB...

    Drum mags hold ammo, they are not ammunition.

    But you knew that, right?

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  6. 150 rds. is defintely less than 1% of my total ammo cache.

    Pretty sure I've got over 15K rounds laying around here.

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  7. So Mike, do you have any evidence of illegal activity by the new owner or is it just your personal hope that he's breaking the law?

    Kave, I'm now the owner of an AR-15 as well. Traded my Thompson for it following all associated laws.

    http://daysofourtrailers.blogspot.com/2009/09/horse-tradin.html

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  8. The question at hand is: do you think that something is going wrong when an old business-name is used by a new owner (presumably with a new FFL permit)?

    Or do you know that something is wrong?

    If it remains in the realm of think, then it is roughly equivalent to blaming the current holders of the Abercrombie & Fitch license for items sold by the original outfitting company to Theodore Roosevelt or Earnest Hemingway.

    (That would be this company, which used to sell guns, equipment, and clothes to sportsmen, but fell onto financial hard times...the company was sold, scrapped, and re-built as a fashion-clothing chain. )

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  9. "A Tacoma gun shop linked to the D.C. sniper case isn’t getting its firearms license back."

    Just how ignorant are you, MikeB?

    FFL are given to individuals, not gun shops.

    But you knew that, right? Since you're so well versed in all matters relating to gun laws.

    You. are. ignorant.

    Keep on posting MikeB, you do more to help the NRA then we could ever imagine.

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  10. For Fuck's sake, MikeB..


    Do some fucking research before you post your drivel.

    You, by your own doing, look like a fucking fool.

    Try and refute our points and experience an epic fail.

    Face it.

    We're provide facts and you respond with your feelings.

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  11. Mikeb302000,

    First off, I appreciate your not moderating comments. Few on your side of the fence are willing to do that. Most of the time they don't even allow comments!

    Having said that, I would like to read your answer to the questions placed before you.

    And my question to you is: Do you believe that it is just to coerce compliance at the muzzle of a gun?

    Best regards,
    Albert
    Why I Carry a Gun
    Real Men Hunt

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  12. It seems to me, if Mr. Kindschuh doesn't want his business of Bull's Eye confused with Mr. Borgelt's business of Bull's Eye, he should either change the name of the business, or stop running companies starting with "Bull's Eye" with Mr. Borgelt in Tacoma.

    It seems Washington has a "Bull's Eye Promotions LLC" (UBI 602476505) registered to Mr. Kindschuh and Mr. Borgelt. This is an active company. Then there is the "Bull's Eye Shooter Supply" owned by Mr. Borgelt (closed) and "Bull's Eye Shooter Supply LLC" managed by Mr. Kindschuh. And then there is still "Bull's Eye Indoor Range LLC" which is managed by Mr. Borgelt and "Brian David Borgelt" sole propriertor DBA "Bull's Eye Government Sales" (closed).

    That's a lot of Bull's Eyes!

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  13. kaveman, Yes of course I realize drum mags hold ammo. I didn't notice that when I put my question to you. I'm still curious though about your stockpile. If Mike W. has 15,000 rounds, you must have a lot. Will you tell us?

    About the wrongdoing of the new owner of Bull's Eye, one report several months ago said that when Borgelt got in trouble, he sold the place to his buddy and business continued as usual. That would make everyone dirty.

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  14. Albert, Thanks for the compliment about not moderating comments, but I must tell you at times I do. Although I strive not to, it sometimes happens that some of our frequent commenters get so carried away with their passion on the subject that they lose control of their tendency to use name-calling and personal attacks. When this get too out of hand, I pop on the moderation, but I'm careful not to abuse it. Never once have I deleted a comment in order to tip the argument in my favor.

    Your question was, "Do you believe that it is just to coerce compliance at the muzzle of a gun?"

    I'm not sure I understand but I'll take a stab at it. If I coerce someone to give me their wallet at the muzzle of a gun, that's not just. If I coerce a thief who is attempting to rob me to turn around and run at the muzzle of a gun, that would be just.

    How's that?

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  15. Mike,

    Ummmm,

    What side of the debate are you actually on? LOL! It really is my fault, I haven't delved into your archives, (Which I will do this evening!)

    Thanks for the answer, and I appreciate your response.

    Best regards,
    Albert
    Why I Carry a Gun
    Real Men Hunt

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