Ann Arbor Arms Moves and Grows

The success of Ann Arbor Arms has stunned–Tasered?–many locals who think Ann Arbor is too urban, or not urban enough, or definitely too liberal to support a business dedicated to self-defense weaponry. Owners Bill and Holli Pinon (pronounced “pinyon”) are not surprised at its success. Bill says, “There’s a stigma around guns. No one wants to say they’re involved in firearms.” Often a person that he’s met in another context will walk into his store and they’ll be staring across the counter in mutual amazement to discover they share an interest in firearms. “These are people that I’ve sat around with, talked for hours about fly-fishing or cars or whatever. Those are ‘safe’ things to talk about.” He goes out of the way “not to politicize our position. We have over twenty-four employees–people out of the military, young people, retired cops. That’s something I’m proud of–that we’ve brought growth and jobs.”

Bill and Holli opened Ann Arbor Arms a few years ago in a rented space on Jackson Rd. and have now partnered with Greg Rose to construct the brand-new building across the street from Menards and Tractor Supply. At 24,000 feet, it’s the size of a grocery store and has a state-of-the-art indoor shooting range. Even people who frequent shooting ranges might be surprised by the technical intricacies required of a modern one. A3’s was designed by a company that made shooting ranges at Quantico. Its ventilation system “exchanges 23,000 cubic feet of air every eighty seconds and pulls the smoke away from the shooters,” says Bill. “We use licensed EPA-documented recyclers” to get rid of the lead bullets and brass shells.

You don’t need to have your own gun to try it out. They’ll rent you everything you need, but there are a lot of rules to follow. If you’re using their equipment, they’ll also ask you to bring a friend; if you use your own gun, you can come alone. The explanation gets a little dark: according to politico.com, many ranges have adopted that rule as a precaution against suicide.

When they opened, Holli described the store’s mission as “a combination of personal defense, protection, emergency preparedness, and survival.” As it turned out, Bill says, many gun buyers are involved in shooting sports, with no interest in self-protection. At the same time, he plays up the large component of the store devoted to non-gun self-defense with items like Tasers and pepper spray. And survival is still big: they’ve got plenty of practical supplies for surviving natural catastrophes and camping trips gone wrong.

Ann Arbor Arms, 45 Metty Dr., 531-6650. Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. annarborarms.com