next »

Kimble’s Guns & Repair in Linton celebrated its 2nd anniversary on Saturday by holding an open house from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

At the open house hunters and collectors were invited from all over the region to come and browse not just Kimble’s stock but also the vast variety of firearms available from DPMS, a gun manufacturer out of St. Cloud, Minnesota.

DPMS brought along their Black Cat Express, a gun display case on wheels. It housed over 45 custom DPMS rifles. Most of the guns were hunting rifles, and the price range was from $600-$2,500, and custom firearms could reach a cost of $3500.

Inside Kimble’s shop people were invited to browse for as long as they liked. A drawing was held every hour for various prizes. Refreshments were served and free frisbees, fly swatters and pop can coolers sporting the Kimble’s Guns & Repair logo were given away. About 200 customers visited the store on Saturday.

Perry Kimble, the owner of the store, worked as a trucker for many years, driving semi first for Magnum Trucking in Fargo.

“I enjoyed the driving,” said Perry. He wasn’t as crazy about the other “90%” of the job, but he had fun.

Perry was injured for a time, during which he tried trucking for another company, but that didn’t work out for him. He continued trucking with Magnum from 1999 until August of 2005. That’s when he turned his attention towards the gun business.

“I’ve always liked guns,” commented Perry. His father had served in the military during World War II and had been a platoon sergeant during the Battle of the Bulge, so Perry has a background when it comes to firearms. Perry was trained as a small arms repairman in the army and was in charge of a small arms repair shop in South Vietnam. He knows his stuff when it comes to working with weapons.

In May of 2006 Perry decided to turn his passion into a business. Kimble’s Guns & Repair opened with a much appreciated welcome from other local businesses.

“I’ve had good support from the community,” Perry said.

Customers have been plentiful for Perry from the get-go. North Dakota is known for it’s hunting, so he gets customers from all over the country.

Perry does a lot of minor gunsmithing for hunters, including minor repairs, cleaning and more; plus Perry always tests out the guns he works on before giving them back.

Out of state hunters are very much appreciated by Kimble’s business. They get help as soon as Perry is able, since he knows that they are in North Dakota for only a short while and want to get back to hunting.

Sales have increased each year for Kimble’s Guns & Repair. The best time for sales is always from October, which is the beginning of pheasant season, until after Christmas. The hours are extended during this time of year to 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. During the summer months people are generally just shooting varmints such as gophers, prairie dogs and flickertails.

Despite the very good business Perry is getting, rising fuel costs are affecting everything. The price of ammunition alone had risen 40% in the two years Kimble’s has been in business. The lead and copper used to make the bullets has risen in cost.

“It’s going to affect sales, I think,” commented Perry. He always has a good amount of ammunition in stock for purchase, but if the price continues to soar, demand may drop.

But through and through, Perry loves his job.

“I’ve got the best job in the world,” he said. “I get to come and be in a gun store all day!”

Perry values his customers and treats every question with the utmost respect.

“There are no dumb questions,” Perry stated.

Perry allows customers to browse and shop at their own pace. He takes the time to make sure the customer is comfortable with the purchase. If a woman comes in looking for a hand gun, Perry will ask questions to make sure he knows what she has in mind for a gun.

“My goal is not to sell her a pistol,” Perry explained, “it’s to sell the right [pistol].” A big purchase would be nice, he continued, but it is more important to him that the customer is satisfied.

Perry doesn’t run the store alone. His wife, Judy, and his son, Jack, both help with the store. Perry and Jack are taking education classes on guns, and Perry commented on how good Jack is at handling the firearms.

Perry has no plans to retire anytime soon, but when he does Jack plans to take over the business.