Story of Republic Arms

From Dan Morse, the Small Business Owner

Good Morning to all of my friends, customers, followers, and anyone else who has supported or shown an interest in Republic Arms! Today marks my fifth anniversary of being in business!

I would like to start this post by giving my deepest and most heartfelt thanks to every single person who has supported Republic Arms, whether with a purchase – large, small, or in between – or kind word, referral, or positive review. I value each and every one of you, because you are both why I have done this and why I have been able to keep doing it. Thank you. Truly.

It’s amazing to think that I’ve been able to do this for so long. The perception of time is a strange thing; the past five years seem to have both flown and crept by. Regardless, every moment has brought new chances for learning and growth. Every person who has walked in my door has brought a welcome challenge or a learning opportunity. While some of those challenges have been insurmountable, I’d like to think that I’ve succeeded more than I’ve failed.

But more than the successes or the failures, I count the people who have come to me. Many of those people I have grown to call “friend” and that is something I will always treasure.

On this occasion, I hope you’ll indulge me in a bit of history/reminiscence:

I started this business with a small loan from my own personal savings. After about 2-1/2 years I was able to get that paid back and was able to focus not only on growing the business, but on giving back to the community that has been so supportive of me. I’ve been fortunate to be able to offer continued support to the People’s Pantry and Forget-Me-Not Animal Shelter, two vitally important organizations in our community. I have also been able to make donations to support the Republic Library, the Kettle River Music Festival, the Ferry County Fair, and Eagle Track Raceway, as well as numerous other community organizations, and clubs and sports at the Republic School. I share this community support not to brag, but share my joy in being able to give back, and hopefully inspire others to do the same. Supporting these sorts of organizations and causes is vitally important in any community, doubly so in one as small and remote as ours.

Until about a year ago, aside from the above donations, everything I earned was reinvested in the business, to expand it and make it better able to serve the needs of my customers and my community. At that point, I was finally able to start paying myself a wage; I had essentially been working for free up until that point. I still make less than minimum wage, but I count myself lucky and thankful that I have been able to do that while doing something I love.

There have been many challenges and many obstacles along the way. The vast majority of those have been external and unfortunately out of my control.

Just about six months after I started the business, in early 2020, we had the nightmare of the Covid-19 Pandemic, with the resulting shutdowns, lockdowns, and civil unrest. This brought massive challenges in terms of product availability, due to both sky-high demand for personal protection and all-time lows in inventory due to a crippled supply chain. The firearms industry is still feeling these effects to this day, though it is far more possible to find the products I need than it was three or four years ago. The only saving grace during this period was the overwhelming support, patience, and understanding of the vast majority of my customers. I am truly grateful that you stuck with me through it.

However, the greatest challenges have come in the form of misguided and ineffective laws coming out of our state legislature, as driven by our governor and attorney general.

When I first moved to Washington about six years ago, one of the motivators for choosing to come here was the relatively permissive gun laws, especially when compared to Hawaii, the state I left. Since then, I have watched the laws get more and more restrictive, while having objectively no effect on violent crime, the very thing they purport to help reduce.

2022 brought a double-whammy of SB 5078, which banned the sale of so-called “high capacity” magazines, and HB 1705, which banned so-called “ghost guns”. Both of these were significant revenue streams for my business, and disappeared overnight with the stroke of a pen.

2023 brought the biggest blow so far to my business, in the form of SHB 1240, the ban on so-called “assault weapons”.

Those three bills taken together easily destroyed HALF of my business.

Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come. On July 1st of 2025, many more restrictions and requirements will be placed on virtually all firearms businesses in Washington, thanks to HB 2118, the so-called “FFL Killer Bill”. Increased security, storage, insurance, and surveillance will be required of me.

And that brings me to the deeply unfortunate crux of this post:

It is currently my intention to cease operations of Republic Arms no later than June 30th, 2025.

I am literally tearing up as I write this, as it is not how I wanted this to go. I had hoped to be able to do this for years to come. For many years my mantra has been, “If all I can sell are single-action revolvers and lever guns, then I’ll be right here selling single-action revolvers and lever guns.” But the “powers that be” are pernicious and clever; they have gone after my bottom line. Time and again. And at the end of the day this is not a charity. It is a business, and it needs to be financially viable. I do not believe it is anymore, and certainly will not be after July 1st of next year.

Further, and perhaps most importantly, the most egregious and invasive aspect of HB 2118 is that I would be required to conduct constant audio surveillance of my premises and my customers. This is a bridge to far, and even if everything else fell into place to make the business financially viable, I would likely close based on this alone. I categorically refuse to violate my customers’ privacy, and to betray the trust they have placed in me – a trust that it has taken me years to nurture.

Finally, the constant stress and worry about what will come next, what legal or legislative hurdle I’ll have to jump over during the next session, has taken a mental toll on me. As much as I want to keep trying, to keep fighting, I am quite simply done. I have given literal blood, sweat, and tears to this business, and while I’ve reaped many rewards for which I will always be grateful, I cannot continue without taking too great a toll on myself. My respect and admiration go to those firearms businesses that plan to remain open and continue to fight the good fight for all of us and our rights here in Washington, in particular Sharp Shooting Indoor Range & Gun Shop and Sporting Systems.

As I say, this is not what I’d hoped for when I started this business. I simply wanted to provide what I saw as a needed service to this community that has been so warm and welcoming to me. I am honored that I have been able to do that.

So, what does this all mean for the next nine months or so? What are the practical upshots to you all, as my valued supporters, customers, and friends?

I am still working out many of the details at the moment, but wanted to give you this announcement as soon as I was sure it was the way I needed to go. I know that closing my business will make it much more difficult for the people of this area to obtain the firearms they want or need, and I am genuinely sorry for that. I hope that this much notice will give you a chance to think about anything I can help you with before I close, because I would be happy to do so.

Some specifics that I’ve given a great deal of thought to:

I will keep my current business hours through the end of modern rifle season (which ends on Friday, October 25th). After that, I will cut back my hours to (tentatively): Tuesday and Friday: 9am – 5pm and every other Saturday: 9am – 1pm. If business tapers off significantly, I may cut back my hours even further. However, I will work with each customer to be available for firearm pickups even on days I am closed. You already have to wait 10 business days to pick up a gun and I don’t want to unnecessarily add to that.

I will continue to be more than happy to place orders for any specific guns, ammunition, optics, or accessories you may want, but I will be doing very little ordering of inventory to stock the shelves. I will instead be focusing on selling what I already have in stock. So I may need to ask for your patience and understanding that what you’re looking for may not be immediately available in store. However, I will remain happy to source it for you.

I will likely not be looking to make any used purchases, nor will I be likely to entertain any trades. Moving forward, my focus will be on selling, not acquiring inventory. I will remain happy to take items on consignment, on a case-by-case basis.

I will also remain happy to receive transfer shipments of firearms and to conduct background checks for these.

If you are planning ahead for a firearm purchase, I would strongly suggest that you anticipate starting the background check paperwork absolutely no later than June 1st, to allow ample time for the waiting period and pickup before I am closed.

If you are planning ahead for a silencer purchase, I would even more strongly suggest doing so by the end of this year at the absolute latest. While NFA wait times have improved significantly over the past few months, I can make no guarantee that this will continue, and in the past it has proven to be a lengthy process.

I will keep you updated here and in store about any other suggestions or changes that may come as I move towards closure. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns whatsoever, please reach out to me and I will be happy to answer or discuss them with you.

Looking to the future, I would love to see a day where many of the current infringements on our natural right to bear arms are removed. I am far from optimistic that this will happen anytime soon. In the event that it does, I will be keeping my options open for the possibility of reopening my business in some capacity. Though I am also far from optimistic that I will be able to, as much as I would like to.

I think I’ve ranted, rambled, reminisced, and informed as much as I need to for now, so I would like to close this post as I began it, with the deepest and most heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you, for your kindness, your caring, your business, your support, and your friendship. You are all most warmly appreciated.

Sincerely,

—Dan Morse

Owner, Republic Arms

PS: Both as a thank you for the last five years and to help clear out existing inventory, starting today – and until I close – I will be offering (at least!) a blanket 5% off all in-store inventory. This does not apply to special orders or to consignment items.