Sights firmly set on the future

Nighthawk Custom guns put bang-up year in cross hairs

Allen Wyatt shapes a custom handgun recently at Nighthawk Custom in Berryville. He said building the entire gun gives him a sense of pride.
Allen Wyatt shapes a custom handgun recently at Nighthawk Custom in Berryville. He said building the entire gun gives him a sense of pride.

BERRYVILLE - Deep in a warren of offices, storerooms and workshops carved out of a still-operational storage facility, craftsmen with the keen eyes of jewelers and the light touches of sculptors labor over custom pistols destined to be sold for a pretty penny in the United States and around the world.

Allen Wyatt is one of Nighthawk Custom’s pistol builders. He assembles all the prepared components,making sure the fit and finish are as perfect as he can make them. When his work is complete, Wyatt test-fires the pistol to ensure it’s operating properly. Then, and only then, does he put his individual stamp on it, hidden behind the pistol’s left grip panel and there for the lifetime of the gun.

Wyatt said building the entire firearm himself - and then, in effect, signing it when his work is complete - gives him a sense of pride and an incentive to make sure the weapon is as flawless as possible.

“Whether it runs or not, it’s up to me,” he said.

For 10 years, Nighthawk Custom has produced top end 1911 pistols in Berryville, a city of more than 5,000 and the largest city in Carroll County. It is one of the county’s two county seats, an honor it shares with its more quirky neighbor to the west, Eureka Springs.

The 1911 pistols made at Nighthawk Custom sell for a minimum of $2,800, with a waiting time that can be measured in years.

THE 1911

The brainchild of John Moses Browning of Utah, considered one of history’s most innovative gun makers, the 1911 pistol has served the U.S. armed forces through numerous conflicts, including World Wars I and II. The Marines recently ordered $22.5 million in 1911-style pistols for some of its troops.

Although the design is more than 100 years old, the 1911 - a semiautomatic pistol - is still considered by collectors, handgun enthusiasts and competitive shooters as classic and highly functional.

Mark Stone, the owner of Nighthawk Custom, said going to the one-gun, one-builder concept about four years ago was hard on the company in the short term because of the extensive training required, but it was one of the turning points in Nighthawk Custom’s history.

“It’s more expensive to do it this way, but it’s the only way to be sure each pistol not only meets Nighthawk standards but the builder’s standards, too,” Stone said. “Some of our customers have purchased more than one gun from us, and they’ll request a specific builder because they love their first pistol so much.”

Nighthawk Custom recently consolidated its leadership under Stone and has its sights firmly set on the future. Stone said that with close to 50 employees, Nighthawk Custom is expecting an increase in production of nearly 25 percent for the coming year - close to 3,700 pistols. Nighthawk also sells custom-tuned Remington 870 shotguns, gun leather, parts and knives, but the 1911 pistols are its focus.

FIREARMS AND JOBS

According to the Firearms and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact Report 2013, recently released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation - the trade association for the firearms industry - output is up significantly for the nation’s firearms makers, and jobs are being created as a result.

Demand for a wide variety of firearms and ammunition spiked early last year after calls for more gun regulations in the wake of several mass shootings, resulting in panic buying and nationwide shortages. Since then, the supply of many firearms and most types of ammunition has stabilized.

In Arkansas, there were2,398 jobs directly attributed to all firearm-related industries in 2013, with total wages of $150.8 million and $703.86 million in value of goods produced, not including the economic impact of suppliers or other jobs indirectly supported by the industry. Nationally the firearms industry directly accounted for 111,900 jobs in 2013, up from 75,600 in 2008, with total wages of $4.5 billion for 2013, up from $2.4 billion in 2008.

“We’re dealing with almost a 50 percent increase in direct jobs,” said Michael Bazinet, director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The regulatory scare was a factor for growth, Bazinet said, but the foundation has tracked steady, long-term growth over the past decade as more people became interested in shooting sports like target shooting, firearms for self-defense and hunting. All of this occurred despite the recession in 2008 and its slow recovery.

In March, publicly traded Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., one of the nation’s largest handgun manufacturers, reported third-quarter sales of $145.8 million, up 7.1 percent compared with the same quarter last year.

Smith & Wesson’s net income was $20.78 million for the third quarter, up from $14.57 million from the year earlier. The company said handgun sales, which include its popular Smith & Wesson M&P polymer pistols, grew nearly 30 percent for the period. According to the company’s 2013 annual report, Smith & Wesson handgun sales accounted for $324.6 million in sales and were 55.3 percent of total sales for the year. Handgun sales were up 36 percent in fiscal year 2013, from $238.4million the year earlier.

“I think we can safely say there’s been growth across the board from big-box retailers to the high end,” Bazinet said.

ART AND MAGIC

Stone, of Nighthawk Custom, said it was daunting, shouldering his way into the high-end pistol market that’s dominated by Wilson Combat, also of Berryville, and other industry stalwarts like Les Baer Custom Inc. of Iowa. His business partners were experienced gunsmiths and a salesman who had come from Wilson Combat. Stone’s background was in business.

“We started out with no name, no customers, no parts and no suppliers,” Stone explained.

He said things were slow at first as the company built relationships and got key people in place in its management team.

“It’s amazing how the Lord provides people when you need them,” Stone said.

Business, Pages 75 on 05/04/2014

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