Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Lohman.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started in the firearms industry in 2012, but coaching college football is what brought me to Houston in the late 90’s. I coached college and pro football for 8 seasons. I enjoyed the coaching, but wanted to get more out of life than football. In 2001 I started in the financial and insurance industry which I still have today and the company name is FPP Advisory. After President Obama was elected and health insurance laws started to change I knew I had to get into some other type of business. So that was when I thought getting into the gun industry would be a good idea.
Has it been a smooth road?
There are endless challenges and obstacles to overcome when you are a small business owner. When you own your own company and the batteries go out on your mouse, and you don’t have any in the supply room it can be 30 min to go to the store and get new batteries.
When you own your own business you always have to think about tomorrow and next week. Particularly in the gun industry. You have to go through a rigorous application process to get a Federal Firearms License (FFL). I have three different FFL’s. I would say keeping up with all the laws and rules that comes with a FFL is a big challenge.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Lohman Gunsmith is the only full service gunsmith shop that I know of in the USA that does everything with repairs, builds, and coatings.
Lohman Gunsmith is certified Cerakoter. We do all the Cerakoting for Shilen Barrel Company in Ennis, Texas. We have 2 full time coaters and do a lot of firearms. We also do custom car, motorcycle, and are starting to get into Oil Field Service parts coating. Our turnaround is very quick on all coatings
We also are one of the few companies in the United States that does firearm restoration. We do the old color case hardening, and slow rust bluing. We make custom stocks, and repair and restore the wood on firearms.
Our Machine Shop is also a big part of our business. With a full machine shop and a Manufacturing FFL the possibilities are endless in what we can do. Threading barrels is probably the most requested service we get asked to do, but we do slide cuts, RMR cuts, chamber actions are just a few examples of what we do in the back.
Repairs are a large part of the business. It is fun to see all the different guns we get in. We had a gun that Colt certified was in Cuba and might have made the charge up San Juan Hill or Kettle Hill. We work on any gun that goes bang. Lol I even get calls every once in a while to work a nail gun! One of the most request things we get in the repair area is to do a complete clean on a gun. When doing this we will take ever screw spring, nut and bolt out of the gun inspect it, clean it, oil it and put it back together again.
We also do custom gun builds to the exact spec’s a customer wants.
What makes me the most proud of is all my employees truly treat everything that comes in the shop as if it was their own and we give them the best service, and the highest quality work, with a 30 day guarantee on all labor.
I think what sets us apart from other shops is that we work on every type of firearm and the amount of different things we do to a firearm and we do it all well.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I cannot think of a better place in the United State to have a gun shop than in the fourth largest city in the USA. There are more people that have Federal Firearms Licenses than there are Starbucks in Houston.
Houston and Texas are gun loving communities. Just look at the history books and Texans have fought for their freedoms and there rights to bear arms. Come and take it!
Guns are something that you can pass down from generation to generation. I hear all the time stories of someone’s relatives and their guns at deer camp or a bird hunting trip. People will remember the stories long after a family member has passed away. It is a way they can remember them and pass the transitions and stories to the next generation.
Contact Info:
- Address: 11875 West Little York Rd
Houston, Texas 77041 - Website: www.lohmangunsmith.com
- Phone: 832-849-0009
- Email: gunsmith@lohmangunsmith.com
- Instagram: lohman_gunsmith
- Facebook: lohmangunsmith
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