Downtown Guns & Ammo grand opening this weekend

COEUR d'ALENE - Richard Gallia's connections to law enforcement organizations around the country provided the resources he needed for his latest business venture.

This weekend he will hold a grand opening of Downtown Guns & Ammo in a rustic-style store at 406 N. Second St. Inside are hundreds of handguns and rifles purchased from police departments, prisons and other agencies.

"We specialize in police buybacks," he said. Tower guns from the Nevada Department of Corrections, riot shotguns, patrol rifles and semi-automatic hand guns from police departments are among the inventory gleaned from his years of working in law enforcement, wholesaling weapons and most recently providing training videos for police agencies.

For more than a decade, the company he and Yvonne Ellis founded to provide that training grew and thrived in Coeur d'Alene.

When Gallia and Ellis sold their interest in The Backup Training Corp. to Blackwater USA in 2007 they thought they were in pretty good financial shape. Then the bottom fell out.

"They never paid for The Backup," Gallia said.

Top executives were quickly dismissed, soon followed by others. Now the former offices at Third and Coeur d'Alene are empty, with the only signs of its former occupants at the entrance to the parking lot and Blackwater Worldwide logos on the door.

Blackwater, which last year changed its name to Xe in the wake of charges of mercenary misconduct and the alleged unprovoked murder of civilians in Iraq about the time the local company was being purchased, stopped paying for the company and now owes Gallia and Ellis more than $500,000, he said.

Lawsuits are pending, but they will be costly and in the meantime they need to earn a living. Downtown Guns is the result.

When agencies decide to switch the type of weapons they use, Gallia buys them out, lock, stock and barrel, literally.

"I buy them all, and may never see (those models) again," he said.

Several dozen AR15 patrol rifles were purchased in one recent lot, and hundreds of Smith & Wesson 4006 40-caliber semi-automatic hand guns came from a nuclear power plant. They sell at Downtown Guns for $350, versus about $600 new. Many have seen little use other than training.

"Some of them have as little as 50 rounds through them," Gallia told one shopper at the store on Thursday.

The shopper, who did not want to be identified, was pleased that trade-ins are accepted, and with the prices. The store will also buy and take guns in pawn.

The same agencies that sell off their weapons sometimes also include their ammunition in the sale, and Downtown Guns buys pallet quantities.

Cleaning supplies, cases and a few other accessories such as Wiley X eyewear are also available, but the "Guns & Ammo" in the name tells the story of the primary market.

In back is a large shop and storeroom. For now, until Gallia can find a good gunsmith, basic services will be offered, but later full smithing is in the plan.

Some of the stored weapons are incomplete or need restoration, but that's not part of the business plan. Most of those will go to gunsmiths for parts or refurbishing.

Gallia will only sell out-of-state in cooperation with other federally licensed dealers, with a $25 fee on the other end typical. Most sales to Idaho residents can be made on the same day, because of the FBI instant check program.

Gallia tracked down wood from an old hay loft to use on the floor, and the two-inch thick planks give the store an old-west feel. He is also exploring the possibility of converting an empty space next door into an indoor shooting range, but will have to get approval from the city.

Everything from small revolvers to deer and elk rifles will be for sale during the grand opening, with some special prices on limited quantities. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Information: 667-3786 or www.downtownguns.com