RSWC #143 Toby Leary – Riding Shotgun With Charlie

Riding Shotgun With Charlie
#143
Toby Leary
Cape Gun Works
RapidFire Radio

A long time ago, in a galaxy far away… I took the then Combat Focus Shooting course with Rob Pincus. Legit, it was 2013. Two of the other classmates were Toby Leary and Brendon Bricklin, the owners of Cape Gun Works (CGW). I eventually became a Utah instructor and asked them if they wanted to host a Utah course for their customers. I’ve been doing the Utah class at their shop in Hyannis, MA, since it was a small store attached to a few other stores. Toby and I finally set a time and date to film a show.

Toby has been into firearms since he was a Boy Scout. He went shooting with the Boy Scout group but not for merit badges, just to go shooting. Little did he know that his passion for being outdoors and shooting would lead to CGW and a growing gig on the radio!

The beginning of Cape Gun Works came when Toby & Brendon took a trip to Las Vegas for the Mr Olympia contest and to take a course at Front Sight Firearms Training Institute. On the flight home, they cracked out the legal pad and started writing ideas on how to start and open a gun store and shooting range in Massachusetts. But the reality was that Toby was running a woodworking business and a gun business out of his woodworking shop. And often woodworking clients ran into firearm clients!

They thought about buying an existing gun store, but that didn’t happen and it worked out for the best that it didn’t. Their lack of business owning experience didn’t stop the dream, but they knew that the customers needed to come first. Over the years, CGW has become involved in the local chamber of commerce. The great thing about hosting chamber events is that it brings in people that wouldn’t come into the store and lets them see that CGW, their employees, and their customers aren’t what the non-gun folks imagined.

A huge benefit that CGW offers is training. It’s not just NRA courses that some sportsmen clubs offer. They offer USCCA and other types of defensive shooting courses, including classes from Ben DeWalt (RSWC #115) and Rob Pincus (#063). They also have a Ladies Night at the Range, Couples Night, and even archery courses. And there’s gunsmithing, too, with Joseph Morse (RSWC #106). Last fall, they offered a Gun Maker’s Match, hosted by Rob.

One of the things Toby started doing to stay in touch with the community was calling in to the local radio stations after a firearms related incident. That has parlayed into regular segments on the station. Then they started doing daily shows due to the virus that shall not be named as a way to reach out to customers. They’ve also hosted one of Boston’s biggest radio show hosts, Howie Carr, to do some book signings and remote broadcasts from CGW. That has given Toby the chance to work his way onto the airwaves all around Massachusetts and given him some regular airtime. When they decided to have his own segment, of course they called it RapdFire, which has become a weekly show he does at the shop.

I’m very excited to be connected to Cape Gun Works & finally have Toby on the show! (I do teach the Utah class there) I’m very proud that Toby & Brendon have taken the local gun store, with all the courses they offer, to the next level. Should you find yourself on Cape Cod on a summer vacation, stop in and say “Hello!”

Favorite quotes:

“We sold the dream to the customers and they supported it.”

“Customer service, taking care of the customer and putting them first was the secret sauce.”

“Persistence won the day and we opened.”

“One of the ways of putting the gun ownership issue out there in the community is to be involved in the community.”

“You don’t co-opt the term ‘against gun violence’. Gun owners are against gun violence.”

“There’s one thing that makes guns go bang and and it’s your finger.”

Cape Gun Works

https://www.capegunworks.com/

RapidFire Radio Show

https://www.capegunworks.com/rapidfire

Cape Gun Works YouTube channel (where you can watch RapidFire)