J.J. Rouanzoin believes his job is to help people protect themselves, their families and their homes, and to educate gun owners, as well as the occasional person who questions his affinity for guns.
“My job is educating people,” he said. “We need a better understanding of our laws.”
Rouanzoin and his wife, Dawn, are the owners of Colorado Gun Fighter in Vallecito. Along with an impressive selection of guns, ammunition and supplies, he also teaches a wide variety of gun and safety classes.
The couple relocated a few years ago from Fort Collins back to her hometown when she joined the family business, Pine River Lodge in Vallecito.
J.J. Rouanzoin, who served for eight years in the Army and two as a defense contractor, was a sergeant with the Southern Ute Police Department in Ignacio until recently, when he decided to quit his night job so he could devote more time to teaching and running the retail side of his business as well as spend more time with their two young children.
Vallecito might seem a bit out of the way for a retail business, Dawn Rouanzoin admits. “It’s at the end of the road,” she said. “You have to really want to come here.”
But the customers have come, even when they opened in early December. They did more business in the first quarter than they had projected for a year.
Part of the appeal, the Rouanzoins say, is they try to keep their prices as low as possible. The other attraction is the company’s Class 3 weapons license, which covers silencers and short-barrelled rifles. They are one of the few gun shops in the area with this license. Customers purchase the guns or accessories, fill out a form and background check from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and pay a $200 tax. The background check takes about six months, and if approved, the client can take home his accessories.
In addition to the standard handguns and hunting rifles, Gun Fighter sells what the Rouanzoins call “black guns,” or high-capacity rifles, what many people call assault rifles.
“There’s no such thing as an assault rifle,” J.J. Rouanzoin said. “A rifle doesn’t assault you; a person does.”
Certified as a gun instructor by the National Rifle Association, he says the favorite part of his job is teaching classes.
He teaches concealed-carry classes, which allow graduates to apply for a permit to carry their gun in a purse or a concealed holster. Colorado law allows anyone to open carry a gun in public.
Other classes include:
Women’s concealed carry.Basic pistol and rifle. Advanced pistol and rifle.Home defense.Youth firearm education and safety.Facility security.J.J. Rouanzoin handles training for local oil companies, as well as a rural school district, which he declined to identify, where some teachers carry concealed firearms.
“They have more training than local law enforcement,” he said. “I feel blessed to have the opportunity to help them.”
He also offers one-on-one training or group lessons in someone’s home. That’s been popular with women gunowners, said Dawn Rouanzoin, adding that some feel more comfortable learning about firearms in familiar territory.
Colorado Gun Fighter also sells T-shirts, hats, backpacks, body armor, stun guns, Solo stoves and dehydrated foods from Mountain House, which the couple insists taste really good.
One advantage of operating in rural La Plata County is the store charges only county and state sales tax of 4.9 percent, Dawn Rouanzoin said. Not charging city sales tax saves customers some bucks on a $3,000 gun.
There also are scopes, optics, laser lights and about any gun accessory or part a customer can imagine.
So far, their sales have been primarily from regional customers, although, some have come from Grand Junction and Fort Collins. Now that summer visitors have arrived at Vallecito, some of them wander into the store and look at firearms as well.
Their shop is located in the lodge’s former game room, so there have been a few visitors looking for the pool table.
The store is located at 14443 County Road 501 in Vallecito and can be reached at 884-4963 or online at www.coloradogunfighter.com.
If you go
Colorado Gun fighter will hold its grand opening on July 9 and 10.
Demonstrations, dehydrated food samples, gun giveaway, burgers and more.
14443 CR 501 in Vallecito, near Pine River Lodge.
