Battle Brothers Tactical opens in New London

Rich Palzewic

Staff

September 14, 2026

NEW LONDON – Aiming his efforts at teaching firearm safety, care and responsibility to youth and adults, Justin McDougle said he is passionate about passing along his knowledge to others.

Located at 213 W. North Water St. in New London, McDougle – a U.S. Army veteran – said Battle Brothers Tactical, LLC, recently opened in the city of almost 7,400 residents.

First launching the business in 2022 out of a small space in Greenville, he said it combines firearm sales and accessories with education aimed at responsible firearm ownership and self-defense.

“As demand grew, it was time to find a bigger space to operate out of,” he said. “We first worked out of a little closet office in Greenville, and once we hit year three, we started to break even and went into the black. From there, years four and five were also in the black. When this facility came open in New London, I jumped on it.”

Signing the lease in April, McDougle said renovations were needed to get the building up to par.

He said that included painting, other tasks and completing simple Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) inspections.

ATF inspections, McDougle said, are routine compliance checks conducted for businesses licensed to manufacture, import or deal in firearms – known as Federal Firearms Licensees.

“We had to wait for the ATF to come down, and we finally got that done in July,” he said. “We had our grand opening July 11. Business has definitely been picking up as word gets out – social media has been a part of that. When we announced the grand opening on Facebook, we went from 157 followers to 860 almost overnight.”

Though New London is a smaller area, McDougle said he is constantly welcoming customers he has never met before.

“I am trying to keep the business as much as possible to a family atmosphere,” he said. “I want everyone to come in and feel welcome. If you keep the family environment atmosphere, which is what we want, and want people to feel comfortable, then people start spreading word. We’ve had a steady increase in traffic, so it’s been a good start.”

As New London recovers from the Wolf River flooding this past spring, McDougle said his W. North Water Street location was mostly spared.

“We didn’t have much of a problem,” he said. “We had a little bit of water at the very entrance to the shop, but luckily, the week before, we had ripped out the carpet in preparation to lay the new floor down. The landlord was phenomenal about staying on top of it. He put down sandbags, but it really never got to that point.”

What’s offered?

McDougle said to make a successful firearms business, one has to diversify their offerings – which he has worked hard to accomplish.  

Being a certified gunsmith, he said he’s seen a pretty large group of customers in that area.

Gunsmith work, McDougle said, includes repair, maintenance, modification and sometimes manufacturing of firearms, combining mechanical skill, precision craftsmanship and an understanding of firearm function and safety.

“I’m also a certified firearms instructor through the United States Concealed Carry Association,” he said. “I teach concealed carry, from basic to advanced pistol, basic to advanced AR, etc. – multiple different firearms courses.”

For McDougle, he said the training is a big part of it – being able to safely handle firearms.

“You buy a handgun because you want to be able to defend yourself in your home or wherever, but you want personal safety, too,” he said. “We want to prepare, train and defend.”

If he was simply a gun shop, McDougle said the business wouldn’t last long.

That’s not because people don’t come into the shop, he said, but rather because there’s not a very large markup on firearms.

“You have to sell a [large] quantity to make it just selling guns, so you have to diversify,” he said.

Currently open from 2-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 2-5 p.m. Thursday and 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday, McDougle said the limited hours at this point are because he also works another full-time job.

“Eventually, I would like to work full-time on the business,” he said. “It takes time to get to the point where you can do that. With any small business, you have got to have the income coming in for you to make any money off of it. Right now, everything is going back into the shop. As time goes on and we get more customers and revenue coming in, I would like to focus on this full time.”

Additionally, McDougle said he works with knifemaker and military veteran Tyler Hackbarth – the first and only American Bladesmith Society Master Smith in Wisconsin.

“Tyler owns WolfRiverForge in Weyauwega,” he said. “He is also a two-time ‘Forged in Fire’ [TV show] winner. I have reached an agreement with him that we will be carrying his blades in my store – nobody else carries his stuff.”

A later military start

Growing up in Mechanicsville, Virginia, slightly northeast of Richmond, McDougle said he had a career in the private sector during his early 20s before marrying at 24.

From there, he said he was an over-the-road truck driver until joining the military at 31.

“I did a tour in Afghanistan as a transporter,” he said. “After the service – I got out in 2012 – I went back to Virginia before moving to Florida for a year.”

With “too many people in Florida,” McDougle said he and a buddy of his who served in Afghanistan with him convinced him to move to North Central Wisconsin.

“He is from Merrill,” he said. “We were going to move to Wyoming, but we eventually settled on New London. I ended up moving up here with my wife and kids in 2015 and bounced around a little bit. I went to school where I studied business, criminal justice and history.”

With “a little bit of education left,” McDougle said the VA basically told him to wrap up his education.

“I took that to heart, and went to school at Sonoran Desert Institute and received an associate degree in firearms technology,” he said. “We have been here for 11 years now. New London is obviously quiet, with not a lot of people. The winters are a little harsher than what I’m used to, but we’ve gotten used to those.”

What’s in a name

McDougle said the company name stems directly from his military service.

When he was going through basic training, he said you referred to your comrades as “battles.”

“It was either ‘Battle Brother’ or ‘Battle Sister,’” he said. “That was very important to me because it gave some meaning to the person next to you. When deciding on a business name, ‘Battle Brothers Tactical’ had a nice ring to it, and it rolls off your tongue easily. The name fits the aspect of me being a former military member and what I want to bring to the table.”

For more on Battle Brothers Tactical, head to battlebrotherstactical.com or its Facebook page.