Fire away: Arms & Archery now located in Oconto

Chris Rugowski

Contributor

March 19, 2024

OCONTO — Arms & Archery Sporting Goods, located at 1020 Main St. in Oconto, is the city’s first firearm store — and it’s been welcomed by everyone, Owner Tim Lindgren said.

Originally opened and located in Abrams, right near the I-41/US-141 split, Lindgren said he was struggling to get customers into his shop compared to what he has now.

Fortunately, even with the challenges of customers showing up, Lindgren said he had a chance encounter with a customer who told him about the location in Oconto after he shared some of these struggles.

In the end, it worked perfectly for both parties, Lindgren said.

“The customer, Dan Alsteen, who suggested the new location, was looking for locations for his business — Titletown K9 Academy,” he said. “He knew the smaller shop wouldn’t work for him, so after discussions, I was able to get Alsteen on my Abrams property as a renter while I moved to Oconto”

Lindgren said the Abrams property has three acres of usable property, which he knew was much more suited to training dogs.

“When I bought the Abrams place, I didn’t think it’d be difficult to get to.” he said, “But after being in a place like this (Main Street), that changed everything for me. Seeing that people come in, and if they have five minutes, they’ll stop right away. ”

A former life’s lessons
Lindgren comes from a life of information technology (IT), having worked in that industry for 17 years — everything from the service desk to administration.

“Eventually, I knew I needed a change,” he said. “After the second time of being let go due to company layoffs, I decided that was enough. I began formulating plans in my head about what I would do in the future.”

Lindgren said he was tired of a thankless job where people only call and you become the brunt of their problems.
He was also tired of big corporations.

“It hardened my heart against big business and being a number because that’s all you are — you’re replaceable,” Lindgren said.

However, not everything about his past life was awash, he said, because what he does bring from his IT days is his love of customer service.

Arms & Archery has a wide range of firearms available for purchase. Chris Rugowski Photo

Lindgren said he loves helping people find solutions when it comes to the firearms and archery world.

For example, he said he helped plan a mule deer hunt in Montana for a customer and helped with his input to give them knowledgeable solutions.

“I enjoy talking to people and helping them — that’s what drives me,” Lindgren said. “The most important part of my job is ensuring the customer walks out satisfied.”

Starting a business
Searching his soul, Lindgren said he’d always been into firearms and enjoyed shooting sports.

However, running a business seemed daunting to him, so he maintained another IT job at the same time as getting his firearms business set up.

He got the LLC and the backend infrastructure set up, and then he was let go of another IT job.

His challenges were twofold, he said: he had a family trust that was going to come due when he turned 40, so rather than start the business and leave his wife and kids hanging, he kept finding IT jobs to pay the bills.

“I continued getting the business set up, making massive investments into the business and finally putting an offer on the building in Abrams in February 2020,” Lindgren said. “Little did I, or anyone know what would happen come March — the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down.”

Even with all the challenges occurring, he was able to buy the building and property in 2020.

Knowing he wasn’t going to be able to do any actual sales during the year, Lindgren said he focused on making improvements to the building and continued working on getting all the other business elements set up.

“In May 2021, when restrictions on businesses ended, I was able to quit my IT job and go into my Arms & Archery Sporting Goods business full time,” he said.

Lindgren said while in Abrams, “I was making just enough money to keep my doors open.”

“Now that I’m in Oconto, I’m seeing growth, but I still haven’t taken a dime out of the business yet — it’s all been reinvestment,” he said. “The growth allows me to add products to the store on both the firearm and archery sides. I’m also expanding into services like gunsmithing and archery setup.”

A welcoming city
Lindgren officially moved the store to Oconto in October 2023.

“I’m happy with the move,” he said. “Oconto has been super welcoming. The mayor has come in. I’ve joined the (Oconto Area) Chamber of Commerce. I haven’t had people give me side eyes as they walk by, so that’s reassuring.”

Lindgren said he laughs at how quickly it all happened compared to how long his first brush with getting into business took.

“I saw the place at the beginning of October, and liked it,” he said. “At the same time, Alsteen wanted to move as soon as possible. I was hesitant because October is the busy season and begins to inch on prime time hunting season. But I took a chance, and it’s proved to be right for me.”

Lindgren said the Oconto shop is seeing growth, but he still hasn’t taken a dime out of the business yet — it’s all been used for reinvestment, such as purchasing new equipment. Chris Rugowski Photo

Being the only gun shop in town helps his cause, Lindgren said, along with the big hunting culture in Oconto.

“I flew in under the radar, showed up one day, put my sign up on the building, started moving stuff in and within a couple of days, people began to notice there’s a gun shop in town,” he said. “Everyone in the community has been receptive.”

An example, Lindgren said, was when he recently worked with the Oconto Youth Trap Club.

“Trap Club was buying three guns from me for a banquet, and I was able to be at the banquet and facilitate the transfers to the winners,” he said. “To be of service to organizations like that is cool. I’m hoping more of those opportunities come up. It’s great for me, too, because more people get to put a face to my name, and that there is a gun shop in town. Something the Oconto and surrounding communities are still discovering”

A leap of faith
Initially, Lindgren said he was worried about the dreaded honeymoon phase where everyone would rush in and then business flatlines, but so far, he hasn’t had any signs of slowing down.

“The Main Street presence helps this,” he said.

Lindgren said he knows he spent a lot of money on the Abrams place, so he was struggling to find the right answers and was unsure about the move.

“I’m unapologetically a Christian, and I prayed a lot,” he said. “I think this was the answer to that prayer. I didn’t have the resources to up and go somewhere without having a plan. Everything came together perfectly.”

Lindgren said Alsteen being willing to rent his place in Abrams was a massive help.

“The trap club kind of work and the inviting atmosphere of Oconto was a sign I made the right move,” he said.

Lindgren said when he moved into Oconto in 2023, his file folder of completed background checks for the entire year was about an inch thick.

By December, it was about two inches.

“Effectively, I doubled my business in two months,” he said. “Now going into 2024, the folder is as thick as 2023, and it’s only March. Things are looking good.”

Setting for upcoming services
Knowing he was investing in his future, Lindgren said during the COVID lockdown, he took online classes that covered gun-related industries, and it also offered a gunsmithing certification.

“I learned a lot, but it was a 10,000-foot view of what a gunsmith should and can do,” he said. “All the skills I needed, I knew I’d learn on the job, and that’s where I see the other side of the business growing. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do complex jobs right away. I was going to be fixing breaks, doing cleanings and things like that.”

Arms & Archery Sporting Goods is located at 1020 Main St. in Oconto. Chris Rugowski Photo

Lindgren said he is working on getting the equipment together to begin doing refinishes, which involves cleaning beat-up guns.

“Even in my short time in Oconto, I have a lot of customers I deal with regularly,” Lindgren said. “I know as the relationship grows, the trust to do the larger, more complex work will come with that.”

He said another area he’s looking to expand into is the educational side of the business with hunter safety and concealed carry classes.

“I have nothing set in the plans yet, but I am actively looking into this,” Lindgren said.

Overall, he said he has big plans for the future, but is keeping a keen eye on growing business and connections in the area, and seeing how business goes over the next year to see how implementing those plans will take place.

Keep up to date with the shop’s hours and events on its Facebook page and website, arms-n-archery.com.