The Passing of a Second Amendment Legend – Frank Brownell
From Brownells’ social media:
Brownells sadly announces the death of long-time family patriarch Frank Brownell, who successively held the positions of President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board at Brownells.
For nearly six decades, Frank’s passion, vision, and generosity shaped not only Brownells, but the entire firearms community. Friends and customers alike remember him greeting “long lines of friends” at SHOT Show and the NRA Annual Meetings, championing gunsmithing, and driving industry innovation.
From marketing the now-iconic Latigo Sling at the 1964 NRA convention to elevating gunsmithing as a respected profession, his influence can be seen in countless shops, ranges, and workbenches across America.
An industry innovator, he helped establish Brownells as a nationwide legacy retailer in the gunsmithing, gun parts, and firearms space. He helped advance the best model for working with and developing endemic industry media. He advocated for elevating gunsmithing to a respected profession and created new ways to support and develop the growth of gunsmithing, gun ownership, and gun culture.
Friends, colleagues, and customers are encouraged to honor Frank by sharing memories, supporting aspiring gunsmiths, or simply spending time at the bench, just as he loved to do.
On a personal note, few people in recent decades have endeavored as much for the Second Amendment community as Frank Brownell. I’m proud to call him a friend. I enjoyed visiting with him, and I’ll never forget our first long-form interaction… We spoke for a while and covered a wide range of topics, including the business of gunsmithing, the 2A realm, and more. I told him what kind of gunsmithing work I was doing at the time, including 1911 and precision weapon building. Frank smiled, looked at me, and said, “You’re not a back shop guy. You’re a front counter guy.” He had accurately assessed my personality and strength straight away. Of course, I pushed back and said, “Well, when you’re a one-man shop, you’re the front counter guy, back shop guy, shipping and receiving guy, billing clerk, and janitor.” We both laughed, but I knew he was dead-on… I have always been a gifted sales guy, and he sensed it immediately—a very sharp and intuitive man who had a gift for accurate perception: Godspeed, my brother.
In Libertatem,
Michael Ware
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