Enter the luxurious fine gun room of the new Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel and you’ll be amazed at the names of legendary shotguns resting in the red-velvet-lined cases: Fabbri, Purdey, Perazzi, Buchan, Holland & Holland, Beretta Premium along with vintage collectibles from LC Smith, Winchester and Parker Brothers (plus a selection of stunning Rigby rifles).

It’s Grand Opening Saturday night on November 15, 2025. The classical Julian & Sons built gun room, safeguarded by a massive vault door, is jammed with guests browsing and chatting. Among them are Grant Buchan and his wife Holly. Grant owns Scottish shotgun makers McKay Brown and Buchan Guns. The Buchans arrived from Scotland to help promote the new relationship between McKay Brown and Mallards. Grant explained that he had parted ways with fabled Griffin & Howe, his original East Coast agent, in favor of Mallards because he strongly believed that Mallards is the more visionary of a business partner in the marketing of best shotguns and their new joint program of organizing and promoting Scottish estate driven shoots to Mallard clients.

It seems to be working since Grant already sold two estate shoots that night. We part ways for the moment and he dives back into the soiree. 

Annete, Colby and Chad Damron.

Tonight’s hosts are Chad, Colby and Annette Damron – a multigenerational institution in the Gulf Coast town of Crystal River, Florida. With a population of just under 4,000, Crystal River is approximately 80 miles south of Tampa and 85 miles west of Orlando.

Located where State Road 44 meets Pennsylvania Avenue, the 55,000-square-foot-building sits on 8.5 acres. The project took four years to complete. It’s as incongruous in the town largely known for fishing, sea food and swimming with the manatees, as the energy-drink colored search lights criss-crossing the starry sky. In the celebratory glitz, what seems forgotten is the original 1,800-square-foot boxy terracotta Mallards, about three-quarters of a miles away, that stands as an artifact of your local small-town gun shop.

The celebratory opening night of the new Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel in Crystal River, Florida.

But the spirit of the original Mallards is like an acorn from which grows the iconic mighty oak. Chad, the Damron patriarch, says that they could have opened the new store in Tampa, but instead wanted to contribute something of significant, lasting value to Crystal River.

The brash new Mallards represents a promise that, in the Damron’s hometown, tradition and innovation can live side by side – honoring the memory of their original gun shop as a community hub with a heart, not just a point-of-sale operation.

Chad will tell you that, despite the stunning collection of best guns, he wants Mallards to serve the entire community with reasonably priced products. “I don’t want the store to be too bougie,” he told me.

Grant and Holly Buchan.

The Damron’s hunting trophies of plains game, an elephant and rhinoceros decorate the walls and dioramas of the airy main floor, while big-cat taxidermy is reserved for the store’s exclusive VIP lounge. Complemented by an oversize fireplace and comfortable lounging area near the entrance, the Damron’s hunting achievements on display project the aura of a well-heeled hunting lodge to the retail experience. 

The store’s centerpiece are racks of affordable shotguns and rifles housed in a pavilion prominently topped by the rhinoceros. The artfully lit pavilion lets you comfortably explore a wide selection clays and field guns from everyday favorites such as Fausti, Caesar Guerini, Fabarm, Mossberg, Beretta, Winchester and Stevens, among others.

The rhinoceros atop the pavilion of shotguns and rifles at Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel.

If you’re interested in tactical guns, Julian & Sons also built a stunning library of beautifully displayed premium ARs and semi-auto handguns. As with the shotguns, the more affordable tactical selection is available in the main retail space along with big revolvers and concealed-carry pistols.

As with any other big-box hunting store, you’ll find upland and big-game apparel, ammunition, optics and archery supplies. Moving toward the back of the store look for the full-service gunsmith shop visible through the open top half of the Dutch door. There are plenty of rooms for safety training, community meetings and events. 

A snapshot of the racks of Faustis, Berettas, Caesar Guerinis, Brownings, Winchesters and Stevens shotguns at Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel.

The tip-off that something special is tucked away at Mallards will be the large selection of rental guns. You can shoot them at the three indoor ranges totaling 28 lanes – the longest stretching 100 yards. Range performance is tracked by a state-of-the-art target carrier system that lets you set the distance, send the target and monitor your results on live video. Designated VIP lanes allows members to avoid waits.

The 100-yard shooting range at Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel.

Perhaps the biggest surprise at Mallards are the two bars – one on the main floor and the other in the VIP lounge. They are in keeping with the Damron’s family hospitality. As a safety precaution, though, a foolproof key-card system registers your drinks and if you try to use it afterwards for accessing the ranges consider yourself locked out. Otherwise, enjoy the camaraderie at the bars.

Some of the incredible hunting trophies on display at Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel.

But let’s face it: the Internet has made it possible to buy the likes of Fabbri, Purdey, Perazzi, Holland & Holland, Beretta Premium, LC Smith and Parker Brothers a strictly impersonal transaction. The Internet enables us to avoid experiencing the fellowship of our purchases. And along with our dogs, isn’t our shotgun the single most important possession in the creating those lasting memories of hunting pheasants, ducks, quail and grouse? 

Given their vision and commitment to Mallards as a destination, it certainly appears as though the Damrons share our belief that it’s always best, whenever possible, to buy our prized shotgun in style from a friendly and helpful human being.

Irwin Greenstein is the Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him on the Shotgun Life Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/shotgunlife#

Valuable resources:

The web site for Mallards Shooting Supply & Apparel

Irwin Greenstein

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.

www.shotgunlife.com