Ethan Daniels is headed to a high school graduation and later the U.S. Coast Guard.

That’s why his uncle Richard York of Clinton County was checking out the displays recently at the new Sherwood’s Guns store at 940 Bryant Way in Bowling Green. He was looking for Daniels’ graduation present to celebrate the young man leaving Clinton County High School.

York, 33, of Albany, said he doesn’t mind driving 90 minutes one way to Sherwood’s Guns in Bowling Green. That last time he visited the store, it was in the old location on Pioneer Drive.

“This store is 10 times bigger than the other one,” York said. “There is a lot of selection, and the customer service is awesome.”

York said there’s no gun store as big or with as varied a selection as Sherwood’s near or in Albany. “We’ve got nothing this big. Our town has three stoplights,” York said. 

Sherwood Davis’ new gun store includes a state-of-the-art, 12-bay indoor gun shooting range and classrooms in which to teach gun safety and help gun owners qualify for concealed carry permits.

Sherwood’s Guns opened in mid-February, and the store is now 18,000 square feet compared to about 3,000 square feet, according to Davis, who is a former city of Bowling Green firefighter.

Davis said he’s been able to establish a steady customer base.

York said he first purchased a firearm from Davis at a gun show in Somerset. He’s been hooked ever since, he said.

Another huge difference between the old and new locations is available parking – 85 spaces compared to maybe six at the old store.

“I joke with people that I bought a parking lot with a building,” Davis said with a smile last month. “Everything is bigger, better and easier to access,” Davis said of the new store.

Davis said he had been looking a different location for several years, but one thing or the other kept the deal from coming together.

“This is a perfect fit,” he said.

With the bigger space, Davis has expanded his showroom displays and almost doubled his workforce. Fifteen people work at the location, which is just down the road from easy access to Interstate 65 and also Greenwood Mall. He estimated the display area is 2 1/2 times larger than the old location and is federal Americans With Disabilities Act compliant, including the new restrooms.

The store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days a week and closed on Sundays.

The shooting range access comes through a monthly membership fee or costs by the hour. A $50-a-month fee provides unlimited use to a husband, spouse and children ages 10-16, Davis said.

A gun hobbyist can take his or her gun classes, qualify on the range and never leave the building, Davis said. Bullets shot on the range are harvested for additional use by being caught in a bullet trap mechanism at the end of the 25-yard bays. Five range safety officers work with shooters at the range, which is separated by glass and a door and another set of double doors from the rest of the store.

— Follow business reporter Charles A. Mason on Twitter at twitter.com/BGDNbusiness or visit bgdailynews.com.