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The shop was the family business of Rich Wyatt, who operated the store with his wife, Renee, and their two children, Paige and Kurt. The "family business" aspect of the shop wasn't invented for the sake of TV. Kurt, the store's engraver, started as a firearms instructor who became qualified as an expert by age Paige's interests were always more in acting and modelling, but when the cameras came to town, she got the chance to get some clips on her performance reel while at the same time making a big impression on America with her firearms I.
And then there was Renee, Rich's wife, the store's accountant, and—on camera, at least—his frequent nemesis. Outside of the family circle, the store was staffed by a number of gunsmiths, painters, welders, rifle builders, machinists, firearms trainers, and sales associates, only some of whom ever appeared on camera.
After the show went off the air, the family continued to produce and post its own videos on its YouTube channel, GunsmokeGunsTV, and continued to do so until the federal government got in the way in May —but more about that in a minute. Aside from that juggernaut, the production company had been or has since become responsible for series like Auction Hunters, Surviving Alaska, and Tiny House Builders.
Sometime around , a pilot the company shot at Gunsmoke Guns made its way to the Discovery Channel, where it was watched and well received. The channel had been looking to start producing shows that were steeped in Second Amendment culture, so the decision was made and agreed upon to fold Wyatt's store into their plan.
The channel debuted both American Guns and sister series Sons of Guns ten months apart in As entertainment, the show was something of a hybrid.
In the front of the house, it let Rich Wyatt take center stage as a wheeling-and-dealing businessman, with segments showing the pawn shop peacocking ritual of negotiation. Meanwhile, in the back room, the shop's gunsmiths and engravers went to work on red-hot grinding and drilling action, turning blocks of raw metal into working firearms—the most reliably impressive segment of the show.
As the show became more popular, so did its charismatic host, Rich Wyatt. Wyatt's clean-cut look and salesman's manner made him approachable, and as good as Wyatt was with selling guns, he was arguably even better at selling himself. Not that he was seeking the spotlight without bona fides. Wyatt was a trained gunsmith who learned the trade while working for a number of manufacturers and also claimed to have trained personally under the tutelage of Jeff Cooper, the legendary firearms instructor and writer who helped popularize a number of enduring gun tenets, such as basic rules of safety, conditions of readiness, and the combat mindset color code.
Wyatt also touted a year-long law enforcement career that eventually had him as Colorado's Chief of Police in the small town of Alma.
So he wasn't just some huckster trying to get on TV—or at least, he wasn't only a huckster. True to form, Wyatt proudly claimed his design to be "the best concealed gun weapon ever. The show's fortunes would soon change, however, with a shift in the political winds coinciding with a sudden loss of viewers. Concordantly, the second season was book-ended by two mass shootings, one of which took place near the store in the neighboring town of Aurora on the night of July While the gunman had not bought any of his weaponry from Gunsmoke Guns, Renee Wyatt still committed a massive public relations blunder when she offered a her thoughts on the shooting to Radar Online.
The gossip outlet quoted her arguing that if one of the victims at the theater had been armed, then "that gunman could have been neutralized before he ever got a second round into the crowd. Regardless of Wyatt's beliefs about guns, with 12 dead and 59 injured and the chaos still fresh, these were considered insensitive statements at best. In practice, they were exactly the wrong thing to say, bringing backlash to her, the store, and the program. The Discovery Channel promptly distanced itself from Wyatt, with a spokesman telling the Los Angeles Times that "Renee's opinions are hers and hers alone.
Wyatt apologized for what his wrongful actions have done to his family, friends and the community. Chief Judge Marcia Krieger asked Wyatt to clarify what he felt he did wrong. Wyatt asked Krieger to consider his children — who he said have been beaten up and forced to change their name because of his actions — when delivering his sentence.
Wyatt entered an agreement with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to relinquish his federal firearms license in Here's the Discovery Channel description of American Guns for the launch of the show's second season, from our previous coverage: The Wyatts are your typical suburban family who just happened to own one of the premiere firearms facilities in the world.
Rich Wyatt and his wife Renee own Gunsmoke, located outside Denver, Colorado, where they buy, sell and trade guns — from hand cannons to hunting rifles. And if you don't see what you want, they'll build one for you — from nothing more than a block of metal. Gunsmoke has the largest and most experienced group of gunsmiths in the state. When the Wyatts aren't building or selling guns, they're shooting them. No gun leaves their shop without being test fired by the family first.
Support the independent voice of Denver and help keep the future of Westword free. Support Us. Keep Westword Free. During his heyday, Rich Wyatt hobnobbed with the rich and famous, including former president George W.
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