Federal Agents Search Former Reality Show ’American Guns’ Gun Store

in Authors, Current Events, S.H. Blannelberry

On Tuesday, agents from the Internal Revenue Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched Gunsmoke Guns in Wheat Ridge, Colorado.

Gunsmoke Guns was the location for Discovery Channel’s reality show “American Guns,” which was cancelled in 2012 after its second season.

This is not the first time Gunsmoke Guns was investigated by a federal agency. In 2013, the IRS searched the store as part of an “ongoing financial investigation.”

So far, no charges have been filed against the owner of the store Rich Wyatt, according to the U.S. attorney. But local CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger learned the shop may have been selling guns illegally.

About the author: S.H. Blannelberry is the News Editor of GunsAmerica.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • ENIGMA6 November 6, 2015, 3:09 pm

    Typical governmental harassment which sadly is becoming more common..

  • T. Khobar April 8, 2015, 7:04 am

    Everbody knows the only real reality show on the TV is Mountain Monsters. Trapper, Willie, Buck and the guys will one day find the Big Foot and show everbody. Even if it does seem a tad unlikely that six white guys in giant ATVs hooting and hollering as they run through the woods with a full production crew with lights and cameras in tow could ever actually catch anything, Or, even get a picture. (Strange how the camera always seems to be pointed in the wrong direction) I’m sure the boys will keep on searching!

  • William DeSarro April 7, 2015, 10:36 am

    I’d like to comment on my visit to this ‘POSER’ gun shop in Colorado.
    Two years ago, a friend and myself took a trip from our home state of Pennsylvania to visit my son in Colorado and take a mini-drive tour of the State. My friend is ex-military, served on a Blackhawk in Somalia, knows his firearms big-time. Being from Pennsylvania, there is a significant statewide interest in hunting/firearms in general. People out West think there is nothing but pavement from Chicago to the Atlantic Ocean; mocking us with the derogatory term ‘rust belt’. We do have something the West is running out of, the largest fresh water lakes in the world. Little do they know that Pennsylvania has the largest white tail deer population in the nation. Pennsylvania contains vast areas of pristine forests and deep woodlands; most of the deep woods has been set aside for public hunting. Our woodlands encourage a strong interest in firearms with gun shops that are far superior to the half dozen that I have been to in Colorado, especially this Gunsmoke Guns charade.
    We accidentally happened to visit this place when they were filming a show. They weren’t letting anyone in the store during the taping. For some reason, they unlocked the door and allowed us inside, provided we stay in the background. What we witnessed was beyond hypocrisy. The entire show was scripted, directed,….and was a complete falsehood. The owner was to have customized an older long gun rifle by cutting it down and ……….. The entire show was a patchwork of 15 second REHEARSED shots (no pun intended). It was all play acting to the point that I won’t watch any of these fake, real life shows.
    The people producing this garbage insult the true craftsmanship required to be a respected gunsmith. In Pennsylvania, we are fortunate to have an abundance of generational, family owned shops. We also have the large chain shops but the true craftsmen are found in small shops spread throughout the State. These shops have incredible machinery for boring, lathe work, threading, …. I have a customized Saiga 12 with 8″ barrel and many custom features. I took it to Colorado shops and large gun shows where they were amazed. A Navy seal went over this firearm and said he’d never seen such well designed modifications. He called it a ‘machine’ and wanted it badly, as did many others. My point is that this cancelled show made a mockery of the gun industry, to all the talented gunsmiths spread across our nation, and to the integrity of us all. Thank you for taking the time to read my lengthy comment.

    • Mick Dodge April 7, 2015, 7:03 pm

      The whole point of the show was entertainment of a targeted audience.
      The explosions and the two beautiful sets of T and A did the job for most of us male chauvinist pigs.

    • Russ April 7, 2015, 11:28 pm

      That’s Hollywood!
      The shithole is 30 miles NE of where I live
      Gangs,bums & queers
      F.A.G. Headquarters (Film Actors Guild)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=qOH9trJLedk

      • Joe April 8, 2015, 10:37 am

        And that bunch of pole sucking degenerates are brainwashing our young to think it’s normal and clean to progress in that filthy diseased lifestyle, because the government will pay for their HIV medications after they fornicate themselves into a diseased existence they can’t exit from above ground…

        • Russ April 9, 2015, 11:49 am

          Exactly Joe.
          That and so much more.
          It’s a plague in CA that I know all about.
          A “NGZ” for me.
          Like it doesn’t exist.

  • Kenneth April 7, 2015, 9:05 am

    Those two women on the show had the only RACKS I wanted to see…..show was bullshit!

  • Gary April 6, 2015, 7:20 pm

    I guess you believe their is an Amish Mafia too!!!! I wouldn’t trust a thing on TV, not even the news these days or the ATF after all the fun things they have had their little fingers in. MORE DAMN THINGS THAN BILL CLINTON!!!!!!!

  • glennon April 6, 2015, 2:27 pm

    Discovery runs about a third of the clap shown on Direct TV. Yes, I know I misspelled it. Anyway, take the American Heroes Channel, they run more clap about the Mafia, KKK, and many more that should never be on this so-called hero channel. How about the “myths” in the Bible episodes? Hey, Discovery leave us alone for awhile and tell the truth about the muslims and the Koran instead. They will never do this because they are cowards. I do enjoy many programs, but why make the channel that is suppose to honor America’s Heroes by showing all of this stuff plus just about anything else that is not high definition. I would rather watch reruns of WWII and Nam any day than some of the stuff they show. I know, don’t watch it, well, I don’t. Thank you for allowing me to state my opinion.

  • law dawg April 6, 2015, 1:19 pm

    I love to read all the comments presented here. When it gets down to brass tacks folks the legal, law abiding citizens, of our country have to be very vigilant, now more so then ever. There’s more going on than the attack on our God given rights. This country has an administration in the white house that appears, to me anyway, hell bent on destroying our way of life. The insurgents that visit the white house is amazing to say the least. It’s not just about our gun rights. It’s our freedom that is being attacked… Our schools have teachers , professors, and staff that have admittedly pushed their liberal believes onto students. They aren’t teaching the class, they’re teaching their opinions and beliefs. College s have convicted murders, anarchist, extreme leftist down loading their vomit into the brains of our children…violent felons have recently been pardoned and released from prison by obama. Obama is an abomination that has been heavily sponsored by big money boys in order for them to go forth with their agendas. God lifted the safety blanket on this nation when 9-11 took place and er continue yo fall. We turned out backs to Him. We must get back to basics SNF vote out the evil ones… Also, keep evil from continuing…I.e. Hilary.

  • mr grey April 6, 2015, 11:28 am

    I miss miss paige, id make a great first husband.

  • Kane April 6, 2015, 10:27 am

    More importantly, when will the “Federal Reserve” be raided and audited?

  • ts.atomic April 6, 2015, 8:35 am

    Why do we accept the premise that the Federal Govt (ATF, FBI) has the right to intrude and impact a business conducting trade within a state? Why do we accept the premise that the GCA and NFA don’t intrude the least little bit on our consitutional rights (not just the 2nd amendment)?

    We are a bunch of sheep and we fully deserve the bull-mess-sandwich the govt shoves down our throats every chance it gets – usually justified by nothing more than, “because they can, that’s why”.

  • buck April 6, 2015, 8:18 am

    They knew he had a lot of really expensive old guns there. That’s why they raided and seized all of them. The government is broke and they will do anything to get your money or your stuff.

  • YankeeBill April 6, 2015, 8:05 am

    I agree with the previous statements. I watched this show a couple times, and, as my wife can attest, it drove me nuts! The crap that they were purportedly getting away with should have had alarms going off at the nearest ATF office in a nano-second. Wyatt would hop in his chopper and fly out to some fatcat’s huge ranch, and do a multi-gun deal for all kinds of firearms, including a few NFA weapons here and there. Payment would be in cash, of course. Sometimes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars. No mention of legalities. Worst of all, this retired L.A. Cop involved his family in these shenanigans! As a retired LEO and FFL dealer, this show made me crazy. But, so did “Sons of Guns”. Even more so. That bunch of Bozos would build a rifle for local law enforcement, and then it wouldn’t work at the demonstration. Quality control? No way! And, we all know what was supposedly going on there with Will and his daughter. I never liked the guy. Whether the accusations are true or not, the owner and staff of “Red Jacket Firearms” came off as real idiots. Another “reality” gun show about a gun shop in Alaska, is just about the same. I recently saw one episode where one shop “hid” it’s owner’s Colt Peacemaker at a competitor’s shop. The competing shop’s owner took the gun in with no hint of logging it into his bound book, and hung it on his wall for display! This show portrays these gun shop owners as clowns and buffoons, which they may be, in reality. They certainly are not good actors! Maybe the producers of these shows ass-u-me the audience will know about all the legal “behind the scene” processes that occur in a legitimate gun shop, but they are doing the industry a great disservice with these so-called reality gun shows. That’s my two cents worth.

    • Nick schafer April 6, 2015, 2:58 pm

      Its all entertainment. Like moonshiners, its not real.

    • Wildman April 6, 2015, 3:09 pm

      I think it’s a case of the Gov. controlled media trying to make all gun owners loo like buffoons and idiots in order further their socialist agenda.

  • alex gregis April 6, 2015, 7:35 am

    i wouldn’t trust anything the government says or does,period!!!

  • Joe April 6, 2015, 5:57 am

    If they need any help doing body searches of those two gals in the show….
    Come to think of it maybe that’s way they searched the place in the first place

  • Jason April 6, 2015, 4:48 am

    One big word…….RATINGS!
    There are no reality shows. If there were after the first two episodes of any of them, they’d lose out to the competition. Red Jacket, Top Shot; it’s all the same

  • Ralph April 4, 2015, 5:02 pm

    Discovery and any of these so called reality shows they promote are all liars and crooks deceiving the public. There are so many staged scenes in most all of their shows it is sickening. Of coarse Disney has it’s hands in all of them so why wouldn’t they be fairy tails? I don’t even watch anything they have their stamp on. Too bad though. The Discovery Channel used to be very educational. Now nothing but trash.

    • cadu1995 April 6, 2015, 5:12 am

      The Discovery Channel, The LEARNING Channel with Honey Boo Boo crap on is nothing but bullshit programming to keep Americans dumb as a door knob, to keep us from seeing how they are raping the entire country of real education. – just to keep everyone stupid. AUDIT THE FED- STOP THE CHEMTRAIL SPRAYING & THE GMO’S & GET CORPORATIONS OUT OF GOVERNMENT.

      • Russ April 7, 2015, 10:53 pm

        That’s what George Soros money does to our media.
        It was all planned long ago, and is working.

  • J. Plough April 3, 2015, 11:20 am

    Im guessing those shows where he sold people 20k custom lever actions, didnt jive with his IRS reporting. Then again it was TV.

    Also its not unusual to be inspected by the ATF, thats what they do, especially if you’re high profile.

    J. Plough
    Gunsmith.us.com

Send this to a friend