Gun store settles into new home

AUSTIN (KXAN) - There is a new gun manufacturer in Southwest Austin. Underground Tactical Arms has moved into a building along State Highway 290. The street-front location has brought him a lot of new business.

"It's booming," said store founder Jason Carter.

Underground Arms is one of the few manufacturers of silencers and suppressors, and they've seen an uptick in sales this year because new ruling by the Texas Parks and Wildlife allows them to be used in hunting white tail deer.

They also build custom weapons, some for law enforcement and military.

"Fully automatic machine guns, suppressors, short barrel rifles, and short barrel shotguns," Carter said. "We do sell them."

But, the business comes with a stigma.

"When people ask me what I do, I say, 'I make weapons,'" Carter said laughing. "Their response is, 'What?!'"

Mark Key is a customer who lives in Dripping Springs and understands that guns, especially near neighborhoods, come with a misconception.

"It's kind of real unfortunate with these incidents with these massacres," said Key. "It's a bad deal. But, even if you outlawed all guns tomorrow, there would still be a 30-year supply of weapons and ammunition out there."

So the challenge for the gun community, is educating the public on owning and using a weapon to make a place like Underground Arms less intimidating.

"I know when I bought mine to fill out all the paperwork," said Key. "[They] made sure I crossed my 'i's' and dotted my 't's'. So, I don't see a problem from that aspect."

It's a big reason they're making friends, not enemies, in their new home.