I didn’t have a camera and I didn’t have much time to linger, but I spent a few minutes in redneck heaven last week. And yes, despite my profession and demeanor I do have an incipient streak of redneckism: it manifests itself in beer drinking, camping, shooting, and by almost swooning with delight when I walked into the Ranch & Home store in Kennewick, Washington.

(Can rednecks swoon with delight? Maybe I should say ‘passing out from sheer amazement’ instead.)


Ranch & Home is like a Home Depot for farmers, and it’s mostly full of hardware and equipment and shit that I’d think was really cool and useful if I made my living from a few hundred acres of plants and/or animals. But I’m a suburban lawyer, and things like irrigation pumps and backhoe augers aren’t too useful in my line of work.

But what drew me there was the huge section devoted to guns; the photo above only shows about a third of their rifle and shotgun selection, and none of the literally hundreds of pistols in stock.

In addition to standard Wal-Mart fare from Marlin and Remington, Ranch & Home carries a ton of exotic and expensive firearms. I drooled at a whole rack of huge-ass sniper rifles in .50 BMG and .338 Lapua, including a Barrett and a semi-auto Noreen ‘Bad News’ .338. If my car were a little nicer I could have traded it straight across and walked home with the Bad News.

Unfortunately my home was 200 miles away, and however ‘bad’ the Noreen’s ‘news’ might be, it would be an ESPN Commemorative Superbowl Edition compared to the news my wife would give me if I traded my car for a rifle. Any rifle.

I saw a vertical Rotisserie rack of top-shelf tactical rifles by FNH, LWRC, Noveske and Knight’s Armament. If your lottery investments have recently paid off, the priciest one was the $15,000 LWRC R.E.P.R. package. Another dozen or so high-grade sniper rifles (Steyr, FN, Remington MSR, Savage) rotated in their own drool-proof display case, just down the aisle from literally pallets full of bulk pistol and rifle ammunition.

We don’t do many store reviews here at TTAG, and I didn’t spend enough time there to call this a real ‘review’ anyway, but I hope to get back there someday with more time to kill and a few more dollars to spend. Their huge selection and friendly service (a clerk spent five minutes helping me look for scope covers, for Pete’s sake) makes this is a truly special place for gun guys.

If you’re ever in central Washington State you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Ranch & Home

845 N. Columbia Center Blvd.
Kennewick, WA 99336
1 (509) 737-1996

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14 COMMENTS

  1. “Can rednecks swoon with delight?”

    Not the ones I grew up with. The closest they might come to a swoon would be a short, stunned silence followed by a “Damn!” said in a raspy whisper.

    Selection AND service? Damn! What are their prices like?

    • Gun and ammo prices are extremely competitive, at least for common models and calibers. If you live in eastern Oregon, they’ve got a store in Milton Freewater where it’s all 8% cheaper because it’s tax-free. (Except for out of state gun purchases.)

      • I live by both stores, the one in Oregon is known for raising prices well above that 8% you save. Have seen the exact same red dot for nearly $100 more there vs the one you were at! They do have great staff though at both stores and i still frequent them both

    • CinSC said, “Selection AND service? Damn! ”

      As every redneck knows, there are many different meanings for the word “Damn!”, depending on the pronunciation and the context. So was that “a short, stunned silence followed by a “Damn!” said in a raspy whisper”, or more of a loud interjection kind of “Damn!”?

    • “Can rednecks swoon with delight?”

      The ones I know don’t swoon, it’s more of a jaw dropping, eyes glazed over look with suddenly limp arms and hands for about a 3 to 4 second moment, followed by a quick turn to their buddy along side them (in a similar pose) with a simultainious utterence of “Holy #$&*!” A person can tell the quality of a gun store by the number of days later a redneck is still excitedly talking about his first visit there. This store sounds like a solid “64 day” store aka in redneck parlance as a “good’en”.

  2. One must go to Dury’s in San Antonio, they have an incredible selection, but the service isn’t the greatest in the world.

  3. “In addition to standard Wal-Mart fare from Marlin and Remington”
    — That is a sad truthful description about two past great American gun makers.

    “compared to the news my wife would give me if I traded my car for a rifle”
    — Reason #973 why single men should be grateful for not having to answer to a wife each time they walk into a gun store.

    “If you’re ever in central Washington State you owe it to yourself to check it out”
    — I will do so. For those who might end up visiting Portland check out the Gun Room to see a good and interesting selection of older used long guns and carbines. They have new guns too just be sure to put on your kevlar vest to protect you from what might possibly be rude customer service.

    • I detest The Gun Room and I recommend the Armed Intelligentsia avoid it like a Yosemite cabin tent.

      If you like to order your wide selection with an appetizer of lousy prices and a side of condescending customer service, The Gun Room is your kind of place.

      • I like to stop in to see and hold their older classic guns that can often not be found elsewhere. It is nice to hold a pistol from the Civil War and War of 1812 era. You’re touching history. My intent is not to buy. ‘Condescending’ is an accurate word that often describes the environment though I have also been treated reasonably well at other times. Prices for new guns are much higher than elsewhere.

  4. This store is somewhat local to me; it’s great to see them on TTAG! As a newbie, Ive been in there several times “just lookin'”. The guys are truly helpful and kind. I stood at the counter one night when the loudspeaker sounded “last call” (essentially), and they still happily let me inspect a beautiful revolver we all knew I was not going to purchase. Lots of ammo (at reasonable prices, I’m told), lots of “stuff”. And only minutes from a Wholesale Sports store that just feels sterile in comparison. Thanks for the write-up Chris!

  5. “… backhoe augers aren’t too useful in my line of work.”

    Funny, I’d have thought a large, self-powered screw would be standard equipment for a lawyer…..

    • A fellow I knew purchased an auger truck from the local utility. It had a 30″ screw that could go down 10 feet. None of us could figure out why he bought it but we definitely quit screwing with him. Three minutes and done except for the back fill.

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