Ames Armory

Incorporated in 2014, Ames Armory provides the shooting enthusiast with firearms retail, manufacturing and gunsmithing services.

Our hours of availability are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, not including holidays.

Note: Ames Armory is primarily a manufacturing and gunsmithing facility that does online retail. We’re a machine shop, so we don’t have the stereotypical “gun shop” retail counter arrangement at this time, though we are currently on the look out for the right property in Ames to open a regular retail location. That said, you’re more than welcome to stop by to drop off or pick up firearms that need work, that you’ve ordered, or you need transferred…Just don’t expect a fancy, all lit up glass counter full of overpriced guns and free coffee to drink, because what you’re really going to find is red blooded American men hard at work pushing files, breathing fumes over a bluing tank, or making metal chips on the lathe or mill!

Meet the Owner

Ron Alfred is a lifelong resident of Ames and a successful businessman, starting Alfred’s Carpet and Decorating, Ames’ premier and only locally owned flooring store, back in 1989. As an avid shooter, firearms collector and experienced outdoorsman, Ron started Ames Armory as a way to be more involved with and give back to the shooting industry and community that has provided him and his family so much enjoyment throughout his life.

Meet the Manager and Gunsmith

Barry Snell is a native Iowan with a deeply rooted interest in shooting and the outdoors that goes all the way back to childhood. Barry worked his way through school as a machinist while at Iowa State University back in the 1990s, which planted the seeds for his later interest in gunsmithing. Later, as an adult, Barry managed to have firearms involved in his work in one way, shape, or form, from fixing and building them as a small arms repairman for the U.S. Army, to carrying them while working for an Iowa sheriff’s department. Barry has also been a professional firearms instructor, holding several certifications, and is currently the president of the Iowa Firearms Coalition, the organization that made “shall issue” law in Iowa in 2010.