Peace Armory firearms opens for business in Pateros.

PATEROS – Jake Collins moved here from the Tri-Cities in 2014 to provide his children with the kind of small-town rural upbringing similar to that he remembered as a youngster. His oldest, Jacob, graduated Pateros High School this year and his youngest just finished kindergarten. Collins was also looking for a little peace and quiet. He found the quiet and the peace materialized earlier this month when Jake opened the doors of his new business, Peace Armory at 164 Pateros Mall, Suite A.
Peace Armory sells both handguns and rifles and the ammunition they use. Inventory is still arriving as suppliers struggle to meet the growing demand from businesses that are restocking after more than a year of pandemic-related restrictions to customer access and service hours. Transportation backlogs remain an issue but with every week that passes more inventory arrives to meet anticipated demand. In the meantime, Collins also takes on repairs and gunsmithing problems for firearms owners.
Collins said he became acquainted with the area from his parents who honeymooned in Mazama, made frequent trips to the county, and purchased retirement property here. Collins arrived with the intent to try his hand at farming and recently began acquiring honeybee colonies along that line. To supplement his income Collins took a job in the firearms section of the Brewster Marketplace Pharmacy which later sold to ACE Hardware.
Collins purchased his first firearm, a Remington 870 pump shotgun as soon as he was legally old enough. With that shotgun he spent every Wednesday and Saturday of duck hunting season with a neighbor who would pick him from school in mid-week and on Saturday mornings.
“We’d go twice a week, and we’d usually limit,” said Collins. “It was jump shooting that we did, and I’d chase along behind the truck and pick up beer cans and bottles and he’d recycle them for gas so we could go the next trip.”
 While Collins pursued farming, it was working at the Brewster gun shop that planted the seed to open his own firearms outlet.
Along with handguns and rifles, Collins is custom retrofitting AR model rifles.
“I’ve built about a dozen and have about six more going on right now.” said Collins. “They are so versatile that you can have one gun and just with a few changes you can make it run about eight or nine different calibers.”
Firearms safety goes hand-in-glove with Collins’ philosophy of gun ownership. Collins is in the process of getting his NRA certification so he can conduct beginning safety training for youngsters.
“I grew up with firearms and knives being around and they are tools to me, no better or worse than the person carrying them and like all tools they need to be respected,” said Collins. “They are a way to feed yourself, protect yourself, and protect your family. That’s how I feel about firearms.”
Peace Armory is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Find it online at facebook.com/Peacearms or call 509-350-6742.