Business Profiles: Washington County Machine Guns
What’s the one thing that firearms expert Tredd Barton wants readers of the Observer-Reporter to know about Washington County Machine Guns: “We are the best kept secret in Washington County and we are bringing in customers from all over the world into Washington County every week.” Tredd, owner of the business and a West Finley resident, says “Most people don’t even know we exist or that we are even allowed to rent machine guns.”
Tredd’s business is indeed legal and is licensed by the ATF to do exactly that. “We have one of the largest machine gun rental inventories on the entire East Coast. We have people from West Virginia, Ohio, New York, Maryland and New Jersey visit our facility every month,” Tredd says, “and people around here, they don’t even know we’re here.”
You may have seen one of the many signs he’s posted throughout the region advertising the business. The machine gun rental program allows you to experience today’s state-of-the-art military and law enforcement firearms as well as classic machine guns from World War I to present day. Washington County Machine Guns features more than 50 different models of fully automatic weapons and you don’t have to have any experience with firearms to be able to experience something that few people have ever done. From the novice to law enforcement, they will take care of you. The only requirement is you must be 16+ years old.
Tredd was born and raised in Lock Haven, PA and has called Washington County his home for the past 25 years. Besides the gun range, he also works part-time as a Weapons Master for films and television show. He formed Tredd’s Productions in 2016 and actively promotes the Pittsburgh Film Industry. Tredd served in the US Army 10th Mountain Infantry Division as an infantry soldier and is a certified NRA Range Safety Officer as well as an elected Pennsylvania State Constable for his township. He has a license to buy and sell weaponry through the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and his main livelihood is selling weaponry and machine guns to police departments and other licensed dealers. Tredd was also recently approved for his Federal Explosive License (FEL) to be able to offer more choices to his customers.
How did the idea of a machine gun range evolve? Tredd says he starting renting five machine guns at his farm in West Finley but quickly realized he had to expand the operation, so he purchased 25 acres in West Alexander and started expanding his machine gun inventory. “We built a 50-yard range first for the machine gun rentals and have been expanding the range ever since,” he says. Now, Tredd has 300+ members at his Washington County Tactical Range with five different shooting areas where members can shoot handguns, rifles and machine guns. “We designed this range for shooters that want to use their tactical rifles, handguns, and shotguns as they were meant to be shot in real-world applications with no limit on number of rounds in magazine or rate of fire, from rapid-fire AR shooting to quick-draw pistol shooting to rifle & pistol transition drills (move and shoot). As long as you do it safely, members are free to push the limits of tactical shooting.” Members can use the range from 10:00am to 10:00pm Monday to Saturday and 1:00pm to 10:00pm on Sunday. There are no required meetings and no required volunteer days at his range.
Tredd stresses that the range is located behind a locked fence and none of his machine gun inventory is ever allowed to leave the premises with a customer. “Customers are always closely supervised by a trained instructor; we have an incredible inventory so the instructors are always close by to keep an eye on things.” Tredd says he stores the guns in a vault at an off-site facility when they are not in use per ATF requirements. Cost of rentals includes the firearm, ammunition, eye and ear protection, range fee, targets and one-on-one instruction for individuals. Discounts are available for extra machine guns or groups. Washington County Machine Guns also offers custom corporate packages and group outings for birthdays and bachelor or bachelorette parties. Tredd says, “Bachelor parties are a core part of our business, we are averaging one almost every weekend.”
Some customers are veterans who enjoy the memories that seeing and firing the weapons evokes. Tredd’s vast collection spans from five types of MP5’s, to a 1942 Tommy Gun, to a US Army model M60, to three types of AK-47s, and much more. Tredd is particularly excited on his recent purchase of a M2HB belt-fed machine gun, which fires the 50 BMG round. “Not many rental places have a full auto 50BMG in their inventory and we are really excited to be able to offer this to our customers.” Another item he’s excited about is their new 225mm Black powder mortar which launches bowling balls up to a half of mile. He says, “2019 is going to be a great year for us.”
Group bookings are also popular for corporate outings, “Forget golf,” Tredd says, “or an expensive dinner, do something really unique that your customers or employees will never forget.” Tredd just booked one group from Kentucky traveling for a bachelor party outing for eleven people in April. “We are one of the largest, if not the largest machine gun rental business on the entire East Coast, so it’s not uncommon for people to travel from all over the East Coast to visit us,” Tredd says. Other patrons have come from as far away as the UK, Iceland, Germany, Russia, New Zealand, Belgium, Amsterdam, China, Japan and Australia. “We had four ladies from Russia visit us last year and during their visit to W&J University,” he says. “Firearms are highly regulated in Russia, so this was the first time they ever picked up an AK-47, which is the classic Russian machine gun, and after they shot it they were smiling from ear to ear. People come from all over the world to experience this because we offer something that you can’t do in most countries.”
Washington County Machine Guns and Tactical Range LLC is now taking reservations for the 2019 season which starts on April 6th. Tredd has also brought machine gun shooting indoors periodically at Elite Firearms & Training in Bridgeville.
Washington County Machine Guns and Tactical Range LLC is located at 25 Greaves Road in West Alexander, PA. Appointments are available Monday through Saturday. Please call 724-249-5112 to make an appointment or visit www.washingtoncountyguns.com to do it online. Gift cards are also available online.