By URIAH KISER
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — A small arms store that began in Qauntico has branched out to include seven stores in six states.
Quantico Arms Company – now Quantico Tactical – opened its newest location in the Smoketown Stations shopping center in Woodbridge next to Petsmart. For owner and veteran David Hensley it is a labor of love, one that expanded after he hung up his dress blues and had to think about what he would do after a 20-year career in the U.S. Marine Corps.
“It never donned on me how daunting doing a resume would be, so I started this company and expanded to seven stores,” said Hensley.
Upon his exit from Quantico Marine Corps Base in 2004, he quickly used the capital he accumulated from Quantico Arms and expanded to states like Kentucky, Washington, Kansas, and Texas, placing stores outside major military installations. Looking back, it’s a market strategy he said he might change, opting rather to place stores in more denser shopping centers – but it has worked well for a company that now is a major supplier to the federal government and alphabetical agencies like the FBI and DEA.
The newest store in Woodbridge is 12,500 square feet of overt and covert clothing worn by military personnel, law enforcement officers, and fire and EMS professionals, supplied by 5.11 Tactical Series. The clothing is designed for field use, including shirts with hidden pockets good for concealing or comfortably carrying weapons, and pants with a low front waistlines to make it easier for EMS personnel to work while kneeling down.
“We don’t do ‘good’ here. I rate our merchandise on a ‘better, best, and high-end’ scale,” said Hensley.
And true to their roots, they sell guns that are geared toward trained shooting professionals. Hensley said his arms selection is different than what you might find at hunting or an outdoor store.
While still stationed at Quantico, he operated the shop on Potomac Avenue. If he was deployed, he would close up shop until he returned.
“I would just close it up for a six to nine-month deployment, and the open it back up. I sold mainly to Marines on base, so it worked out,” he said.
As his company grew, he opened a 40,000 square foot warehouse in Pinehurst, N.C. – where he now bases his operation. A local politician convinced him to relocate there, and Hensley said the area is optimal because it lacks the traffic congestion of Northern Virginia.
But there is still a place in his heart for his original store on Potomac Avenue, a store he can’t find in his heart close. As Quantico is the only town in the U.S. surrounded by a military base, there is a special set of direction posted on the company’s website telling customers how to find it:
We are surrounded on three sides by the U.S. Marine Corps Base with the Potomac River on our fourth side. To reach us, you must pass through the base.
