Earl’s Gun Shop
When I moved to Charlottesville, it didn’t take long to find out where to go for guns, hunting supplies and ammunition. Earl’s Gun Shop.
At first, it was a little intimidating to go in the shop because there were always hardcore gun enthusiasts clinging to the counter where they spoke of velocity, powder loads, primers, and the like. Most were superior marksmen, and all belonged to the Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club. But eventually I came to know and be trusted by Earl Price, the shop’s owner. Earl was a kind and gentle man and an expert marksman. He shot competitively and won all sorts of awards and medals. I think his specialty was 22 pistols. He shot until he began to lose lost his eyesight and even then, he was better than most.
In my early days as the Outdoor Writer for the Daily Progress, I did an article on Earl’s Gun Shop, interviewing Earl and several of his customers. Earl snipped the article and put it on his bulletin board where it hung until he closed his shop somewhere around the 1990.
The small shop was tucked away in a corner at Fry’s Spring, back behind Dirty Nelly’s. He was the victim of multiple break-ins and robberies until he began sleeping at his shop, his pistol locked and loaded.
Earl dealt in new and used firearms. When a new piece arrived, it was handled and admired by each and every one of Earl’s entourage, many of whom spent as much time at the shop as they did in their own homes. For gun lovers, it was a just a comfortable place to hang out.
Small gun shops like Earl’s have largely disappeared, but in its day, Earl’s Gun Shop was the place to be if you loved the smell of gunpowder.
