Riley’s Sport Shop in Hooksett, NH, was my favorite gun shop for many years. Many a gun owner in the area was saddened when Riley’s closed their doors last month.
The business started small in Manchester, NH, but gunsmith Dick Riley soon bought a place just north in Hooksett, and soon expanded. Richard was a powerful activist for Second Amendment rights and eventually became president of the National Rifle Association. His successor Ralph Demicco followed Dick’s example of public service, joining with Elaine Frank at the New Hampshire Firearms Safety Coalition to create a model suicide prevention program that has spread around the country.
Those of us who were regular customers will cherish the memories.
I have been visiting Riley’s for decades, I can remember how many guns or other products I have purchased from them. Very sad to see it go down.
Unfortunately, the store hasn’t been great in many years. It went downhill when Dick retired, then crashed when the third owner had it.
Yeah, I had good memories of Riley’s since the mid-80’s. I tend to agree with Shaun. Over time, I no longer could get the friendly service and assistance (as a female shooter) so I took my business elsewhere. Overall business model probably could have used revamping. In any case, good folks, supporting other good folks in the gun community for generations. Landmark will be missed.
Hooksett Police Dept. was used in the photos in the 1978 Law Enforcement Digest. I’ve been looking for those old photos for years. Two officers from the early 70’s one with a sawed down 12 ga. double barrel. my email is budterr@outlook.com if anyone knew where to find them. Officer survival or gun digest archives.
On page 120 of the third edition, that’s Hooksett Chief Maurice Boisvert with a Beretta BL-2 12 gauge, a short-lived 18.5″ over/under 12 gauge that never caught on with police.
Thank you for that I will check it out. Lost the 78 edition years ago. Google cant do everything “yet”….
I remember well, that is where I purchased ammo for LFI 3 and 4
I’m surprised that they closed without some sort of sale / inventory reduction. I preferred them to Shooters Outpost.
I was truly delighted to be a valued customer of Riley’s Sport Shop from January 1983 through the date of Ralph Demicco’s sale of the business not too many years ago. Ralph and manager (the late) Denver Woodcock were pure class acts. It was always a distinct pleasure to deal with them. Denver passed away much too early in his amazing, honorably lived life and he continues to be sorely missed. I hope that Ralph is enjoying his well deserved retirement, given his faithful, invaluable, reliable support of a wide range of 2A causes for many decades. Ralph and Denver, thanks for so many outstanding memories!
I remembered seeing one of those Beretta BL-2 shotguns in a now long defunct local gun shop and regretted not buying it back then. The place was owned by an older couple who ran the store with one other full time younger employee, along with several close friends who worked there occasionally on a volunteer basis, maybe for discounts on merchandise. The cinder block construction store by a country road was very small with a customer floor space of only 16’X8′ with three sides of it solid counters which had to be climbed over to reach the employees. There were two rickety wooden chairs below a wall mounted magazine rack and an old Coca-Cola machine which stored the 10 oz. soda bottles for $.25 vertically on metal rails. No merchandise was reachable by the customers who had to ask for assistance to touch anything. I bought my first .45 ACP pistol, a Colt Series 70 Government Model 1911 in blued finish from that place in the 1970’s (my mother had to sign for it) and still have it, along with several other handguns and long guns purchased there. Their prices were never that great and the selection quite meager, 70-80 guns, but the place had a nice atmosphere and some odd and rare firearms passed through that business.
Am saddened to hear.
We moved from the Hooksett area a few years back.
Bought our first Rugers there.
Ended up going to the Outpost for a better selection over time.
Still it is a passing of an era.
That is where you and I first met. Charlie Funk and Ted hunt invited us to Rileys Range for a
combat shooting match. It was in the early 70’s.
Mike Jaye
Wow, that brings back memories. I was living in Nashua, NH, 78 82, based at Hanscom Field, MA. Neighbor and I got into shooting and reloading. We used to go up there to Rileys… I recall new S&W Model 39 and 59s, and the “new” 9MM was still to get more acceptance. I scored a 1927 Argentine Colt .45 copy for $125 in well used shape. my first center fire. THe gun shop was amazing. So much to wish for. QUite the cool place to go into!!!
Many folks are quick to blame the closing on competition from Bass Pro and Shooter’s Outpost. Those folks mostly last visited Riley’s when Dick or Ralph were in charge, and haven’t been there in the last 10 years. (And if they blame Bass Pro, they have obviously never shopped for guns or reloading supplies at Bass Pro!)
It was a storied institution, but one that failed to live up to its own story.
No one has commented on why it closed?
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