KNS Precision, Inc: a company of service and commitment. It all began in the Spring of 1999 when Brooks Scheuer, a lifelong hunter, gun enthusiast, and black powder competitor, had an idea for a rifle front sight that would not only improve his shooting accuracy, but also improve other shooters’ accuracy. Brooks went to a fellow church member whom he knew was a master machinist. When Brooks presented his idea of a crosshair front sight for an AR15/M16 to Fred Kager, owner of Kager Industries, Brooks told Fred, “If you can make these, I can sell ’em”. Thus the adventure began. Fred immediately went to one of his Swiss CNC machines and produced a prototype of the sight. The design of the original prototype was so good that Brooks and Fred immediately put the part into production and came up with a game plan to sell it. Brooks contacted the NRA’s American Rifleman magazine and submitted a New Product Review. In the meantime, Brooks, who was still working as a draftsman for a local architect, was assembling sights in his barn at night.
The New Product review of the Crosshair Front Sight was released in the 1999 November issue of American Rifleman as manufactured by Kager Industries. The very next day the telephones at Kager Industries began to ring off the wall. Fred Kager called Brooks at his day job and told him to quit his job and get out to the shop to start taking orders for the sight. KNS Precision was off the ground and running. Over the next year, KNS Precision became incorporated and became KNS Precision, Inc. Brooks and Fred began to look at other weapon options for front sights as well as other products for the company.
Many new products were developed and produced over that year, most significantly the AR15/M16 Non-Rotate Trigger/Hammer Pins. As a legal M16 owner, Fred Kager wanted to develop a product that would help to preserve his costly investment. Working the action of his M16, Fred noticed that every time he charged the rifle and every time he pulled the trigger, the trigger and hammer pins rotated. Being a master machinist, it did not take him long to realize that those steel pins rotating in an aluminum receiver were going to cause wear on his very expensive receiver. While developing the Non-Rotate Trigger/Hammer Pins, Brooks and Fred realized that not only did they prevent rotation, but they also prevented the pins from “walking” out of the receiver. Due to this anti-walk feature, customers started referring to the pins as, “Anti-Walk” pins. Another ingredient that was added to the list of quality products was the KNS Precision, Inc. Lifetime Replacement Warranty on the products it was manufacturing.
In 2006, Fred Kager, who had started collecting WW2 military vehicles and tanks, decided to focus more of his time on his new hobby. Fred’s nephew, Chris Welch, also a master machinist and local machine shop owner, was showing an interest in the firearms business. Because of this, Fred offered to sell his interest in KNS Precision, Inc. to Chris. Once transfer of ownership was completed, Chris and Brooks moved KNS Precision, Inc. to Chris’ machine shop, Swissomation, just a few miles from Kager Industries.
During the first year of Chris’ ownership in the company, he and Brooks began production of the M16/AR15 Spade Grip. The original idea and prototypes had been developed by Fred and Brooks, but a production model was never developed. With Chris’ knowledge and experience, the M16/AR15 Spade Grip became a reality. During this first year of the new partnership, it was decided that it would be in their best interest to change some design features on the original Non-Rotate Trigger/Hammer pins to make them stronger. This new design was completed, and sales of the Gen 2 Non-Rotate Trigger/Hammer pins began in late 2006.
In 2007, Gordon Gipson, who had been an outside Law Enforcement/Military Representative for KNS Precision, Inc., returned from a deployment overseas with the Texas National Guard. Gordon, who was also a full-time Patrol Sergeant with the local police department, was asked to come to work full-time for KNS Precision, Inc. Gordon accepted the job and started full-time with KNS Precision, Inc. in January of 2008.
In May of 2008, Brooks Scheuer decided to retire and work as a part-time employee for KNS Precision, Inc. In June of 2008, Chris Welch and Gordon Gipson became partners in the ownership of KNS Precision, Inc. The two continued to develop new products and to improve on existing products. They also started a small retail sales side of the business selling guns, ammo, and accessories. Since the beginning of the company, owned by Fred Kager and Brooks Scheuer, there was a strong focus on customer service. Chris and Gordon wanted to continue this focus on providing outstanding customer service. They began by reaching out to end-user customers as well as manufacturers and retailers to see what products KNS Precision, Inc. could provide. Over the next few years KNS Precision, Inc. began producing precision small parts for OEM customers as well as for the end-user. After an expansion of the building, KNS Precision, Inc. opened its retail showroom that it resides in today.
KNS Precision, Inc. continues to move forward in the firearms industry by sticking to the core values that started the company and by keeping our eyes on the future of the firearms and accessory market.