Tim Bowling Jr. says that a small-town business can either boom or bust, and from the five-star reviews TD TACK keeps receiving, the gun shop that has been in business for just over a year is booming.
Bowling Jr. is appreciative of his solid customer base, as a newcomer in the gun space. Together with his father, Tim Bowling Sr., the father-son duo opened TD TACK in May of 2023.
The Bowlings also own and operate auto repair shop T-N-T Performance, located on the back side of the gun shop.
“TD TACK was primarily started by my father as a retirement thing to do, so he could still be in the shop occasionally, help answer phones for T-N-T, and operate and be involved in the business,” Bowling Jr. says. “We have both been lifelong gun owners and advocates, and we both hunt, from small game to deer to turkey. My father is my only employee at T-N-T and is an integral part of the success.”
Both businesses are named from family acronyms. T-N-T comes from Tim and Tim and TD TACK stands for Tim, Donna, Tim, Anna, Christian, Karly – first names of the entire Bowling family.
Karly, Bowling Jr.’s wife, handles the back side of all the family business affairs, and when T-N-T first started, his mother, Donna, worked the front desk and answered the phones. Small businesses bring a level of gratitude that Bowling Jr. admires; he’s thankful that his business is full of family and people who always have each other’s best interests in mind.
The family-run business has been a quick success story in Syracuse, in part due to the unique selection of items TD TACK sells.
Their most popular items since opening have been a tie between revolvers and lever-action rifles, with wheel guns and lever-action guns being the shop’s speciality. Bowling Jr. notes that their semi-action pistols have also been very popular.
“We keep in stock many different brands of firearms, from Ruger, Sig, Smith & Wesson, Taurus, Henry, Mossberg, Savage, and Winchester to Bond Arms, Colt, Bergara, and many more,” he says. “We try to always have some of the newer models when they are released, and we have a great stock of ammo, from the common ones to some of the harder-to-find rounds. Carrying a great ammo selection is something we feel is very critical and important to the success of the shop.”
Within the next year, TD TACK plans to add some more items to what they typically stock. They would like to get into KRATE Tactical knives. They also plan to carry Burris and X-Vision optics.
“X-Vision is a newer company in the thermal sight market, and have some really cool thermal options,” he says. “We also pride ourselves on being able to try and special order just about anything our customers want.”
For Bowling Jr., the most important part of being a small-business owner is the time it’s allowed him to give back to his family and community.
“My current business platform has grown and allowed us to promote local events and teams via our two businesses, from sponsoring our Pee Wee football program to fishing tournaments to Relay for Life,” he says. “My favorite thing about having a small, family-owned and -operated business is now having some time to give back. I’ve gotten to coach Pee Wee football for the last six years, and it is a wonderful thing to be able to pass on some of my values to the young men of the upcoming generations.”
You can visit TD TACK and 420 South Sycamore Street in Syracuse. The store can be contacted at 574-518-1167, by email at tdtack2022@gmail.com, or on Facebook.
