TOULON — A longtime Stark County resident has moved his gunsmith shop and firearms-related business from Peoria to his home outside Princeville.

The County Board granted Jerry Fletcher a special use permit last week to operate Hard Target Gun and Ammunition Supply at 10345 Township Rd. 71 N, just north of the Peoria-Stark County line.

“This is where I live, and I feel a lot better about bringing my business back here rather than in Peoria County,” Fletcher told the board.

Fletcher said he has operated his part-time business the past few years in Peoria, where he has shared space with a similar business. He did not state the location, but a registry of federally licensed firearms dealers listed it on South Crest Drive.

Fletcher said he decided to relocate partly because of some problems with past gun deliveries at the Peoria site. But he also wanted to “take the business in a different direction,” he added.

While licensed to sell firearms, Fletcher said he will not be maintaining a retail inventory. Most guns he sells directly go to people who take classes that he teaches or have had him work on weapons, a field in which he specializes in competition firearms.

“I also do a lot of transfers,” he said, referring to the process in which a licensed dealer acts as an intermediary in sales between private parties in different states.

Fletcher concentrates heavily on teaching, including classes on “all the NRA disciplines,” he said. They range from basic pistol instruction to concealed-carry classes to range safety protocols, as he also is a certified range safety officer for NRA, he noted.

“I take a great deal of pride in what I teach and how I teach,” he said in an interview.

Fletcher said he hopes to make his business full time when he retires from his present job as outside salesman for a Dunlap millwork company. At the same time, he emphasized that money was not the main motivator that got him into the business.

“You do it for the love of the shooting sport,” he said. “It’s my Second Amendment rights, and this is the best way for me to exercise those rights.”

More information can be found on the Facebook page under the business name. Fletcher also can be reached at 645-1163 or fletchlives2@yahoo.com.

Gary L. Smith can be reached at (800) 516-0389 or glsmith@mtco.com. Follow him on Twitter @Glsmithx.