Marc and Kinsey Boyle came to North Idaho last year to pay tribute to Marc’s grandfather, a former Navy pilot who built a house in Bayview before he died almost 30 years ago.

That was step one.

They surprised their children with a visit to Silverwood, and while they were in town they stopped at a gunshop near the Kootenai County Fairgrounds.

“I like guns,” Marc said.

It seemed a good way to spend an hour.

That was step two.

Marc bought a gun. Then he and his wife bought the store.

It was a three-step process.

Less than a year later, the Boyles and their daughter Kylie and son Logan operate Triple B Guns at 4029 N. Government Way, a small enterprise next to Nosworthy’s, with an unimpeded view of Canfield Mountain.

The gun store along the back and forth traffic of Government Way and across from the fairground festivities had operated for decades as a guns n’ pawn shop. The Boyles took the pawn out of the name and now run a full-fledged gun store, one of a few local stores dedicated solely to the sale and transfer of firearms.

The store’s showroom more closely resembles a vast living room with moose, wild sheep and deer head mounts. A full mount bear and cougar accompany a row of antique wooden duck decoys. Wildlife prints grace the walls and the long counters and shelves display handguns, long guns, ammo and fowling pieces.

In the several months the Boyles have owned the shop, they’ve noticed that gun sales are seasonal.

Rifles, often in 30 caliberm are at a premium during the hunting season. Fall bird season brings shotgunners looking for a deal, and winter is for range shooters.

“Gun sales fluctuate, so we like to have something for everyone,” Marc said. “Right now, people are buying (firearms) they can take to the range and have fun with.”

In addition to operating the shop, Marc supplements the family’s income as an airplane mechanic, while Logan and Kinsey run the store.

Triple B is a family affair. Logan teaches shooting at a gun club and Kylie, 11, competes in pistol shooting when she isn’t doing her homework at the store’s oak counter.

Being firearm collectors and history buffs, the Boyles also carry a lot of antique rifles and accoutrements. It was an antique, Finnish-made Mosin Nagant that originally lured Marc to the store, and he continues to keep a wide variety of old guns.

“And we probably have the ammo for them,” he said.

The Boyles understand that heading into a hole-in-the-wall gun shop can be daunting, but they encourage collectors, novices, non shooters and casual plinkers to come in and have a look.

“We’re a family friendly environment,” Kinsey said. Store patron Dan Linarte agrees.

Linarte, who collects firearms, said the service and prices at Triple B keep him coming back. He has become a regular.

“I feel comfortable referring these folks,” Linarte said.

Triple B handles firearm transfers for local law enforcement, and works closely with NRA events, local shooting clubs and ranges and hunting and conservation groups such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

“One of the reasons that attracted me to this family is that they don’t just sell guns,” Linarte said. “They are active in the community.”