At the Vintagers last year, he had a rifle with a tag on it that said "46". Harry went to him and said "is this $46?" Steve chuckled and said "nice try kid. $5000." We wound up buying some stuff off his bargain table which was a treasure trove in itself.

Steve was a very nice man and a joy to do business with, it is a great loss and I will miss his display tables, it was like visiting a firearms museum.

RIP Steve
 

My condolences to Steve's family and inner circle.

He was a gun guy's gun man and a great person.

I met Steve in the late 70s when we were both selling A5s out of the back of our vehicles. We set up side x side at many shows. He came to visit us at Game Fair in the 90s and I bought floral shirts for the entire staff. When he walked in everyone was wearing a Steve Barnett trademark shirt. It really cracked him up. We were friends and competitors as the same time. I will miss him greatly.

God bless him and for his having graced us with his presence these years.

Great guy, Great loss.

I will miss Steve just like the rest of you guys. Enjoyed doing business with him "both ways". Will miss his laugh & sense of humor. Yes, a loss to the community.

Always a pleasure to deal with.I was lucky enough to live near the shop.I sent my wife to pick one up.She took our Boykin,Sassy.He welcomed my wife and Sassy into the shop.Sassy made friends and thoroughly enjoyed her visit.Steve will be missed ;we do not have many like him today.

I wonder if any of the family will try to keep the buseness open.....steve will be missed greatly....charlie

I have been wondering the same thing. Does anyone know what the plan is?

His stepson August is going to run the business. Very nice young guy.

I doubt it, his stepson doesn't have the knowledge.

Well...he is going to try. They have put up new listings this past week.

I wish him all the best. He's facing an uphill battle.

That wasn’t a very nice thing to say, Rich.

I wish August all the best. Nobody is going to replace Steve in many folks eyes. I don’t know their business model, but could only guess that the business owns some of the inventory and is acting as a sales agent for a number of guns across a huge range with many toward the upper end.
What I do know is that if they go away I will miss seeing their typical wonderful display at several events I try to attend every year. I also know how hard it is for most young people to break in and be accepted. Knowing a little bit about commission sales it isn’t just the agent that can be the hurdle on arriving at a price especially if the owner has an unrealistic price they are willing to accept. Good thing guns don’t require feeding.

We talk all the time about who is coming behind us. We look for rising stars that come from other respective fields, assistants that learned from knowledgeable superstars and sometimes they are second generation.

August doesn’t know me from a cake of soap, yes we have met, but I have had very minor dealings with he or Steve nonetheless I wish him the very best of luck and I think we all should.

At one time I asked Steve if his son would step into the business and he told me that.

We all start somewhere. No one is born with knowledge. I took over a law practice from my father, who had taken it over from his father. Folks gave me chance to grow and prove myself.

Just a short note that I called SBFG today to ask questions on a gun in inventory, and while August was getting it we talked about Steve's passing, the biz transition and the upcoming '21 events. I'd casually chatted with him several times in the past while at the Southern and Hausmann's though I'm sure it's tough for him right now to put a name with a face since my past dealings were directly with Steve. August impressed the heck out of me today with his tech expertise and confidence while handling the gun at his end and answering my detailed questions. I have to say he made me feel like family and in that regard the deal felt as if I'd talked with Steve today.

That is great to hear

Glad to hear that Frank. Hope it all goes well for the business and family.

So glad to hear that, Frank. It's always tough for a son to step up to the plate at the passing of Dad, but if Dad prepared him well he will likely do alright. Sounds like Steve did.

SRH

Sigh (of relief).