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Ronnie Barrett, the founder and CEO of Barrett Firearms, spoke February 25th at the Annual California Rifle & Pistol Association Gala with over 600 members and guests attendance.
Ronnie emphasizes the power of being persistent: from the struggles of being a young entrepreneur with limited resources to getting his rifle into the hands of the US Military and being an unwavering advocate for Second Amendment rights.

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Each year, Ernst & Young recognizes excellence in entrepreneurship through its “Entrepreneur of the Year Award”.  In 2006, Ronnie Barrett was one of a dozen outstanding business leaders given the prestigious honor.

He was recognized during a black tie event in Atlanta, Georgia; a tremendous achievement for a young man who designed a .50-caliber rifle in his garage back in 1982 and saw it become world-famous.

Barrett was honored by the United States Army in 2005 for the rifle when it was named “One of the Top 10 Greatest Inventions” for the military.

Today, whenever Barrett is invited to speak to entrepreneurial students at places such as Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro or Vanderbilt University in Nashville, he points out the importance of (1) building personal relationships; (2) never allowing a naysayer to steal your dream; (3) and to remember the source of God-given talents.

He concludes, “It worked for me and it can work for anyone who has the grit to be successful.”

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While busy snapping a series of photographs, Barrett was wowed by the amazing Browning Ma Deuce.  He wondered to himself if the incredible .50-caliber cartridge could be fired from a rifle; maybe one operated from the shooter’s shoulder.  He decided to find out.

With no manufacturing or engineering experience, Barrett hand-drew his idea for a .50-caliber, semi-automatic rifle in three-dimension to show how the rifle should function.

There is much more to the story, but the results of his creative mind, artistic drawings and “can do attitude” led to the Barrett .50-caliber rifle that morphed into the Model 82A1 – M107.

Incidentally, Barrett’s archival photograph won a first-place award from the Tennessee Professional Photographers Association.  It hangs prominently today on a wall at Barrett Firearms Manufacturing in Murfreesboro.

An observer would guess that the photo was taken on either the Mekong Delta in Vietnam or South America.  The truth is that it was made on the Stones River near Nashville.

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Congressman Chuck Fleishmann visited Barrett today and discussed several 2nd Amendment issues with Ronnie and his wife, Donna Rowland Barrett. He also got the grand tour of our manufacturing facility and thrilled to get behind a Model 82A1 at the range. Fleishmann beamed, “It’s an experience!” after firing the .50 cal.

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Murfreesboro firearms manufacturer Ronnie Barrett was honored earlier this year by the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville through and exhibit that paid homage to Tennesseans whose lives and legacies have contributed to the rich and storied history of the Volunteer State.

According to Ronald Westphal, a curator at the museum, the exhibit, “Tennesseans: A People’s Legacy”, used artifacts to tell stories about outstanding personalities from the 1700s to the present. “It was designed to give a sampling of the richness of Tennesseans who have over the centuries made our state what it is today.  Included among the artifacts was the Ronnie Barrett designed rifle, Model 82A1, that was used in the desert war, Operation Desert Storm.”

Barrett designed his first .50-caliber rifle back in 1982 in his Murfreesboro garage.  While the rifle was used in Operation Desert Storm in the early 1990s, it was officially adopted by the United States Army in 2002 and named the M107.  The rifle was recognized in 2005 as one of the Top 10 Great Inventions for the United States military.  Barrett rifles have also been fielded by over 50 American allied countries around the world.

Westphal said, “The rifle was joined by artifacts representing many other personalities, including the Medal of Honor given to World War One hero Alvin C. York, the Red Cross cap of Mrs. C.A. Craig, the binoculars of early naturalist Emma Bell Miles, the portrait of John Sevier by Charles Willson Peale, an early postman’s wagon from DeKalb County, and recognition of Sarah Childress Polk, a native of Murfreesboro who became the first lady of both Tennessee and the United States as wife of Governor and U.S. President James K. Polk.”

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26 Feb 2011

In perfect “high-caliber” form, founder & CEO Ronnie Barrett and his wife, former State Representative Donna Rowland Barrett, attended a benefit for the Williamson County Child Advocacy Center called the Legacy Ball and created some buzz during the live auction.

Ronnie donated a personal tour of the Barrett Firearms Manufacturing plant to the highest bidder, but didn’t stop there.  Amidst the frenzy of bidding, he and Mrs. Barrett stepped up to the microphone and encouraged others to bid by donating additional tours.  When the evening ended, the Advocacy Center netted over $10,000 through the donated tours.

Ronnie said the idea for doing tours came about last year because of a great interest.  “We get telephone calls almost every day asking if we do public tours.  The calls come from throughout the state and all over the country.  Some people say that they’re planning a trip to Tennessee and would like to visit us.  Because we are a closed shop with high-security and production schedules to meet, it is just not conducive for public tours, so our answer has to be ‘no’.

“But because there is so much interest, we hit upon the idea of doing a few selective tours to benefit charities that are important to us.  All together, our company raised over $50,000 in 2010 for some favorite charities through the tours.”

Barrett added, “Donna and I encourage the valuable work being done on behalf of the Williamson County Child Advocacy Center.  We’re impressed with the Center’s mission and pleased that our donation of tours supports the cause.”

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