Been using the BGC directory for a while now, and I figured it was worth breaking down how these business grades actually work — because understanding the system tells you something useful about which listings are worth your time before you load up the truck.

A gun shop with 40 years of history, a working website, hours posted, and a real phone number scores higher than a listing that is just a name and an address scraped from an FFL database.

This is the whole thing in one sentence. We've all pulled up a listing, found nothing but an address, driven across town, and discovered the shop closed two years ago or only opens on alternating Tuesdays. The grade is basically a proxy for "did this business bother to tell you anything about themselves."

Writing a real description is the single biggest grade boost available.

Half the grade comes from listing quality alone, and description is the biggest chunk of that. What I find telling is that a 30-word ATF boilerplate — the kind every FFL already has on file — only earns 5 out of 35 possible points. The system is specifically penalizing copy-paste compliance language and rewarding shops that actually explain what they do. Makes sense. "Licensed firearms dealer" tells me nothing. "We specialize in used wheelguns, do transfers for $25, and have a 10-lane indoor range" actually helps me decide whether to make the drive.

The BGC Business Grade rewards businesses that invest in their online presence and gives every business a clear path to improve.

Worth noting what this grade is not — it's not rating whether the counter guy was helpful or whether the pricing is fair. It's purely about information completeness. A rude shop with good hours and a detailed listing can still score an A. That's fine — it's a different problem than what this system is trying to solve, and conflating the two would make the grade meaningless.

Curious what your experience has been — when you're scoping out a gun shop you've never visited, what's the one thing missing from a listing that makes you decide to skip it entirely?

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By The Boise Gun Club