At Gordy & Sons Outfitters, hunting and fishing gear for discerning outdoorsmen

While some enthusiasts treat fine firearms as collective art, “most people in Houston really do shoot them,” says Garrett Gordy. “Houston is full of outdoorsmen and sportsmen. There are as many here as anywhere in the world.”

Gordy helped his father, Russell, and brother, Shaun, open Gordy & Sons Outfitters, an upscale shop on Waugh, this year.

Recognizing a niche market that visits luxury fishing/hunting/outdoor recreation stores wherever they travel, “the idea was to make a destination store and sell the finest guns in one of the finest outdoorsmen stores in the world. We kind of thought Houston needed one ,” Gordy says.

Indeed, international clientele in town on business is already stopping by, drawn to exclusive guns from the likes of London-based John Rigby & Co. and Purdey & Sons. Because of the Gordys’ relationship with the latter, the store can sell 15 Purdey guns a year; there’s typically a two- to three-year waiting period to buy one.

Beretta firearms also stock the vault. There are exclusives on some other brands and an in-house workshop for bespoke fittings and repairs. Depending on how one styles a highly customizable Sauer rifle, the price can range from $3,000 to $120,000.

Gordy says many of their local clients like to hunt birds in England and exotic game in Africa. For the avid hunter who reloads between high-volume rounds, a pair of identical Purdey guns is available for $560,000.

There’s also a fly-fishing section, complete with a pond out back stocked with largemouth and peacock bass where customers can try out a reel or rod and even get lessons before a fishing trip. As on the shooting side, the focus is on custom equipment. The Gordys cherry-picked experienced staff (most are also guides) who make suggestions based on a specific body of water or type of fish. There’s an in-house fly-tying bench.

Gordy learned to hunt as a boy on the family’s land in Livingston, about 90 miles north of Houston. What was once 50 acres now sprawls to more than 8,000 – the family is slowly updating the early 1900s lodge and restoring the area’s native bobwhite quail in the hopes they’ll be able to take clients there on hunting trips. The family also has property in Montana where they hunt elk. This spring, Gordy took fishing excursions with customers to Mexico (permit, tarpon, bonefish) and plans to add Cuba and the islands off Somalia as future destinations. They’ll organize quail hunting trips to places such as Patagonia this hunting season.

Women are not left out of the fun. The Syren shotgun line has been popular with women hunters and clay target shooters, and Gordy says they’ve increased the amount of outdoor apparel brands for women, so they can hunt or “go down to the ranch and don’t have to wear his stuff. “

Gordy calls the store a “passion project” of his father’s, who has made a career in energy, real estate and cattle ranches.

Outfitted with hardwood floors, leather couches and cozy rugs, he adds that he hopes they’ve created a space where a shooter or fisherman can stay a while “to kind of get that campfire feel, near downtown. A place for sportsmen to gather on their lunch break and tell their hunting stories.”

Gordy & Sons Outfitters is at 22 Waugh, 713-333-3474; gordyandsons.com