PARIS — The Paris Planning Board unanimously approved Mathew Striegel’s application to start an ammunition reloading business in the basement of his house at their Tuesday night meeting.
At the Tuesday, Oct. 8 board meeting, Striegel said that he had been reloading bullets for private use for a few years. During this time, the Paris native could recoup expenses from materials, though it was illegal for him to turn a profit from the transactions. The board’s approval allows him to charge customers in addition to his expense costs.
“It’s not much different from what we’ve been doing all along, but now I want to be able to sell it. We don’t sell a lot, but I don’t want to jeopardize my rights to own guns and I don’t want to go to jail because I sold a box of ammo to a friend,” Striegel said.
According to Striegel, the operation produces only a small amount of ammunition, and all manufacturing is done by hand on a six-foot bench in his basement.
“We manually handle each load one at a time. It’s very time consuming,” Striegel said.
Striegel said that the business, located at 87 Elm Hill Road, would not have a store front and would not advertise. As a low-volume operation, Striegel said he was focused on providing family and friends with ammunition and all referrals for new clients would be done by word-of-mouth.
Striegel said the majority of his clients use the ammunition he sells for target practice and hunting.
The business is not allowed to sell or trade firearms, nor do they permit the presence of guns on the property.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has inspected the site and given Striegel the license allowing for the manufacture of ammunition in his home. The basement business was also given approval by the Maine State Fire Marshal.
After the board voted to approve the measure, board member Franka Ainsworth told Striegel, “Don’t blow yourself up.”
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