New firearms maker opens high-tech facility

When it comes to high-end weapons, there's a new company in town that's changing the way people think about rifles.

Founded in 2010, Proof Research of Kalispell specializes in creating lightweight, accurate weapons using carbon-fiber barrels and stocks unlike anything else on the market.

“Large gun manufacturers know we have the technology and we're being courted by some big names,” said Pat Rainey, chief executive officer of Proof Research. “We've changed the gun industry, just like the polymer pistol did. The cool factor of our weapons is off the page.” 

While Proof Research may only be two years old, it is made up of four companies that have years of rifle-making experience, according to Rainey. Proof is actually a merger of Lone Wolf Riflestocks of Kalispell, Jense Fabrication of Missoula, ABS out of Lincoln, Neb., and Lawrence Rifle Barrels of Lewistown.

“Lots of people have tried to do this for many years,” Rainey said. “The idea of a carbon-fiber barrel has been around for 20 years. We're just the first to crack the code.”

Although only one of the core companies was from the Kalispell area, lead investor Mike Goguen said it made sense to locate Proof in the Flathead Valley.

“The Montana work ethic and quality is outstanding,” Goguen said. “When you look at firearms, so many of the parts in the best ones, the ones I really admire, come from Montana, from small, mom-and-pop places that maybe don't have the capital to go big. So it made sense to take advantage of that. There are a lot of really amazing craftsmen here, and we have the opportunity to bring them together.”

Goguen said he became involved in Proof while looking for a lightweight hunting rifle, and got more than he bargained for when his custom rifle was finished.

“I love Montana, I love hunting and guns, and I love technology and small businesses, and this checked all the boxes,” he said. “I was skeptical at first, but they built me a gun, and I fell in love with it and just had to be a part of what they were building.”

In addition to folding several manufacturers under the Proof umbrella, Goguen said the company still contracts out certain parts, such as trigger assembly and receivers, to local companies such as Defiance Machine.

Although the company had been producing weapons and courting larger contracts for the two years since its founding, Rainey said the owners and investors were very careful about making sure the business was strong before opening its doors to the public.

“We wanted to build a strong foundation first,” Rainey said. “We wanted to have everything in place, so when we opened, we could have that strong start we wanted. We're in it for the long haul, and we don't have to race to target our market. The market is coming to us, so we could take the time to do it right, right from the beginning.”

Currently Proof employs 29 employees, and Rainey said the company still is hiring. Goguen said there is great potential for job growth.

“One of the things we're doing is partnering with Flathead Valley Community College to get some of those trade skills we need, like CNC [computer numerical control] machinists,” Rainey said. “We've got ads in the paper now, and we are getting people from all over.”

“It's a slow, measured growth that we're aiming for; we've got a tight budget and we have faced challenges every single day, but we're overcoming them,” Rainey said.

The barrels Proof manufactures are not completely made of carbon fiber, rather they are traditional steel cores, machined down and wrapped with carbon fibers. According to Rainey, this results in a lighter-weight, more effective barrel of the same or similar overall dimensions and strength as more traditional all-steel barrels.

Although the technology for carbon-fiber barrels may have been around for the last 20 years, the big problem to overcome was failure due to heat.

In a typical rifle, the heat of extended firing will cause the barrel to warp slightly, and this can lead to a “fairly large” dispersion pattern. This means that what started out as shots in a dime-sized grouping on a target can expand to shots that could completely miss the point of aim. In some weapons, like the fully automatic M249 squad automatic weapon used by the military, the heat is so detrimental that multiple barrels are carried to prevent jams and increase accuracy.