(Silver Spring, Md.) – Will Hayden and his team of gunsmiths at Baton Rouge-based Red Jacket Firearms are back for an all-new season of Discovery Channel’s hit series SONS OF GUNS, returning Wednesday, February 29th at 9PM ET/PT. And at 10PM, after the season premiere, join Hayden and AMERICAN GUNS’ Rich Wyatt as they count down ten iconic American shootouts – from Wild West standoffs to mob hits to world war – in the one-hour special TOP 10 SHOOTOUTS. Firing historic weapons, they give rare insight into the guns – and their owners – that changed history.
In this season of SONS OF GUNS, gunsmith Vince Buckles is still missing from Red Jacket after several disputes finally forced him to leave the shop. But the orders keep pouring in, and Will and crew work night and day to keep up. But in true Red Jacket fashion, they also find some time to have a little fun when bike legend Jesse James and music legend Joe Perry drop by the shop. And Will gets back to the basics as he spends more hands-on time with his builds.
Coming up this season:
This Time it’s Personal
Season Premiere: Wednesday, February 29th at 9PM E/P
Officer David Liang of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) wants to transform a Ferret armored scout vehicle into a crowd control/riot control vehicle and turns to Will Hayden and the Red Jacket crew for help. The team travels to New Orleans so Will can do a ride along with Officer Liang while the rest of the crew goes into the French Quarter to have some fun. They never expected that one of their own would witness a murder in the streets only 40 yards away. This project just got personal.
Officer Liang brings the Ferret to Red Jacket and they decide that Joe, who witnessed the crime, will lead the build. They install 16 grenade launchers, an adjustable flow water cannon and convert the gun mount that was made for a 240 Bravo into a 1919 mount. Meanwhile, the shop continues to bustle and Vince is still MIA. Will, angry, has no idea why he left. Everyone steps it up to help out in the shop, including Stephanie.
Sniper Rifle Silencer
Premiere: Wednesday, March 7th at 9PM E/P
Jon Weiler of Professional Marksmen Inc. commissions the Red Jacket crew to integrally suppress a .50 caliber sniper rifle. This is one of the largest caliber gun rounds – and gun – in the world. And they only have a week to do it. Will, Joe, and Kris work through the night to come up with a plan. Meanwhile, world record holding exhibition shooter Tom Knapp comes in to the shop to ask Will to build him a shoulder-fired weapon that he can use to shoot several clay targets with one shot. Will agrees and takes on the challenge. Drama arises when Kris nearly breaks the CNC machine, worth $250,000. And Will calls in a favor and brings in a new gun mechanic for a week to help get some of the big Red Jacket orders out the door while Vince is still missing from the shop. But all doesn’t go according to Will’s plan.
Kamikaze Cannon
Premiere: Wednesday, March 14th at 9PM E/P
Vahan Kelerchian from Armament Services International has a client willing to pay $50,000 to get his Japanese auto cannon repaired – but he needs Will’s help. Will tells him he is backed up and can’t do the job for months. Vahan leaves an unhappy customer. Joe, who recently lost his second job teaching, sees the situation unfold and decides to take on the job himself – and enlists the help of the other RJ guys. Everyone is nervous but they are willing to do it for Joe. Flem has a heart to heart with Vince asks if he can help out with Joe’s project – and Vince agrees. Will catches on to the project and monitors it from afar. But when the team sneaks out to reveal the weapon to Vahan, Will races to the scene to prevent the test fire, knowing it could seriously hurt someone. Joe finally confesses to Will why he took on the job, and that he is concerned for his family as he no longer has a paycheck, health insurance or pension from his teaching position. Will appoints Joe CFO of RJF and welcomes Joe aboard full time.
Jesse James Gun
Premiere: Wednesday, March 21st at 9PM E/P
Jesse James surprises the crew at Red Jacket Firearms as he stops by the shop to have them build a custom WWII BAR machine gun for him. He wants to help with the build, and had been talking to Vince about the weapon. Jesse wants Vince to lead the build. Tension builds with Vince in the shop again.
SONS OF GUNS is produced for Discovery Channel by Jupiter Entertainment. Stephen Land is executive producer, with Patrick Leigh-Bell as co-executive producer. For Discovery Channel, Dolores Gavin is executive producer.
What boggles my mind the most is that they’re actually starting to revel in the fact that the stars of the show are so unsafe as to be a danger to their own lives. And I quote: “Will races to the scene to prevent the test fire, knowing it could seriously hurt someone.” This is definitely not the image of gun stores and FFLs that we want to present the public.