By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

When Camp Branch resident Randall Booth was growing up in Montevallo, his father gave him a bit of advice Booth lives by to this day.

“When I was growing up in Montevallo, my father told me ‘Son, you’re going to have to know how to grow your own food and kill your own meat because the day will come that a dollar won’t be worth anything,’” Booth said. “I feel like we are starting to see that come true today.”

Heeding his father’s words, Booth has been an avid hunter since he was 8 years old, and has developed a passion for firearms. In June 2012, Booth obtained his federal firearm license and began assembling AR-15 rifles in his basement.

Recently, he decided to take the business to a new level.

In May, Booth began manufacturing AR-15 rifles and components from scratch at his new business, Red Dot Arms, off Shelby County 87 in Alabaster.

The company starts with blocks of billet aluminum and uses computer numerical control machines to form the aluminum into AR-15 upper and lower parts. AR-15 lowers include the trigger guard and magazine well, and upper parts contain the bullet chamber and bolt.

After the parts are machined, Red Dot then coats the parts, assembles the rifles and test fires them to ensure accuracy.

“As far as I know, we are the first ones in Alabama that actually make our own components,” Booth said. “You can be considered a manufacturer just by assembling the rifles.”

Booth said he takes pride in manufacturing guns and components in Alabaster, and said his customers like knowing where to go if they have a problem.

“I can’t compete with Walmart, I can’t compete with Academy and I know that,” Booth said. “But one thing I would like people to know is that you may pay $100 more to get one from me, but if you’ve ever got a problem, you know where to come. We try to build the best gun on the market.”

Red Dot Arms is located at 127 Mayhall Drive off Shelby County 87. To learn more about the company and its offerings, visit Reddotarms.us.