Major SC gun retailer opening first Myrtle Beach store in former Sun News building
Palmetto State Armory is moving into the old Myrtle Beach Sun News building on U.S. 17 Bypass.
The South Carolina-based gun store, with six locations in-state and one in Georgia, replaced the iconic red and orange Sun News sign with one advertising Palmetto State Armory on Wednesday. This will be the company’s first retail location in the Grand Strand or Horry County. The next closest is in Mount Pleasant, more than 80 miles away.
“We are extremely excited about the new location. PSA has been trying to find a location in the Myrtle Beach area for at least the past five years,” PSA co-owner Julian Wilson said in an email. “The former Sun News site was absolutely perfect in terms of size and location. If I had to put a tack in a map of Myrtle Beach area of where I would want to be located, that tack would have poked a hole in the map right though this site.”
Wilson said they hope to open the Myrtle Beach location by late 2021 or early 2022.
In November, shortly before Palmetto State Armory took over ownership, the gun store informed Horry County of its interest in opening a retail gun store and firing range inside of the building, according to a zoning verification request.
Horry County told the company that it will be allowed to have an indoor firing range so long as it does not produce noise, smoke or other public nuisances beyond the property.
Wilson said the building, despite needing extensive renovations, is perfect for their needs. The warehouse where the printing presses were located already work well for sound abatement and can draw large amounts of electricity, which they will need due to federal air filtration requirements for firing ranges.
The building was also constructed to withstand hurricanes, Wilson said, making it the benefits of the expensive renovations — rather than tearing it down and starting over — more worthwhile in the long run.
The firing range will have 20 lanes with the ability to expand in the future as needed. Customers can shoot both new and historic guns, such as the WW2 era Tommy gun.
“We will tailor package for golfers who get rained out where we can offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to see and shoot pieces of history,” Wilson said. “ The property will also be the home of our Freedom Museum, which will house PSA’s collection of historic firearms, which have been collected by (the company’s founder) Jamin McCallum.”
The Sun News moved out of the building, which was constructed in 1975, last year. Horry County Land Records put the 6.29-acre property’s value at $2.65 million.
The move from the building came as the paper aimed to downsize its office space. In February, shortly before the start of the pandemic, the paper moved into a Coastal Carolina National Bank building located at 1012 38th Ave. N., Myrtle Beach, SC.
The new Palmetto State Armory’s address is 914 Frontage Rd E, Myrtle Beach, nextdoor to WMBF News and a GMC dealership.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 6:58 AM with the headline "Major SC gun retailer opening first Myrtle Beach store in former Sun News building."
