Support the Second Amendment by becoming a member. Born into a gun-free household, Alex Christenson's journey into the firearms industry began at age eighteen with a single shot from a friend's shotgun. This initial spark led to a deep-seated passion for hunting and a natural curiosity about firearm mechanics, sparked by the challenge of reassembling a Remington 870. The global shifts of 2020 served as a catalyst for professional change; after customizing an AR-15 for family protection, Alex committed to formal education at the Sonoran Desert Institute. Graduating in 2022 with a 3.98 GPA and Magna Cum Laude honors, he recognized a critical shortage of skilled gunsmiths in Iowa. Leveraging new state legislation that permitted home-based firearms businesses, Alex founded Tapos Gunsmithing, LLC in November 2022. What began as a part-time endeavor quickly evolved into a thriving enterprise, transitioning to a full-time career in March 2024. By July 2025, the business had successfully completed nearly 1,000 jobs, filling a local market vacuum and transforming a personal hobby into a professional legacy built on technical expertise and community trust.
