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As an artisan and a tradesperson, Andy Michaelson is hard to pigeonhole. His clients are also an assorted bunch. A buyer of his creations might be a utilitarian sort of person who just wants the best, and wants it to be reliable. Another patron could just as easily be seeking a one of a kind gift. What is certain, is that Michaelson sees anybody who buys his products as more than a customer. Life and death can literally hinge on his workmanship.

He makes firearms for a living.

Michaelson, 42, made all the rifles used in Isanti County sheriff's department. He made the firearms carried by North Branch Police Officers and Chisago County custom-ordered a couple of his rifles for specialized SWAT applications. He'd say law enforcement is his "niche" but his firearms are owned by all sorts of people. You'll know a Michaelson firearm by the BCW etched into the gun, which stands for Branch Custom Weaponry.

Michaelson's BCW is a rarity in commerce, providing a 100 percent lifetime warranty. "Every one that leaves my shop I would personally carry into battle," says the ex-Marine of his firearms.

Michaelson grew up around firearms.

A self-proclaimed mechanical-minded guy, he got started in the field of custom weaponry doing gun repairs. That moved into assembling firearms. He can hand fit components to build a rifle in about 90 minutes. This graduated to building rifles from scratch, and by that we mean starting with a solid block of aluminum and machining it to specifications. He buys "top of the line barrel blanks."

His guns start at $885 for a basic rifle to one high end piece that carried a pricetag of $6,000. He also can add or make accessories for any platform modular weapon. He will do custom coatings or re-do your existing weapon if your firearm needs a new look. There's 50 patterns and color combinations alone in camo coatings, and 90 colors to choose from.

The BCW shop is equipped with computer numeric controlled machining. It shouldn't come as any surprise that Michaelson utilizes expensive materials, "the same metals Boeing buys," and what he does is not an activity that just anybody gets involved in, so the shop location isn't widely known.

He is licensed by Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms allowing him to build or market anything 50 caliber or less. "Anything greater than that they consider a destructive device," he explained. "Then you get into more restrictions, regulations, and expensive licensing." The same is true for international dealing, so Michaelson works only within the U.S. market. He is a Class 3 dealer. He is one of a few people in Minnesota allowed to have machine guns in his possession.

Michaelson often takes law enforcement weapons in-trade. That "...saves money and the departments don't have to scrape" for taxpayer funds to upgrade their weapons. He feels honored to be contributing to efforts ensuring the public's safety, even if it doesn't involve him wearing a uniform.

To get better public exposure and be more accessible to his customers Michaelson partnered with Tom Borchert, owner of Bullseye Shooting Sports in North Branch, for a retail space. His personal firearms are kept at the shooting range, but usually not for long, they often sell as soon as he puts them out on display.

For gun repairs or if you want to accessorize, you can make an appointment or talk with Michaelson at Bullseye during business hours. Michaelson said this arrangement lets him work with no interruptions, when he's at his shop. The times he needs to interact with people in a retail setting, the shooting range/store is ideal.

After decades of being around firearms, serving in the military and having access to nearly every civilian weapon imaginable, is there anything that Michaelson would like to own and hasn't yet?

He said a tank would be on his short list, but he'd probably have trouble finding storage for it.

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