Manufactured in rural Bloomsburg, Columbia County, TarHunt custom-built slug guns are considered to be among the best by hunters, competition shooters, law enforcement agencies and even the Secret Service across the United States and are used in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

TarHunt founder Randy Fritz grew up in rural Pennsylvania. An avid deer hunter, Fritz would take to the woods every year in search of a trophy buck. Where he lived, rifles were, and still are, the choice for hunting large game like deer and bear. However, in many parts of the country, rifles are not allowed for hunting, as their ammunition has a much longer range

which poses safety concerns in populated areas.

After graduating college in 1967, Fritz took a job as an engineering aid in New York state for General Dynamics’ Electronics Division.

He wanted to continue hunting deer, but was forced to hang up his rifles as New York state is one of those parts of the country that only allows shotguns.

For three and a half years, Fritz hunted with shotguns and competed in target shooting competitions, but was unhappy with their very limited accuracy. So, he decided to do something about it and set out to build his own slug guns as a hobby.

Fritz wanted to create a big bore rifle with a 12-gauge rifled barrel – an ultimate slug gun. And that is exactly what he did.

A few years later, he turned that hobby into a business.

TarHunt’s slug guns set the standard by which all slug guns were judged. In fact, several major gun and ammunition manufacturers purchased TarHunt guns to test their ammunition.

In 1992, one of Fritz’s most popular guns was introduced at a gun show in Texas. Minor changes were made over the next two years. Field and Stream magazine in 2009 ranked Fritz’s gun as one of the 50 best gun designs of all times.

TarHunt manufacturers about 100 guns a year. Every TarHunt slug gun is custom built and purchasers wait sometimes between 10 months and two years for their gun to be completed.

In addition to manufacturing slug guns, Fritz is also a technical consultant and responsible for quality control and accuracy for Lightfield Ammunition. Lightfield makes shells that contain non-lethal rubber slugs for homeland security, home defense, and wildlife control. The ammunition is sold at various locations including Walmart. In fact, TarHunt is currently overseeing a Lightfield order for Walmart for 800,000 rounds of ammunition.

Each month, we recognize one of the region’s top manufacturers with the aid of NEPIRC, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center. Since 1988, NEPIRC has been working with manufacturers to improve their productivity, profitability, competitiveness and long-term viability through consultative services.

TarHunt founder Randy Fritz displays a custom-built slug gun at his manufacturing facility.

This feature is sponsored by...

Bloomsburg gun manufacturer sets the standard for custom slug guns

TarHunt

TarHunt slug guns have been featured in many law enforcement and hunting magazines.

Fritz is a part owner of two patents and has two patents pending. His latest pending patent involves the manufacture of a new slug that is made through the process of 3D metal printing. The slug is lighter, stronger and has a higher velocity than traditional slugs.

Later this year, Fritz plans on releasing a new slug gun that is 98 percent stainless steel.

For the past 10 years, the internet has been one

of the primary resources for TarHunt’s growth. Fritz is currently working with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center (NEPIRC)on ways to improve his company’s business model, move forward with new technology and with the review of his company’s online presence.

For more information on TarHunt, visit them on the web at tarhunt.com.