What little I know of Chris he seems to be a great person. He is a great instructor. I'm fairly new to firearms. I did some training with him at his outdoor range. I didn't start out great but he was patient with me. I feel more comfortable than what I was before the training thanks to him. Being that he is a veteran and a local small business Walden Arms is my go to firearm business. Chris definitely knows his stuff. If you're looking into anything firearm related Walden Arms is worth checking out. Thanks Chris! read more

Chris is absolutely OUTSTANDING!!! Fortunately, while searching for a trainer, I came across Chris with whom I spent 4 hours last week. We began our time together with his evaluating my rifle which I had never fired. He recommended numerous improvements which made all the difference in the world during the actual training and shooting. He was excellent with spending the time to sight in the new red dot he recommended. I had purchased another rifle from a gun store that said the Bushnell scope would be "sighted in". Well, they must have hired a deer to do it. Wouldn't even hit the target. Chris made several necessary adjustments. That deer will not be happy. As a result of our time together, I am completely comfortable using the rifle we focused on. To keep some of the lesson top of mind, I did some filming. Chris is extremely patient and caring. No pressure and when I missed something we had previously worked on, he was great. With all of his years of experience in the military, SWAT teams, and police departments, serving and training, he definitely knows what he is doing. It is highly likely that other trainers could have huge egos, not Chris!!! Don't look any further for a trainer, if you are reading this, you found your guy. I will be back for my handgun refresher and some more rifle. The time we spent together was definitely not enough. read more

He's a excellent instructor and great gunsmith. Would recommend him to anyone. He helped my accuracy tremendously and got me out of a repair job I did to myself in minutes. read more

Chris is a very knowledgeable and professional instructor. He is well trained, in-tune, and successfully deals with many different kinds of clients. His combination of patience and motivation is right-on. You won't be disappointed! read more

Being in the area for the past 13 years, I've had a lot of time to scout the local gun shops and gunsmiths. As far as Calhoun county is concerned there isn't much to be had. I've purchased firearms and services from local shops and gunsmiths and always left feeling that I didn't get what I wanted for the $$$ paid. On with the actual experience.... So in October of 2013 I purchased a NIB S&W M&P 10 from a dealer in West Virginia. It stayed in my safe until this past Spring when I brought it to a buddy's house to finally test it out. I was thinking, I got a good deal on a sweet deer rifle. Well, it turns out I was wrong... FTF FTE it just wouldn't cycle. I was so upset at S&W for letting this rifle out of their factory with this major issue. I was pissed off to say the least. I wanted to throw the gun off of a cliff. Which brings us to Walden Arms. I had heard about Walden Arms from a friend while attending classes at KCC last Spring. They mentioned that he was prior military and that he had a passion for firearms and hunting. Both of those hobbies are right up my alley. So, I called Chris the owner/gunsmith and described my problem. He told me to bring it by and let him take a look at it.... BTW that always worries me when someone says that. I just envision $$$ and months of waiting. Long story short, after about a week he called me up and told me that they had determined that S&W had drilled the gas port too close to the mounting surface the gas block rests against. He said he had to machine 0.003 from that surface. After that, everything lined up perfectly! He met me at a local Machine Gun shoot at Feek's Tactical and gave my M&P 10 back. He asked me to test fire to confirm it was working to my satisfaction. I proceeded to grab .308 and low pressure machine gun 7.62 rounds and mixed them in the mag. Which apparently wasn't what he was expecting me to do. :-) I ripped off about 20 rounds as fast as I could pull the trigger. SUCCESS!!! Lucille (as she was affectionately named) was working like a dream. In addition to getting her to function flawlessly he cleaned/polished and tweaked her in just the right way. She's a dream to shoot. I can not recommend Chris enough. Like I said before, I've tried other gunsmiths in the area (BCA)... I'll never use them again. If you value your firearms bring them to Walden Arms. You won't be leaving disappointed. read more

Outstanding customer service, informative, and helpful. Defiantly recommend for anyone looking to buy, build, or mod. Went out of his way to make sure I had what I needed with parts and knowledge. A great experience and product. read more

I inherited 3 older firearms from my father-in-law and, not being a firearm person in any fashion, I wanted to get them checked out for safe operation and refurbished as necessary. I had heard of Walden Arms and contacted Chris. Short story, he picked up the firearms and had a report for me regarding their overall condition within 48 hours. He was upfront about everything he noted from the initial inspection and provided pictures of each disassembled for a clear understanding of what he found. He reassured me that he could bring them all back to a safe operable condition which included necessary cosmetic repairs. He provided a firm quote and completion delivery date. As he was refurbishing them he also would text pictures of the progress. The delivery date and charges were as promised. Excellent service. read more