Grizzly Country Outdoors opens on Lovell Main Street

The father and son team of Mark and Donnie Paul opened a new store on Main Street in Lovell this week with a Tuesday grand opening, celebrating a move from Cody to the Rose City.The Pauls worked together in Cody for seven years, then decided to relocate to Lovell, opening Grizzly Country Outdoors at 149 E. Main – the former Big Horn Federal building – offering sporting goods retail sales, gunsmith work and taxidermy services.Donnie Paul is the owner and taxidermist, and father Mark is the gunsmith. Mark said he and Donnie have, for many years, had customers from throughout the Big Horn Basin and even around the nation for gunsmith  and taxidermy work and decided to make the move to Lovell to be closer to the area they love, the Big Horn Mountains, and save money on rent.“We got tired of looking for a building in Cody and paying six to nine thousand dollars for rent,” Mark said. “We hunt and fish the Big Horns, and we like Lovell. In Cody you can’t get across the street during the summer. We were spending four to five days a week over here anyway.“We do a lot of hunting here. We like Yellowtail, and we like the area.”[caption id="attachment_11712" align="alignright" width="300"] Mark and Donnie Paul have opened Grizzly Country Outdoors in the former Big Horn Federal Bank building at 149 East Main in Lovell, with services from taxidermy and gunsmith work to sporting goods sales.
David Peck photo[/caption]Long before he moved to Cody, Mark spent up to six months a year in Wyoming guiding for hunting and fishing trips, then moved to Wyoming fulltime nine years ago.As for Donnie, he’s worked with his dad for all of his 18 years, he said.“We plan to open our guiding back up next year,” Mark said. “We’re looking for private land to lease if there’s good hunting on it.”Gunsmith workMark said he works with several experts in the gunsmith field to perform multiple services.“A handful of us work to do everything from re-barreling to bluing,” he said. “For general gunsmithing and repairs, we do it right here. We have outstanding connections. About 98 percent of guns that come in we can fix.”Grizzly Country Outdoors also sells guns and ammunition, along with rifle scabbards, scopes, bows and archery equipment, knives, reloading supplies, fishing gear, safes, spotting scopes, binoculars and more.“We build rifles and semi-custom rifles, too,” Mark said.Donnie Paul has been a taxidermist for five years, he said, and has won numerous awards in Wyoming and Montana competitions.“Look at that pronghorn,” Mark said, pointing to a wall mount. “It looks like it’s going to walk up and lick you. He’s damn good.”Grizzly Country is also sponsoring big buck, big bull and longest tail feather contests this fall, with prizes to be awarded.Though the Pauls are still working out their hours, they are currently open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and they said they’re happy to meet anybody for taxidermy during off hours, as well.“Just call and we’ll meet you down here,” Mark said. “And we definitely want to hear from the people of Lovell about what to carry.“We’d like to thank Jed (Nebel) at the Town of Lovell and Walt (Paugels) and Howard (Talton) at the Switchback Grill for their help.”The Pauls can be reached at 307-250-8918 or 307-250-4712.

By David Peck