Country of origin United States No. of seasons 5 Executive producer(s) Stephen Land | Original language(s) English No. of episodes 65 (list of episodes) | |
Starring Will Hayden
Stephanie Ford
Kris Ford
Joe Meaux
Charlie Watson
Glenn Fleming
Vince Buckles | ||
Sons of Guns is a reality television series that aired on the Discovery Channel between 2011 and 2014. The series centers on Red Jacket Firearms LLC, a Louisiana-based business that manufactures and sells custom firearms to law enforcement, security firms, and private collectors. Will Hayden is the founder and owner of the shop, his daughter and business partner Stephanie manages the office.
Contents
As on the Discovery Channel series MythBusters, this show practices a degree of self-censorship and safety-consciousness. Each episode begins with a staff member (usually Will) warning viewers not to try anything demonstrated on the show at home. In addition, during scenes of catastrophic failure, the crew will remind the audience not to try anything at home. The program also makes a noted point to avoid showing specific detail of how weapon modifications or fabrications are performed.
After five seasons, the show was canceled on August 27, 2014, as a direct result of Hayden's arrest on various sexual charges.
Other Appearances
Production
Sons of Guns first aired on the Discovery Channel on January 26, 2011 with the pilot episode “Civil War Cannon, Shotgun silencer.”
Legal issues
According to TMZ.com, during a routine inspection by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) in 2009, Red Jacket could not account for ten registered firearm parts. In a settlement, William Hayden and Stephanie Hayden surrendered their gun-making licenses and were allowed to choose a licensed individual to control Red Jacket. Initially, that person was Vincent Buckles, but Buckles has left the company and now two other individuals control the company.
In a WBRZ article, Attorney Craig Davidson, Jr., said that 10 guns did not go missing from the shop. Instead, one or two guns were stolen during 2001–2008. Davidson claimed the rest of the missing guns were receivers that were thrown away or destroyed when gunsmiths made mistakes. Although Davidson characterized the lost weapons as "simple bookkeeping errors", the ATF requires serial-numbered parts to be tracked. Will and Stephanie Hayden did not keep track, so, according to Davidson, Hayden and the ATF mutually agreed to shut down Red Jacket, Inc.
Davidson further stated that at that time, Hayden was already in discussions with the Discovery Channel about the show and had plans to start another business, Red Jacket Firearms, L.L.C. Will Hayden is not an officer of Red Jacket Firearms, L.L.C. When Davidson was asked why Hayden was not an officer, Davidson stated the reason was a "confidential business decision".
In September 2011, Jupiter Entertainment, the Sons of Guns production company, made the evening news when its staff member, on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, parked a rental truck, containing automatic weapons and pyrotechnics, outside the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport while waiting for a colleague. Part of Terminal B was closed for several hours while the FBI investigated but found no wrongdoing. An executive of the production company said he regretted the incident and blamed it on "a simple yet colossal error in judgement by a member of our staff."
On August 27, 2014, the series was abruptly cancelled after it was revealed that child endangerment, child rape, and abuse charges were brought against Will Hayden. "Given the serious and horrific nature of the charges against Will Hayden, we have decided to halt further production of 'Sons of Guns' and cancel the series," a Discovery Channel rep told TMZ. After the announcement, the Discovery channel website was "scrubbed" of information about the show. In September Hayden's eldest daughter, business partner, and 'Sons of Guns' co-star, Stephanie Hayden, changed her claims from that of defending her father to accusing him of also raping and abusing her as a child.
Since the cancellation of the show, Kris Ford was arrested on child abuse charges and for assault on a minor. Stephanie Hayden-Ford, who is the mother of the child from a previous relationship, was also arrested for assault charges on Friday October 17. Bail was set at $25,000 each according to WWL, which was paid and the pair was released from jail.