WV Wild Outdoors Since 2008

A West Virginia Story

WV Wild Outdoors

Since 2008

The New River Gorge Bridge on US Route 19, heading south toward Fayetteville where it all started

New River Gorge Bridge • US Route 19

Heading south from Sutton, this bridge marks the gateway to Fayetteville and the New River Gorge — where it all began.

Pencil sketch of the 1950s strip mall where WV Wild Outdoors started in 2008

Where it all began — 2008

We started back in 2008 out in the New River Gorge area — Fayetteville way.

Just a little sporting goods store in a strip mall. We worked hard, stocked the shelves, greeted every customer like family.

But that location... well, we couldn't make it there.

Sometimes the Lord closes a door...

The gloomy drive north across the New River Gorge Bridge, heading back home to Braxton County after the Fayetteville store didn't work out

"...so you have to move."

We live in Sutton, our church is Stump Chapel Baptist, and in 2013 we settled the business right here in Little Birch.

We aren't just a store off the highway.

We are your neighbors.

The Flood

Pencil sketch depicting the June 2016 flood waters devastating the shop

June 23, 2016

A thousand-year storm. Eight inches of rain in twelve hours.

The Birch River rose higher than it had since 1888.

Twenty-three souls lost across West Virginia.

The Birch River shop took on 52 inches of water. Over $70,000 in inventory — gone.

Pencil sketch showing the lot covered in debris after the flood waters receded

The Aftermath

When the waters finally went down, we saw what was left. Debris everywhere. Mud caked on everything we'd built.

"We didn't post about it online. We didn't look for praise. We just did what folks in Braxton County do..."

FEMA denied us. Commercial business, they said.

Then came a theft — another ten thousand gone. No insurance to cover it.

Community Rises

Pencil sketch showing church community members helping to rebuild after the flood - look for Kim and Bryan in the scene

Can you spot Kim & Bryan?

We sent the volunteers to help neighbors first — they needed it more

We checked on our neighbors first. We prayed. And we dug out the mud — together.

Even while digging out our own mess, Bryan was up on ladders fixing roofs for elderly neighbors and the church.

That's just what you do.

We kept the doors open because this community isn't just a market to us.

It's home.

A New Beginning

Then came the blessing we didn't expect — a federal contract.

Enough to rebuild. Enough to start fresh.

Rather than close the doors for good, we moved to a corner lot just down the road — keeping the shop close to the same neighbors, hunters, and families who had always depended on it.

Kim and Bryan standing proudly at their new WV Wild Outdoors building

Kim & Bryan at the new corner lot — still standing

Today, WV Wild Outdoors continues in that newer corner-lot location as a straightforward, local shop run by people who know the area they serve.

Whether it's getting sighted in for buck season, stocking up on feed, or grabbing gear before a weekend in the woods — we're here to help.

"We're blessed to call this place home - lock, stock, and barrel."