Several generations of the VanderHoek family of Lynden have created not one, not two, but three sporting goods businesses – so far – that have evolved from one generation to the next within the realm of sporting goods.
Make that four businesses, actually – but more on that later.
Jude’s Sporting Goods and Housewares and Dave’s Sports Shop were two of them. The latest enterprise, Borderview International Firearms Logistics, overseen by Joel VanderHoek, is focused on shipping sports firearms across borders.
“Ever since my Grandpa Jude (VanderHoek) started his business in 1957, our family has been involved with lawfully transferring sporting firearms to our Canadian neighbors,” Joel VanderHoek said. “As regulations increased over the years, they adapted – until around Sept. 11, 2001, after which the regulations and border environment tightened. Decades ago, Dad (as Dave’s Sports Shop) used to be able to sell a rifle to a licensed Canadian and bring it to the border, where he’d hand it off, and the Canadian would fill out a form and pay a small fee.”
The events of 9/11 created a lot of changes for many people and businesses. Dave’s was one of them, as the company paused its cross-border gun sales until 2008.
“They stopped doing imports and exports around 9/11,” VanderHoek said, “until one day around 2007 my Dad called me while I was in college at Seattle Pacific University to ask if I could help figure out how to do the paperwork. I dug deep into all of the rules and regulations, and the rest is history.”
VanderHoek’s own résumé includes more than 14 years at his current company as the founder and president. Prior to that, he was the business development manager for Dave’s Sports Shop, the two-year board president for the Lynden Chamber of Commerce, and the founder and president of GunsAbroad (formerly Northbound Sporting LLC), from November 2012 to December 2018.
Where they started & where they are going
Jude’s shop started in downtown Lynden and eventually moved to Fairway Shopping Center, where it continued to sell both sporting goods and homewares such as paint and garden supplies. Eventually, the business divided between partners to become what are now Ace Hardware and Dave’s Sports Shop, located side by side. Dave’s focuses on a full line of apparel, ammunition and gear for hunting and fishing.
Borderview originally was part of Dave’s but became a separate legal entity in 2011, now conducting its US operations on Evergreen Street in Lynden, near the intersection between Main Street and Guide Meridian. Joel’s parents, Dave and Claudia VanderHoek, sold Dave’s Sports Shop in 2022 to Will and Jenn Lathrop, mentoring them to make the transition as seamless as possible.
“From complex to surprisingly simple,” the Borderview website proclaims. It continues: “The government has created multiple barriers, making it extremely difficult for an average person to ship guns across the border. We agree that it’s too complicated. Bureaucracy and red tape shouldn’t get in the way of good people getting guns across the border for good reasons.”
In a video, VanderHoek explains the process to future customers: Borderview ships thousands of guns safely, legally and efficiently, providing in-person customs clearance. First, customers must fill out the import/export form and talk with staff to review the pricing and timeline and ask questions. Second, customers send the firearms and let Borderview’s staff do the rest. Third, customers review confirmation of approval and delivery across the border.
VanderHoek said in addition to the service of driving the company van to the border with the completed paperwork and product, the team has developed relationships with border personnel, and that has made a big difference.
“We know them and have built a sterling reputation of compliance,” he said.
Behind the scenes is where the work happens. Borderview staff have turned countless regulations and permits into a single form, because they do the needed paperwork and have the experience. The company also partners with
Gunbroker.com, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the National Rifle Association Business Alliance, Canadian Shooting Stars, CSAA Insurance Group, Project Childsafe, the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights, and others.
Joel’s company is on both sides of the border, with offices within a few miles of it on both sides. There isn’t much direct competition for these services, he said. Customers find him via online searches and by word of mouth, and he and his team also go to trade shows.
Change is inevitable
Business is impacted constantly by factors that can’t be controlled, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the 9/11 attack, economic disparities and tariffs.
VanderHoek, who has been watching the continuing changes with tariffs, acknowledges the uncertainty.
“We are working hard to be a source of clear, concise and trusted information on the actual impact of the tariffs on our product categories,” he said. “The changes have been so complicated and so back and forth that even legal and customs professionals that we engage with regularly have had a hard time tracking it all. For our business customers — Canadian retail stores, auction houses and manufacturers — their businesses rely on timely and accurate information. We have made it our goal to provide this to the very best of our ability. This builds trust with our customers but is frankly something we do just to help out.”
The only constant — perhaps especially in the gun import and export business — is change, he said.
“We face all of the impact of constantly changing gun laws in both the United States and Canada, as well as the rest of the implications and changes of foreign trade. The US underwent a major ‘export control reform’ effort culminating in a complete overhaul of the export licensing jurisdiction and process for our goods in March of 2020. Then the pandemic hit, of course. Since then, Canada has banned many models of firearms, starting with a list in May 2020 then banning the importation and sale of all handguns in 2022, followed by additional model-specific ban lists issued in December 2024 and March 2025.”
Nearly 100% of Borderview’s business is with Canadians.
“We used to work more with Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and beyond but about five years ago decided to focus nearly exclusively on US/Canada business. We ship both directions — export and import, to and from Canada.”
The fourth business
VanderHoek’s oldest son, Jude, just 8 years old, started his own related business in 2024: Jude’s Locker. Jude, named for his grandfather, provides locked storage for those wanting to safely store their firearms.
Joel VanderHoek said he respects his son’s work ethic and desire to be entrepreneurial.