Who Is The Sporting Auctioneer?

Brad McGovern is a firearms auctioneer, personal property appraiser, and regulatory advocate working at the intersection of the American sporting tradition and the auction industry. Operating under the personal brand The Sporting Auctioneer, he is the owner of Two Alpha Auctions, a federally licensed firearms and sporting goods auction house headquartered in Marshall, Michigan, and part of Heritage Outdoors Group.

He has spent nearly twenty years in firearms auction, appraisal, and Federal Firearms License compliance work — cataloging, authenticating, and selling everything from Parker Brothers doubles and pre-war Brownings to modern sporting arms, ammunition, optics, sporting art, and outdoor collectibles.

Two Alpha Auctions and the Belcher Legacy

Two Alpha Auctions carries forward the roughly 100-year legacy of Belcher Auction Company, one of the region's long-standing firearms auction houses. Under Brad's leadership, Two Alpha is being built as a heritage-caliber auction brand: rigorous cataloging standards, studio-grade firearms photography, multi-channel simulcast bidding, and educational content aimed at serious collectors rather than casual bargain hunters.

That standard is not marketing language. Two Alpha operates written cataloging SOPs with a standardized condition-reporting vocabulary, verified measurement and QC procedures, and a documented disclosure policy — because in firearms, an eighth of an inch of barrel length or an undisclosed altered muzzle is the difference between an honest description and a bad sale.

Brad's cataloging and photography operation runs on professional equipment with repeatable presets, so a Winchester photographed in January looks like a Winchester photographed in July. Consistency is the point.

Sister Brands

Brad operates a portfolio of specialized brands serving the outdoor and sporting market:

• The Firearms Gallery — curated collector-grade firearms

• Performance Canine Auctions — sporting dog auctions and dog show announcing

• HuntBid — hunting opportunity and outdoor experience auctions

• Gamebird Solutions — gamebird and upland industry services

• The Sporting Reserve — an emerging heritage sporting lifestyle and auction brand

Credentials and Designations

• CAI — Certified Auctioneers Institute, Class of 2026

• Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) — active licensed dealer

• Personal property appraisal credentialing in progress through the International Society of Appraisers (ISA), with USPAP compliance, supporting a dedicated firearms appraisal service line

• Expert-level practice in firearms authentication, cataloging, and auction market analysis, supported by an extensive personal reference library on vintage American and European firearms

Championship Auctioneering

Brad is a regional and multi-state award-winning champion auctioneer:

• 2024 Michigan Auctioneer Champion

• 2025 Midwest Auctioneers Roundup Champion

• Judge and emcee, Michigan Auctioneer Championship and Midwest Auctioneer Championship

The chant is the craft. He competes, he judges, and he works benefit and charity galas from the rostrum, including sporting and conservation fundraising events.

Advocacy and Industry Leadership

Brad serves on the Advocacy Cornerstone of the National Auction Association (NAA) and is one of the auction industry's most active voices on federal firearms regulation.

He is a past Board Member and Advocacy Committee member of the Ohio Auctioneers Association, and has chaired Legislative and Advocacy Committees for local and state real estate associations.

His federal advocacy work includes:

• Drafting and submitting ATF public comments on firearm records retention and on "engaged in the business" rulemaking

• Producing industry analysis on ATF Ruling 96-2 and 27 CFR § 478.100, the rules that define how licensed dealers may sell and deliver firearms away from licensed premises

• Championing recognition of firearms auctions as a "qualifying event" under the gun show exemption — a change that would let licensed dealers conduct 4473s and background checks at auction the same way they do at gun shows

• Advocating for clarity on the estate auction exemption and FFL licensing thresholds for auctioneers

• Helping secure and present at the first direct NAA–ATF Director dialogue since 1996, alongside NAA leadership including President Mike Fisher

Thirty years of interpretation had built up around a 1996 ruling without a real conversation between the ATF and the auction industry. Brad's position is simple: auctioneers deserve a seat at that table, and the rules should be workable for the licensed professionals who follow them.

Firearms Expertise

Brad's day-to-day expertise covers:

• Antique and collectible firearms authentication and valuation

• Vintage American and European double guns, military arms, and sporting rifles

• Estate firearms liquidation and heir distribution

• Insurance, replacement value, and fair market value appraisal reporting

• FFL compliance, transfer logistics, and interstate auction sale requirements

• Auction format and channel strategy, buyer's premium modeling, and market performance analysis

He also develops and delivers federal firearms law education for auctioneers, teaching the compliance framework that most auction professionals were never formally trained on.

Afield: The Sporting Life

Brad's work grew out of the life, not the other way around.

He is a hunter, conservationist, and lifelong student of American sporting heritage — upland birds, waterfowl, public land, and the dog work that makes both worth doing. He hunts behind an American Brittany.

His favorite gun is the Browning Auto-5 — he owns several. It's the gun he first went grouse hunting with, and the gun he took his first duck with. He's equally devoted to Parker shotguns and owns a number of them.

Away from the gun room, he collects mechanical watches, studies the conservation legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, and cheerfully admits to a lifelong appreciation for Elvis Presley. The aesthetic he's built around both his personal brand and his business is what he calls old-money outdoors: canvas and leather, worn brass, good dogs, and things made to be handed down.

Family

Two Alpha is a family operation. Brad's wife is part of the business, and his father-in-law is a business partner in the company's Ohio facility. The family lives in South Central Michigan.

Where to Find Him

Brad speaks and writes on firearms auction strategy, collectible firearms valuation, federal firearms compliance for auctioneers, and the future of the sporting auction market. He is available for auctioneering engagements, benefit and conservation fundraising auctions, dog show announcing, appraisal work, and speaking.

Marshall, Michigan · Serving collectors, estates, and sportsmen nationwide.