Wal-Mart firearms

[Rimmer]

quote:
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I picked up a Henry Lever in 22lr for back yard plinkin. Was $149 cheaper than the Dealer down the street. Transaction was all of about 20 minutes.
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TennTucker
Great deal as I thought they only cost 200.00 to start with.

Yep, my local dealer wanted $338 out the door , WalMart was $189...

 

[71Commander]

Yep, my local dealer wanted $338 out the door , WalMart was $189...

That's a good deal. I will have to check it out. I have been looking at buying one for about a month now. The 189.00 is the going price on gunbrokers, not including shipping.

 

[Ky Larry]

Several years ago, I bought a Weatherby Vanguard 7mm Rem mag at Wally World. IIRC, it was about $100 cheaper than any local dealer. It has worked perfectly and will shoot sub MOA with factory ammo. The Wally World in Cynthiana, Ky had a Browning A-Bolt .270 for $475 a few years ago. I should have bought it on the spot but decided to wait until the following pay day. Needless to say, it was gone when I went back. If you decide to buy from Wally World, they can order almost any rifle or shotgun if they don't have it in stock. Personally, I always try to buy from local dealers first. We have 3 Wally Worlds in Lexington. The sporting goods dept at North Park is pretty good. The other two bite. YMMV.
Remember: CAVEAT EMPTOR (Let the buyer beware)

 

[kernal_panic]

some of the makers have diffrent grades of rifles they sell to wal-mart than what they send to distributers. on that marlin of yours did you carefully compare it to the ones in the gun store? likely yours has a birch stock rather than walnut and the blueing is likely to be not as deep. mechanically they are the same.

I bought a Marlin 336W from WalMart on GWB's inauguration day, Jan 20, 2001. As I recall, it was about $100 less than anywhere else. It is my first and only Marlin, so I have no basis for comparison, but it appears to be high quality and functions flawlessly

 

[Kooter]

some of the makers have diffrent grades of rifles they sell to wal-mart than what they send to distributers. on that marlin of yours did you carefully compare it to the ones in the gun store? likely yours has a birch stock rather than walnut and the blueing is likely to be not as deep. mechanically they are the same.

BS. i can't beleive people actually think that gun makers have special machines set to the side that make guns only for walmart. not only would that look bad for walmart, but it would make the gun manufacturer look bad also. i just moved away from mayfield kentucky. i worked at the walmart there. 5 minutes up the road from walmart is the remington plant that makes the 597 and 710. they used to make other models but don't anymore. i knew about 15 people that worked at the plant. never once did any of them tell me about the "walmart side of the plant" and i did ask several times, cause this topic comes up a couple times a year.

apparently most people can't comprehend the fact that if walmart buys 1,000,000 guns they get a way better price than a gun shop that buys 2 guns from the same place.

 

[Slater]

I guess it's true what someone said: Why would any gun manufacturer want to get a bad reputation at the world's biggest retailer?

 

[Rusher]

hey guys and dolls

Yes I work for the big guy at every corner ( and really I have no alliance to them but to the 2nd )but to think that a company ( as big as Wal-Mart )would sell less than second's(as some people are stating )..... Really come on guys......( I'll buy the tin foill if needed )...... my last job was to sell to Wal-Mart and yes my small company had to jump thru alot of flaming hoops to get Sam's wink but ......... and this is a big BUT they would not accept.....our product if it was a less than a functioning or performed as lesser than stated.


The rumor of Wal-Mart buying or FORCING less than average is just a big myth..........


if you dout me............show up at the Gastonia,NC Store 1385 and I'll be happy to let you prove me wrong........... you bring the barrel viewer and I have the micrometer for your reading and/or inspection.........(recently calibrated)
It just goes against good business



Please come on down or up and Please show your THR membership


Rusher

 

[The_Antibubba]

Different Grades

I think this misunderstanding comes from the Mossberg shotguns. Mossberg has a discount line, almost like a separate company, called Maverick. Most, if not all of the parts of the Maverick 88 are interchangeable with a Mossberg 500 series. The biggest difference is the safety on the 88 is a crossbolt, not a tang. MSRP is $199. This line is sold at Wal-mart, IIRC.

 

[Kooter]

more people than walmart sell the maverick 88. i bought mine 11 years ago from a store called warshals in downtown seattle. only problem i have ever had with it was that i knocked the front bead off when i stepped on it. glued a flourescent orange fishing bead in its place, worked better than the original brass bead. i payed $139 for it after tax....

 

[cratz2]

I always try to support a local shop but one time I was hot to trot and bought an 870 with just the slug barrel. I think the price at WalMart was about $80 less than Galyans which normally has very decent prices on items like that. It was just the cheap faux woodgrain stock and matte black metal, but I think it was only $219 or $229 at the most.

Now, I will admit that it took so long to get help, I initially left the store and went down to Galyans then to a small shop before returning to buy the gun from WalMart.

Generally though, I always suggest to support small local shops as long as they have reasonable pricing or are willing to work on the pricing to make the sale.

 

[Rebeldon]

It's hard for me to believe that Wal-Mart gets "cheapened" rifles to sell at a lower price. It what way are they "cheapened"?

You can order from their catalog and get the same rifles you get at a dealer for a lower price, as long as it is in their catalog. But you'll have to wait several weeks for it. Obviously, you can't get ARs, AKs or SKSs at Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is the leading seller of firearms in the country. Plus, they pay their employees less, and there is no service after the sale. That's why their prices are lower.

I would not buy from Wal-Mart. I'd rather support a local dealer.

 

[sm]

I don't do Walmart.

I beg to differ on the products being different. They do ask products to be made to their specs. Vaccum cleaners, pop the cover and see plastic and junk vs metal and quality, different amp ratings and such. Drills - Black and Decker made a WM spec'd cordless drill, wxterior looked the same, guts were not. Watches, no secret there, there is a difference in mov'ts, you get the better quality from the Mom&Pop watch shop with service and respect, or you save money and get the less quaity mov't form WM and the ohter discount stores.

Charles Daley...he puts together pakages for a run, he does a run for WM and similar discount chains.

When a product COSTS the mfg $2 to make, WM plays the game and "tells you" with their whoop-te-do all powerful being THEY are doing you a favor IF they choose to stock your product...WM will want to pay .80 COST for product...this is less than mfg costs and YOU will jumo though hoops to meet WM needs.

Yes there are differences in stocks, and features, not everytime, but it is there.

I know old man Sam has to be very upset in his grave - his fear was that WM would become what in fact it has. I will be most happy the day they go out of business.

Academy sold the 870 for $199, Sports Authority for $209, WM for $229.
I can buy ammo cheaper at AS or SA than WM.

Mom bought clothes at Academy for grandkids, real clothes, made in the US, with real quality for less money that what she had looked at with another sib at WM. She didn't want to go WM [because of me and learning for herself], but that is where that sib took her and mom was a passenger.

We went later to Academy with the sizes , and bought.

I paid a $1.19 less for Simple Green at NAPA than mom did at WM btw.

I will continue to shop at the Mom&Pop, I can get service, advice and respect for my business. I don't get data-mined, I don't support the Chinese, I don't have my personal info all over the place in a data base that WM chooses who knows what with. WM can burn in hell as far as I care.

When is the last time WM gave you a free invite to hunt/ fish? Invited you to a BBQ? Donated guns and ammo for a kids's shoot, ammo for a CCW class, donated monies to help a Elderly person get a CCW? Sell a gun at what they had in it, give ammo so that lady could have a CCW? Donate 2 dozen sets of ears and eyes and ordered the Eddie Eagle tapes for a kids teaching/shooting clinic.

So I didn't get $80 off a gun by buying from a Mom&Pop store. What did the kids, the ladies, elderly get instead? Yes I enjoyed the dove hunt, and the fishing. Not everything I do is for me, Not everything the Mom&Pop does is for them. WM's bottom line is WM...oh those cute heart wrenching ads for donations they do...tax deductions.

I'm adament about this , I am not changing my mind. I know/ have known folks in the know on this.

 

[Kooter]

When is the last time WM gave you a free invite to hunt/ fish? Invited you to a BBQ? Donated guns and ammo for a kids's shoot, ammo for a CCW class, donated monies to help a Elderly person get a CCW? Sell a gun at what they had in it, give ammo so that lady could have a CCW? Donate 2 dozen sets of ears and eyes and ordered the Eddie Eagle tapes for a kids teaching/shooting clinic.

1 walmart store donates more money to the community each year than all the mom and pops in the area donate in 5 years. while it may not specifically be so one elderly person can get a CCW, if an organization comes and asks for funds to get 20 elderly people ______ they will usually get it. thousands of dollars go to local boy scout troops every year, if they choose to buy eddie eagle tapes with that money then they can. i have taken several customers fishing with me. not all walmarts are alike. some suck big time!! but saying walmart doesn't donate stuff is just plain wrong.

 

[sm]

Yes they do donate.
If not for PR and tax write off they would not.

Ask the folks just how hard it is to actually get the money. I'm not taling about that big check presented with press pics either. I mean the real monies.

About as hard as the supplier getting thier monies. The same suppliers that go bankrupt because WM does not pay.

So if the almighty gawd of business is so great and all seeing...why not pay the suppliers, give the employees the hours to allow health and medical, treat the ladies and other employees right and not discriminate?

Its a real bitch for a single mom to "try" to do the best she can to raise a kid, without getting hit on, that can't get the hours to qualify for insurance. Oh yeah sure the donated monies are there for the kid at the hospital...that is after the fact. Looks great on the media...the single mom is huring for money and still has to deal with the medical bills incurred before hand, the lawsuit she finally becomes a part of in a class action suit. This ass for cash BS WM pulls is wrong.

Perception of the public is what WM is literally banking on. Much better than the Wizard of OZ. If this great and mighty lord of the business is so friggin great, then why are they not in some countries. Some folks have business practices against this. Why are they not welcomed? Why are they having a new plan to go to smaller stores?

Be careful...I'm in AR, I remember shaking hands and sharing coffee with a fellow in an old pickup...his name was Sam.

I have a right and a choice to buy guns , anywhere . Just like I have a right to buy anything anywhere I damn well please. I choose to NOT do business , and buy guns from folks that spit on my Liberties, insult my intelligence, abuse employees rights, and send monies to folks that I consider to be my enemy. I do the best I can , to the best of my knowledge to not suport these folks - to maintain the ability to perpetuate these things I feel is wrong.

I fight against these wrongs, I have sent monies to support my RKBA, I have sent letters to other businesses in other states that do harm against my kind.

bogie is one example of a member , and I have sent and done my part in his state...matter of principle.

So as the old adage says " when they came for me...nobody was left to help".

Well by gawd this Southern Boy ain't gonna support Walmart, I ain't perptuating this kind of business.

There is more to responsible firearms ownership , than guns.

Sometimes it requires not saving a buck, but as the man said "To thine own self be true".

I can look any person here on this forum dead straight in the eye and honestly say I have fought for Liberites, RKBA. I can also say I did the right thing by folks and my business practices.

There is more to life than money and the saving of money. If that is all a man has to stand on...he ain't got much of spine in my eye.

Oh the single mom, had a job with benefits. WM pulled the infamous BS they do and put them out of business. WM getting a "sweet deal" on turn lanes and traffic routes didn't help either.

So the WM was a temporary thing until the other job opportunity opened up - her going to night school was going to pay off. Life happens , kid had a serious emergecy...

I will never buy it.
Hell even that old man in '72 Sam) tried to tell me to buy either the $1200 or $2k dealie on stocks...a JR in HS is more interested in tail and beer...that is when he is not raising 3 sibs and taking care of his mom...

I stand firm. No Walmart guns for me - ever!

If I could and it would fly, I'd propose me against a WM person.

Gimmee a 12 ga and a 1911, one on one last man still alive dictates whether WM remains or not. I play for keeps...I won't lose. Folks frown on this kind of stuff...but prinicples mean a lot to me, and I'm serious enough to back mine up.

So do folks stand upright with a strong straight spine, and sleep with a clear concious as I do? OR Do they say one thing , support those things they claim to dislike to save a buck?

Hell I figure I don't need to fire but one rd a of 12 ga slug at 50 yds. Damn WM gonna ask permisson to think, the WM gun won't run...This won't take long.

Nothing wrong with being frugal, getting a good deal I do it. Being frugal is just part of a man's character make up. Shouldn't be the total definiton of Character.

I'd rather buy a used scratched up 870 from Tamara or Marko's than a new one at WM.

 

[Kooter]

Ask the folks just how hard it is to actually get the money. I'm not taling about that big check presented with press pics either. I mean the real monies.

i don't need to ask folks how hard it is to get money from walmart. i have sat on the community involvement board. i know what it entails, apparently you do not. someone comes in and fills out a piece of paper. if approved by the community board then the money is given usually within a couple weeks. wow....that is tough.



if you don't want to shop at walmart then good for you. leaves more stuff for me. this thread was about walmart selling "second-class" firearms. not "do you shop at walmart, and why don't you?"

 

[Mulliga]

I've bought three guns from Wally World - a Marlin 795SS, an 870 Express, and a Rem. 700 Mountain. All three were obviously much cheaper at Wal-Mart than the other gun shops around my area (these same gun shops charge 900+ for a Bushie AR and 200+ for a Hi-Point ). All three are fine guns. Here are their stories:

The Marlin purchase went off without a hitch. Took about twenty minutes, but friendly staff and everything.

The 870 was a bit worse. Apparently Palm Beach Kounty has some stupid 5-day waiting period on long guns. My driver's license address is in that county, but since I was buying the gun in Gainesville, that didn't apply. Eventually got straightened out. Again, the guys there were nice and fairly informed about guns (though not THR-level informed )

The 700 Mountain was the worst. I bought the gun, took it home, cleaned it, and started mounting the scope. The next morning, the manager calls and says that Palm Beach Kounty has a 5-day waiting period. I tell him about purchase #2 and he says that's not what they told him when he checked it. Rather than make an issue out of it, I returned the rifle and waited a week to pick it up. Everyone working there was courteous and apologetic, but still, I felt bad.

I might buy another gun from Wally World (perhaps a 10/22 or a .30-30 lever gun). Sure there are hassles, but the guns are so much cheaper, and the service really isn't that bad (at least, from particular folks).

 

[Smokey Joe]

small business good, megastore bad

(Rant mode: ON) Walmart is big and growing bigger every day, at the expense of small local businesses. You all have heard the horror stories about ignorant salesclerks and rotten after-sale service at Wally World, and these are found because after the sale, a big corporation doesn't give a flying d**m about you, and service costs money to provide. The occasional exception is touted by the Waltons as typical.

Mom and Pop's Guns and Ammo goes out of business and Mom and Pop take a job at Wally World for $6/hour because they can't compete, can't afford to move elsewhere. Poof, there goes their expertise and support for the local community. And they won't give any better service at the walmart than the high school kids who work there, because they are discouraged from doing so, just get those customers to the cashier as fast as you can. Smile while you do it, but hustle! (I have family that works at wally's—I hear the horror stories.)

Of course walmart can afford to sell cheap because they buy 1M at at time, and the big corporations that manufacture the stuff would rather do that—It's more profitable for them, too. It's also more profitable to sell less variety and lower quality goods, as long as you sell tons of it. You want the good stuff? Sorry, go to the small expensive store, sir, IF you can find one—we just don't carry that line.

My hometown hardware store died after more than 100 yrs in business, when Wally moved in in the next town. So did the last old-fashioned hardware store in Wally's town, with creaky wood floors and steel bins you got the nails out of with a small rake and paid for by the pound, and the owner would tell you what kind of nails to use on your job because he had used them all himself. The local lumber yard is tottering—I can get STRAIGHT 2x4s there that are suited to the job at hand, and plywood cut to order, any way I want it, and hardwood, in stock, sawn to my specs—Try that at Home Depot!

There's one place left locally that receives firearms for you on their FFL for a reasonable fee. Their prices on goods are maybe 20% more than Wally's. They're having a hard time staying alive—everyone gets their guns and fishing gear at Wally's and just buys ammo and bait at the small place. (Wally doesn't handle bait—I guess it doesn't adapt well to being delivered by the semi-truckload.) Do you think Wally will receive firearms for you on their FFL? Would you trust Wally to do so? When wallyworld had driven this last feeble competition out of business where will you get your bait?

These mega-stores are killing small businesses right and left, just like huge factory feedlots are killing the small farmer. It's all in the name of profit, and we the peons are just units to be pushed through the system, supplied with their choice of goods and "service" and made to pay dividends for the owners. Just like the cattle, but with one important difference.

It's all short-sighted; the corporations can's seem to see beyond next quarter's profit being larger than this quarter, and in the process are destroying the America in which we older folks grew up. And—here's the difference—Unlike cattle, you and I CHOOSE to help the mega-stores do it. Every time someone goes into Wally's and buys, just because it's cheaper, they drive one more nail into the coffin of the small business retailer. In my more pessimistic moods I wonder if this trend will stop before the mega-stores have become the embodiment of Orwell's nightmare, and force us all to not only take exactly what they say, no more and no less, but also to actually love them for it. (Rant Mode: OFF)

 

[sm]

Smokey Joe

I agree. Good post!


---
I stand firm on my position. There may be "some" WM that do better than others. The fact remains there have been monies spent with the "assurance" WM monies were going to cover...and drug their feet.

I stand firm, on the differences on quality of Mdse, including the #$%- damned guns! Not every single one, make or model, but it is there.

I wouldn't sit on a community board with WM in the same room no matter what.I've participated in "service or needs" . I don't trust the local city board to spend it correctly , crooked polititicans are just as bad about PR stunts. All those pockets wanting money. Now, the private enterprises in need of something, I can get involved with - with a clear conscious same for the local Children's hospital.

Ask St Judes' in Memphis about that pc of medical equipment they were needing. I forget what private philanthropist and private corportations actually paid for equipment they needed...waiting on a check.

On one "need" I picked up the check for 1.5 millon in 30 minutes. I made a call , ask can you help with this, reply yes, the check was ready when I arrived. So yeah I am not a dumbass. I have the right to be wrong - which also means I have the right to be correct.

Tear down a vaccum cleaner - Dirt Devil, Black and Decker Drill, Pulsar, Seiko Watch, Call Remington, Ruger, Beretta, and Marlin.
In the old days when WM had handguns, Ruger, Taurus and such had different grips and finishes.

I have taken apart or observed the guns while being worked on, by a gunsmith. Side by side comparisons don't lie.

I will not sway on this, I am firm. For some we are going to agree to disagree, or somesuch.

 

[twency]

BS. i can't beleive people actually think that gun makers have special machines set to the side that make guns only for walmart.

Well, I can tell you that some of the camera kits that Walmart sells are different from the ones shipped to regular camera stores. For example, for more than three years now, the Canon Rebel kits (Rebel 2000, Rebel Ti, etc.) available to camera stores have included a 28-80mm zoom lens. The kits sold at Walmart usually include 35-80mm zoom lenses. This configuration, with the less expensive, less desirable lens, is not available to camera stores. In fact, the 35-80mm lens was officially discontinued many years ago by Canon. (We asked our Canon rep about were Walmart gets theirs. We were told, in so many words, that they do special production runs for Walmart. The camera body is the same, mind you. It's just the lens that's different.)

Sometimes the product is inferior at Walmart. On other products, they sell the same quality level of product for less. For instance, they sell the Nikon Coolpix line for about .5% less than we do. Yes, point-five percent.

Yes, Walmart does sell some of the same products for lower prices. They also sell lesser products for lower prices. Unbelievable to some, they even sell some of the same products for higher prices. Their price for size 123 Lithium batteries, for example. Our camera store sells them for 4.99 each. You can get them online from flashlight dealers for far less. The local Walmart here sells them for about $5.75 each, last time I checked. Caveat emptor, and YMMV.

Incidentally, our price for the battery includes testing your old battery (and sometimes telling you we don't need to sell you a new one yet, unless you want to keep backup handy); installing the replacement battery (a real value-added service to some less-coordinated customers); cleaning of your camera's battery contacts, if needed; cleaning of your lens if requested, or if we notice it needs it; advice on the operation of your camera, including, if asked, what every single one of the buttons does, etc. This sort of personal service allows us to sell thousands of camera batteries a year; even though many people tell us they assume the batteries cheaper at Walmart, which they aren't.

-twency
___________
And now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

Edited to add:

I know this post doesn't talk about guns, but I assume similar business practices apply in the purchasing department when sporting goods are being ordered.

 

[sm]

Like twenecy and cameras...

Mom&Pop Jewelry / Watch shops They also change the batteries CORRECTLY Clean the contacts and such.
There was a number of lawsuits with WM and incorrect battery changes. They really messed up some watches. IN fact for a bit they were not allowed to.
Special production runs for Them is the norm. Applicable to guns as well.
Local Mom&Pop will mount the scope and boresight, toss in a lens pen and Gun Sock, put the sling on. No sling swivels? Well, depends on price of gun and how good a customer. Many will toss it in, or only charge for the swivels and labor is free.
When a wife comes in with the shopping list for hubby, and asks the fellow is this the [name gun] he wants, the Mom&Pop just grins and says yes. He keeps a customer wish list. They don't talk down, but provide a service. Hell of a sight to see a gun guy actually help a lady wrap a package she is excited to be taking to hubby.

Its what you do.

You teach people how to treat you. I refuse to be taught to buy because they say I have to from them, that quality, in that bulk amount, bring in my own basket and the elderly folks - we do have an aging society - they are not going to walk all over a big store, and carry out their own groceries or whatever. Diabetics, bad feet, knees and hips ...the elderly ain't gonna do it- they cannot.

Sad when grandparents try to buy a grandkid a gun and cases of ammo and clays and nobody will help them get to car. Another customer had to.
Wait until you have a knee or hip replacement you will understand. Heck, even a appendectomy makes one appreciate a little help.

Recovering from sugery and I live alone. Pharmacist deliverd my 'script, the M&P grocery brought groceries and put them away, and brought me some food I could eat already prepared. A M&P gun store ran by and checked on me, brought me some snap caps so I would not go stir crazy. Loaned me some gun rags to read and some techincal data to peruse.

I have a name, I have an identity, these folks know this, and I have respect from people I buy from.

 

[Mr. Clark]

Some people want the extras and are willing to pay for it. Some don't. It's called a free market. It includes the freedom to buy things you don't think they should buy or that are of a quality you don't think they should accept. Some people are willing to pay less money for slightly less quality because they have LESS MONEY to begin with. A free market includes the freedom to make assumptions about price and pay more than they should or to comparison shop and pay the lowest price. Or to pay slightly higher prices for some things because in general prices are lower and everything is at the same location and doesn't take up half a day driving to half a dozen different stores, a major factor.

While I don't like their use of imminent domain, and think they deserve a serious smack down for it, if all of these communities really didn't want Wal - Mart there, Wal - Mart would go out of business. If people really preferred Mom and Pop stores people would be shopping at them. Those who do already are.

If Mom and Pop can't compete, Mom and Pop need to find another way to make a living. I have no obligation to subsidize their income for nostalgic reasons or to pay for services I don't want or need.

I guess some people only want a free market if every one makes the choices they want them to make. Have different priorities or a different lifestyle or make a different decision for any reason and you are the reason for the decline of western civilization.

 

[MrAcheson]

The two manufacturing lines comment is facetious anyway. You don't need two lines to make two different grades of guns. What you do is skip or shorten steps like polishing and finishing or simply use cheaper materials (either to purchase or manufacture) on the existing equipment. Or you make the guns out of softer steels/woods so that you can machine faster and wear tooling less. You don't need to have a separate factory, you just need to run the guns through quicker and cut a few corners.

Does the walmart gun have a good hardwood stock? Softer woods are cheaper to buy and machine. Does the walmart gun have the same level of heat treatment and internal parts fit/finish/polish? Maybe it does, but maybe it doesn't and those steps cost money.

Some of the savings walmart has is because it buys in bulk and takes advantage of economies of scale. Other savings is because the company is just cheap in every derogatory sense of the word.

 

[sm]

Well how come Academy Sports sells the 870 for less money? Free market, no problem. Folks on a budget, no problem. I can appreciate that. Saving multiple trips by shopping at one store - no problem.

Earlier I posted, my mom went to look at some ideas for grandkids, clothes and shoes, some sports stuff. WM was more money and made poorly. This is where that sib took her as she was a passenger.

Mom went to Academy, with the grandkids sizes and wish list. Academy had better quality for less money, she bought shirts, jeans, tennis shoes, socks, T ball, paintball, basketball stuff...and they carried this out and put in the trunk of her car for her.

IIRC Freemarket does not mean one loses the ability to buy better quality for less money, receive customer service, in a one stop shopping place.

I'm no mathmatician, but $199 for a AS shotgun is less than a $239 WM shotgun - right?

$3.86 for Blazer 5rd box of 9mm is a good buy at AS. In the 50 rd box of WWB 9mm AS gets $4.67 or $4.87 - this comes out to $9.34 or $9.74 for 100 rds...last I heard that was less than WM in a 100 rd value pak which I believe a fella said he paid $10.99 or $11.99. The Springfield 1911 was $439 best I recall at AS at WM...oops sorry they don't do handguns, do they?

AA Target loads - AS $ 3.89 a box, same fella said WM was $.4.99. Paintball, whatever rd count was $24.99, I'm told by another shopper "this is the good stuff at a great price" that bought these he paid $29.99 at Wm for "lesser quality paintballs"

So we here we have compared two places to shop, big chains, no M&P, and one has more buying power than the other.

Academy gives better quality for less monies and many more things are made in the US, helpful courteous staff and employees, carries items out if need, carries handguns and whole slew of ammo...rifle and shotgun ammo where one can reach it for themselves, you want a case of Shotguns shells- grab it. You want 10 boxes of .270, there it is - grab it.

Ain't the Freemarket great!

I can shop at Academy , get all this great stuff for less money. Ever single firearm I have seen from them is a quality product. NO skimp on anything, all the complete supplies are in the box. Winchesters, Rugers,Beretta, 870Express and Wingmasters...the good stuff. NO different finish, grips, or stocks. I asked where the guns come from, yep the distributers ring a bell, same folks my gun buddy or M&P get stuff.

Folks can go to WM and spend more money for less quality.

Ah yes...freedom, freemarkets, ain't it great!

 

[Mr. Clark]

So if Wal-Mart is out of touch with the market and you have an alternative and are using it, what's the problem? I thought your problem was that they are such a huge monopoly that they drive everyone else out of business and force people to buy crap? Funny how Academy is still around and you are choosing to shop there. Funny how they offer even better deals than Wal-Mart. How is that not even worse for Mom and Pop? Why are you not railing against Academy's effect on small business?

If Academy (don't have one around here) is really so much better than Wal-Mart, Wal-Mart will shape up or go the way of Woolworth's or Walgreen's. Either way, we will be better off for it.

If the working conditions at Wal-Mart are really as bad as you say, why do people stand in line for applications every time a new one opens? Is it, maybe, because they aren't that bad and certainly better than unemployment? Either way, people are better off for Wal-Mart, and it's competition, not worse off. Without Wal-Mart there would be less jobs and things would cost more. Or is Academy going to hire people it doesn't need and charge prices to compete against companies that aren't there, just cause they're nice folk?

 

[JohnBT]

Of course gun manufacturers do special runs. For instance, here's a good description of Wal-Mart's Beretta 390 from Shotgun Report.

www.shotgunreport.com/SR_Pairs/20-Jan-02.html


OTOH, I haven't noticed a difference between the $550 Remington 1100 black synthetic-stocked guns at the local stores and the discontinued one I bought a Wal-Mart for $328. Maybe there is a difference, but I couldn't turn down the deal and I wouldn't have bought one for $500+ so I don't feel too badly. And anyway, I do my part to keep the local shops in business.

John