Academy, Good store or not?

[JellyJar]

Speaking of GM declaring bankruptcy they recently tore down our last Kmart here and are now building a new Academy store in its old location. The nearest Academy to me right now is at least 50 miles away so I never go there. Is Academy a good store for buying firearms and firearm related things?

Thanks

JJ

 

[ImperatorGray]

Their market share is mid- to low-priced items, so they most of their stores don't have a lot of selection on the high-end stuff. Prices are right - and if you find the same item lower elsewhere, they'll beat it by 5 percent.

Ammo selection is good but not great - they're not gonna have anything to feed your .458 SOCOM if you have one. But if they don't have what you're looking for, they have these little iPhone things they can search their other stores with and have it sent to your house with free shipping. Most stuff gets there in three days.

Knowledgeability of employees varies vastly from location to location.

I've only been to one Gander Mountain (Houston area), but I'll take even one of the lesser Academies over the one I visited.

 

[tarosean]

Yes and no... Kinda like the Walmart of the Sporting Goods industry IMO. Brand names, but you're not going to find much high end merchandise there. But if your looking for Glock, Ruger, S&W, Columbia, Nike, Under Armor, Ammo, etc. etc. etc. their prices are generally pretty good.

 

[jmr40]

Decent prices on mid level guns and other hunting gear. I find their store brand clothing to be an excellent buy. They sell a version of the fishing shirts for about $20 that Columbia and UA sell for $50-$60. The $20 shirt is just as good IMHO. Their camo hunting clothing is a big step up from Walmart with comparable prices.

 

[Dragon breath]

Decent prices, but not great. Mostly mainstream stuff. I would put it this way. If you go there to get a magazine for a Glock, S&W, Springfield etc, they will probably have it. If you go there looking for a magazine for a HK, FN, etc., then you might as well stay home.

 

[golfer_ray]

Have several in the OKC area. I buy most of my ammo there or Walmart, and they carry a decent supply of holsters, cleaning supplies, and cases. Not so great on mags. I own mainstream pistols like CZ, S&W, and Bersa. My take is that Dicks opened a new store locally a few years ago, and I was so excited as I'd read so many good things about them on the internet. So disappointed with their prices when I went there I decided I'd stick with Academy.

 

[chicharrones]

I like Academy. Mostly for non-firearm purchases, but I do like picking up ammo there and looking through the firearm accessories.

Buying guns from them is good if you know what you want and like their pricing. But, if you have a warranty issue you can't take the gun back to the store like a regular gun store. You have to contact the manufacturer directly for any warranty claim.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

They don't have as large a selection as the big box stores like Bass Pro but their prices are substantially better.

Also, they sell golf apparel and equipment, which I buy plenty of as well.

 

[hdwhit]

Academy. Fairly expensive. Limited selection. Sales people not ignorant, but not particularly knowledgeable. The local store sells guns, ammunition, primers and bullets BUT NO POWDER. Still, until Gander Mountain opened a store nearby, they were the only game in town (other than independent FFLs that wouldn't return phone calls), so in 2016 I ended up buying three guns from them. It would have been five, but they went all PC after Orlando and stopped selling ARs unless you knew the secret-handshake to get them to bring them out from the back room, which I didn't.

 

[Kerf]

As others have said; Academy is a middle of the road big box sporting goods store. I was glad to see them come to town. If you need something generic, they're your store.

Funny story about Academy: I ordered a reloading scale online and it was shipped from Texas; I returned it locally in Missouri and came out ahead by twelve or thirteen bucks because of the difference in sales tax. I wouldn't have noticed, but the lady behind the register making the refund, pointed it out to me. Then there's that super duper smoker for $499.00 that I need two of....

kerf

 

[ImperatorGray]

The local store sells guns, ammunition, primers and bullets BUT NO POWDER.

Mine's been carrying reloading powders for more than a year. Believe they were then in the process of pushing it to all the stores, so maybe yours has gotten some? Good price on IMR.

 

[drband]

Meh. Sometimes good for a quick purchase. Better than Walmart!

 

[AlexanderA]

Academy goes way back. I remember their old store in Austin, Texas, on Congress Avenue near the MKT (Katy) railroad station. This was in the late 1950's - early 1960's, and the store was called "Academy Super Surplus." As a teenager, I used to go there a lot. I bought my first guns there, a Carcano for $9.99 and an Australian Lithgow Mk. III* Enfield for $12.99 (or was it $11.99?). When I discovered that the bolt (the cocking cam) on the Carcano was broken, they exchanged it for another one, no questions asked. Later, they opened another location on Airport Boulevard and I used to go there a lot too. I remember huge piles of WW2 web gear for sale at giveaway prices.

This was before McBride's opened, which became the largest specialized gun shop in Austin. I bought my first handgun at McBride's in 1967, at age 22.

 

[Ed Ames]

It really depends on what standard you are judging by. I'd rank them as the best general sporting goods store (above Sports Authority, Big 5, Dicks, ETC.) around. If you judge them against gun stores, well, they sometimes squeek a price advantage in but they aren't a gun store as such, and aren't going to do most of the things a good gun store will.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

We use Academy for a variety of school items, some camo, exercise stuff, shoes, boots, and then some shooting gear. Considering that they are not a gun store, they do have a good selection of ammo at reasonable prices. If I need a box of ammo, I will go to academy. If I need a few hundred rounds, I will buy online. For my family, it is one of our Go-To stores.

 

[boom boom]

As others have said, generally low to middle priced firearms with occasional special buys on specific firearms. High staff turnover so unlikely to get much help on specifics across the counter. Good prices on ammo and their store Monarch brand in brass cases has come from Prvi Partisan. Their steel is probably one of the usual Russian/East European sources. Fairly inexpensive optics and mounts are sold there along with the bigger manufacturers of holsters etc.

 

[Cannibul]

I love the Academy aka Magellan Outdoors shirts. I've got a couple dozen of them and they're pretty much all I wear when I leave the house.

Decent selection of fishing gear. Better firearms selection than Walmart but less than Bass Pro, Cabela's or GM. However their prices are better than the last three. Very basic selection of reloading gear. Decent selection of ammo and shooting gear. Lots of shoes. Decent selection of boating gear.

I hit Academy at least a couple of times per month. They did change their price match policy regarding online sales. They only match a few online stores now. They used to match Powder Valley on powder and primers but will no longer do so.

 

[everydefense]

If you don't have a lot of gun shops around it's definitely nice to have an additional source of ammo, and their ammo prices always seem at least as good as Walmart. To be honest, I rarely interact with the staff, as I know what I want and get in/get out. Always seems clean and organized. I've never bought a gun there, but a coworker has used their price matching on an AR-15 he bought.

 

[Acera]

Within a 30 +/- minute drive I have a four Academys, two Dicks, one Gander Mountain, 7+ gun ranges with stores, dozen of other guns shops. Got two Bass Pro Shops and a Cabelas if I want to drive an hour.

Academy beats all of them for prices. I will generally shop them first. Good place to take a new shooter to get their first gun.

They however don't beat prices I can get off the internet for firearms. So for me it's usually a online, out of state, purchase and a $20 FFL transfer to get the absolutely lowest price. They fill in for quick needs and some ammo.



.

 

[BearBrimstone]

Academy has some pretty good sales sometimes. If its not on sale its usually way too expensive though.

 

[ImperatorGray]

Their steel is probably one of the usual Russian/East European sources.

Yeah, the "Monarch" steel is Barnaul. The 7.62 Soviet's good stuff, but I won't use the pistol ammo.

 

[ImperatorGray]

They did change their price match policy regarding online sales. They only match a few online stores now. They used to match Powder Valley on powder and primers but will no longer do so.

There are two stores equidistant from me, and at one they'll only do the "official" price match, which seems to be an advertised price at another brick-and-mortar store within the same state. At the other store, there is one manager who tell you that's the policy, but if you get any one of the other five or so managers, they'll price match anything so long as it's a legit price (not a used gun, or an auction that's still going, or something like that). I prefer that store, anyway - much nicer and more knowledgeable staff all the way 'round, and a lot cleaner.

Academy has some pretty good sales sometimes. If its not on sale its usually way too expensive though.

Really? Here, they've got the SD9VE for $299.99 new (was on sale for $279.99), while the Cabela's up the interstate has a used one for $349.99. Not a pistol I need to add to my collection, but that's been pretty much par for the course over here.

 

[chicharrones]

Academy goes way back. I remember their old store in Austin, Texas, on Congress Avenue near the MKT (Katy) railroad station. This was in the late 1950's - early 1960's, and the store was called "Academy Super Surplus." As a teenager, I used to go there a lot. I bought my first guns there, a Carcano for $9.99 and an Australian Lithgow Mk. III* Enfield for $12.99 (or was it $11.99?). When I discovered that the bolt (the cocking cam) on the Carcano was broken, they exchanged it for another one, no questions asked. Later, they opened another location on Airport Boulevard and I used to go there a lot too. I remember huge piles of WW2 web gear for sale at giveaway prices.

This was before McBride's opened, which became the largest specialized gun shop in Austin. I bought my first handgun at McBride's in 1967, at age 22.

The old surplus days! The first Academy I went to was the Academy Surplus on the Katy Freeway in Houston in the 1970s with my dad. Piles and piles of surplus gear and smelled like it too.

 

[Flynt]

Academy goes way back. I remember their old store in Austin, Texas, on Congress Avenue near the MKT (Katy) railroad station. This was in the late 1950's - early 1960's, and the store was called "Academy Super Surplus." As a teenager, I used to go there a lot. I bought my first guns there, a Carcano for $9.99 and an Australian Lithgow Mk. III* Enfield for $12.99 (or was it $11.99?). When I discovered that the bolt (the cocking cam) on the Carcano was broken, they exchanged it for another one, no questions asked. Later, they opened another location on Airport Boulevard and I used to go there a lot too. I remember huge piles of WW2 web gear for sale at giveaway prices.

This was before McBride's opened, which became the largest specialized gun shop in Austin. I bought my first handgun at McBride's in 1967, at age 22.

Wow, you bring back memories. I'm a little younger, but I remember the old Austin Academy Surplus really well. This was in the 80's, when they were apparently in transition -- still a lot of surplus web gear, but no guns, but about 75% of their merchandise was new, civilian outdoor stuff.

Now there's an Academy a mile or so from our home, and I swing by there often to see what's on clearance. I've never bought a gun there, but they have a decent selection of mid-range handguns and longarms, as well as optics. Occasionally good bargain on clearance ammo. I've mainly bought clothes there. Good prices on name brand stuff like Levi's, and their store brand shirts and shorts are good deals.

 

[Sav .250]

Reguardless of the store(Academy, Bass pro, etc) if you don`t shop for your item then you just throwing away money. Remember, shopping is FREE. J s/n.