Hi,
Hopefully this doesn't ramble too much, but there will be a tl;dr at the bottom.
I have had an interest in firearms / concealed carry for a while and I finally decided to take the plunge after Texas passed a campus carry bill. Since then, it's been a bit troubling finding the local resources I need for support and to make the necessary choices. As a preface: I realize you can't exactly go cheap for defense, but I do tend to look for the most bang for my buck.
Gun Ranges
The closest range, Eagle Peak, is $10 for a card and $10 per day for shooting, which seems like a pretty good deal. However, Eagle Peak doesn't allow FMJ rounds which seems to double the prices for ammo.
Red's Indoor isn't terribly far, but they charge $14/hour, which seems like it would probably get pretty expensive. The Austin Rifle Club was fun to visit for my NRA First Steps class, but is pretty far from where I live.
I've looked at Best of the West Shooting Sports. I contacted them and require $100 upfront for membership, then $6 gets you at least 2 hours, plus more if the range isn't busy. Seems like a pretty decent deal. Can't find much info on them otherwise. Anyone make any visits that can tell me about it?
Lone Star Gun Range is really far away from me, but it was worth visiting for their July 3 event that offered free range admission and free firearms rentals, plus some sellers demoing some of their weapons. I like the place and they have a $100 per year deal to let you shoot as much as you want. If I lived in South Austin, I'd probably use them.
Any other suggestions I'm not aware of? Google doesn't seem as efficient at finding these as it does for most businesses.
Gun Shops
After some consideration and fondling, I'm interested in purchasing a CZ 75 P-01. I haven't been able to find it used many places, and even Gun Broker only seems to have a few at any give time. Do I just need to be patient, or am I better off getting a new one?
I've visited Heritage Firearms, which is quite close to where I live. It seems people don't think very well of them these days and I didn't really get much in the way of service while I was there. I can't say I detest them, but they don't seem to have particularly great prices or used selections.
McBride's seems to get mixed reviews, but I went and visited and actually had a pretty good experience. The salesman was friendly and let me fondle whatever I wanted. The pistol he recommended the most strongly to me was actually cheaper than the P-01 I was originally interested in. I was also told that all their new firearms were sold at cost +15%. Honestly, I have no idea if that is a good markup or not, but their prices did seem better than Heritage, who told me it was cost +10%. Did see the fabled McBride worship while I was there, but it was just strange, not terribly off putting.
I looked through some older threads, but they seem to be from quite a few years ago, since Cost +10% went out of business, etc. Any suggestions for where I should go with a good used selection, or where they sell new firearms for better prices?
Gun Smiths
Not much to say here, but I assume I'll need one at some point. Possibly for a trigger job and installation of night sights if I buy a new gun. What local gunsmiths are reputable with decent pricing?
Firearms Training
Once I have a gun and get some range time, I will be game to get a CHL. I've seen a pretty broad range of prices for the courses from around 100 to well over 200. Any suggestions on good deals with good quality instructors would be appreciated. There seems to be enough of them around that sifting through it all is difficult. Packaged deals where they take care of stuff like photos as well are appealing.
Past that, I'm honestly not sure what kind of training I will need. Certainly I will want further training to hone my skills, but it seems like what I get will depend on what is offered by competent instructors locally. Certainly at least a Defensive Pistol class will be necessary, but I don't know what all is offered. Suggestions on instructors and classes to take in the area would be appreciated.
Ammo
Where are the best deals in town for 9mm ammo? Is it going to be Winchester White Box from Walmart or would I be better served to order from Cheaper Than Dirt or another internet site? What sort of deals are you guys getting?
tl;dr
What local gun ranges do you suggest?
What local gun shops do you suggest?
What local gun smiths do you suggest?
What local Firearms training do you suggest?
Where are the are the best deals for ammo?
Hopefully this doesn't ramble too much, but there will be a tl;dr at the bottom.
I have had an interest in firearms / concealed carry for a while and I finally decided to take the plunge after Texas passed a campus carry bill. Since then, it's been a bit troubling finding the local resources I need for support and to make the necessary choices. As a preface: I realize you can't exactly go cheap for defense, but I do tend to look for the most bang for my buck.
Gun Ranges
The closest range, Eagle Peak, is $10 for a card and $10 per day for shooting, which seems like a pretty good deal. However, Eagle Peak doesn't allow FMJ rounds which seems to double the prices for ammo.
Red's Indoor isn't terribly far, but they charge $14/hour, which seems like it would probably get pretty expensive. The Austin Rifle Club was fun to visit for my NRA First Steps class, but is pretty far from where I live.
I've looked at Best of the West Shooting Sports. I contacted them and require $100 upfront for membership, then $6 gets you at least 2 hours, plus more if the range isn't busy. Seems like a pretty decent deal. Can't find much info on them otherwise. Anyone make any visits that can tell me about it?
Lone Star Gun Range is really far away from me, but it was worth visiting for their July 3 event that offered free range admission and free firearms rentals, plus some sellers demoing some of their weapons. I like the place and they have a $100 per year deal to let you shoot as much as you want. If I lived in South Austin, I'd probably use them.
Any other suggestions I'm not aware of? Google doesn't seem as efficient at finding these as it does for most businesses.
Gun Shops
After some consideration and fondling, I'm interested in purchasing a CZ 75 P-01. I haven't been able to find it used many places, and even Gun Broker only seems to have a few at any give time. Do I just need to be patient, or am I better off getting a new one?
I've visited Heritage Firearms, which is quite close to where I live. It seems people don't think very well of them these days and I didn't really get much in the way of service while I was there. I can't say I detest them, but they don't seem to have particularly great prices or used selections.
McBride's seems to get mixed reviews, but I went and visited and actually had a pretty good experience. The salesman was friendly and let me fondle whatever I wanted. The pistol he recommended the most strongly to me was actually cheaper than the P-01 I was originally interested in. I was also told that all their new firearms were sold at cost +15%. Honestly, I have no idea if that is a good markup or not, but their prices did seem better than Heritage, who told me it was cost +10%. Did see the fabled McBride worship while I was there, but it was just strange, not terribly off putting.
I looked through some older threads, but they seem to be from quite a few years ago, since Cost +10% went out of business, etc. Any suggestions for where I should go with a good used selection, or where they sell new firearms for better prices?
Gun Smiths
Not much to say here, but I assume I'll need one at some point. Possibly for a trigger job and installation of night sights if I buy a new gun. What local gunsmiths are reputable with decent pricing?
Firearms Training
Once I have a gun and get some range time, I will be game to get a CHL. I've seen a pretty broad range of prices for the courses from around 100 to well over 200. Any suggestions on good deals with good quality instructors would be appreciated. There seems to be enough of them around that sifting through it all is difficult. Packaged deals where they take care of stuff like photos as well are appealing.
Past that, I'm honestly not sure what kind of training I will need. Certainly I will want further training to hone my skills, but it seems like what I get will depend on what is offered by competent instructors locally. Certainly at least a Defensive Pistol class will be necessary, but I don't know what all is offered. Suggestions on instructors and classes to take in the area would be appreciated.
Ammo
Where are the best deals in town for 9mm ammo? Is it going to be Winchester White Box from Walmart or would I be better served to order from Cheaper Than Dirt or another internet site? What sort of deals are you guys getting?
tl;dr
What local gun ranges do you suggest?
What local gun shops do you suggest?
What local gun smiths do you suggest?
What local Firearms training do you suggest?
Where are the are the best deals for ammo?