Favorite One Off / Hole in the Wall Sporting / Gun Store

[earlthegoat2]

Borders Sporting Goods in Ashland, KY. I used to work there years ago. I think they have become much bigger now and aren’t exactly a “hole in the wall”. One off though, for sure.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Highland Crest gun and pawn in Topeka, KS.

My 3 favorites have been closed for years now: High Plains, Topeka Shooters Supply, and Rusty's Outdoors.

 

[armedwalleye]

In Grand Rivers Ky there is an incredible restaurant called Pattis 1880s settlement. Right beside of Pattis is Grand Rivers Antiques. They have a gun counter and tend to specialize in single action pistols and lever rifles, essentially modern versions of antique guns. I love that place, and when I go there I know my belly is about to be full too!

Boy, I sure wish I'd have known that when we were there.

 

[bassjam]

Beck Paint and Hardware in Goshen OH, about 40 minutes east of Cinci.

It's a nice little hardware store on it's own right that sells quality paint and Stihl tools, but way in the back there's a gun counter not much larger than my home office desk, and there are ALWAYS people there buying guns. For such a small shop, they don't really mark up their gun prices and there's times I've found better prices there than I could find online. They're family friendly too, my wife likes going there and seeing the odd's and ends for sale, and they have a cool little wooden tools playset up by the gun counter for your little ones to play with while you fill your form 4473.

 

[indy1919a4]

Beck Paint and Hardware in Goshen OH, about 40 minutes east of Cinci.

It's a nice little hardware store on it's own right that sells quality paint and Stihl tools, but way in the back there's a gun counter not much larger than my home office desk, and there are ALWAYS people there buying guns. For such a small shop, they don't really mark up their gun prices and there's times I've found better prices there than I could find online. They're family friendly too, my wife likes going there and seeing the odd's and ends for sale, and they have a cool little wooden tools playset up by the gun counter for your little ones to play with while you fill your form 4473.

View attachment 964690

View attachment 964691

Love that place

 

[indy1919a4]

One long gone from my Childhood, Dave's Army Surplus in Fort Wayne Indiana.. Dave would test out Bullet proof vests in the store.. It was a true surplus store where he had everything, Boxes of trench art, training grenades.. You know the kind that went bang.. Everything..

One that I would drive to was Whittaker Guns in Owensboro KY. Today it is still a large gun shop, but most everything is modern.. When I walked in there the last time the store clerk look at me with shock when I asked for a Mosin.. Everything was modern.

But not so many years ago there was every type of surplus or old gun in the world Thousands.. He even had a rack up front of the store called mystery guns where they could not ID the rifle but would sell it anyways.. The day they changed.. I cried like a baby.. Infact I am tearing up now...

Now in the could still be open is Falls City Firearms Clarksville Indiana. I place my hand on the bible and I swear I do not know how the man can stay in business.. The owner Rick sells only older guns at such low prices it staggers the imagination. People come to that store for miles just to set and shot the bull.. (No I mean talk, not shooting a large critter with a gun).. I almost had my own stool there.

He is so well know there people come in to talk about local history, ancient history of the region, guns or even the weather. I have never seen him greet anyone with out a story and a warm smile.

When some one comes in to selling a gun, he not so much sells it, but finds a new owner that will love it.

With my own eyes I have seen him berate people for bringing in their family guns for trying to sell them and making them take the guns back home.

I saw him once sell two 50 cal Machine guns from an old F-86 crash.

He is so beloved that one time Louisville was putting on their Thunder over Louisville 4th of July show and that Friday the Blue Angels were practicing for the show and he could not make it. A higher up called in and they moved part of the practice show over his shop because he could not leave to see it.

I would trust the owner Rick overnight in a Motel 6 with a grocery bag full of money and my underage daughter.

 

[Rembrandt]

Years ago my work took me all over the US and Internationally, so a side pastime was to discover gun shops and sporting goods stores all over the world. One of the most interesting was a gun shop in Buenos Aires, Argentina (story for another time). Simpsons LTD was also a regular stop whenever passing thru Galesburg, Ill.

Simpsons LTD, Galesburg, Illinois
The Luger room is a feast for the eyes......around 800 Lugers.

https://simpsonltd.com/about-us/

Here is a video tour of Simpsons facility......worth watching!

 

[Dunross]

A.W. Peterson Gun Shop in Mt. Dora, Fl.

I have no idea how long they've been there. My first time in there was going on fortu years ago and they'd been around a while back then.

Some great historical displays, lots of gear, used stuff, knowledgeable staff. I haven't lived down there for many years, but try to stop in when I am in the area.

Harry Beckwith Gun Shop in Micanopy, Fl. Harry died some years ago, but the shop is still open. Indoor range, good gun selection, and (usually) a good selection of ammo.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Sporting Goods Discounters in Johnstown, PA is usually a good place, tho' they're picked over at the moment. As are most places.
There was an old boy in a nearby town who styled himself Buffalo Bob; real hole in the wall, sold me a brand new PPK/s for $75...yeah, it's been awhile. When the ambulance was taking him to the hospital with a heart attack, he had to hand off his 1911 from under a leather vest...
Moon

 

[Deanimator]

Little Biff's Gun Room in "Cosmosdale", Kentucky.

"Cosmosdale" isn't a real town, it's an area just north of Ft. Knox and Knob Creek that Highway 31w runs through. It's named after a cement company that was being picketed by its workers from time immemorial.

Biff's had pretty much a little bit of everything, including a bunch of my money. Things I bought there:

• 6" Ruger Security Six
• #4MkI Enfield (Fazakerly)
• 4" S&W Model 29-2
• 4" Colt Official Police (turned out later to have been stolen)

They had one of those rotating jewelry displays that was like a bucket chain, full of collectible Hi Standard autos and accessories.

As I recall, Biff (at least in the '80s) looked like Dub Taylor, the famous character actor (the guy accused of stealing tons of sugar actually eaten by giant ants in "Them!").

If I wasn't in the field, I don't think a week went by that I didn't stop by at Biff's to see what was there.

 

[indy1919a4]

Oh man I love Biffs, I liked the store about 5 plus years ago best, the gun rakes were so full you could not tell what was under them all. One time I had to step over a Cannon barrel to get to the back isle of the store..

 

[Lennyjoe]

Not really anything decent in Springfield Ohio but Fin Feather and Fur in Ashland Ohio is where I get most of my reloading gear. They have 2 locations so I don’t think it would count as mom and pops but they do have an excellent store right off Interstate 71 complete with guns, ammo, fishing and archery.

 

[Pat Riot]

Around my area here in SoCal a lot of the smaller gun stores have disappeared. But, we have a store here that is a modern version of the old gun shops and the guys that work there are all firearms enthusiasts and competition shooters as well as great all around guys.

The store is Rifle Supply in Huntington Beach, CA. https://riflesupply.com/
They are also trying to get an internet presence, but their little store does pretty well on it’s own.
The guys there are Chinese and hard working and they have integrity. With all this panic buying they are not price gougers. Their prices in guns did go up a little but overall not by much.
A good example:
I bought a Glock 34 last January. Their price was $615. I bought another Glock 34 from them just a few weeks ago. Price: $680 and they apologized for the price increase but said their cost had gone up. I thought it was still a very good price.
These are definitely “Stand Up Guys”. They have pretty much all of my gun buying business.

 

[Deanimator]

Not really anything decent in Springfield Ohio but Fin Feather and Fur in Ashland Ohio is where I get most of my reloading gear. They have 2 locations so I don’t think it would count as mom and pops but they do have an excellent store right off Interstate 71 complete with guns, ammo, fishing and archery.

But it's an Ohio company. I go to the one in Middleburgh Heights. I bought my Citadel 3.5CS there.

When things aren't insane, they usually have a good selection of both guns and ammunition.

 

[BreechFace]

One long gone from my Childhood, Dave's Army Surplus in Fort Wayne Indiana.. Dave would test out Bullet proof vests in the store.. It was a true surplus store where he had everything, Boxes of trench art, training grenades.. You know the kind that went bang.. Everything..

One that I would drive to was Whittaker Guns in Owensboro KY. Today it is still a large gun shop, but most everything is modern.. When I walked in there the last time the store clerk look at me with shock when I asked for a Mosin.. Everything was modern.

But not so many years ago there was every type of surplus or old gun in the world Thousands.. He even had a rack up front of the store called mystery guns where they could not ID the rifle but would sell it anyways.. The day they changed.. I cried like a baby.. Infact I am tearing up now...

Now in the could still be open is Falls City Firearms Clarksville Indiana. I place my hand on the bible and I swear I do not know how the man can stay in business.. The owner Rick sells only older guns at such low prices it staggers the imagination. People come to that store for miles just to set and shot the bull.. (No I mean talk, not shooting a large critter with a gun).. I almost had my own stool there.

He is so well know there people come in to talk about local history, ancient history of the region, guns or even the weather. I have never seen him greet anyone with out a story and a warm smile.

When some one comes in to selling a gun, he not so much sells it, but finds a new owner that will love it.

With my own eyes I have seen him berate people for bringing in their family guns for trying to sell them and making them take the guns back home.

I saw him once sell two 50 cal Machine guns from an old F-86 crash.

He is so beloved that one time Louisville was putting on their Thunder over Louisville 4th of July show and that Friday the Blue Angels were practicing for the show and he could not make it. A higher up called in and they moved part of the practice show over his shop because he could not leave to see it.

I would trust the owner Rick overnight in an Motel 6 with a grocery bag full of money and my underage daughter.

That Falls City Firearms sounds awesome, I loved going to surplus stores that carried firearms as well with my dad when I was young. We had a surplus store named Koppel's Browzesville which was fun to peruse, especially as a kid.

 

[IMAhobbyist]

My favorites exist today only in memory, John Hites Sporting Goods Elkhart, IN and Fetlas in Valparaiso, IN.

 

[indy1919a4]

Wish I could have done this shop but this is the great Golden State Arms just after it opened its new Pasadena store in the late 1950s.

http://www.m1carbinesinc.com/carbine_santafe.html

Now for fun a movie was filmed in the place so you can relive the 1950s gun shop experience all over again.

The movie is "Murder by contract".. Skip to 43:30 for a walk through paradise.. Also when you have the time this a pretty good hitman movie before Ben Casey got his medical calling. (Time travel can not be invented soon enough)

 

[indy1919a4]

That Falls City Firearms sounds awesome, I loved going to surplus stores that carried firearms as well with my dad when I was young. We had a surplus store named Koppel's Browzesville which was fun to peruse, especially as a kid.

Drop in there if you can, life and time is fleeting. The place is a hell of ride,

 

[Lennyjoe]

But it's an Ohio company. I go to the one in Middleburgh Heights. I bought my Citadel 3.5CS there.

When things aren't insane, they usually have a good selection of both guns and ammunition.

That they do. I finally visited the one in Middleburg Heights and it was nice. Since the Ashland exit is on my way up to my families town I always stop there to shop

 

[Deanimator]

That they do. I finally visited the one in Middleburg Heights and it was nice. Since the Ashland exit is on my way up to my families town I always stop there to shop

Friends and I in the Cleveland area used to go to the Ashland store before the Middleburg Heights store opened.

 

[indy1919a4]

The Sarco store in Easton Pa. Lots of nice items. Has a nice look and feel inside..

Right next door is a little more high tone store Heritage Guild of Easton... Yeah they have alot of nice guns, But I have always found it a little intimidating how they run the store. The way they have their rifles displayed its near impossible to read the price with out getting a clerk. And after the 5th gun they start to look put out.. But if I could have seen the price I would not have even bothered them.

 

[Old Sandman 71]

Dicks Gunroom in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio. They closed in 2019 after the longtime owner passed.

 

[Old Dog]

For those who've ever lived (or military been stationed in) NorthWest Washington, remember Kesselring's? A hole-in-the-wall out in the woods just north of Burlington, but a destination gun shop for sure. You could walk through literally aisles and aisles of used long guns. Paradise. Being able to pick up, handle and inspect rifles and shotgun (not having them behind a dang counter and having to beg to see them, not being able to read the price-tag) was great. Decent selection of handguns, couple highly opinionated guys behind the counter who could be real jerks, but all in all, a great ol' fashioned gun store (mecca for hunters).

Closed a few years back due to some, er, irregularities in bookkeeping and a family squabble. Too bad.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

Boone's Fine Guns in Isle, Minnesota.



Only have been there once, but will go back.
One can spend hours looking at the gun displays and artifacts....
This picture does not do the place justice.
They also have a shooting range in the basement of this two story store. One can shoot .22 LR up to and including 50 BMG!

My first visit cost me almost a month's pay!

 

[Bruce D Pease]

Bobs gun and archery in Webster Ma. Haven’t been there in a while cuz we moved to KY. Bobs is small but well stocked usually. Bob is a very knowledgeable dealer, never bs’s you and gets a reasonable price. He is a real stand up guy. If your unlucky enough to live “behind the lines in the People’s Republic of MA” he is the guy to go to for straight honest info etc. he is a ray of light in a generally non 2A friendly state.