How do you feel about "Big Box Gun Stores"

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TennJed

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I live in Mississippi just off the Tennessee state line (Memphis suburb). The gun buying options in a 10 mile or so area
(not counting Memphis - different state) are:

Sportman's Warehouse (Big Box)
3 dedicated gun stores
3 pawn shops

The last 4 guns I have bought have been from Sportsman's Warehouse because they had the best price:

Ruger MKIII Stainless $429
Kel Tec P11 $239
Taurus Judge PD $379
Taurus TCP 738 $199

For years I would have avoided buying from Sportman's Warehouse and support the local shops. I grew up in a small town and have seen first hand what Walmart and Wallgreens have done to the local grocery and pharmacies.

Well about 2 years ago the Sportmans Warehouse closed (along wiht another in Memphis). It stayed closed for roughly a year. Then last year it reopened (the one in Memphis did not).

During the time it closed I started reloading. At that time the only opition for Powder and Primers were to pay hazmat shipping or driving 45 minutes to the other side of memphis to go to Bass Pro (whose prices are higher thean SW).
None of the local FFL shops sold reloading components.

I was so glad when it opened back up because I could get my reloading stuff so much cheaper. I also started to look at the gun case and saw, to my suprise, their prices are generally the best.

I am at a crossroads about wanting to support the small guy vs the big box store. obviously the big box needs my business too (which is evident from the closing).

The fact that the little guy does not offer reloading and has higher prices on guns, i have to admit it is better for me if the big store stays open. I realize not everyone reloads, but the big box also has a much larger supply of all accessories.

The only thing the smaller ones have to offer me is used, but I really want to support the small guy, but I don;t want the big boys to go away.:confused:
 
Last edited:
In your spelling, you are confusing "Warehouse" with "Whorehouse". :D

Big box stores are good if you want to fondle things. The little guys give you better prices, and are, usually, more honest.

Use each for the best value.
 
If price is right for what I want, from whom or where does not effect me at all.
 
Let's see... last 5 were:
870 - Hyatt's (hardly a little guy... NC people should be familiar)
Marlin 795 - Dick's (impulse buy)
Sig P250 - Local shop (well... 5 hours away, but was via gun show)
WASR - Local shop, also via gun show.
Savage .243 - Dick's

It's all about price. I buy the best price possible, or if there ISN'T a best price, I will just support local, whether price is a little more or not.

Now there is also ammo, accessories, and range time... That obviously goes to local, a lot of the time.

And then, as much as I hate it, there are the shops I just will not support. Places like Shooter's or Lake Norman Firearms... poor, poor business practices.
 
the closest thing we have is Big 5 but they only sell crappy century arms milsurps and other long guns. theres a Bass Pro about 30 minutes from here but id rather slit my wrists. yes they have great selection but nothing used, ( my tastes run towards older stuff) but their staff is horribly misinformed as well as rude. and every gun has like full MSRP on it. really ? if i was warm on a new gun, id give my local independent shop the business and id still get a better price.
 
It's all about self interest. Should I go to a big store that will charge me less for a product than a small store who will whine about losing business but will be more than happy to take more money out of my wallet? Small business owners aren't the only ones with families to support. I have no guilt about paying less for something just because it came from a Big Box Store.
 
If you cant get the supplies you need at your local gun shop then it wont be taking from them. You can see if they will get the supplies you need and stalk them for you or go to the big box. Bass Pro is very expensive.
 
There are many ways to go shopping for firearms and related items. Each has its pros and cons.

Collectively, we've shopped at "big box" sports stores, LGSs, pawn shops, on-line retailers, auction sites, and shows, and we've sometimes been successful at all of them. We've also been unable to find what we sought or have paid too much at all of them.

Fortunately, there are several LGSs around my area that compete for local business, and that, combined with competition from on-line sellers, helps keep prices down. At least I think it does.

That's the free enterprise game. I'm just thankful we can still play it.
 
It depends on which "big box." I loved to buy guns and other things at Cabela's when I was in AZ. The ones here - which are a bit of a drive from my location - are Bass Pro, Gander Mountain and Academy. BP and GM have high pricing, and Academy, while having more reasonable prices, has only a modest selection, nothing I can't get at any number of LGSs. Academy's policy of putting handgun ammo in a locked cabinet and behind a counter so you can barely even see it is very off-putting as well.
 
I don't mind big box stores, they keep the mom and pop shops honest. In general I would prefer to buy from a local dealer, but they have to at least be close on the prices.
 
While Sportsman's Warehouse was open they had the lowest prices in the Las Vegas Valley.
Now they're both closed....Dick's has a paltry assortment of rifles and shotguns only(no handguns). The local gun shops mostly sell at MSRP...no bargains there. I have dealt with Midway and Midsouth Shooters Supply for items I couldn't buy locally...my $.02 worth.
 
I tend to go with local small ffl dealers. Here in my area most of the local shops are very good. If you are set on used they will go out of their way to find a good used one for you. No big box store is going to do that.
 
webfox said:
In your spelling, you are confusing "Warehouse" with "Whorehouse". :D

Big box stores are good if you want to fondle things. The little guys give you better prices, and are, usually, more honest.

Use each for the best value.
Click to expand...
thanks for pointing that out. What can I say, I am a Dolly Parton fan :eek: :)
 
I try to but my local gunshop is very pricey on ammo. They charge like 35 bucks for 100 shotshells of #7.5 birdshot. Wally World charges 21 dollars. I feel somewhat bad shopping at walmart, being a union worker, but I'm able to live with myself because the local guys are screwing me on ammo while wondering why people don't "buy from the little guy" ammo is the ONLY thing I buy at Wal-Mart
 
I have tried to buy and support the local guy, and sometimes I do. But when they ask msrp and higher it just makes me go elsewhere. I have on more than a few occasions done research on a buy and offer to give the sale to the local guy at a higher price than I should pay for it, but lower than the one in his case. Most don't want to budge even when it is obvious there is room for them to meet part way to make the sale. I just have to walk and get the less expensive buy. Some dealers just want the stupid buyers without a clue.
 
If it means I get to buy a gun at less cost than the local gun shop, then so be it. The local gun shop is a good spot to shoot the sh** - other than that, why buy there if you are paying upwards of 20% more? Standing around talking doesn't make the gun worth more money in my humble opinion. Just get a new one from the back room, let me eye it over and let's just get done with the purchase for as little money as possible.
 
Sportman's Warehouse really doesn't treat demo handguns very well.. hanging on bare hooks. I've seen a lot of guns with scratches and dings.

I also found some great deals on ammo and reloading supplies when we had more than one location. Not so much since we are down to one store way north of Denver.

Gander Mountain seems pretty pricey but they DO sell used guns and if you shop regularly you can come across a deal.
 
I tend to shop at the LGS for firearms as opposed to dick's and GM (only 2 big box retailers in my area), as their prices are significantly better. Although I buy my shotgun shells at walmart as previously mentioned in the thread due to the large price difference. I always go to the LGS first when looking for something. However there is another LGS I plain refuse to go to because of their service and attitude.
 
I prefer to use the local gun shops or FFL transfer dealers.
But, I recently got a Colt 5920, MOE for $999 (plus I had a $100
gift card), at the large chain store. The best I could do with the
others was about $1150. $251 buys a lot of ammo.
 
I window shop at the big box stores and tend to buy from the LGS that gives me awesome service time after time. The St Louis Gunshop thread spells that out pretty clearly. :)
 
My local gun shop happens to be Bud's. No guessing where I buy my guns. Only downside is that it's always packed to the gills.
 
They're ok if you know exactly what you want and how much it's worth. Walk in buy your gun and leave.
I would never go to one for information on weapons (That's what you guys are for, right?), figure out what you want, then go there.
 
I love big box gun stores.

There's a economic concept called "creative destruction". The old model for something must pass away for the new to take over. Telegraph operators were fired to make way for the phone. Telephone operators were fired to make way for telephone computer technicians. It sucks for the people, but it's what happens with progress.

Small "mom and pop" stores are the old model. Some people may enjoy them, but the concept it mostly outdated. If commerce can be done on a bigger scale for less cost with more profit to the business and better deals to the customer, that's a good thing. If "big box" stores make this happen and push out the old model, so be it. Creative Destruction.


"But but but, service, old timey charm, getting to know the customer" and all that. Yes those are some aspects that some view as a positive. LGS will never be completely eliminated because they provide something there will always be a market for. But they're still going to need to change to stay marketable. The invisible hand works for and against all.
 
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