Milsurp rifles, Houston Area

[Malice]

Can someone refer me to a dealer in the Houston area with a good selection/prices on things like Enfields, Mosins, SKS, K-31, etc. Of the two stores in my area, one I refuse to shop at and his prices are ridiculously high. The other is a great place, but their Milsurp prices are not so good. I read about people on here routinely getting Mosins for $60 OTD and other such deals. They want $115 for a Mosin, $225 for a Yugo SKS. I am willing to pay that, but if I can drive into or across the city to get it for the sweet prices you guys get, id take the 30 minute trip.

 

[alamo]

Believe there is a big gunshow in Houston at the end of this month. That would be a good place to look.

 

[oneshooter]

Many of those with the $60 Mosins are C&R. Try Jim Pruits place on Huffmiester north of 290. Fountain Firearms on Hwy 6 also carries a good selection.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

 

[Malice]

Fountain Firearms is 20 mins from where I live and I go by often. Theyr the ones that was $115 for a gently used M44. They dont seem to wanna go down. Maybe ill check a gun show.

 

[kaferhaus]

You also have to keep in mind that some of the claims need to be taken with a grain of salt...

If I owned a gun store and had to pay 45-50 bucks for a gun that I had to

1. recieve into inventory (unpack it, inspect it tag it etc)

2. log into my books

3. find someplace to display it.

4. deal with fifty questions from 10 different potential buyers...

5. log it out of my books/inventory after the sale

You think I'm only gonna make 10-15 bucks?

On small tag items in a retail setting you HAVE to be getting a 50-60% mark-up. Big ticket items that falls to 20-30%.

You'd have to sell a few hundred mosin's a month just to pay the utilities...


Deals are out there, but you're not likely to find them from a guy who's got overhead to pay, or he'll find himself out of business quickly.

Fair prices and great service will usually insure a shop stays afloat.

Some stay afloat inspite of the A-holes that own them but not with my help...

 

[George S.]

Spend the $30 and get a Curio and Relic firearms license from the BATF and you can then buy all sort of milsurps from on-line places for a third to half the cost of shops and gun shows. There are a number of very good on-line places to get quality Mosins and other firearms that are qualified under the C&R Class 1 license.

Some places (like Midway) will give you dealer discounts on parts and accessories if you have a C&R license.

 

[Malice]

Dont you have to be 21 for a C&R? If so, im out of luck. Just 18 here... :banghead:

 

[Detritus]

From all i've seen, for the most part without going the C&R route or sticking to "getting lucky and finding a cheap private sale" Fountain is about as good as you're gonna find on probably 90% of ALL your gun purchases, not to mention Mil-surp. trust me, i drive an hour to do business with them, only two other shops get ANY of my money, AAMI in angleton for stuff i wantt o order adn don't need to drive to houston to see if it's "IN" to get, and I buy Pro-shot cleaing supplies and a fwe odds and ends from Carter's country.

you wanna see outrageous prices check Collectors or for the untimate insult come down my way to Clute and try AJC sports, high prices AND the worst attitude/service i've encountered in a shop since i left NC.

 

[wally]

Hmm... AJC Sports out of Clute always seems to have amoung the best prices on new guns at major Houston gun shows. To the point if anyone can significatly beat his prices I figure I've found a real deal. Never seen much old Milsurp at his tables.

His used guns generally seem a little high, but I got a used Kahr MK40 with box and two mags for $350 from him last year, very lightly used -- one of the swarmy dealers could have tried to pass it off as new.

Guess he doesn't bring the old Milsurp stuff up to Houston for the shows. They seem friendly enough when they aren't busy.

--wally.

 

[Detritus]

wally in 5 years you're the first person i've run across that actually SHOPS for guns (Vs. eating whatever price Alan quotes, and saying that houston is too far to drive) that has said that, and btw his gunshow prices on new stuff HAVE gone down some (the shop prices didn't), have heard rumors this had someting to do with his sales at teh shows dropping by 40-50% a little while back.

my real objection to the man is his treatment of customers at his storefront, sorry MY idea of business (based on having been part of a family owned business) is that the CUSTOMER is doing the owner a favor by frequenting the shop, NOT the owner doing a favor to the customer by his mere existence. AJC sees their existence as being for the gunshows only and the locals can go to H&^% .

if not for the treatment/attitude i have encountered in AJC i would choose to by the Pro-Shot cleaning supplies i use from them rather than drive an hour to houston.

 

[oneshooter]

Has any of you told the owner/manager of the reason you no longer darken his doorstep? I have found that many times the owner dosn't know how his customers are treated untill enough complaints are given, in person or by letter. Granted if he his any type of MANAGER he would have feedback from the customers.

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

 

[wally]

Detritus,

I've never been to his store. From what you say, I won't bother driving down there to find out (not that I've have time to do so in the forseeable future). Its rare that a gun store can beat a gun show for price, but its happened for me with my Mini-14 many years ago at Carter's and again at Carter's for my wife's Beretta Neos last year -- saw the ads, couldn't get better prices at the shows so I went to the store afterwards.

I've been down on Carter's for quite some time as a while back he supported a State Bill to effectively ban gun show sales -- it failed. Price will beat politics eventually.

I figure $15-$25 shipping plus $10-25 transfer fee so <$50 over prices I see in Shotgun News is doing pretty good at a gun show (or store), often I end up buying at the Shotgun News quantity one price. I'm willing to pay a bit more to be able to look at what I'm getting before bringing it home -- cockeyed Romanian AKs form Centuary Arms are a poster boy -- had to look at four to find one good one!

Also interesting to see Collector's Firearms mentioned in this thread, they do advertise on local cable TV which can't help with overhead, but then they have mostly guns that are sold for other than utilitarian reasons. Years ago I did buy a Beretta Jetfire .25ACP, S&W 3" model 13, and a Winchister pistol grip pump shotgun from them and never recall feeling I'd been "gouged" after seeing what gunshow prices were. Although I did wish I'd not got the Winchester pump and bought a Mossberg instead (I'm not much of a shotgunner and would have been every bit as happy with the significantly cheaper Mossberg).

--wally.

"The purpose of a free market is not to insure anyone a job or a profit, but to insure that goods and services are widely available at the most efficient price."

 

[one-shot-one]

might try

Kennlees,
if yor looking for used, but it may be like looking for a needlein a hay stack, lots of junk with an occasional gem. but the owner is a genuine nice guy
(at least to me so far).

 

[Kenneth Lew]

Ken Lees off of Winkler.

The ungentleman behind the counter, treated me with the upmost disrespect when I inquired about 1 Broomhandle mauser w/ shoulder stock and 1 Luger w/ shoulder stock. He complained that if I was serious about the pistol before having to move 2 guns to get to it (very hard to do). No prices on guns, but are displayed in the counter.

Collectors has some good guns at nice prices. I would rather go there.