Minnesota guys...callin' you out.

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bear71

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Where do you guys like to browse firearms?

Gunstop is a pretty good one, just heard Reeds in Walker is a great place for firearms, and my secret weapon, just across the border in Wisconsin, Prescott, H&H Guns and Art Gallery has a huge selection of long arms and a few pistols.

Any shops you are favoring, any that are too high priced in your opinion?

What's your favorite gun show to attend, Fairgrounds, DECC, Convention Center???
 
Decc? Heck no. The cloquet gunshow thats held at their armory beats the Deccs hands down.


Superior shooters supply is my go to gunshop. So much even that i drive from bemidji now to get there.

Also, Alamo guns and pawn in cloquet is a neat little shop. They have a lot of hard to find bits and pieces and they like to haggle.

WA
 
Going to school in Bemidji?

Superior is an awesome shop, all the goodies and well stocked, the last time I was in there I almost bought a Mini 30, but didn't, they did have a couple old Colt stamped AR mags for me though.

Surely you stop by the The Anchor Bar for burgers when you're going to Superior Shooting Supply.

Alamo is a neat pawn/gun shop, the last time I was in there they tried to sell me an AK pistol of all things! All kinds of cool magazines used and new on the north wall and they're kid friendly there. My little rugrat was all over the video tapes and they didn't seem to mind me opening the hatch in the parking area to change a diaper. It's easy to find but is tucked away from the main drag by half a block on a steep grade.
 
In the big box stores, it really is hard to beat Sportsman's Warehouse. Gander tends to be high on the new guns, but you can find a used deal at times. Streicher's in Plymouth often has excellend deals on used police trade-ins (I just got a Glock 17, with night sights and two mags...$300). My experience at Cabela's is that they are pricey.

Outside of the metro I suspect many communities have their local favorite small dealers. In the near Alexandria area, Jerry Pommerenke (the Carry Depot... http://carrydepot.com ) is superb on service and price. Nice guy too!
 
We lost Soup-to-Nuts Gun shop in Grand Rapids in early July. My flag is still a half mast. a fire in an upstairs apartment took them out.
Nice little shop in Calumet, the old bank building. (Snowball Mountain Gun Shop).
Hey Duluth, Is Paglisi still open? I have been trying to get on their web site and its been down.
Glens in Grand Rapids has some, but they are a Mil-Surp, with very little Surp. Nice store, Sure beats Wally-world.
Northwest Bait(I think) next door to galigers restraunt in duluth is a dandy place. Go their for my BP goodies.

Gbro
 
Hi phorvick,

Agree with you on Sportsmans W-house, darn good prices new, I'm really close to the Andover store, imagining the St. Cloud location is closer to you.

I've found the negotiating at Gander tougher than Cabela's though both mark 'em up pretty good and give you a little wiggle room. Gander will throw in the $20 service plan on the house if you ask very nicely and have a good guy at the counter. My last purchase was one of the P225s recently imported and now offered bulk by Gander, the price tags say $469 but as of two days ago they were still ringing at $399.00.
 
gbro,

My condolences on Soup to Nuts, good people up there and I snatched a Spartan 1994 graduate and made her my wife! A Bluestreak had to come all the way to the city to meet her though.

I got all pumped up for a visit to StN about three months ago, found it closed and had the Glens Army Navy guys tell me she had burned.

Dale Worth is a cool guy, one of the better shops in the entire state much less in Calumet of all places! Dale's got great prices but tells me you guys on the range aren't doing much buying.

How about the "supervision" at Glens? Do you find it akward?
 
"gunstop rocks"

Yep, Larry kicks some major arse, Howard's a way better negotiater than I am, I still love him though! LOL!
 
I moved out of Minnesota 2 years ago, but I have to put my vote in for the Oasis Sport Shop in Pequot Lakes. When you find yourself in the Brainerd area, do yourself a favor and stop there. Best gun shop I've ever dealt with, by far.
 
I live pretty close to the Gander Mountain store in Lakeville, and do drop by there every now and then to browse their selection of firearms. Yes, their prices are high, but they do occasionally have decent specials, and I've purchased a number of guns from them.

More often than not, I'll go there to "sample" a particular firearm that I'm interested in acquiring, and then order it online. :D

As for gunshows, I normally make it a point to go to the ones organized by the MWCA, mainly to purchase reloading supplies.
 
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I agree with Sportsmans warehouse, nothign but good experiences with the stores in Coon Rapids and St. Cloud.

For private stores, I really like Little Crow Sports in Hutchinson (off of highway 15 North), the Gunstop, and I've heard good things about the Wolfs Den in Hugo too. If I need something fixed, it goes to Habisch Outdoor which is a little South of Winsted. Best gunsmith in central MN.

Gun show wise, most towns of medium size have a show at one time or anothher. Usually things are priced ridiculously high, arbitration is encouraged, and you can still find deals. I picked up a Weaver K2.5-60b with a post and reticle crosshair for cheap from a very friendly fellow at the Willmar show. It came along with a good story too.

Ryan
 
I haven't lived here long enough to check out many places, but I'm already in love with the Gun Stop. The selection of used guns is great, and the prices are incredibly reasonable. I recently picked up a Browning BL-22 in excellent condition with a scope for $259, and an Armalite AR-50 like new with soft case and scope for $1695. The only problem I have now is that my credit card is gonna melt if I go over there any more.

Gun Stop also houses the best reloading supplies store I have ever seen. I love the fact that no matter what bullet or brass or powder or dies or Dillon conversion I need, I can make a quick run to Gun Stop and be loading with it in an hour.

Finally, Larry and Howard are just class guys. They are friendly and knowledgable. I'm so used to gun shop workers being rude and obnoxious that I'm still not sure Larry and Howard are for real.
 
Oasis Closed, and I have a few that I browse regularily. Although you have to Browse for some time to find deals at either of the Bill's Locations, Sportsmans Whse, and the Frontiersman. Metro Pawn and Gun is one that I find good deals at very regularily. Honest prices on used guns, fair prices on NIB
Places that I go to and leave my wallet in the car because I know the are too infrequent are Gander, Cabela's. These stores seem to think that their firearms are worth their weight in gold.
I was recently at Gunstop for the first time and was very impressed with A: the selection, B: the prices, and C: the guy behind the counter.
Add On: Also found a few nice buys at the Gun Show at Canterbury Park, Not so much from the MWCA shows.
 
I've found my best buys with the Hart bros tables at gun shows and also at their shop in Albert Lea. They usually have the best prices at gun shows and their website lists all the guns they have in stock, and if you call them before the gun show they will bring the guns you want to look at to the show...and if you are thinking ar15's, then DPMS gives the best deals, period.....
 
Bear

I used to work at alamos. Did that for about half a year.

Going to school here in Bemidji yes, but i also live here.

Nice place.

Winter not so much this year, no snow.



Regarding soup to nuts. So thats what happened to them! I used to stop in there all the time on my drive between here and duluth. Too bad, they always had neat stuff.
 
"Gun Stop also houses the best reloading supplies store I have ever seen. I love the fact that no matter what bullet or brass or powder or dies or Dillon conversion I need, I can make a quick run to Gun Stop and be loading with it in an hour."

That's right Father.

That's John that operates the supplies section of the store. He's got quite a nice and deep collection of books to buy and read too, doesn't he. Hundreds of new titles and tons of model specific books, if you're looking for a specific book that is currently in print he probably has it.

I think it's cool to have "seperate" shops in the main shop, John handles the supplies and Howard and Larry sell the guns, opens up time for each department to really give you the attention deserving of your hard earned cash.

By example, I purchased a French MAS 49/56 rifle re-chambered for the .308 for $199.00 after Larry threw me $10 off complaining he didn't have much room. I stopped by a couple other places in the next month and looked on the net immediately after bringing it home and discovered they're going from $350 to $400!
 
Hey Richmond,

Mainstream is a real nice shop, lot's of pistols for a town the size of Winona.

Mainstream has a main street address but sits back off the main about a 100 feet, I drove by five times before realizing it was tucked away off the main. LOL!

Nice guys in there and how about those skitter craft air power motors for river running, my wife couldn't care less about the guns but had to have the breakdown of what those odd things were before we could leave the store, they complied.

Pretty good prices in Winona, fellas.

There is a small shop in the north side of the town too.
 
gun shops in Winona

The north end shop is Lone Pine Gun Shop, which is actually located in Goodview at 4045 West 6th Street, the municipality located on the North end of Winona. I have not been there for several years - Mainstream is on the next block from my office in downtown Winona. :)

Bear - yeah, those boat are wild! Mainstream sells the go-devil mud motors and jon boats, duck boats, etc.
 
The sporting goods store Oasis closed some time ago, the convenience store is still open. Unless the owners found somebody to run the sporting goods part of the operation. What I heard during the G.O.B. Sale was all of the stores took too much time away from the family.
The store on the north side of the metro is on hwy 10 near the Tech College. I won't name it for a variety of reasons.
 
OK...I remember them closing down the section that was attached to the convenience store. It reopened not too much later in a separate building right next to the old location, bigger and better. Expanded fishing and camping gear and more guns, still great service. Not sure who exactly is running it, but the kept the name and the good service.

Am I the only person thats had crappy experiences with Gun Stop?
 
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