New Bud's Gunshop in Sevierville TN

[hso]

Today was the second day open for the new Bud's Gunshop in TN and I got the tour from the GM and his staff.

When you walk in you're greeted by staff before you even get to the display cases.

The new facility has an attractive interior, is well lit, and is well laid out.

The inventory is well displayed and it is impressive as are prices (and they still have stocking to do!).

Staff are friendly and knowledgeable They know what they're handing to you and they know enough about it to be head and shoulders over what we've come to expect from a lot of gun store staff. They receive real training to help them exceed the expectation we've gotten used to from sales clerks and they actually seem to genuinely like firearms.

The new range facility won't be complete for another month, but I was escorted in and looked at the ongoing construction and was able to chat with the team building the facility. It may well be the most impressive range open to the public in the U.S. when they're done. It is supposed to handle any caliber short of antitank rounds. The shooting stations are heavy prestressed thick concrete so an AD is almost impossible to harm the shooter in the next station. Lighting and environment will be as close to perfect as imaginable. Airhandling should prevent even a hint of that "range taste" we get in many places.
They'll have a rental counter and they'll have training onsite.
Very impressive.

AND, they have some nice knives as well!

Oh, yeah, they have this nifty Colt style gatling right as you walk in.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

I'll have to make a ride over - also check the case knife outlet and lodge cast iron outlet.

 

[hso]

Don't forget the tool place too.

 

[vamo]

I'm originally from a small town near that area. Might have to make a detour next time I'm visiting family

 

[tekarra]

Dang it, I came back from there a month ago. Another trip may be in order.

 

[Red Wind]

It sounds a whole lot better than Big Al's Gun and Pawn!



I'm going to western North Carolina in 10 days. After visiting Great Smokey, we'll stop in. Bud's in Kentucky are a class act. I've bought 3 rifles from them.

 

[hso]

Oh, and there's no "No Gun" sign on the door.

 

[hrsaylor]

I seen it right behind smokey mountain knife and I was wondering if it was the same buds or not.guess I know now.wish I would have checked it out now

 

[AZ Desertrat]

Well, good for Buds.....they are a class outfit, and I have bought more than a few from them.

 

[taliv]

cool

so this week was pretty big for TN... buds guns and quantico's grand opening

 

[jmr40]

Will be making a trip to the Smokey's next month for some backpacking. I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[vamo]

Seems to be hard to find a clear answer to this question by google alone. Is this shop affiliated with the Kentucky/online outfit they we all know and love or is it a different business altogether?

Seems like a cool shop regardless.

EDIT: Found an answer seems to be the same business if you go to their twitter and facebook page, though they have separate accounts for the TN store.

 

[22-rimfire]

I take it that this facility is "behind" SMKW along the River? Thanks HSO for the info. I was not aware of this.

In the Chattanooga TN area, Bass Pro is building a big new store (East Ridge). Gander Mountain is also building a store. Cabelas is getting ready to open their store in Acworth GA along I-75 on Aug 21 (Exit 277 north of Atlanta). Of course there is the Bristol VA store.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Oh, and there's no "No Gun" sign on the door.

First thing I noticed about the new Cabela's in Greenville, SC was that they welcome concealed carry customers. (SC is not an open carry state.)

 

[hso]

Bud's is across Two Rivers Blvd (street behind SMKW) and on the block south (across from the Lodge outlet). You can see the Coleman outlet and then Bud's from SMKW south parking lot.

Yes, Bud's TN is the same company as Bud's in KY.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Buds-Gun-Shop-Range-TN/621696147895710?hc_location=timeline

 

[burk]

I use to cover TN in sales and miss it. I love Eastern TN. Although I'm not a big fan of the Pigeon Forge-Gatlinberg-Sieverville side of the Smokies, it's like one big outlet mall. I much prefer Townsend which has a great Flyfishing shop (Little River). There are a couple of great gun shops I use to always visit in TN, the Outpost Armory in Murfesboro, and Mahoneys (a general outdoor sporting goods store) in Johnson City. I believe the Barret boys have some interest in the Armory. I'll have to check out Buds if I get down there again.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I'll have to take a ride over there some day.

 

[Elkins45]

He's expanding the Lexington store too. I'm not sure where all of the Lexington customers are going to park once the expansion is done because the lot is usually full as is.

Looks like persistence has finally paid off for Bud. I used to buy guns from him when he had "The Gun Shop" down the street on Industry Road. I was sorry when he went to Paris and happy when he came back to New Circle, and it looks like the Internet was just what he needed to finally hit the big time. I'm happy to hear he is expanding even more: he was always my favorite gun dealer and I'm glad he's doing so well.

 

[Al Thompson]

Mahoneys (a general outdoor sporting goods store) in Johnson City.

Spent a bunch of time there while in college. Reckon it's changed after 32 years.

 

[hso]

Bud's TN is on Two Rivers Blvd which is behind Smokey Mountain Knife Works.

 

[Banshee350e]

Bud's Guns

Yes it is a very nice store, takes your breath away when you walk in. I bought several items there but could not find any 7.62x25. I found another shop in the area, Bullseye Gun and Pawn. They are a Class 3 dealer with a very knowledgeable staff and they actually had the ammo and a clip for my High Standard Military 22. CHEAP!! So glad the gun environment is opening up and you can actually buy things that you are looking for.

 

[fadetoblack73]

Help clear up some confusion

For a while, Bud's and SMKW have been cross-advertising on each others website. A couple of months ago, I saw that SMKW had opened "Smokey Mountain Guns & Ammo" inside their regular building. I assumed that this was in some type of cooperation with Bud's. I just now learned that Bud's has a completely separate shop that has opened up and, ironically, it appears to share the same parking lot as SMKW. If both businesses are operating separately but literally sharing the same concrete, isn't one of the two likely to fail? I also believe that SMKW's parent corporation owns that entire complex. I seriously doubt that SMKW would have allowed Bud's to open up on property they own if they knew they were going to start selling firearms in direct competition to Bud's. This does not make sense. Does anyone have any further information on the situation?

 

[hso]

I assumed that this was in some type of cooperation with Bud's. I just now learned that Bud's has a completely separate shop that has opened up and, ironically, it appears to share the same parking lot as SMKW.

I'll clear up the misunderstanding.

Pretty much everything you've been told is incorrect.

The businesses are unrelated. The addresses are different. The parking lots are completely different (there's no "sharing of the same concrete"). The picture on #20 show SMKW with the blue roof diagonally across the intersection from Bud's with the gray roof (the green is the tool outlet). If you look at the picture you'll see two different establishments with two different parking lots across the corner from each other.

I don't know if SMKW and Bud's ever ran "ads" for each other or not, but Bud's can't have put in SMKW's gun counter since the FFLs are different.

 

[fadetoblack73]

I'll clear up the misunderstanding.

Pretty much everything you've been told is incorrect.

The businesses are unrelated. The addresses are different. The parking lots are completely different (there's no "sharing of the same concrete"). The picture on #20 show SMKW with the blue roof diagonally across the intersection from Bud's with the gray roof (the green is the tool outlet). If you look at the picture you'll see two different establishments with two different parking lots across the corner from each other.

I don't know if SMKW and Bud's ever ran "ads" for each other or not, but Bud's can't have put in SMKW's gun counter since the FFLs are different.

Okay. The location makes a little more sense. Before posting my previous message, I had looked up the address for the new Bud's location on Google Earth. According to the address on Google Earth, the "dot" was on the opposite side of the street (i.e. on the same side as SMKW) and looked as if it was located in the building where SMKW used to do their TV shows.

And... just to make sure that I was not insane, below is a link to a SMKW website home-page "capture" from last November (2013). At the bottom of the page, just left of center is an ad for Bud's.

http://web.archive.org/web/20131129033214/http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/main_front.jsp

 

[vkeith]

hso, thanks for the heads-up. I've eaten at Harold's twice this month and drove right by Buds without noticing it.

I use to cover TN in sales and miss it. I love Eastern TN. Although I'm not a big fan of the Pigeon Forge-Gatlinberg-Sieverville side of the Smokies, it's like one big outlet mall. I much prefer Townsend which has a great Flyfishing shop (Little River). There are a couple of great gun shops I use to always visit in TN, the Outpost Armory in Murfesboro, and Mahoneys (a general outdoor sporting goods store) in Johnson City. I believe the Barret boys have some interest in the Armory. I'll have to check out Buds if I get down there again.

Next time you go to Townsend, check out Bill's Outpost at Midland Center in Alcoa. They are a very-well stocked gun store, and all the employees I've encountered have been friendly and knowledgeable.

Yes it is a very nice store, takes your breath away when you walk in. I bought several items there but could not find any 7.62x25. I found another shop in the area, Bullseye Gun and Pawn. They are a Class 3 dealer with a very knowledgeable staff and they actually had the ammo and a clip for my High Standard Military 22. CHEAP!! So glad the gun environment is opening up and you can actually buy things that you are looking for.

I've stopped at Bullseye several times, but didn't realize they were a Class 3 dealer. Last time I was in there, they still weren't well-stocked in firearms.