Places outside of Milwaukee, WI to buy guns

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Croyance

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I may be moving back to the Milwaukee, WI area. As many have said, guns are very expensive there. But some posters say there are gun stores in towns of the area that have significantly lower prices.
Any favorites? Names with addresses would be great. I'm going to look around the area before deciding on moving and may as well stop by some stores.
 
Moving back huh? You must miss those winters:)

There is a guy who sells a lot of guns on gunbroker - I think hes in Sheboygan Falls - I left the Milwaukee area (Menomonee Falls) almost 30 years ago - still go back to visit family I noticed there aren't as many gunstores as the old days.

Good luck.

BTW theres a poster either here or on The Firling Line named Monkeyleg thats in WI - sounds lik ehe is into guns maybe he knows.
 
Don't know where you're at now, but in general, prices are higher across WI, and a lot of the midwest, than places like AZ or TX. As far as prices in Mil itself though, the best usual price will be at Badger Outdoors in Mil, although some other places have good prices here and there in the surriunding cities.
 
Badger is known for lower prices, but they are so rude I'd never go there again. I also dislike shooting right next to an obvious "gansta", who waves a rented gun around and spins it by the trigger guard.

I've had good experiences at The Shooter's Shop in West Allis.

--Travis--
 
I live near Madison. I do most of my firearm shopping on line, nad can point you to a few different FFL holders around the area who do transfers for ~20 bucks.

Retail around her purely sucks. Thank God for this interweb thingie.

By the way, if you're interested in some supurb training, my rifle club hosts Defensive Edge classes regularly. Excellent pistol, carbine, precision rifle, etc. Just a couple of hours drive from Milwaukee.
 
Badger Outdoors: lower prices than the two other shops in the area, but known for their bad attitude. Their selection of guns has also fallen off in recent years; sometimes they'll only have a few dozen in stock. Their range is poorly-lit and poorly ventilated.

The Shooters Shop: great selection, including Les Baer's, Wilson Combat's, Ed Brown's, and other high-end pistols. They're up to nearly 1,000 guns now. Prices are the highest around. However, their service is exceptional. Their range is state-of-the art in terms of lighting and ventilation.

Fletcher Arms in Waukesha: not that far from Milwaukee. Very nice people, and decent prices. However, the store and range are dated. Their range fee is $10 per hour, whereas Shooters Shop and Badger charge $15 an hour.

Shooters Sports Center in Caledonia (Racine County): it's about 40 minutes from most parts of Milwaukee. They have a nice range, but it's nowhere near as nice as range at the Shooters Shop. Prices seem to be about the same as at Badger or Fletchers. The selection of guns leaves a bit to be desired.

Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira (about 45 minutes to an hour from Milwaukee): I haven't been to their new store yet, but it's the largest in the state. Maybe someone from the Fond du Lac area can comment.

Deerfield Pistol & Archery Range: it's about 45 minutes from Milwaukee. They have a decent supply of hunting accessories, but only a few guns, which they keep in a safe. They have five lanes on their range. The range itself is nice. Good people.

Sportsmen's Warehouse, Gander Mountain, Cabella's: there's a lot of them. Just like any discount chain stores, they're pretty much the same from one state to another. I haven't noticed that their prices are any cheaper than the individually-owned stores, though.
 
I stopped by Midwest Shooters Supply in Lomira last Sunday for the first time. I was suprised to learn that they had an indoor range - that was news to me. The new building is nice - lots of this and that. I felt sort of ignored when I went in there, but that's not so unusual - too many people see a woman at a gun shop and assume she is just waiting for her husband. :rolleyes:

West Bend is just abou 35 minutes north of Milwaukee, and Woodland Iron and Firearms in the Barton area of West Bend is my recommendation. Small place, very nice, knowledgable folks there.

http://www.woodlandiron.com/
 
Haven't actually bought anything yet but I was at the Sportman's Warehouse just off Moreland Avenue / I-43 in New Berlin Saturday and spent an hour and a half just looking and talking to them about handguns. Very friendly and helpful even after knowing I won't be buying until after my class November 11th. Their prices seemed to be a tad better than Gander Mountain here in Janesville, but no used hardware like Gander has - they claim that helps keep the prices down.

It was a bit of a travel, though.

And this edit just to say that the Gander Mountain in Janesville rates as pretty friendly for me when I have visited and asked questions and looked at several handguns. Although he was pushing the XD-45 and I still like the P-226 . . .
 
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Thanks for the help.
Yes, it will be cold and now CCW yet from what I understand. Which govenor's candidate is ahead?
 
The Shooter's Shop

Is indeed "pricey", however, they have accepted "educated offers" from me on more than one occasion. I can't say for sure, as it's been awhile since I could test this, but The Shooter's Shop always seemed to have a two-tier pricing structure, the listed one on the tag for infrequent shoppers and/or impulse buyers, and another for educated gunnies who are willing to speak up.

I should add it's been about three years since I've been able to buy anything there so I don't know for sure it's still the case. They're polite enough there that it can't hurt to ask.

My formula for an offer always was "Quantity 1 wholesale price plus their FFL transfer fee on orders, plus shipping." And I spelled it out politely to the salesman.

Since like most Milwaukee-area storefronts their FFL fee is the rather high $50, I figure that in, plus their pricing from their distributors being better than the quantity 1 prices in wholesale catalogs should be adequate profit.

For instance, I wanted one of the beater parts AK's that went for $299 in the mail-order catalogs, but they had priced on their wall for $500. I said, "They go for $299 in the mailers, so how about I add fifty for your FFL, and the twenty I'd have to pay in shipping, for $370?" The salesman went in back to ask, and came back, "done deal". Everyone was happy.

I would add that I'd expect to get turned down on any offers made on new models, hard-to-get guns, anything exotic, or in short supply, I'd expect to pay sticker and not a dime less, as they know they'll get that price eventually from someone with their money burning a hole in their pocket...


On the Governor's race, it's neck-and-neck between Green and Doyle.

However, common political wisdom states that, neck-and-neck for an incumbant is bad news, add to that the fact that Republicans traditionaly underreport in pre-election polling by a few percentage points (i.e. "we are out working for a living, instead of sitting around watching daytime TV, waiting for the phone to ring), my money's on Green being our next Governor.

Add to that the turnout the gay-marriage ban referendum is going to add, and disgust over the lack of meaningful tax reform, I think the writing's on the wall for Doyle.

IMO, the critical factor is hanging onto a 51% pro-gun, pro-CCW majority in the legislature.
 
>Try Louie's Sporting goods in Manitowoc.<

nice place, I've bought a couple guns there. however, you have to be careful who you're talking to behind the counter: there is (os used to be, haven't been in in awhile) an older guy that you do NOT want to deal with: he offered a friend of mine a Luger muzzle first...
 
You can't argue with their prices on most things. Heck, that para SKS I was selling on here a few months ago was picked up for $125 at Louies.
 
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Well yeah... they've got good prices. And at least the younger guy is easy to deal with (I've bought a couple wheel guns from there). But asking to see a gun in the cabinet and having it pointed at you (no chamber check, no dropped mag) is kinda disconserting...

BTW .45Guy: I assume you're in the Manty area?
 
Milwaukee actually, I used to work for an enviornmental lab that had the contract with thecity of Manitowoc. It was a beautiful thing , having SRPC right on the way.:evil: If you ever make it down towards Saukville, we should get in some range time.
 
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