Recommend a good FFL agent near Issaquah, WA

[Armchair Bronco]

Hi there, I'm looking for a recommendation for a good FFL agent near Issaquah, WA.

I *used* to do business through Fall City Fireams in Preston/Fall City, but I just learned (via an 3-year-old thread on this site) that the State of Washington took over the property back in 2007 in order to build a round-about! :banghead:

Typical move. We're starting to look more and more like California every day.

 

[shibby]

West Coast Armory for sure. Its where I do all of my ammo and gun business when possible. Great guys for the most part, and muuuuch better than most of the alternatives.

 

[Oro]

Sent you a pm with a good person in Renton.

 

[Armchair Bronco]

Thanks for the info, guys.

I need an FFL agent 'cause I'm considering bidding on a used Winchester 1300 20 gauge shotgun for my 11-year-old son. It's the youth model with a 22" barrel.

He and his brother have followed me out to the RFGC trap club several times; now they're saying they'd like to try some trap on their own. Both boys are small for their ages, so a .410 would be a great first gun...except that a .410 is an expert's gun for shooting trap!

I figure a 20 gauge with some light loads might work for a couple of years, then I can flip the gun if they want to move up to a 12 gauge.

 

[Seagoing]

Wade's in Bellevue ?

Call them and ask for George.
A good guy, I'm sure he'll do you right.

 

[Armchair Bronco]

Regarding Wade's in Bellevue...my problem with Wade's is that the last time I contacted them about being my FFL agent, I was informed that if the gun I was buying was also something they carried in the store, they would add on some kind of penalty payment to the gun.

I guess this is to prevent people from using them as an FFL agent to buy a new Bushmaster cheaper than they're selling the same gun in the store for. Either way, when I heard this I thought: "***? Are you kidding me."

Don't know if this is still the policy, but I haven't gone back there ever since.

I'm going to go with West Coast Armory since they're just 10 minutes from where I live.

 

[shibby]

lol wades, what a wreck. I get quoted at WCA for $35 flat, then go to wades and get this minute long spiel of how much itll cost: $35 base fee, plus tax, plus service charge ($10), plus 10% of the value of the gun.

So $35 (+ tax obviously) for west coast or $105+ (35+10+60ish for a bargain bin AR) at wades, and get crap service. I think Ill stick to the guys that treat customers with respect and dont price gouge.

That said, just today I contacted WCA and told them of the bargain bin AR that is coming in under my name.

 

[Armchair Bronco]

Yeah, Wades reminds me of the Washington-state politicians down in Olympia.

We get an referendum passed to limit car tabs to (what?) $35 or thereabouts. The last time I went to the licensing bureau the woman behind the counter said: "That'll be $115, please." I said: "Hold on a minute! I thought that with the Tim Iman's referendum, you folks were limited to charging me no more than $35!"

She then said: "Sir, we *DO* only charge a $35 tax for the registration. The other costs are 'fees'."

The old timer in line next to me said: "Call it what you will, but when you take money out of my pocket, that's a tax. Plain and simple."

The other 20 people waiting in line nodded in agreement.

***

The difference is that in the private sector, if you get treated this way, you can take your business elsewhere. If your state or federal government acts this way (and they act this way ALL THE TIME), there's no place else to turn. And if you don't pay, you're fined for that...or worse: thrown in jail!

 

[UranusDestiny]

Ditto on West Coast Armory, they're great guys. In fact I'm going there later this afternoon to pick up a Tokarev. Can't wait

 

[RainDodger]

Is WCA the place that's in the old WSI range location, near Factoria? I guess I gotta go there...

 

[alfack]

Is WCA the place that's in the old WSI range location, near Factoria? I guess I gotta go there...

Yes and no. They have the shop in Issaquah on Gilman Blvd, which is where they would do the transfer and they are opening a range near Factoria. I went to school with the owner. He's a good guy.

 

[Armchair Bronco]

I just called them for the first time and talked to the owner briefly. Very friendly guy. He confirmed that it's a flat fee of $35 for a transfer.

I'm getting a cashier's check to pay for the auction, then I'll swing by WCA in person to give them the paperwork & check the place out (I'm running low on .22LR ammo). I'll report back later on my 1st impressions.

EDIT: Very friendly staff, nice shop. Not real big (about half the size of your typical Radio Shack). Prices seemed OK. I picked up some bulk .22LR ammo and a silicone polishing cloth. I think the old G.I. Joes had a better selection of ammo and other gear, but they closed down a year ago so WCA is now the closest gun shop to my home.

 

[shibby]

The bellevue store is facing some BS from the local liberals about selling guns, so they need to get a special permit or something to resume sales of firearms. They still sell ammo and other equipment, just not the guns which are now at least back up for display.

The issauqah store is where youd need to go for guns.

I went to both today- I paid my transfer fee and bought a Magpul MBUS and a box of hornady .223 match ammo at issaquah, and bought a box of hornady TAP from the bellevue store.

They get all of my business. Theyve earned it with their service, which includes both their employees and their prices.

 

[shibby]

It occurred to me yesterday that by going with WCA and getting superior service, I basically paid for the MBUS and box of Hornady OTM .223.

<--WCA fanboy

 

[lathedog]

I used to live up there and went to Discount Gun Sales. Great folks and good supportive attitudes. They helped me with a few auction purchases.

Recently I used the FFL dealer search functions on gunbroker and auction arms and found several dealers in my new area. Many of the listings include their fees and other info, like gunsmith services, etc.

 

[Armchair Bronco]

UPDATE:

I finally got around to picking up my used Winchester 1300 youth-sized 20 gauge shotgun today. The GunBroker seller shipped it to West Coast Armory over a week ago.

Those guys really treated me well today. Not only did I get the FBI clearance for the gun on the spot (this was a first for me!) but the owner showed me how to break down the gun. He took out the trigger group and showed me where to tighten things up and pointed out that the stock had to be tightened up to the receiver.

I paid my $35 flat fee, covered up my gun with a garbage bag, and headed out the store right into an Issaquah hail and slush storm!

Anyway, they've earned my business. Great guys at WCA.

 

[carbuncle]

Good to hear, I may use these guys even though I live in Edmonds! Good service is worth a little extra drive time. And ditto Wade's, terrible prices, terrible service.