Support Your Local Gunstore!

[Moondoggie]

Husker, I will be sure to check out your store next time I run up to Offutt (where us retired Marines who live in Falls City get our health care).

Two gun shops in my town of 5,000. One has been in biz forever and is widely recognized as a major horse's patoot. Went in there once 25 yrs ago while in town visiting the in-laws and never considered going back. What a jerk! The other shop was recently opened by a retired LEO/National Guard guy who inherited the building. He's an avid shooter/hunter and only plans on running the shop for 5 yrs before totally retiring. We have lots of similarities in our backgrounds, and are developing a friendship...he wants to go to KC with me one Fri evening to see IPSC when we can match up our schedules. He's financially independent, so he's not fixated on raking-in every dime he can get. I've bought 3 guns from him in the past 18 months and have a RRA EBR on order through him.

My travels in the Marine Corps had me living all over the country, and all of my gun purchases were from local vendors (some at gunshows, but still from a small biz). I've never bought a gun from a box store.

 

[TheDutchman]

I tried to support my local guns store but got screwed over. If I am going to get screwed might as well get screwed at a lower price.

 

[MarkDido]

MarkDido,

Is that the little place just on the corner of Harrison and a little west of US1, south of 'downtown'? Been meaning to get in there but haven't had the chance. My wife and I are up there frequently to visit her parents. If not, where is the store you are referring to?

Thanks,
Greg

It's Indian River Sportsman. Just south of SR50 on US1 (maybe 1/2 mile or so). On the left hand side as your headed south. Look for a little convienance store gas station (forget the brand) in front of a little strip mall. IRS is in the corner of the mall.

They also have a very cool chocolate Lab named Nestle.

 

[No_Brakes23]

WalMart is a little too pansy here in SoCal to carry guns, but I would try to support the local gun stores even if they did. Given a choice between an equivilent product made/sold in Cali and one from elsewhere, I will go with the local product/retailer, in large part because I feel the need to support businesses who continue to stay in the firearms business in California.

That's my two cents.

 

[rickr44318]

Good thread ... it IS (mostly) about customer service. I am a 50+ white-bread grandpa, and have been a shooter off-and-on for about 40 years. When I go into a gun shop, I recognize that they want/need to make a profit, so I try not to waste their time, and I try to find something that I can buy each time to keep the cash flowing.

We have several gun shops here in metro Richmond and a few in the Petersburg area, plus the usual sports boxes and Wallyworld. I went into a Petersburg store last spring based on a recommendation; I took one tour through and would never go back. Prices were at least 20% above those in the Richmond shops, and other than one cursory “Can I help you?†the storekeeps made no offer to help me find anything or answer any questions.

Likewise, I don’t go into the shop that is six miles from my home. They do a lot of business in Civil War reenacting and hunting/fishing supply; but if you aren’t a reenactor, coming in for what they have on hand, or a good ole’ boy, you get the gimlet eye until you walk out the door. They will grudgingly answer a question or two, then find a reason to step away and leave you to your own devices. No welcome there.

The highest-profile area shop, about 45 miles from home, has an ample staff, a good selection of new and used firearms, plus hunting/fishing gear and supplies, but the staff can be divided into those who will treat an infrequent patron courteously, and those who don’t if you haven’t been a patron for 10 years or aren’t best-buds with the guy behind the counter. I’ve bought a revolver, ammo, holsters, and a rifle there over the years, but by dealing only with the guys who have been straightforward and aren’t condescending. (I don’t know whether they get any personal commissions from transactions, but it makes the point.)

The shop I gladly support is in Mechanicsville, about 40 miles away from my door. This establishment has good stock, knowledgeable staff, onsite gunsmithing, and what I think is the best sense of customer service in the area. A few years ago, I purchased there an Israeli-made .30 carbine—manufactured by Palestinian saboteur labor, I suspect, because it failed with the first round I put through it; the bolt jammed partway through cycling and the spent shell jammed in the breech. The guy I was shooting with guessed bad ammo; I took the carbine back to the shop, and after a few minutes’ work the smith showed me a faulty receiver that QC should have caught before the piece was boxed. The owner was apologetic and offered a couple of times to expedite a replacement order (no charge for the smithwork, either) – I said phooey on IAI and went with a Marlin 336C instead; it cost about the same and I haven’t had a lick of trouble with it.

I have been back several times since, to buy and to look at alternatives to the S&W 642 I’m carrying now. Each of the persons I’ve dealt with have patiently answered my questions, speculations, and concerns without blowing me off. In fact, on Monday I made a c/c holster purchase I might not otherwise have made because one of the salesmen made a point to greet me immediately and ask how he could help me. He also took 45+ minutes to answer my questions about S/A revolvers, showed me 9 different Ruger, Navy Arms and Freedom Arms pieces, told me about the local SASS competitions, and invited me to the next one. I was up-front and told him that it would be a year at least before I have the time and discretionary cash to get into CAS—but when I do, I will buy from that shop, because they’ve made me WANT to do business with them.

But if the difference between Wally’s price for a 50-box of .38 Special and a gun shop’s is 25% or more ⦠that’s significant enough to influence the “buying decision.â€

 

[HankB]

I'd like to patronize a small, local, gunshop too, but often the guys running it are arrogant jerks, conniving b@$t@rdS, or crooked liars . . . sometimes a combination of all three. One shop I used to do business with changed ownership, and after getting hosed by the new owners I never darkened their door again. Compared notes with folks at the range, and found I wasn't the only one shafted by these guys. Word is they're hurting, and have discontinued their gun show activity and have moved their efforts to Gunbroker.

Recently made a purchase at Sportsman's Warehouse - they had a "5% off customer appreciation sale" going, and Discover Card had an additional "5% rebate" on all purchases at sporting goods stores, (And the starting price was a good $200+ less than a local "upscale" gun shop.) so I made out OK . . . and the salesman was both courteous and attentive. Attitude alone at the BIG chain store was miles beyond some "small" shops, at least in this instance.

Next time I need anything, care to guess which one I'll go to?

 

[gaustin70]

My Local Shops Suck

In Wilmington, NC there are no good gun shops, at least not as far as buying a new gun is concerned:

One big Gun & Pawn shop always has a huge selection, but always at skyrocket Pawn shop prices, they only sell guns to people who have no idea what guns are worth and/or they sell at a decent price to a few people who are in their buddy loop. All the avid collectors/shooters I know don't even go in there. I buy 20+ guns per year and I have never bought there, I go in to look all the time, I have never spent a penny in there in four years because everything they have including used guns, accessories, ammo, safes, etc. is just off the scale on price. When I can have a gun shipped and transferred from a dealer in another state for $425 that would cost me $525 in their shop after tax, I'll buy online and have it shipped in. I don't know how this place makes any money, stuff sits in there for years, maybe the DVD/lawnmower/TV pawns coupled with 1st time gun buyers keep them going.

The rest of the Pawn shops in town have used guns and a couple order new lower end stuff like Rossi revolvers and sell them at skyrocket prices.

We have a couple Wal-Marts and a Sporting Goods shop that sell basic hunting rifles and shotguns which I don't buy.

There is one Indoor Shooting Range/Shop where you can get a better price, they mainly have handguns, but still 15%-25% higher than buying online. They are the closest thing to a good gun shop we have. It is on the other side of town and I never go there.

We do have some one-two man operation gunsmith/sales shops that are great to hang out in and are great to work with, but they don't have much in stock, have no direct factory agreements, are not official dealers for anyone, so they can't get a good price on anything new. I have used these guys to buy new guns, but they have to order everything, so I have to go to the big Pawn shop to see one in person first, and I often pay 10% more after tax than I would have buying online, but I do it because I want to support the local gun business.

If you work at it and haggle you can get a good to decent deal on a used gun at just about any shop in town, so I don't have much gripe with used guns.

However, I wish a gun store would open up that concentrated on being full service with good customer service and volume of sales by trying to match or beat the prices other dealers sell for. As an example, if I ran a shop, I would rather sell 100 new guns per year at $50 profit each than sell 20 new guns per year at $150 profit. The extra traffic would sell even more guns, and more higher profit margin items such as used guns, accessories, ammo, gunsmithing, etc.

Maybe I just don't know Jack about the gun business, but something is wrong when I can buy a new gun from a dealer in another state, have it shipped, pay a local FFL $15 to transfer it and save $65 to $250 depending on the price of the gun.

 

[TechBrute]

Economics and the management of gun stores share little in common. A savvy businessman could run a gunshop and pull a profit, but the rewards are richer in just about every other industry. A gunshop owner is usually someone with little business sense but a love of the product.

 

[BigSlick]

I have genuinely tried to support the two local gunshops.

I am not looking to get my ass kissed, I know they don't manufacture the gun and aren't (always) responsible for it's fit, function or reliability. I am well aware that some of the counter jocks may have spent many years in the service (thanks to those of you who have ) and in their minds have a vast array of knowledge and experience.

I'm not a 'smith by a long shot, but I know (my) guns pretty well. I am positive I spend more time researching the details of the guns I have an interest in than ANY of the folks who work at either of the local gunshops.

I reload, have refinished a gun or two and have sent literally hundreds of thousands of rounds down range in my lifetime. I am clean cut, respectful and am aware these people are in business to make a profit.

I don't buy jack from either of the local shops anymore. They project the attitude that anyone, who isn't one of their cronies, sitting around spouting BS all afternoon or willing to believe any subterfuge they can puke as not just the gospel, but undisputable proof of their superiority, is nothing more than an unecessary PITA.

I witnessed one of the local shop owners giving some very condescending advice to a young lady looking for a home protection gun. She felt revolver would be a good choice and she had fired one and seemed to do well with it. OK great. The shop owner was trying to sell her a Ruger Blackhawk in 41 mag. It looked like it had been dragged behind a truck for about a mile on a gravel road... the 'sale' price was $425.

He told her the only other real option was a Kimber... you can't put a cost on the lives of your kids.. now can you ?

I stayed out of it as long as I could. I noticed she was holding a set of keys in her hand from a Ford. The shop was dead, except for myself, her and the legends that work there. I asked if she was the ower of the Ford outside (she was), and told her I bumped into her a little when pulling in, and asked her to come make sure nothing was damaged.

When we got outside, she noticed nobody was parked within 4 spaces of her and asked me if I was trying to ask her out (probably should have). I gave her a card from the only dealer I deal with (about 45 miles away) and explained maybe a Blackhawk wasn't the best first gun - especially for the asking price.

She thanked me and left. I left too.

I got a call from the shop I referred her to about a week later. The owner was very appreciative of my sending someone his way. Not too big of a deal, but he took the time to call and say thanks - certainly not necessary.

I dropped by there weekend before last and he handed me a couple of buckets of range brass and a 1000 pack of primers before I could even get thru the door as a 'finders fee'. The woman I gave the card to bought a used 4" Python for $350 including a little range time and a couple of boxes of 38 specials.

There are some great dealers left, but for every good, honest, hard-working dealer in my area, there are at least two that aren't worth a damn.

Maybe some of you have the luxury of a good dealer close to home. If so, consider yourself very lucky.

If given the choice of WallyWorld or anyone else or the two local shops, I will drive nearly 50 miles or buy from the 'net.

Screw unscrupulous, arrogant gunshops - local or not

BigSlick

 

[TallPine]

The local "gunshop" that I favor is a farm and ranch supply store that also has a pretty good sporting goods (as in hunting and fishing - not tennis and golf) department. They have two stores and the original store always seems friendlier. At the newer and bigger one they are not rude but just a little indifferent. (Gee whiz, if I come in and look at guns you could at least try to sell one to me )

The guy who sold me my last two gun purchases was really helpful, and I told him so too. When buying a handgun he helped me find a holster to fit it, even taking them out of the package and trying the gun in it to make sure

I've been in a lot of the pawnshops too (which seem to sell mostly new guns ) and for the most part they are not very helpful. I guess I have too wide a range of interests in types of guns, because after I asked if he had X or Y, he suddenly had to go do something else (whats wrong with liking lever guns and semi-automatics ????)

I used to work retail in a "general store" that also had guns and fishing gear, and I always tried to treat everybody well and help them as much as I could. I learned from some of the customers and some of them learned from me. I figured every "newbie" who bought (or even looked at) a gun was a future "gun nut" and the more guns in circulation the better. It's no sin to be learning something new. And yeah, a lot of guys just come in and look and drool, but then they buy something now and then too. It's just part of the business.

I think in general that most people (I know I do) like to not only get the thing that they want but also feel good about the people they are giving their money to.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

I've noticed that 2 of our semi-local gunshop/ranges have competitive prices. The one always did, but it seems the other has only recently lowered his prices so he can sell more guns, and not try to make all his money off the range. It's nice to see the locals again trying to be competitive with the gun shows. When I bought my Kimber Ultra CDP, the first mentioned had one (in .40 caliber; blasphemy!) for a mere 40 bucks more than I paid later at the gun show. Had he had the proper caliber, I would have gladly gave him my business. This store is run by ex-cops, and they're all a great bunch of guys. 40 bucks is not much difference when you're talking near a thousand, but as I said, their prices have always been pretty good in comparison. I must confess that most of my guns have been bought at gun shows. Deals like my Colt Delta Elite ($425) were the norm at one time, but it seems that now the prices are getting tighter. Welp, so much the better. It's just less gun shows I have to attend, and more time I can spend at the ranges.

 

[rock jock]

Most of the gunstores that I have been to (probably 70%) including the largest gunstore in my area are run by and staffed by people that are decidedly NOT friendly, helpful, or knowledgeable. I wish they would go out of business quickly so that the good gunstores would propoer from their demise. However, gunstores sell a high price item to a select subset of the population and the gunstore owners know that, so they have a captive market. I used to think twice about Internet purchases, but not anymore.

 

[UnintendedConsequences]

While I understand the frustration of many posters...

While I understand the frustration of many posters with the lack of good customer service with your area independent gun stores and big box retailers, I would like to point out something that might be overlooked. You can go to gun shows and you can order firearms online, but what are you going to do when you need a local gunsmith to repair your firearm or need a local FFL licensee to handle receipt of your internet gun purchase?

I am not saying you should patronize a shop or store with terrible customer service. Nor am I saying you should pay the full manufacture's suggested retail price, or more, for your firearm. There are shops out there, like the one I am getting open, slowly, that try to provide wonderful customer service with a reasonable amount of products and services offered. However, if low prices are what drives most of you, and I say this without sarcasm or malice, I hope you are happy with the Wal-Marts and other big box stores or gun shows or internet sales/auction sites for the sources of your purchases.

I do hope that you understand that without enough return on the time and energy invested in a business, a business owner cannot operate. I also hope that you are able to repair your own firearms and know plenty of 01 FFL licensees to provide your transfers at low prices. At this moment I am having to think over what exactly I should provide to customers when they will evidently browbeat me on price regardless of how low the price is. I am not trying to be argumentative, I just want to respond with the image of customers I am receiving from many posters on this thread.

Think of it like this, if someone sells something for, say, $10 over wholesale for a firearm and only a $1 over wholesale per box of ammunition and a transfer fee of $5, are you going to expect a high level of customer service? Are you going to expect a gun store to help you after the sale if you have problems, or provide much assistance before the sale? With a higher profit margin the store can afford to provide better service. However, I am not saying that a gun store should make customers pay through the nose or treat them like worms either.

I know I am new here, but I have to respond with my view on the impression I am getting. If I am misunderstanding, please, explain where I am in error.

 

[BigSlick]

Hi UC,

Good points, but keep in mind the majority of us have tried to work with a local shop. The shops around here know (and don't mind telling you) they are the only game in town, implying they're the only choice.

One shop here charges $35 for a transfer and will try their best to charge you sales tax on the purchase price of the gun, even though they didn't sell it to you, just handled the transfer. The bastards get away with it more often than not. Most people don't know state sales tax statute.

The other shop in town charges 10% of the value you paid, or an arbitrary value of $100. Don't even think of getting a call to let you know your new gun has arrived, most of the time they take it out of the shipping box and you better damned well trust your seller. I have had three people (they didn't know each other as far as I know) tell me when their gun arrived it was missing mags, accessories a manual etc.. The locals just get their asses chapped when someone buys a gun from elsewhere.

I applaud you for having the gumption for opening a shop. I can tell from your comments that you seem to understand there is a fine line between good customer service and going broke. Agreed.

To me, the difference is attitude and the degree of honesty and plain old common courtesy you show customers. I can't speak for anyone else, but if I had a local shop to buy from that would realize a transfer takes all of 10 minutes or less and it DOES pull in other business, maybe I would feel differently.

The dealer I drive almost an hour to do business with has called me to let me know about something he ran across that he thought I might have an interest in. He even ordered a pistol for me once, thinking I would probably take it, He was right, a NIB stainless Commander Gold Cup.

He charges $10 for a transfer, calls as soon as FedEx (or UPS) delivers and you open the shipping box on the gun you bought.

I buy things from him on a regular basis. His new brass prices are about 15% higher than online sources, but everytime he has a bulk order going in to replenish his stock, I always get a call. I pay him when he orders the brass, he charges me 10% over his cost.

Before you think I have a history with this guy, or get any special treatment, I found out about him while I was bitchin' and moaning about the other two shops to a shooting buddy. A shooter just packing up to leave overheard me and came over and gave me the guys card. This was about 8 months ago.

The shop owner I buy from is a decent guy, works his ass off and genuinely tries to help when and where he can. He isn't the cheapest on everything by a long shot, but I don't know of anyone he has just told to piss off over $5-10 on a deal.

The two local shops have an indignant attitude to begin with and their prices are (both) at or above retail on everything. One of the bastards buys ammo from WallyWorld and marks it up. He doesn't even remove the price tag. Any time you ask which price is good (hoping maybe the lower one) 'that's old stock... hard to find... that's the last available... the FBI bought it all and we had to pay more for it'

OK... but UMC in 250 rnd bulk packs ? The stuff just came available packaged that way in this area recently. I can't say for certain, but I doubt the FBI uses UMC... you get the idea.

So, from my experience, local (or any) gunshop is only as good as the ethics and attitude of the owner.

Notwithstanding your very pertinent and well presented comments...

Screw unscrupulous, arrogant gunshops - local or not

BigSlick

 

[SHOOT1SAM]

I try like hell to support the little guy....

Here's my most recent experiences with two of the local shops here in Boise, Idaho:

I was about to strip one of the grip screw bushings from a Colt Delta Elite, and took it into The Buckhorn Gun & Pawn because I knew there was a gunsmith there with GUN screwdrivers. Mike showed me what happened and what I needed to do to fix it properly. He ordered new screw bushings (I may have the wrong term here) and new screws for me, Locktited the bushings in the frame, replaced the grips & screws for me & called when it was ready. I walked in, and there's a guy trying to work a deal on selling his stainless Delta, and he & Matt (the owner) were haggling. I hung around, and if Matt hadn't bought it, I was prepared to follow him outside & do so.

So, they strike a deal, & I tell them "Don't put it in the case, I'll be back in the morning." I end up buying it and the third round I fire, the case ruptures, blows the magazine apart, and plasters me with powder. I take it in to The Buckhorn, and as we closely examine it together, it becomes obvious that someone has screwed up by over polishing the barrel's chamber & feedramp.

The Buckhorn replaced the barrel & bushing (with Ed Browns to boot!) & fit them to the pistol for me, and, at their insistence, at absolutely no charge. Had I struck the deal with the previous owner, I'd have been on the hook for the repairs. How's that for service?

Now, just yesterday, I'm on another forum and a guy is asking about increasing the handgun storage in his small safe. I told him that I use an Acorn door-mounted pistol rug with velcro attachable pockets. He asks me for a link or a phone number, which I can't find anywhere.

So, I call Cliff's Guns, Safes, & Reloading as they are the local distributor for Acorn. I explain to Cliff that I am trying to put this guy in touch with Acorn so he can find a distributor in his area and I ask him for their phone number (or if they have a website-they don't). He flat out refuses to give me their number! He said, and I quote, "Well, I'm not giving up my source. I buy direct from the manufacturer." I explain, AGAIN, that I'm trying to put another guy in touch with them and that I have no idea where he is, so Acorn can tell him if they have a distributor nearby. He then tells me, and again, I quote, "Well, just give him my phone number; I can ship anywhere in the country."

Acorn Industries will NOT sell directly to anyone IF there is a distributor nearby. I know, because when I first saw the pocket rug, I called them, & they told me to go to Cliff's, which I did. So, even if Cliff thought I was trying to buy direct and cut him out of a sale, he KNEW it wasn't going to happen; in fact, he should have realized that Acorn would have told me to go see him. There was absolutely no reason for him to be a jerk and not give me the phone number.

I drove over to his shop this morning, walked in & he looked up from his desk & asked "Whatcha lookin' for?" I ignored him, walked over to the rug, looked right there on the very front of the package where I knew the stinkin' phone number was, and dialed them up as I walked out of his store, very likely for the last time, and told them exactly what transpired yesterday afternoon.

Acorn was not too impressed with Cliff's actions. They did thank me at least three times for (A) taking the time to drive over to his shop to get their phone number, (B) for telling the guy online about & endorsing their product, and (C) for calling them to tell them about Cliff's idiotic stupidity (my words, not Acorn's).

Hmm, there's that service thing again, only this time, it was 180 degrees out of whack.

Sam

 

[heypete]

Attitude problems at the local shops...

Ok, around me there are three local shops, one of which is at a nearby range.

Shop #1: Has coffee, can chat with the shopkeeper a little but he's generally pretty busy. Refer to all non-familiar people as "guy", which can be somewhat off-putting. The shopkeeper is an excellent gunsmith, has rebuilt a "gun in a bag" (my Ruger 10/22 trigger group exploded while cleaning -- he put it back together for $15, not bad) for me, etc. I've purchased over $2,000 worth of firearms there. If any of them break, they'll be going there for repairs. Alas, sometimes it's tough getting their attention to inquire about an item, the man's female assistant (wife? Can't tell.) knows very little about guns and just seems to be there for the hell of it. She can take rifles off the rack and hand them to me, but that's about it. Prices are a little high on firearms and sky-high on ammo. I'll buy guns from them, but I don't really feel terribly welcome as a customer -- I'm 22, they're ~60. For some reason they don't connect well with me.

Shop #2: Medium-sized shop, large selection of new and used firearms. Large amount of courteous staff, reasonable prices, willing to special order (I inquired about an SKS they didn't have and the guy called his wholesaler right then to order two more -- I like that. I felt bad buying the SKS from my friend a week later, but that's how it goes...), etc. They're always busy, so I don't really have much time to sit and chat. They're also a bit far away and have absurd prices on ammo -- $240 for 1,000 rounds of Wolf 7.62x39. I bought a case of the same ammo online for $88.

Shop #3 + Range: Limited selection of for-sale firearms, but can special-order stuff (never bought guns there, though I have a range membership). They always have time to chat for a few minutes, and they know me by sight. They offered me a Sprinfield 1911 for $30 above their cost and shipping and it'd come in with their next regular shipment, so it wouldn't be a "special order" and cost more. Very friendly, nice range, etc. Only problem: I bought a stainless steel cleaning rod for my .22 that I figured would accept .30 caliber jags. Unfortunately, it didn't. Being that I already had a segmented .22 rod and needed the stainless one for my .30 caliber rifles I took it back but without my receipt (still, the tube the rod came in was clearly marked as coming from their store with the price and UPC code). The .30 caliber rod was $1.20 cheaper -- they were willing to exchange the two rods on the spot, but refused to refund my $1.20 without a receipt. I pay $200 a year + targets for access to their range. You'd think they'd have a bit of trust and give me the $1.20. This particular clerk's attitude was very gruff. They won't be getting my business for any more accessories, though I may renew my membership there simply because it's the only good place to shoot pistols at.

The only time I've ever purchased stuff at a "big store" was doing a person-to-person transfer at Big 5. I felt dirty doing it, but they only charged $10 for the fee (plus the $25 DROS and $10 mandatory gun lock). All the above shops either refused to do it or wanted $50+.

I buy all my ammo from a reputable dealer at the gun shows (Miwall, for those who are familiar with them. Their 9mm reloads are great and I can't beat the price. Heck, they're $10 cheaper than Wolf for a thousand rounds and they're made locally.) Excellent deals on surplus and Wolf 7.62x39. Not a great selection of .30-06, but more than enough to satisfy me. When I need ammo and they're not in town, I buy from OutdoorMarksman.com -- excellent customer service, prompt shipping, lowest prices I've ever seen (ammo + shipping = gun show prices, can't be beat! They even offer UPS Freight discounts so I could order by the pallet or truckload for very cheap.), etc. Great selection of all sorts of ammo.

I have no problem patronizing the local gun shops. I semi-jokingly ask "So, no discounts on this today?" -- sometimes they throw in a box of ammo or something -- I can't complain. However, when they treat me like crap (i.e. the range not giving me the $1.20 back -- I ended up keeping the .22 rod and buying the .30 caliber rod elsewhere), they lose my business. Treat me well, you've got a customer for life. Treat me poorly, you lose a customer for life.

Now I just need to join the local gun club at the range and they'll let me shoot pistol on weekends (normally no centerfire pistol, for whatever reason) and rifles during the day (normally their public hours are 7-10pm MWF). I believe it's $50/year, which is quite good.

Bah. I'm rambling. *shuts up*

 

[John Ross]

These threads pop up regularly and one thing I do not understand is the Independent-Shop-vs-Big-Chain theme that runs through them.

A gun shop owner is a FOOL if he stocks ANYTHING that Wal-Mart sells.

My favorite gun shop in St. Louis is Trail Creek Trading. I'm a dealer myself (focus on MGs and other rare, high-end stuff) and I still buy from Trail Creek. Bought a 629 Mountain Gun for $450 and two 41s (one a light barrel) for $1250 for the pair.

Interesting fact: Trail Creek is ACROSS THE STREET from Wal-Mart!

Yesterday, when I was in TC, I decided to go over to Wal-Mart and compare inventory.

Wal-Mart:
Remington 700 ADL, 10/22, 94 in 30/30, 870, Marlin 22, plastic-stocked Weatherby, and a couple of other uninteresting-looking long guns that I didn't bother to identify.

Generic 9mm, .45, and field loads (and I suspect .22s)

Clay targets and a few other peripherals like cleaning kits and cheap glasses

No handguns at all and no used guns

Trail Creek:
An entire two-sided 10' long rack (out in the middle of the floor) of various milsurp rifles, almost every one under $100

About 100 long guns, new and used, from BP slug guns to old .52 rimfires to Rolling Blocks to Hi-Wall replicas to Sporting BARs to Marlin Guide Guns to Ruger #1s to .458 bolt guns to Browning Superposeds, Auto-5s, and Citoris to Benellis to Winchester 97s.

About 150 new and used handguns, from a pair of dueling pistols to $140 Makarov and CZ-52 milsurps to $200 9mm Stars to police trade-in Model 10s to Colt New Services to new and used Airweights to Colt and clone SAAs to Taurii, Sigs, Rugers of all types, Berettas, 1911s, Smiths including a 4" 500 and a .25 ACP Smith J-frame(!) with moon clips made up by Hamilton Bowen and pictured in his book, etc. etc. etc.

Ammo of all types from milsurp by the box or case to new mfg. steel-case Russian to Speer Gold Dot to Federal Hydra-Shok to Eley match .22rf to CB caps to buckshot to slugs (several types) to round balls for muzzleloaders in all sizes. Only thing not stocked was the Winchester white box available across the street.

Concealment and belt holsters of various types, spare mags for popular autos, targets, a variety of solvents, and other accessories. I don't think they sell reloading stuff as they don't have room (it's a small shop that uses ALL available space, but I may have missed it.)

All prices clearly marked on tags. I don't have the MSRPs of all guns memorized, but for every gun they had where I DO know the suggested retail price, like Smiths, their marked price was lower. The 4" 500 was $989, and they're still a little scarce.

Honestly, is this (successful) shop even in the same business as Wal-Mart? I don't see it. There may have been some item of inventory they shared, like a bottle of solvent or a pair of ear plugs, but I couldn't find it.

Wal-Mart sells to the person who wants a generic rifle or shotgun of new manufacture for hunting or plinking. That's it. Assume you're a hunter and guns are just needed tools for hunting. Further assume you are the first hunter in your family and no one left any guns to you. Once you have bought your 10/22, 94, 700, and 870 from Wal-Mart to hunt with, what are you going to do? Guns take forever to wear out, so you're done buying guns, at Wal-Mart or anywhere else. You're not likely to buy duplicate copies of these same exact plain-vanilla hunting guns.

But 80% of gunowners don't hunt. (This is a fact that the Democratic Party leadership has failed to grasp, but that is and has been a subject for another column.) Almost all non-hunting gunowners either just like guns and shooting, or are interested in self-protection, or both. A large number of hunters (I suspect at least half) also own guns for reasons other than taking game. It is this 90% of the market that will find Trail Creek much more interesting that the store across the street, once they've bought the cheap 870 or Model 94.

A gun shop owner is a FOOL if he stocks ANYTHING costing over $10 that Wal-Mart sells. Why is this concept so hard to grasp?

I'm turning this into a Ross in Range column.

JR

 

[Steelcore]

Damn,I've never seen that kind of selection in a gun shop.I just go to gun shows.Thats where the selection is.And you never can tell what will come walking thru the door.Like the $200 20inch bbl. forged rcvr, Mak 91 I picked up a couple of weeks ago.