Walmart stopped selling Guns?

[quietman]

Depends on the area. Some Wal-Marts in parts of Denver don't sell guns. Other Wal-Marts, especially those in the suburbs and out lying areas still do.

 

[oneounceload]

All three in our small town sell guns and ammo - one even sells MEC reloaders and components

 

[ElToro]

They havnt sold guns in CA for years. Mainly a result of some dopes letting guns out the door even after the !ackground came negative and they wernt sposed to release the gun. Then they stopped selling ammo it seems county by county I live in semi rural alameda county, same county where oakland is. But my wm doesn't sell because of our county but 15 miles down the freeway in either direction is a wm in 2 different county that do sell ammo so I drive there to buy cheap bulk plinking ammo usually wwb or blazer brass. Surprisingly they carry lead free hunting ammo cheap too. I live in the lead free area for hunting

 

[potmetal]

Oddly, a Walmart in a town with almost no competition from gun store quit carrying guns, while Walmarts in a bigger town, with lots of gun stores, still has guns in inventory.
The Walmarts around here that don't sell guns tend to be the best ones to check for ammo. They often have better selections on the shelves.

 

[dirty dave]

I can remember most department stores used to sell guns along with hardware stores I think the paper work and rules are to much for them.

 

[Pictures]

Only black powder rifles here in NY, but that's to be expected.

 

[XxWINxX94]

My Walmart used to sell guns, ammo, scopes, the whole 9 yards. Now they don't, I am in an "anti" area but they used to 10 years ago? I guess there were some decisions made like Jorg said.

 

[CajunBass]

Wal-Mart is not a gun store.

Maybe not. But around here a couple of them have a gun counter.

 

[Rshooter]

Out of three WalMart's in my area two sell guns and ammo and one sells only ammo (the new one).

 

[Col. Plink]

only one in the Austin area does; got a Mossberg ATR-100 30'06 there...

 

[inthelineofire]

I have no qualms with spending my money at Wal-Mart. They are pro-gun, and have the cheapest ammo around. Locals want to stock ammo for the same (or less), I will be happy to buy there.

 

[6x6pinz]

What is really good about Wal-mart is they will order any long gun/shotgun from any manufacturer that they currently carry. Just because they don't have a particular model from, say Remington, does not mean they won't order the right model for you. Wal-mart only charges 8% over cost as opposed to the 40+% gun shops do. This has been a real savings for me when looking for guns made by manufacturers that they carry. Around here the knowledge of the clerk at Wal-mart is as much a crap shoot as the ones at the gunshops/ranges. I actually walked out of a "tactical" store the other night while looking to buy an Eotech sight for my AR but the clerk had such an attitude I took my business online.

 

[evan price]

The "Super" Wal*marts carry guns more often than not.
When I was in Michigan, they carried reloading supplies like powder and primers, plus dies and stuff. That was odd by my way of thinking.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

Selling guns and ammo is a PITA. There is a ton of paperwork and inspections. The margins stink, because people that shoot a lot are on websites like this looking for the best prices across the country. Guns don't regularly break down or expire, so people don't have to get a new one every hunting season.

I am kind of surprised that Wal-mart sells guns and ammo at all. God bless them for doing it though. Their prices are fantastic if they have it.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

I wouldn't step foot in a walmart if they guns were free.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I quit buying guns from WM when I realized that fully 50% of the guns I bought there were defective in some way or another (either in function or appearance). I will buy ammo on occassion there but more often than not I buy it on line. Hunting,especially deer and dove hunting, is a very big deal here but WM never seems to carry what most people are shooting. I guess they do a good business in dove and quail loads around opening day. Whenever I am in WM I always go to the gun display. If I wanted to buy a gun I would NOT have to stand in line(there NEVER is a line). I just would be able to find a manager to sell me one. I don't really believe that if our superstore stopped selling guns that it would be missed very much.

 

[Blackhawk30]

In Virginia,most Walmarts don't sell gunz anymore.The only one I've been in that still sells gunz is the Salem store.WalMart stated that they were going to devote the gun section to items that sell better.So far I haven't seen this happening.i think Walmart is anti gun.They are using the tactic of reducing the number of stores that sell guns and claiming that guns are no longer popular to get out of the gun business.

 

[Ballistic Mule]

I'm with HGUNHNTR Wal Mart Sucks.

 

[inherentical]

Walmart would sell soylent green if they thought they could make a buck off of it. If a Walmart near you stopped selling guns, it's because they weren't making money.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

If a Walmart near you stopped selling guns, it's because they weren't making money.

Generally true. They have also become a victim of their own policies by making it so difficult to buy a gun there,a lot of people(who WOULD have bought there) simply went elsewhere to buy. Result =lower gun sales=less profit=delete guns from product line.

 

[Ben86]

My local Walmart stopped selling guns after hurricane katrina. They said it was due to the risk of flood waters. Whether that's true or not I don't care. There are much better places to buy guns that will actually help you if you have a problem. The last gun I bought from them, about 4 years ago, was a winchester model 70 that developed a broken bolt. They wouldn't even ship it off to the manufacturer for me. Even Academy will at least do that much. Sometimes they dabble in black powder guns. They still have the best prices on ammo though.

 

[dogtown tom]

bigfatdave: ...Wal-Mart is not a gun store...

It's every bit the gun store as any mom and pop shop.

I'm 53 years old and can remember when J.C Penney, Sears, Dillards, K Mart, Target and every hardware store in America sold guns. You could order guns from the Sears catalog and the mailman would deliver them to your door.

The GCA '69 stopped the mail order to your door and created the nightmare known as the FFL system.

Competition is good. Competition between WalMart and mom and pops makes the mom and pops do their job better. While Uncle Bubbas Gunz n Bait may not beat WM on the price of a 870 Express or a box of bulk pack .22's that shop has way more flexibility in the firearms they offer than does WalMart. Last time I checked there were only a very few WalMarts that still carried handguns (Alaska?). Competition keeps prices low and puts a premium on quality service as well.

There is a social benefit to WalMart selling guns. The world's largest retailer can keep firearms in the public marketplace and in the public eye. If WM sells it, it has to be okay, right? The sheeple that shrink away in fright at the mere mention of "guns" do so from ignorance and unfamiliarity. All those poor souls know about guns is what they hear from TV. Not everyone is blessed to have been raised around guns and shooting, so having these scary guns in view at the local WalMart does help present them as items a normal person might want to buy.

I've never bought a gun at WalMart and dread the day I could not do so.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

This is why Walmart threads don't last long around here. Even a simple question about whether they still sell guns can't escape those who feel the need to interject their opinion of Walmart and the people who shop there. It's almost a Pavlovian response. They see the word Walmart and automatically respond regardless of the content of the thread. One has to wonder what wrongs the retailer heaped upon these poor souls that they seek out threads to express their distaste. It must have truly been horrific, as the posters doing such things seem so traumatized that even adding a supporting reason is unbearable. I imagine these wretches agonizing at their keyboard, pecking out "Walmart sucks" one letter at a time between tears of anguish and screams of hellish torment, collapsing into their chairs after hitting the "Post" button, panting and wiping the sweat from their brow as they try to regain their composure after unloading their horrible burden on the forum. It must be a bittersweet moment, reliving the horrors of Walmart in their mind, but knowing that a Walmart thread did not slip past without everyone reading the thread knowing their opinion.

Either that, or they simply aren’t well-heeled enough to hold such disdain towards a more upscale shop.

Regardless, the question has been asked and answered and I'd like do the humane thing and close the thread before more people have to suffer the horrors of reading a post about the ubiquitous retailer that stirs such deep emotions in the hearts of some.

Hang in there guys, I know you have a tough row to hoe.