Small Gun Shop vs Chain Sporting Goods Store?

[TriumphRat675]

Where is this armory of which you speak? I live near Dallas, and would LOVE a good gunstore.

It's the Jackson Armory, not Jacksonville Armory - sorry. It's in University Park. Jackson Armory website They've got more Lugers than you can shake a stick at but also sell high end 1911's and some AR's, albeit at inflated prices.

I was bit hard by the milsurp bug a few years ago and visited a lot - it's still a great place to window shop, and the staff are friendly enough that they will let you fondle the Johnson rifles!

For good prices and bad CS, Bachman Pawn & Guns sells to the tacticool crowd.

I agree with you and these days buy from site sponsors when at all possible.

[Belmont31R]

Whom do you transfer your gun too when they aren't there any more???

I do agree that the local mom and pop FFL cannot be overboard on price and if they are, they will most likely go away. If they are making 20% on a gun ($200 on a $1k rifle), then that is a fair margin though.

Remember that the place you got the rifle from for $1k might have been dumping it and actually lost money on the sale. In this case, your local dealer is NOT gouging you, but rather trying to keep the lights on.


C4

My local dealer does well enough to stay in business. They sell quite a few guns. Ive spent quite a bit of money there including today....they had a (nice) LMT lower for my upcoming MK12Mod1 build. Paid a little more than I could have gotten elsewhere but it was worth it to me to examine the lower in person, and see whats new in the world. Discussed the new 1000Y range that is being build less than 30 minutes from me.



One thing about mom and pop shops is they simply cannot stock the variety of parts online retailers can. In the past 2 days Ive ordered over 2k worth of stuff, and 90% of that I could not find locally.

[SeriousStudent]

TriumphRat675 - thank you for the info. I know right where that is - over by Kuby's.

And you nailed it about Bachman. I would not care if they included free gold Krugerrands with every purchase, they are just jerks.

I was going to buy a NIB Glock 26 from them once. I had the gall to actually ask them to open the box, since I wanted to look at the pistol before paying for it.

The freaking thing was missing the rear sight. Empty. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

The guy had already filled out the 4473, and acted like I had spit on his mom, because I wanted a different pistol.

I got a different one, all right. I bought it from Jeff Schramm the next day.

I will quite happily send thousands of dollars out of state to G&R, BCM, Noveske, DD - and have. It's worth it. I get great service, and don't have to deal with room temperature IQ's.

[C4IGrant]

In Michigan the larger shops are getting my attention a bit more then the smaller ones. Seems most the small shops are banning open carry (and one banned carry altogether!) while the big box places are not only allowing it but welcoming it. Prices may be a little higher but it depends on what you're looking for. I just spent $42.50 on an M&P mag at a small shop because I HAD to have one that day for a class and didn't have time to go anywhere else. That's highway robbery right there, never seen prices that high except maybe Gander Mountain.

$42 is high. Remember though that most dealers pay about $31-$32 (w/shipping) for the M&P mags. So in the end, the dealer is making about 30%. This is about the percentage he needs to make in order to pay the bills and put some money in his pocket.


C4

[C4IGrant]

My local dealer does well enough to stay in business. They sell quite a few guns. Ive spent quite a bit of money there including today....they had a (nice) LMT lower for my upcoming MK12Mod1 build. Paid a little more than I could have gotten elsewhere but it was worth it to me to examine the lower in person, and see whats new in the world. Discussed the new 1000Y range that is being build less than 30 minutes from me.



One thing about mom and pop shops is they simply cannot stock the variety of parts online retailers can. In the past 2 days Ive ordered over 2k worth of stuff, and 90% of that I could not find locally.

We are a store front and online dealer. So they can stock a wider variety of parts and pieces if they so chose. Generally though, most dealers are ignorant to what is popular, what is quality and how to spot a trend (before it starts).


C4

[dookie1481]

I will GLADLY pay more for a gun/product sold at a local store run by people who actually have a clue than try and save 50 bucks by going to Wal-Mart. In the end that 50 bucks isn't really saved if a decent store that will get me what I want and treat me properly is run out of business by a big box chain that won't order handguns, won't sell me "assault weapons", etc.

I work for a big chain store like this. Unfortunately the litigious nature of our fellow human beings is one of the big reasons we stopped carrying handguns and "assault" weapons. Apparently we faced a staggering number of lawsuits a year. The company decided that making $25 on a handgun wasn't worth the administrative, logistical, and legal nightmare it presented.

Jay