How about some good gunstore stories?

[2DaMtns]

There have been a couple recent threads on here about bad experiences at local gun stores. How about some relating the good experiences you've had?

I called a local shop today that has never been among my favorites. I called because they have a 6" stainless Ruger GP100 on their website and I wanted to see if they still had it. I finally get through to them and the guy says they still have it, but there are a lot of people looking at it (of course ). I ask if he'll take $25-50 of the price, and he says no, but thanks for the offer.

So then I say, "Well, I don't guess you can keep it for me without a deposit, and I can't get over there until tomorrow, but I am still very interested even at the asking price."

He says, "Yeah, there is a way I can keep it, cause you called me and you were nice. Give me your name and number, and when you'll be in tomorrow, and I'll pull it out of the counter and keep it back for you."

So, I gave him the info and he's gonna hold it for me. I have to say, I am pretty surprised. I figured there was no way they would miss out on a possible sale just with someone's word over the phone, but they did. Maybe he could tell I am not messing around and will likely drive over there and get it tomorrow, assuming it checks out OK.

So, what other good experiences have you had in your local shops?

 

[aarondhgraham]

I had an owner refuse to sell me a revolver,,,

Not mentioning brands,,,

I own a S&W Model 36 and was looking for a snubbie in .22 lr to serve as a companion piece,,,
I went to my favorite arms reseller (pawn shop) and found a ****** that looked almost identical to my Smith.

John handed it to me and said,,,
"If you really have to have it, I'll sell it to you,,,
But too many people have complained about the action,,,
The company will take it in for repair but it won't help very much."

I asled him what he had that he did recommend,,,
He said,,, "Not a thing, I just don't want to sell you a junk pistol."

I've spent a lot of money there in the last two years,,,
I guess he wants me to keep spending there.

My real question is who is he going to sell it to?

 

[Nate1778]

Got one

My wife decided to get me a gift card at the local shooting range for Christmas. She has never hated guns, but never shown any want either. Well she snuck away from work with my step son and went to the range to get the card. In there she talked to the clerk whom turns out to be Ken Pagano (AKA "Peaches", the minister that invited his flock to church wearing their firearms) whom talked my wife into shooting. He set her up with a Ruger .22 revolver and took her in and shot. He also snapped some pics of her in the firing stance which I must say are sexy to me. So Christmas I get a gift card, a pic of my wife shooting, and a comfort with my local range that will keep me coming back time and again. She has also made it back to the range again with me and Peaches now calls her "The Shooter". This is a bad picture of the picture of the event.

 

[longlane]

Every gun store clerk is nice to my wife.

There's your story. She knows guns, and she's nice on the eyes. Too bad I'm more likely to buy than she is. Word to the wise: be nice to female firearms fans, but remember that being rude to their 'significant others' and/or flirting won't help your business.

I've had gun store owners/clerks advise me not to buy before, and it was appreciated.

 

[CK_32]

Only good experiences iv had was a brand new shop opened up and the manager and cashier were cool and had a decent convo with me and my gf. And the female cashier actually sold my gf a pretty good smelling candle. And I usually hate candles.

Thats about all I can think of haha Good candles at a gun shop.

 

[mikejonestkd]

My local smith knows of my obsession with any quality .22 target pistol and calls me on a fairly regular basis anytime an old smith 41, K-22 or High standard crosses his counter. I have had the opportunity to pick up some really nice pistols at a reasonable price as a result of it. My best HS Victor and 1959 Smith 41 ended up in my safe that way...

 

[ratrodgarage]

I have had both good and bad.... Good would be a free cleaning job on my first pistol to show me how to take it down. Bad would be when I was offered $300 in trade at gander mountain for my Desert Eagle .50. I was looking at a ww1 1911 they had and new nothing about. I declined the trade and set my credit card on the counter and swiped the 1911.

 

[KyJim]

My favorite gun store has treated me well. I've had guns shipped to them for me without a fee. They have held guns back for a couple of days until I could get by there and pay for it or even put it in layaway.

 

[bamaranger]

top this

Some guy is pondering buying a Glock. Some comment is made about field stripping it. The buyer and clerk awkwardly try to dismount the slide. No luck.

Present is a state trooper. He says, "I'll show ya" and produces his service pistol. Removes mag. Pulls trigger. BANG. Failed to clear chamber.

Bullet crosses the room and strikes one of the name lawyers in the area in the butt. It may still be in civil litigation.

 

[raven11]

in the boondocks

there is this pawnshop/gunshop in a town in Mississippi i use to be stationed at. that had a FN FS2000 tactical , after seeing my Military ID he gave me a Generous Military discount and called me up a couple days later to inform me of a FN rebate program and gave me an extra copy of my 4473 + $200 rebate card

the only thing i liked about that base was the gunshop

 

[Rich Miranda]

I stopped at this gun shop in an area I happened to be working in that day. The place was a huge mess, and several guys were in there shooting the bull. At first I felt like I was intruding on their good ol' boys club, but - since this is Texas - I just jumped right in an acted like I was one of them and - since this is Texas - was accepted.

I explained that I collect ammo and that I was looking for anything interesting. I found a large pile of old ammo in a corner and selected what I could afford that particular day. I took it up to the cashier and asked what he wanted for it. He looked it over and said, "Don't worry about it. It's yours. I'm just glad it's going to a good home." My jaw dropped. I couldn't say, "Thank you" enough.

It wasn't a huge amount of money they lost, but it was something. It was a nice gesture.

 

[Freight_Train]

Coffeys gun store in Gadsden,Ala.I put a pair of mosin Nagants on layaway several years ago(before I got my C&R).Well,I paid one off and forgot all about the 2nd one.Over a year passed by and I dropped by the shop(had a lull in shooting due to having a really crappy job back then and no money.....another reason I had to put a pair of $90 rifles on layaway!).Yep,they STILL had that rifle in the back room with my name on it even though when I paid off the other gun I basically had $0 on the 2nd.I am sure gonna hate to see them close up shop soon.Getting too old to bother with it....and if I had the 300K they want for the place i would buy them out.......they have some interesting stuff in the back room.....Hundreds of OLD guns......one of the odd ones is a 7.7Jap with super fancy hand carved stock and DEEP blue job.Been going to this shop since I was 10.....or 2 decades.They have never done me wrong.

 

[2DaMtns]

I forgot about my ammo find last year. I found this old guy going out of business and got 5 boxes of 280 Rem for $13 a box, and two boxes of it were of the Hornady Custom Line. I think I got 2 or 3 boxes of 308 for $13-15 a box, 8 or 10 boxes of 12g buck shot and slugs for $1 a box, and a few other things. I wish I had had more money at the time, I would have bought everything in the store.

 

[COYOTE JLR]

The first time I went into my local gunstore there was a complete jack@#$ behind the counter. He basically treated me like I was a nuisance and possible criminal. Probably the worst gun store encounter I've ever had.

However, I decided to go back and try it again a while later. This time there was a different man behind the counter (the owner as it turns out) and we ended up having a good chat and I bought a couple of cigars from the place. Since then I've been back many times and when the owner isn't busy he'll take a few minutes to just shoot the breeze and offer advice or opinions. He is always honest about what he can and can't do and won't take chances trying to fix something he doesn't know how. I haven't seen that first guy since and assume he was let go.

 

[Smilin Jack]

Years ago right before Y2K I walked into a local gun shop with a pocket full of cash. I usually find that if you first a salesperson about a cheap purchase you'll find out how they're going to treat you in the long haul. Once I finally got waited on I found out how valuable my business was.....not much. So I went across town and bought two Remington 870 turkey specials, a stainless 10/22 and a Rossi pump 22. Guess where I do business now?

 

[Mal H]

This is a bad picture of the picture of the event.

That's a bad picture??

I have to disagree. That's a great picture! Not because your wife is pretty, which she is, but because of that grin which is absolutely priceless when you see one like it on a new shooters face!

 

[Balog]

I really wish I could contribute to this thread, but I've honestly never had a positive experience in a gun store.

 

[FyredUp]

I was in my local gun shop a while back and the owner says "Hey come here, I think I have something you will be interested in." So I head behind the counter and he pulls out a small vinyl zipper case maybe 12 x 12 by 6 and opens it up, inside are 5 or 6 boxes of 7.62x39 ammo and the rest of the case is full of loose 7.62x39 ammo. He knew I was a regular and was usually in once a week or so buying a hundred or so rounds of 7.62x39. I'm like YES, I am interested. How much? "50 bucks." I bought it, took it home and BONUS there was almost 300 rounds in there. Good deal considering I was paying about $35 per hundred at the time.

He has cut me deals on guns. Showed me some very interesting guns he has took in on trade. And just all around been a good guy to me.

As long as that continues he has a customer for life.

 

[cycleguru]

My favorite gunshop is our local Ace Hardware store. They have a great gun dept. and the guys behind the counter are super friendly and very knowlegable. One is ex-LEO and really knows his stuff.

Anyway, early last December a guy here on TFL was looking for a certain pistol that he couldn't find anywhere. They had one at Ace so I hooked them up and he ended up buying it.

I had been looking at an XD9 sub compact for a couple of months but didn't have the $$. They don't have lay-away at Ace so I was just hoping that the XD would still be there when I could come up with the cash. So, to say thanks to me for getting them the sale on the other gun (a $1200 sale BTW) they put the XD in back for me until such a time as I could pay for it. Happy to say that I was able to get it a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Skans]

I went to big-box Gander Mountain the other day. The guy in the firearms section was knowledgable, not pushy, knew exactly what he had in inventory and was capable of getting - guns were all organized by caliber, not by manufacturer. I asked to see the DE Micro Eagle, and he showed it to me - he completely understood what it was and how the action worked and wasn't pushy at all. Fair prices, nice selection, even a nice selection of used guns.

That's more than I can say about some of the gun stores in my area.