My favorite gun shop for all the wrong reasons

[Hedley]

Everyone seems to have their favorite toy store. Some people are loyal to that one store because of low costs, good customer service, high inventory, etc. Some may choose that one store because it's the only one in their area.

My favorite shop is not even a dedicated gun shop. Heck, it's not even a dedicated sporting goods store. It's Johnny's True Value in Harlingen. Where else can you browse through shotguns to the whiff of fertilizer comming from the next aisle? I was shocked when I learned that they carried guns and ammo. I thought the mom-and-pop-general-store idea was a concept of the past.

Johhny's doesn't have the best prices. The owner doesn't like EBR style rifles. They don't do transfers anymore. They don't even have that great of a selection on new guns.

Now for why I like the place: My first year of marriage has taught me that the money I make is not actually my money. I also learned that spending money on MY hobby=bad and spending money on US=good. So if I get sent to Johnny's to buy some grass seed and a lawnmower blade, I can sneak a few boxes of ammo or a new kershaw in too. I once sneaked a Makarov into a farily large order, but that almost got me busted. And what's great is that all merchandise bought from the sporting goods counter is labeled on the receipt as "general."

The world needs more great gun shops in diguise.

 

[mikejonestkd]

Glad to hear that your favorite store offers more than just guns..

There's a shop by me in Bergen NY that is an antiques store, custom wood furniture, guns and an Ice Cream Parlor. Their family also owns a car repair shop next door and breeds beagles too..

it is fun to order a triple scoop of Rocky Road and look at the mil surplus rifles whilst the MRS is looking at cute wood curios to clutter up the house....LOL

 

[Shadi Khalil]

guns and an Ice Cream Parlor

Its like they took two of my favorite things and put them together.

 

[Shorts]

lol That's good stuff.

The ACE Hardware up in WA I frequented also had a gun counter in te back. Now, the did do transfers $20 ea, pretty cheap if you ask me, and stocked as much as they could, ordered what they couldn't. Anyhow, it was hard to come out of there with nothing

 

[Incognito]

ACE Hardware

One time I walked into an Ace Harware store in Loveland, Colorado looking for a pair of gloves. I remember turning the isle and seeing a very large display of guns; it blew me away. If only all hardware stores were like that

 

[speedracer211]

There is a store like that in my wifes hometown of youngwood PA. Only a few pistols maybe 3-4 and about 5 long guns at the most. The rest of the store is a hardware store and sells chickens.

 

[2sigs]

The Hardware store where I grew up had long guns of all sorts and as a kid a note from mom or dad would get a box of ammo put on the family account. I bought with my own lawnmowing money my first 22. a Marlin Mod. 60 with a cheesey Tasco scope $59.00 and then next year a used 870 for $100.00.

I grew up thinking every hardware store sold arms, Heck there was a Barbershop in Lake Benton, Mn. that my uncle would get his hair cut at and I'd browse the few guns in the rack. I was with him when the Brand new savage 24 22/20ga. came home with us for $60.00

Now the local hardware store has high priced ammo behind locked glass next to the register NO guns but LEO traing targets and qualifing ammo. I probably irratated them when I bought the last two boxes of LEO ONLY marked Urban Tactical 223 hehe I did it just to see if I could.

I have found upon my travels that the local hardware store many times has a used rifle or reloading supplies etc that no body would expect. I've recently on memorial weekend camping trip came home with a 1000 federal 200 primers for under $20.00 from an out of the way store that I would not expect. Last year this week I scored bigtime, a rifle like new that I was able to turn within a week for double $ from an out of the way lil store.

Keep your eyes open and them hardware stores hold treasures

Gotta love rural america

 

[jrfoxx]

I thought the mom-and-pop-general-store idea was a concept of the past.

I had thought that too, until I went into the Ace/True-Value store in Oak Harbor (Whidbey Island), WA why stationed there, and saw just inside the door, a pretty decent selection of long guns and handguns, new and used, in the corner, and decent ammo prices too! I almost started to tear up a little, as it was a little piece of the American way of life that I thought had died out (more like been killed off, really ) before my time.Pretty neat to see.

looks like a trend with the Ace hardware stores based on 3 posts about it now.pretty cool.

 

[blume357]

My father still likes to tell me about back in the 60's he

went to the county seat (rural community)... and the local hardware store to pick up a couple sticks of dynamite and blasting caps to blow a dam. they had it all (12+ cases and caps) stored under the stairs in the middle of the store in the middle of town. he said from the amount of dust on some of those cases they had not been rotated or turned over in probably 5 or 10 years. Now that was the good old days...when you could walk in a hardware store and buy dynamite.

 

[Hedley]

What's neat about this store is that they have about everything new and used from FN FiveSevens to old Colt single actions. I picked up a box of 9mm Steyer for $12.99 yesterday, and judging from the box, it hadn't been touched in years.

 

[Shorts]

I had thought that too, until I went into the Ace/True-Value store in Oak Harbor (Whidbey Island), WA why stationed there, and saw just inside the door, a pretty decent selection of long guns and handguns, new and used, in the corner, and decent ammo prices too! I almost started to tear up a little, as it was a little piece of the American way of life that I thought had died out (more like been killed off, really ) before my time.Pretty neat to see.

looks like a trend with the Ace hardware stores based on 3 posts about it now.pretty cool.

jr, that was the same store I mentioned. We were stationed at Whidbey as well.

 

[Moe Howard]

When I go back to my hometown of about 2500 people there are only two places to get a gun or ammo. The worlds smallest Wal-Mart or the local hardware store. Not much of a selection but kind of cool to pick up a DeWalt drill, lumber, wood screws, beef jerky, a Remington 870 and ammo in the same place.

 

[Rant Casey]

The gun shop i go to has -
High prices on guns and ammo
Takes a while to order things.
Is closed frequently

Why do I go there? The shop owner is a true supporter of the 2A and not like a shop close by who believes guns are only for hunting etc.. He gets excited when I tell him an insane idea I have for a gun thats completely overkill. He specializes in EBRs and AKs as well as .50 bmg and full auto. In a nutshell, I could easilly save quite a bit of money by buying online or at another store. I'd much prefer spending more money and keeping this shop in business.