Wal-Mart bringing back guns to its stores

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Dino.

Moderator
I doubt this applies to all Walmart stores ...

There are several in my area.
None sell firearms, but a select few do sell ammo ... a select few.
I'm guessing that decision lies with the store manager. I don't know. :confused:
 
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Spats McGee

Administrator
I haven't ever shopped for guns much at Wal-Mart (which may seem surprising, given my location), but now that I think about it, only some of the Wal-Marts around here carry guns. Right off the top of my head, I can think of one that does, and one that doesn't. Both carry ammo, though.
 
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Duckkkkk

Moderator
They should start with just trying to keep a steady supply of ammo in stock first, then work their way into carry guns.
 
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carguychris

New member
They should start with just trying to keep a steady supply of ammo in stock first...
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All of the Wally Worlds in my area have plenty of ammo, and it's been that way for months.

I don't blame Wal-Mart store management for the post-election ammo shortages they experienced (and that some areas may still be experiencing). I blame irrational panic buyers and gun-show profiteers. :mad: Wal-Mart is in business to sell products and make money, and they shouldn't be expected to hang on to inventory as some sort of public service.
None of the Wal Mart stores around here ever stopped carrying firearms and ammunition.
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AFAIK out of dozens of stores, only 2 Wal-Marts in the entire DFW metroplex sell firearms- the Burleson store and the one at Spring Creek and US Highway 75 in Plano. That said, they put a firearms counter in the store in Denison, TX (~60mi north of Dallas) only about a month ago, and that store is only a few miles north of their location in Sherman, which already sells firearms. Maybe this is a sign of a positive trend that more North TX locations are coming. :)
 
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Brian Pfleuger

Moderator Emeritus
Interesting. I didn't know they ever quit, on a large scale. Our local store has and has always had a small selection of rifles and shotguns. They recently transitioned to a "Super" Walmart and nothing changed except their supply of ammo, which grew ever so slightly.
 
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rantingredneck

New member
One in this area never quit selling them. The other 2 or 3 are getting them back or in one case getting them for the first time (store was built during the time when they weren't selling guns at all stores).
 
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gaseousclay

New member
The flipside of this is that Wal-Mart will undercut small businesses with cheaper prices and put them out of business. I don't see how this is a good thing
 
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markj

New member
The flipside of this is that Wal-Mart will undercut small businesses with cheaper prices and put them out of business
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Wal mart will order you up any gun in their catalog and it will cost less than any other store will sell it to you. So go there and buy the gun then ammo up at the dealers shop and let him tune the gun. Win win.
 
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gaseousclay

New member
Wal mart will order you up any gun in their catalog and it will cost less than any other store will sell it to you. So go there and buy the gun then ammo up at the dealers shop and let him tune the gun. Win win.
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I don't see how this will be a boon to the economy. small gun stores earn their livelihoods via firearm sales. Yes, they may cost a little more but i'd rather pay a little extra and help support a small mom & pop store than to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is slowly killing small businesses in this country.
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
CNNMoney.com said:
He also said that the majority of the firearms sold at Wal-Mart are made in the United States.
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I read this article earlier today, and that line made me chuckle. It may be different in many parts of the U.S., but that's not true in my area. You'd be lucky to see a couple Marlingtons, two or three Remingtons, and a Mossberg shotgun in their display case. Everything else is imported. They may be wearing an "American" brand name, but they're made elsewhere (Serbia, Japan, etc).

If they want to make that claim, I want to see the actual numbers.


None of the Wal Mart stores around here ever stopped carrying firearms and ammunition.
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When they backed out of firearms sales, they took the gun counters out of all Utah WalMarts. However, as they built new stores (at the time, all WMs in Utah were in remodeled K-Mart stores, and were not "Super Centers"), they added gun counters to the high volume stores and stores in farming/rural areas. Now, nearly every store in the state has a gun counter, so this new "change" won't be much of a change, at all.
 
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BlueTrain

New member
Some things are seasonal, so you might not find the same things in stock in the spring that you would in the fall. As far as Walmart killing the local businesses, they were saying the same thing a hundred years ago about Sears--but it's still true.

Personally, I think the bad thing about big box stores that dominate a local economy is that aside from the fact that the money leaves town the next morning, there is no real local management and as a result, there is not much in the way of local civic leadership anymore, which used to come from local businessmen. The manager of the local Wal-Mart is not a local businessman, no matter what they might claim.
 
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kozak6

New member
What's this garbage about political correctness? The only pressure Walmart has these days not to sell guns is financial. If they aren't selling, they stop selling, and that's that.

All this means is that demand is back up, not that Walmart has had some 2nd Amendment epiphany. It's not like they started selling handguns again or anything.
 
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carguychris

New member
small gun stores earn their livelihoods via firearm sales.
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Yes and no. I've been told by several knowledgeable people in the gun trade that the profit margin on new guns is minimal, and that the items that keep the lights on at local gun shops are used guns, accessories, and ammo, roughly in that order.

This is somewhat similar to the car business, which I have some firsthand experience with. The Internet and various printed resources make it so easy to comparison-shop the brand-new stuff that most informed buyers come in knowing the lowball discount price and expect you to give it to them. This tends to cut your profit to the bone. The trick is to get the customer to accept your lowball offer on his trade-in, sell him some accessories, and make the entire experience nice enough that he comes back for ammo and more accessories. :)
 
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dalegribble

New member
my wife works for walmart. they are bringing back guns to many of their stores. the reason is to appeal to men shoppers. they are increasing their guns, ammo, hunting, fishing camping to try to draw more male shoppers back to their stores.

i live in the phoenix area and i used to love to shop at furr's and later smitty's when they had their gun depts. when they eliminated the guns i didn't go there anymore. eventually furr's and smitty's went out of business. i'm sure it wasn't the direct result of losing me as a customer but i believe they lost alot of men shoppers and as a result they went out of business.
 
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Will Beararms

New member
Many of you may not know Sam Walton was a voracious bird hunter, believed his stores should only be in towns of 100,000 or less and went broke with Ben Franklin Dime Stores. In fact, he went door to door begging for investors when the Wal Mart idea was started.

Small town America, Guns and Hunting is where he got his start. I bought my first two handguns in a Wal Mart in Princeton, LA-----a Star 9mm and a Taurus Model 82 .38 Special two inch snub.
 
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