Where are all of the good gun shops at?

[TacticalFun]

Ive traveled an hour in either direction from goshen in search of a decent shop. Ive run into mainly: poorly stocked. Rude or indifferent employees. Out right lies ( getting hard to get! When i just toured the foundry and saw plenty of stock. ) no deals...anywhere! Used stuff costing as much as retail. Where i come from there was always good deals. Packages with scopes and bi pods. Ar's with nice red dots. Am i missing something? I am purchasing my next ar on gunbroker because it is a good deal.

 

[crispy]

Umm... one of the best is in... wait for it... Goshen.

ZX has tons of stock, the best prices, and good people.

 

[BogWalker]

I've never been to ZX, but I'll say for every good gun shop I've been to I've been to three mediocre ones.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Online. The Internet has lots of stock, makes it easy to compare prices, no dealing with surly or know-it-all-but-never-did-it employees, and you don't have to wear pants. Realistically, if you're interested in new guns it's generally tough to beat online.

Now, that said there are several shops I like, primarily for used guns or reloading components, but they are well outside of an hour from Goshen and thus wouldn't do you much good.

 

[Sniper 79]

Cant say I have ever been into a good gun shop ever! I can say however I have made some purchases from ZX. They are a high volume dealer and have a lot on hand. Never been to their shop only see them at shows.

 

[TacticalFun]

Zx has a bunch of handguns but the rifle selection is limited.

 

[Gabriel]

Online. The Internet has lots of stock, makes it easy to compare prices, no dealing with surly or know-it-all-but-never-did-it employees, and you don't have to wear pants. Realistically, if you're interested in new guns it's generally tough to beat online.

Now, that said there are several shops I like, primarily for used guns or reloading components, but they are well outside of an hour from Goshen and thus wouldn't do you much good.

This. I buy online and have my firearms shipped to a big box store so I can avoid gun shops. Between most gun shops that I've been to treating you like they are doing you a favor by letting you buy a gun and listening to endless amounts of lies (whether intentionally or just through pure ignorance) to get someone to buy one, it's just better for me to avoid them all together. As much as I would prefer to give local retailers money, I really just can't do it.

On a side note (and not near Goshen, unfortunately), I went to Bass Pro a month or so ago looking at some lever actions and a young gentleman behind the counter was very helpful and surprisingly knowledgeable about them... even after I admitted that I was just looking and was not going to buy one that day. It was certainly enough to get me to go back and buy something if they have what I want in stock.

 

[Vigilant]

Ive traveled an hour in either direction from goshen in search of a decent shop. Ive run into mainly: poorly stocked. Rude or indifferent employees. Out right lies ( getting hard to get! When i just toured the foundry and saw plenty of stock. ) no deals...anywhere! Used stuff costing as much as retail. Where i come from there was always good deals. Packages with scopes and bi pods. Ar's with nice red dots. Am i missing something? I am purchasing my next ar on gunbroker because it is a good deal.

Maybe you should open up a store to cater to your needs and wants?

 

[Leo]

We are in a transition period between the old gun shop culture and the quickie, pay nothing for service generation. When the shop was the only place to see and learn about guns, and there was notably fewer makes and models, the retail realities were different. The shop owner made his living by good service and expertise. The customers understood that the man deserves a mark up on the items that made him a reasonable living. Those who were not willing to pay the price, bought lower end models from Montgomery Wards and Sears & Roebuck, of course there was no service, no advice, and if you had problems, you found a gunsmith to pay. That was the understanding, discount and first class have different price tags.

With instant discounted, drop shipped merchandise on everyone's cell phone, people expect to walk in to a well stocked well decorated store, be waited on by fully trained, attentive employees (who also need to make a living) that have plenty of time to help you make up your mind, and stroke ego's at the same time. That is where the break down happens. The expectation is that you can have everything that your heart desires and still pay a price that the internet flipper with zero overhead advertises on a $60/month web site. This is not realistic. How many times have we heard, even on this site, that when a retail establishment charges enough to make a living, 50 people get on the board claiming that store is a bunch of thieves.

Have you ever bought beer in Canada? No stores, no displays, no salesmen. They call it a brewers exchange. You walk up to a teller window on a cement block warehouse, point to one of a few brands on the menu and pay the man. Your first choice MIGHT be in stock. If not, too bad. Then you stand by another window and wait for your box of beers to be carried to you on a roller conveyor.If the box is wet and falling apart, to bad, if the cans are dented tough. Of course with no other sources, the price is straight retail, no special hockey season discounts, no promotions to win NASCAR tickets. Pay whatever price they demand, or you don't get any beer at all. That is what happens to retail when the customer is not willing to support the local business.


I have always picked a place to take my business. Guns, guitars, power equipment, it does not matter. I shop there. We get to know each other. I treat them with respect. If they have what I want, fine. If they do not, I ask them if they can get it. If an order takes some time, I allow for that. I never beat them up for a price. Guess what? I get proper treatment. The store and staff is willing to help me. If a problem comes up, they do everything in their power to help me out. Overall cost for the royal treatment is maybe $20 or $30 over other sources. That is a small price on an $800 to $1500 purchase.

Other than a few old farts like me, I do not think many feel this way, and even fewer are willing to spend the extra to trade with the local guy.

The only thing that is the same as in the old days is that if you act improperly, the owner can still run you off.

 

[sugarcreekbrass]

Gun shops are a lot like archery shops. It is hard for small shops to compete against big stores because of volume buying. That's why small shops usually won't have big sales. As far as package deals including a scope or bipod, what one person likes the next will not. I prefer to just get a plain gun/bow then add what I want or need to it. One thing drives the little guys crazy is when customers buy products online or at the big store to save a buck. Then they want the local shop to install or work on it for free. When I worked at an archery shop yrs ago, I had to explain this so many times. We would charge a service fee for things that were not bought from us. If you bought from us all set up was free. Usually this meant that it was cheaper in the long run to buy from us in the beginning. I always try to do business at local shops whenever I can. My favorite LGS for buying guns is Pearson's Sporting Goods in Marshall, IN. He doesn't have a lot of overhead, but if I know what I want, he can get it and is always with $20-30 of the big stores. Last year I bought a G43 and paid the same price as Rural King's sale price. It is impossible for a small shop to be able to stock everything that everyone wants. The one thing that all small shops need to survive is customer service. As the OP stated about employees he encountered, I too have seen some bad ones. Those are the ones that I don't go back too. The ones I do like, I frequent them b/c I want them to stay in business. It's great to find something online or from a private sale, but if you can't do work on the item yourself you will be paying for that work at a gun shop. If these gun shops go out of business, then you won't have place to get work done. However, if I didn't have a good place around here, I would probably just start learning how to do all gunsmithing myself. Then I would open my own show like Vigilant suggested. I don't have the time or resources for either of those options. I am just grateful I have a place to get what I need locally and a great guy to deal with.

 

[DRob]

I have no doubt whatsoever that the same song could be sung from the other side of the gun shop counter. Probably sounds something like this....."we had every expert in the county come through the door today". And, no, I don't work at a gun shop. I dealt with the public way too long to do that ever again.

 

[LarryC]

Yup, they are disappearing like the winter snow. In my area there have been at least 4 GS opened and closed in the last 15 years or so. It is hard, if not impossible to compete price wise against the RK's, Cabelas, and the internet etc. As has been stated, the "local" Gun Shops have more overhead, less buying power and in order to stay open must support the owners family. When the local shops were open I did patronize them, however I still purchased some items at gun shows or online, like bulk ammo as they normally did not stock them. I did buy some firearms, primers, powder etc., fairly regularly. However there were apparently not enough customers like me to allow them to meet expenses. Of course the same thing happened to the local butcher shops, Dime stores, shoe stores, Clothing stores, etc. in my city. The only ones I am aware of are those in larger urban area's like Lafayette and larger that obtain enough first time buyers that need their advice and service. Even those can't compete price wise with the big boys but do seem to be fairly successful.

As I now must drive about 50 mile round trip to access a GS, I tend to purchase either online or at Gun Shows (mostly Gun Shows). My son and I collect firearms and ammo. We do have a quite large supply of ammo and reloading supplies and purchase mainly in bulk when the prices are decent. I also keep an eye out for local firearm sales and have a few people that will refer people to me that wanting to sell.

If a local GS does open, I will again attempt to patronize them. As others have said it is worth a reasonable upcharge (10% or so) to keep a shop in business. I know they will be more expensive, but I don't have the shipping or travel costs so I am ok with that. I do have a C&R license so can purchase online and have C&R firearms shipped directly to my door. This does make it quite hard to buy them locally.

 

[jason867]

I strongly recommend visiting a Buck Shot Sporting Goods store if you ever make it down to central Indiana. There are three stores located in New Castle, Winchester, and Nashville Indiana. Tell them Jason sent you.

 

[BogWalker]

Many small gun stores don't have anything resembling customer service. I guess they're used to just taking advantage of the fact people had to shop there pre-internet and never bothered to update their business model. If they go under, their fault.

Lots of the successful, newer gun stores also maintain an online presence and sell firearms there. That's how you're going to have to do it in the future. Internet taking your sales? Take your sales to the internet.

Business has to adapt to changing consumer wants. You aren't entitled to sales by the sheer nature of being a "brick and mortar" store.


Oh, and I'll agree with jason. Buckshot are good people that understand customer service. I'll also say that, although their prices are a bit elevated on ammo, Fields Outdoor Adventure has super courteous and helpful staff in my experience.

 

[RMC]

Small businesses are a lot like teeth. Just ignore them and they'll go away.

 

[Winamac]

I have always picked a place to take my business. Guns, guitars, power equipment, it does not matter. I shop there. We get to know each other. I treat them with respect. If they have what I want, fine. If they do not, I ask them if they can get it. If an order takes some time, I allow for that. I never beat them up for a price. Guess what? I get proper treatment. The store and staff is willing to help me. If a problem comes up, they do everything in their power to help me out. Overall cost for the royal treatment is maybe $20 or $30 over other sources. That is a small price on an $800 to $1500 purchase.

^^^^^^^^^This what LEO said^^^^^^^^^^^ he nailed it.

Just yesterday I went to my LGS(gonna name drop here Downham & Son's Shooters supply)They are a family owned business since the late 60's early 70's and yes I paid maybe $2-$3 more for an item than going to Wally world, or Gander Mtn or any other big box store..You know what though. When I walked in the OWNER called me by name, asked how is the wife, kids, grand-kids? I returned the sentiment. He showed me pictures of his new granddaughter. This before we transacted any business. Then a guy came in with a choke tube stuck in his Remington 1100. The owner removed it for him, showed him how to avoid the problem in the future and only charged him...NOTHING. You will not get that at a big box store. If my LGS does not have what I want on the shelf they will gladly order it and have it within the week. They have even put a gun from their rack in lay-away for me with just a phone call...no money down. Big box store do that?...I think not. Like singer Alan Jackson sings "God bless the little man" I will get off my soap box now.

 

[USMC-Johnson]

I think i need to go to more gun shops...If you ever feel like you get blown off or lied to by any of the staff in my store (i cant speak for goshen but tell me and i'll make sure that gets taken care of too) tell me. We do a lot of business but all of us are gun people. We all want to see this industry grow and get better. Teaching does a lot more for the long term health of our industry over shoving something down someones throat.

 

[Leo]

Willoughby McCabe & Co. - Only The Finest Quality Sporting Arms

If you want the best of the best, this is an experience. You make an appointment, a well dressed proper gentleman sits next to you in a leather chair, discusses whatever safari or hunt for which you would like a proper firearm. He then has an assistant bring you suggested offerings. You have their total attention the whole time. Of course if you have to flinch before dropping $1000's on a firearm, please do not waste the man's time.

No, I did not buy from him, I was a manufacturers rep.

 

[TacticalFun]

I think i need to go to more gun shops...If you ever feel like you get blown off or lied to by any of the staff in my store (i cant speak for goshen but tell me and i'll make sure that gets taken care of too) tell me. We do a lot of business but all of us are gun people. We all want to see this industry grow and get better. Teaching does a lot more for the long term health of our industry over shoving something down someones throat.

Zx is the only one i keep shopping at. I currently have more money to blow and am planning a trip lol

 

[Cool Breeze]

I think i need to go to more gun shops...If you ever feel like you get blown off or lied to by any of the staff in my store (i cant speak for goshen but tell me and i'll make sure that gets taken care of too) tell me. We do a lot of business but all of us are gun people. We all want to see this industry grow and get better. Teaching does a lot more for the long term health of our industry over shoving something down someones throat.

I was SUPER impressed with the new(er) gal you have in the store, she was helpful, knowledgeable, and just a great salesperson. I've bought all of my new guns from your store. Well Done!