Gun shop lost???

[snowman46919]

Mine...

You win

 

[right winger]

Neals Pawn Shop in Homestead,Fl.

 

[Mr. Habib]

I'm surprised that no one from Bloomington has mentioned Kirby Road gun shop. Great people and prices.

 

[CarmelHP]

I'm surprised that no one from Bloomington has mentioned Kirby Road gun shop. Great people and prices.

We never called it Kirby Road. What was the owner's name? I can picture him, I sold a Korean M1 re-import and an 1903-A3 National Ordnance there.

 

[Mr. Habib]

I can't remember now. Bought a ton of stuff there, though.

 

[desmodue]

+ eleventeen for Lengel's outside of Wabash. I bought my first handgun (Ruger .357 Blackhawk) from Don when his gun shop was just an addition on the back of the house. He grew it into a fairly impressive operation over the years and it seemed that the entire extended family worked there. I especially enjoyed the occaisional opportunity to hear Don's words of wisdom, although they were infrequent. Mr. Lengel always struck me as a humble man, and it seemed that there was often some blow-hard spewing ignorance about the shop, Don would just disappear into the back...the loss was ours.

 

[CarmelHP]

I can't remember now. Bought a ton of stuff there, though.

I seem to think it was Richard something.

 

[Mr. Habib]

Yeah, now that you mention it, I think you're right.

 

[ghitch75]

I'm surprised that no one from Bloomington has mentioned Kirby Road gun shop. Great people and prices.

boy my memory is goin' south.....yep bought a few goods from them....can't remember his name either...

 

[Duce]

Egly's in Chesterfield was in walking distance of the farm. I worked for him 72/89, and though he was in a wheelchair, he accomplished more than a lot of people. It was a gathering place for many veterans, heard a lot of stories. Learned a ton about guns and shot more than my share. +1 for Don Lengal , bought Egly's out when Del's health failed.
+1 for John and Quality Guns, just a great place to hang out on a rainy day...........Someday I'll tell you about Egly falling out of his lift van doing a full somersault with a half gain and landing on his wheels. The mark is still on the door where his foot pad hit!......Thanks..........Duce<><

 

[LAZY DOG]

i miss them all most and the owners that are no longer with us .a moment of prayer please.

 

[nicajack]

Galyans when they were in the old red barn in Plainfield. Real pot bellied stoves and wooden barrels with surplus trapdoors at $12.95 and Mausers for $11.95. Say 1964?

 

[Bikerdad61]

A lot of people didn't know that Galyan's had some of the best prices around Indy. I knew the guys at the Greenwood store well enough that they would call me when they were going to have a sale. I don't know how many guns I bought from them, probably close to a dozen, but I did get a couple of guns and three safes at half-price when they were going out of business. Neither Dick's nor Gander comes close.

+1 I remember the first time my Dad took me to Galyan's as a kid.....wall to wall Guns.....all I could say was WOW!!

 

[fasteddie48]

Kent Fultz guns Salem indiana R.I.P, Miss my old friend

 

[Indyvet]

I checked to see if anyone mentioned it and did not see Albro's. The original when it was on Emerson in the strip mall by the Walmart before it was there. I purchased many a gun from them. They were always nice and helpful. Had good prices as well. I never had a chance to get to the shop after it changed hands. It moved to the strip mall by Damon's garden center on Emerson and not too long after that it was gone forever. I heard several takes on what happened. I wonder where they would fit in to the scheme of gun shops today if they were still around?

 

[henry0reilly]

I checked to see if anyone mentioned it and did not see Albro's. The original when it was on Emerson in the strip mall by the Walmart before it was there. I purchased many a gun from them. They were always nice and helpful. Had good prices as well. I never had a chance to get to the shop after it changed hands. It moved to the strip mall by Damon's garden center on Emerson and not too long after that it was gone forever. I heard several takes on what happened. I wonder where they would fit in to the scheme of gun shops today if they were still around?

I'm going to be staying in Beech Grove next month, right across the street from where Albro's was. Couldn't find the gun shop with google earth so I feared the worst and this confirms it.

Definitely going by Bradis on the way home. Looking for a .38 for my g/f to carry.

 

[Expat]

Norm's.

 

[223 Gunner]

I checked to see if anyone mentioned it and did not see Albro's. The original when it was on Emerson in the strip mall by the Walmart before it was there. I purchased many a gun from them. They were always nice and helpful. Had good prices as well. I never had a chance to get to the shop after it changed hands. It moved to the strip mall by Damon's garden center on Emerson and not too long after that it was gone forever. I heard several takes on what happened. I wonder where they would fit in to the scheme of gun shops today if they were still around?

If Paul were still running it, it would be doing just fine. He had an established clientele, once it changed hands, the new owner started ordering in a different (cheaper) line of firearms. The regulars liked going in there because they could buy nice Smith's, Sigs, Kimbers etc. Once Randy took it over he stocked Taurus and built a Milsurp section reminiscent of Bradis. It brought in a different crowd that didn't spend as much money. Paul used to have the occasional Milsurp on the rack mixed in with his selection of higher end shotguns and lever guns. Albro's did have a group of regulars that would buy the type of guns that Paul stocked. Once the cheaper guns became the norm, they went elsewhere to buy their guns.

It's too bad really, I'm sure there was more than that in play. Only the owners know what really happened, and few that were close to them. I was in a small group of regulars that met there on Wednesday evenings to see what had been traded in or what was new.
We would hang out, then some of us would go out for dinner after the shop closed. I have not been a regular in a shop since. I primarily play in the private secondary market. Most of the time I am not willing to spend hundreds of dollars on an impulse buy, or to be pressured into buying something. I don't go into shops, because I am NOT buying, so I do not want to waste their time by coon fingering their inventory and then walking out without buying. And really I'm sure shops would appreciate it if more people that weren't buying would not come in and waste their time either.

We're all different, this of course is my opinion, we all conduct business differently and we all have different shopping habits.

 

[LarryC]

Dunno if you could call them Gun Shops, but I sure miss the Western Auto and "old Sears". Montgomery Wards and the local hardware stores in the 50's, where you could buy just about any firearm made during those times. I also miss looking at the guns advertised in the back of many magazines and comics, where you could purchase a surplus firearm for $6.95 and $.99 shipping sent to your home.

 

[deo62]

Norm's.

Thought I was the only one that remembered Norms