Support your local gun shop until

[hoz53]

Hello All
Thread topic says it all. While waiting on a custom upper assy to be built I have been making some modifications on the lower assy. Needed a different buttstock, got a Magpul PRS Gen 3 got it for the adjustable comb so could get good eye alignment with scope. Upon finding out the buffer tube was commercial and not mil spec, I called the LGS , yes they had mil spec buffer in stock. Went to town for a blood test at the local medical center,( which I had studied for), then to LGS. Had been in there before , they have only been open maybe 4 or 5 yrs. Couple of brothers running the store, both super friendly. However not customer wallet friendly.

After paying at least twice maybe three times what I could have bought a buffer tube online and had delivered to the house with free shipping I left that local store and told myself no more with them. Did not say anything to the young business owner did not make a scene, however, will not be back in that store. Can't and wont refer anyone to them. My mistake for not asking price when I called. Always supported the locals, tried to keep money in town, however, no more.

Getting older but still learning.

nearest LGS to me is 50 miles at least. its a shame in a way but when i was forced to start buying 8# ers becase of shipping/hazmat it helped my shooting. looking back cant believe i tried to do much accuracy work with 1#ers all those years.

 

[55fairlane]

I am all for supporting the local guy if possible, but, there comes a price point, where I say no.
No one local has reloading supplies, the closest guy in an hour away & he is 35 to 45% higher then online. But he does have CCI SV 22lr for $8.99 a 50 round box.
I did abuse my credit card at vendor row (camp perry) this summer, I'm set, I think

 

[Downeast]

My nearest gun shop is about 30 miles away. They are the only walk-in source for reloading supplies. But the prices are a bit steep. Right now Hodgdon powders are $60.00 a pound. Had to let it sit. But I did purchase some small items as I try to keep his doors open. Actually got a good deal on a box of bullets so sometimes you just have to look around and find something with a reasonable price.

 

[brokeasajoke]

I don't mind paying a little extra but there is a point. I work for advance auto parts part timeand have for 22years. I can buy a Moog wheel bearing for $250 for a particular model. Keep in mind the mom and pop stores are roughly the same price. I can get it online and wait 2-4 days for at least 100 dollar bill less. I'm waiting. I still support my LGS when I can. Glad they are there and want to keep them there but sometimes I just shake my head. My paycheck alone takes care of a family of 5. One of the LGS has best prices around on guns and boots. If I buy a gun from we will say Buds and have it shipped, there might be 10-$20 difference by the time I pay transfer fee. That LGS makes 10% on guns and he sales the heck out of them. The last CZ I purchased he actually had cheaper than online anywhere

 

[JSH]

The GS I frequent, surprises me what they do stock and don’t stock. For instance, a whole rack of the latest greatest pistol sights, yet literally no gun cleaning stuff. I have introduced a number of shooters to the place, they would keep the Wipe Out products moving.
I try and support them the best I can.
Cabelas moved in a number of years back, same effect as Walmart has on communities. A number of gun shops in say a 100 mile circle ceased to exist.

I am like others, I will pay extra to put my hands on it, as long as Ben Dover is not the sales man.

 

[Emmett Dibble]

FWIW, I work at a small business and get it to a point.

If they (small mom and pop) have been in business for years and you don’t shop there you may not be their target audience. Most experienced shooters buy their supplies straight from the manufacture or larger vendor that will carry bulk and selection.

A lot of states have an inventory tax and mom and pop can’t afford to have that excess inventory just sitting. If a sku doesn’t flip X amount of times a year, it doesn’t make them money. You wouldn’t take $10K of cash, (especially with inflation) and littereally put it on your book shelf then have the government come in once a year and pull $100 out of it.

I have several LGS in my area, none of them cater to my type of shooting. If I need something now that they have and I don’t want to wait a few days, I pop in, grab it, exchange pleasantries and be on my way.

I don’t hate anyone for trying to make a buck. It’s called capitalism. You don’t get to participate in shooting sports in communist countries….

 

[LuvDog]

I support my LGS by doing transfers with them. I've called them in the past and ask if they can come close to the price, but usually they tell me that the price I found is lower than their distributor and to have it sent to them. Then they ask where I'm buying from so that they can order too to put on the shelf. LOL.

I try to pick up something when I'm there, like a magazine for whatever I'm picking up, but their prices are at least 1.5x-2x what I can get it for online.

I do prefer to buy powder and primers locally because with hazmat it works out close anyway.

I do as much business with them as I can because without them, the online prices for guns doesn't do me any good if I can't get them transferred in.

 

[ebb]

We had a guy locally that was great. He was in West Palm Beach and i would stop by on my way home from work several times a week. Bought a few guns and a lot of dies bullets and reloading tools. He retired and moved to north Florida and sold the shop. The new owner changed all the prices to almost double and the shop was out of business and closed in 3 or 4 months. I haven't had a LGS since and this was years ago. i get reloading components from a local guy when he is at the gun show or go to his house.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I bought all of my powder for a fair price at my LGS or from the GS near our club which is out-of-state. That was until Covid. It seems like everything in the world has changed and nothing for the better.
My LGS sells all of his components on line at auction prices. When I asked about getting a few 209 primers for my muzzleloader he told me I'd have to pay the auction price. I stopped by the GS near my old club and he had a few powders that I could use, but didn't need. They were $50/lb plus tax. I never paid that much in that store before but took a few cans to put in inventory.

The thing that has us all over the barrel is the stupid HAZMAT fees. Apparently, a retailer can assess whatever he wants for HAZMAT and add that to his shipping charges. That makes it totally impractical to order just a few pounds when you need it, or just a 1,000 primers.

 

[Brians356]

I'm not sure I get it. So if you'd just told the nice young men "On learning the price, that's just unreasonably expensive, but thanks anyway" you'd have felt remorse for yourself, and sorrow for them?
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[Doug Beach]

With rare exceptions, all the GS around here are neither friendly, nor accommodating. It’s as if some sort of personality disorder is a prerequisite for employment. I don’t have that experience in any other sort of business. I’ll stick to low priced, efficient, online sales.

 

[Just Say Moe]

I pay extra to go put my hands on it. They had ramshot hunter today for $30/lb so they aint bad

Where?

 

[tominboise]

One of my LGS, I use for transfers. I have bought a couple of pistols there, used S&W's, and they were priced high. But I could hold them and then leave with them, so there is that.

When I buy a new gun (not very often) I look at Sportsman's warehouse, grabagun, gunbroker and Davidson's. Way cheaper to go that way most of the time.

Reloading components I buy exclusively online. There is a rip off reloading store here that charges through the roof. I bought a few guns from him 20 years ago but no more. He is a pirate.

 

[Brians356]

i went to the local NAPA store and tried to buy 2 bearings for my drill press. The guy wanted $53.00 for them

I recall Lowe's twenty years ago stocked a selection of common ball bearings, SAE and metric. I found there the drop-in replacement throttle shaft bearing for an old Italian Weber 40 IDF downdraft carburetor.
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[FNSafari]

What’s vexing is a 1000 primer limit per day. If you want 2000 you have to check the next day and pay hazmat and shipping a second time. Come on!

 

[NorCalMikie]

IT PAYS TO SHOP AROUND!! I was looking for a canister vac to use on my pellet stove. Amazon PRIME (free shipping) had one but I found the same thing for $30.00 less with "free shipping" on Ebay.
Ordered and got it in 3 days. Not buying into the Amazon Prime crap!
You have to consider, you are paying HOW MUCH at the LGS? Cost you how much to drive there and deal with the HIGH PRICES?
Order on line if you can find it and consider how much it would have cost you if you had to drive there. Gas is how much?? Touching and feeling is another story.
Walk in, look around, prices are how much??? Thanks but NO THANKS!!
And if they want to know why you arn't paying those high prices? TELL THEM!!
I price ammo and availability just out of curiosity. I get "that look" when I don't buy and mention that I "roll my own".

That's like folks selling on the auction sites or forums. Prices too high? THANKS but NO THANKS. Sooner or later, folks WILL get the message.

 

[jackieschmidt]

The local Gun Store is going the way of the Intown Performance Hotrod Parts store.

Years ago in the Houston area, we had several large speed shops that carried a wide variety of parts, or could get it quick. You payed brick and mortar prices because I was there.

With the advent of JEGS, SUMMIT etc, they have all disappeared. It is easier to pick out what you want, (99% of the time they will have it), hit the ad to cart cart button, type in the credit card, and watch the parts magically appear in just a few days.

This is 2022. I do not opine for the good old days, because they are gone and they are not coming back.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I like to support our LGS(s) and don't mind paying a reasonable premium there. But the relationship needs to work both ways. You can't scalp your own customers on the first chance that you get.

 

[rockhound78]

At one store, most of their powders are about $60/lb and primers are $129. They did have two kegs of Varget @$499 each IIRC. I go in now and then, as sometimes I can find a decent deal, but doesn't happen often

 

[CNC-Dude]

My nearest gun shop is about 30 miles away. They are the only walk-in source for reloading supplies. But the prices are a bit steep. Right now Hodgdon powders are $60.00 a pound. Had to let it sit. But I did purchase some small items as I try to keep his doors open. Actually got a good deal on a box of bullets so sometimes you just have to look around and find something with a reasonable price.

H1000 on Hodgdon's website is $56 and some change, plus tax, shipping and Hazmat....$60 on the shelf is a bargain!