Best gun shop experience I’ve had

[Alan]

I walked into a local shop knowing exactly what I wanted, but the owner talked me into trying something different first. He spent 30 minutes letting me handle different options, explained pros and cons honestly and didn't push the expensive stuff. I ended up buying what he suggested and it's been my favorite gun for five years. Good shops still exist, support them.

 

[Mokaa]

That’s how it should be...knowledge over upselling, and you walk out confident, not hustled

 

[Billinthedesert]

Not a shop but a chain store: I worked post-retirement at a Sportsman's Warehouse in Oregon. Some buyers came in knowing just what they wanted. Others sought some degree of guidance. The latter were the most satisfying to deal with when I knew they left the store with a platform in a caliber that would suit their purpose very well, from elk rifles to defensive handguns for their wives. This sometimes called for diplomacy, as when the husband or boyfriend "knew just what she needed" but when we put the revolver or semiauto in the wife or girlfriend or mom's hand it obviously didn't fit, didn't point worth a hoot or had a slide she simply could not manipulate. In the case of the inexperienced guys wanting a hunting rifle, they often came in with a friend or relative's recommendation. "Uncle Fred told me just to buy a Remington Model 700 in .300 Win Mag for elk, but what do you think?" And I would say something like "I think that rifle will kick the hell out of you and won't have any confidence in it. I would suggest this Tikka T3 in .270 with a good commercial load, say from Barnes."

 

[Howard]

Every place I shopped in Oklahoma. Oklahoman's love guns. With a CCW they dont even run a background check.

Sadly, my two experince in Silver City have been just the opposite. I ordered a rifle and tried to use the 'Rough Country Outfitters' on US 180., Gave the shipper their info including FFL and a week later he still haadnt heard from them so I talked to William at 'Mimbres Armory', not really a store, he just helps folks with their FFL transfers, great guy, highly recommended. He had the info to them in a hour.

The other was DK Guns and Pawn also on 180. Went in to buy a box of 357 Mags. The owner ignored me like he was just too important to bother. When I finally asked, he slapped a box of very generic, low quality rounds on the counter and said. $40 bucks (theys sell on line for abut $17). I laughed at him and walked out. Blank a bunch of rip off scumbags.

Forgive my rant but that seems to be the overall attitude in Silver City for anyone who has a business, gouge as hard as possible. When I moved here I was interested to see that every gas station in town had the same price, $2,99/ gallon. Every one. Just down the street in Bayard the Valero was $2.59. I startted a thread on the Facebook SC group and suggested folks go to Bayard as a protest, got a lot of support., one woman said sh'd report them to an agency in Santa Fe. Prettys soon the prices dropped, Shell in now $2.59.. Seems every station in SC is owned by one of two families. F__k them and theifr greed.

Rant over.