wheres the best place to handle a NULA 24 before i buy one?
NULAs are almost always built to order..
They are not a semi-custom rifle like a Cooper that is produced in production quantities at wholsale prices for retail dealers.
There are very few if any gunshops that keep and stock of new guns. Such a shop would be rare enough, that I doubt one even exists.
If you wanted to find out the name of any shops that do stock NULAs, the person to ask would be Melvin Forbes at NULA.
Also a chain such as Cabela's that handles higher end customs for resale may have a few as well.
Other than that, you'd have to find someone local who owned one and ask to handle theirs.