Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire How’s your local gun store doing? Mine’s going out of business.

LGS & indoor range just a few blocks from my house is going outta business. I shoot bowling pins there on Thursday nights and we are on a week to week basis - the RO will send out a text when the lawyers tell them to lock the doors. I know it ain’t much but I’ve tried to support them with my $15 range fee every week. Prices on guns were just too high and transfers were $40. Talking about it to a friend today he told me that a counter guy got an attitude once when my friend offered $400 cash on gun priced at $425. So, he left and bought a gun somewhere else.

I’m thinking the owner has something set up with another FFL to buy out the gun inventory as he is still not dealing much on the gun prices. He did sell me an 8 pound jug of Winchester 296 for $150 +tax, which I was happy to pay (originally priced at $213). We are $500-600 apart on the price of a pistol I am interested in.

How’s your Local gun store weathering the ‘Trump slump’ in the gun business?

All a gun shop needs around here is a glass case full of P365’s and another full of Glocks and they will do just fine it seems.

But to answer your question, I have noticed a lot less used guns for sale over the past year or so which is what draws me to the counter. They have free gun rentals each month for different brands which a lot of people like and the range is one of the best around with excellent ventilation.

The number seems to be going down quick here. The ones that are thriving are the ones that happily accept transfers. Much cheaper internet prices with no sales tax is killing them

Mine has a range and is along the highway.....so plenty of traffick. Theyve been in biz a while so know the game. Decent sized town of rednecks that cant handle their finances......so ok supply of used guns.

Just bought an A5 20 ga from em.

Lots of transfers. They charge 25 bucks. Lots of stuff comes in from Buds. No big deal. They buy ammo scopes and other stuff. Often see something on shelf that catches their eye.

We have a couple chain stores that sell guns
Sales folk pretty much clueless. Plus we have a walmart.
Yee haw

Ours is kind of like a mini Bass-Pro. They sell a lot of hunting and fishing stuff besides guns. On guns they keep a good inventory, price their stock fairly, put prices on used guns that are designed to move them quickly and will call good customers if something comes in they think might be interesting. The owner is a good business man and the staff is very knowledgeable. They have a gunsmith on duty. I think gun sales are down from Obama's years but they are still selling a lot of crickets and minnows....It's a really good store. Hope it stays around for ever.

Bud said wholesaler told him a week or so back was routinely the slowest sales week of the year.

Archery sales have tanked. X bows the thing. And one of them can fit the whole fam.

Didnt even do program orders on vert bows this year.

a lot are, most folks buy online.

A new gun store opened up a couple blocks from me early this year. I went in twice. No one was in there. Never saw a single car in their little parking lot or anyone in the store or walking in or out. It might be the owner's fault. He and his wife are quite off putting in their personalities. I think that's the problem.

Ours seem to be doing well. There's a bigger shop called Modern Sportman in Burnsville Mn. (just in case anyone wants to look on line.) Real nice pistol range, wide variety of handguns, and some nice long guns too. The staff definitely seems to know their business, and how to do customer service too.

Talking about it to a friend today he told me that a counter guy got an attitude once when my friend offered $400 cash on gun priced at $425. So, he left and bought a gun somewhere else. 

OP's quote above.

Love my LGS's but I swear I believe I've seen more attitudes, per capita, behind a gun counter than anywhere else on earth. I worked behind a gun counter for 10 or so years in hs and college. Seen plenty of nutjobs on both sides of the counter.

It’s a tough business, for sure. I was in the ‘gun a month club’ for a couple of years after paying off my mortgage; filling in some gaps in my collection. I mostly purchased used guns thru forums like this one. I would have rather done the transfers through my LGS but there was a pawn shop literally threes blocks down the road that did transfers for half the price at $20. If the gun store charged $25 I would have gone there, but I was not going to pay double. I’m thinking if you cannot be competitive on the gun price, you should at least be competitive on transfer fees. Get that gun buyer foot traffic in your store. Trane staff to ask the purchaser if they need ammo or accessories, and tell them about the indoor range facilities.

Our closest, and best owned two. Last march they closed one.

I never look for the best deal.......am content w a good deal.
Some folks gobble hours of sales staff time.....make ten visits over three months and then order online because its five bucks cheaper.

Usually an engineer.....electrical......or manager type.

That wanted item x.

Had to have it. And ordered y. For who knows what reason.

And when it doesnt work the want you to take it in on trade for item x ( and give them full retail trade in ).

Worked the LGS.......seen it

Ridiculous

New guns the profit is less. Used atuff is where its at

Don’t buy on relationship. Why would anyone do that? Buy on price. Take the extra $5.00 and buy yourself a happy meal on the way home.

Had one shop I bought 3 firearms from in a short 6 months. They were kissy foo foo, sent me a Christmas card and chit.

I went in and asked them to do a transfer for me from Buds, and some sawed-off peckerwood with blonde sideburns and them 'tinted' smoky perscription glasses (shop owner's son) copped a major attitude about "man you people come in wantin us to order stuff and won't buy off our racks and bud's is cuttin our throats" blah blah blah fuggin blah

Ok screw you guys...I got Midsouth Shooters Suppy to do my transfer, they only hit me for $10 transfer.

Their indoor range burned down a couple months later. Hahaha, sucks for them. Fugg em in the goat ass.

I see as much traffic at the end of ones I nose around in. Who's buying what I can't say. If there's something new I want I shop around for the best price, but there's no one shop that I'm loyal to.
Years ago before I joined the service a pretty good friend of the family ran one close by. I bought several, and all my reloading supplies off Terry up until he switched to groceries in the late 90s.
He said guns sold good in the fall, but milk and bread sold year round.
7mm

Went out of business 2 years ago due to loss of FFL......do NOT get me started of the local ATF!

Two LGS i go to are really busy. 30 mins each in opposite direction so they don’t really compete.

I was in one this evening looking at the sig365 in coyote. They wanted $579. Tried to get them to budge to $559 ( other stores price). No dice. Still picked up a 12rd for $40, not a complete loss.


Both stores are high volume low markup. FB flash sales amd such.

Like other retail outlets, the internet is killing the LGS. I live in a city of over 100K and there is no gun store here. 2 hour drive to the closest decent gun store (not Cabelas) and I still buy stuff there on line.

My local pawn shop, which has a large gun section (like a gun store inside the pawn shop) is quite clear that he has no problem at all with people buying from Bud's or whatever, and using him as the FFL. He says he makes about the same amount whether you buy from his stock or use his FFL to bring in guns bought at Bud's.

Although, I have bought a few used guns off his shelves over the years, to include a Colt Official Police .38 Special revolver, an original Winchester Model 92 in .44-40, and a Winchester Model 12 pump action 12 gauge shotgun. All three in nice functional condition. So I use him mainly as a source for collectable used guns.